This book was absolutely AMAZING. A must-read, if you enjoy reading physiological thrillers. There's a jaw-dropping twist that you will never see coming, and you'll be hooked from beginning to end. It was such a thrilling read, and I highly recommend it. Keep your eyes out for a Q&A with this debut author coming to the blog soon!

I love a good locked room mystery, and a secluded campus in the middle of a winter storm sounded like a perfect setting.

Main character Dr. Madeline Pine is a criminal psychiatrist whose assistance has been requested by Private Investigator Matthew Reyes at an all female private school after a student is found dead. He’s made no progress with the few students who remained on campus over winter break, things aren’t adding up, and he thinks speaking to a female psychiatrist may be easier for them. This is a school for troubled girls, and getting them to reveal information isn’t an easy task. As an added challenge, the head mistress is uncooperative.

I honestly didn’t know what to think about this book at first. Madeline is completely unprofessional, is experiencing both personal and professional crises (she mentions taking time off after a very difficult case), and seems emotionally unstable to the point that I had difficulty buying into her character and nearly quit reading the book. It also didn’t help that, other than Matthew, the characters aren’t very likeable. But reviews promised the shocking ending brings everything together, so I put my faith in those reviewers and continued reading.

Madeline is the definition of an unreliable narrator, so you’re immediately skeptical of anything she says. Her actions and observations will keep you guessing. Along with the mystery of who murdered the student or if it’s the accident local law enforcement claims, there are several chapters containing an anonymous interview with names redacted from a year ago. The interview reveals a tragic story, and I thought I had it figured out. I wasn’t even close. The ending is indeed the shock other reviewers mentioned. In hindsight, there are subtle hints along the way but I doubt many readers would put the pieces together.

It’s an investment at nearly four hundred pages, but the jaw-dropping reveals are a nice payoff at the end of the novel. Just be prepared to sit with the MCs strange behavior throughout the story. Some readers may also want to take note of several trigger warnings.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Night It Ended was a fabulously thrilling ride. I really had no idea which direction the story was headed. It was eerie at times and scary at others. It was intense and dark. When the snow storm added a locked room mystery aspect to it, I was thrilled.
Every character is creepy and suspicious. Every word that comes out of their mouths seems to be a lie. You truly don’t know who to believe.
While I figured out a small twist early on, the ending was a complete jaw dropping shock. I had the same feeling that I did after watching Sixth Sense and had to unravel everything I had read to see where I missed the truth. It was an exhilarating ride.

I posted this review on Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct_2UYzrODy/?igshid=YzcxN2Q2NzY0OA==

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5638083168

And Amazon

Thank you NetGalley for the free book in exchange for an honest review. The night it ended is a psychological thriller with lots of twists and turns you don’t see coming. A therapist goes into a snowy school to help find closure for a family who lost their child. This was a great storyline, my only problem was my dislike for the main character.

I have given myself a little bit of time before writing this review. The book itself kept me scratching my head. Why is this famous doctor having such a hard time acting professionally? Why does she constantly injure herself? Has she completely lost her mind along with her family?

So for a good portion of the book, I was thinking that it was absolutely ridiculous. The ending twists things around quite a bit. Some in ways I saw coming and some I did not. Now, with hindsight fully working, I think I appreciate some of the imagery and hints that were strewn throughout the book. The death she is brought on to investigate is an OK story. Its conclusion wasn’t terribly exciting or different. But the rest of the ending had much more of an effect.

I’m still not sure how much I liked it. At some points I felt like stopping or skimming. But I stuck it out and I am glad I did.

The story of a teen who dies at her private school campus is completely mesmerizing, as the story weaves from one deceptive character to another and I tried to guess who was being honest. Dr. Madeline Pine’s life is falling apart, with her husband leaving and taking their daughter Izzy with him. So when private detective Matt requests her assistance in finding out what happened to the deceased student, she accepts the invitation and is drawn into a dark and mysterious world where even the school has secrets. The characterization was spot on for the eerie atmosphere and the mystery was twisted with lots of clues being painstakingly revealed slowly. The book got increasingly creepy as more secrets were revealed and was breathtakingly complex. This is in intense, intriguing story that challenged me to figure out the mystery as well as who was trustworthy among the cast of possible suspects. It is an edgy and remarkable debut novel that is tightly plotted and well-crafted with multiple layers. I will definitely look forward to more from this author!
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

Dr. Madeline Pine’s life seems perfect. She has a beautiful family, is a successful criminal psychiatrist and has a growing reputation to be an expert in her field. She’s called by a private investigator to help with a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled girls, located upstate New York. Although she is hesitant, she agrees to help when she hears about Charley Ridley, who was found in her pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus. Police ruled her death as an accident but she has a feeling there is more to find.

💭 Thoughts:
I was drawn into this story because of the unique, eerie setting. Although it was a slow start, I was engaged throughout. Madeline was an unreliable narrator, taking pills to help cope with anxiety, which keeps you guessing what is real or not.
I loved that this story has a plot within a plot. Throughout the book, you see glimpses of Dr. Pine’s world and the reason why her life isn’t as perfect as it seems. This story had me guessing throughout and the ending had not one but TWO great twists that left me shocked! 😮
Great debut novel for Katie Garner, I am looking to reading more in the future!

Dr. Price’s life seems picture perfect, she has a beautiful family and a successful mental health practice. Even though she is a women’s mental health expert she hesitates when she is asked to help on a case at an all-girls school.

When Dr. Price arrives at the school, things feel off and she becomes determined to figure out what happened while keeping her own secrets hidden.

This book was interesting but not exactly what I expected. I thought it would be more of a thriller, but it was more of a mystery. For me the biggest difference between the two is atmosphere and pacing. I felt that I wanted more than this book had to offer. However, it was a very atmospheric read and that was enjoyable. The descriptions and writing were spot on and done well. I did like the twist at the end, I thought it was clever and explained so much.

If you are looking for a character driven, atmospheric mystery then check this one out June 27th.

Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing - Mira, and Netgalley, @netgalley, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Dr. Madeline Pine – supposedly an expert on female violence. But this is one messed up woman.

A private investigator calls her in to interview the students at a remote boarding school when one of the students is found dead. At first, she isn’t sure she should accept as she has not yet recovered from her last case, “the Strum case.” But she agrees to take the assignment.

I found myself frequently questioning the methods she used with the interviews. There are only four girls there as the other students have gone home for the Christmas holiday. Almost from the beginning, it is apparent that someone is displeased that she is there.

About halfway through the book, the focus shifts from the boarding school incident to the issues with Dr. Pine. By that point I was tired of the repetitiveness and the constant “accidents” Dr. Pine encountered.
Interspersed throughout the book are pages from an interview transcript. The reader does not know who is being interviewed as all identities in the transcript are redacted.

At 408 pages, this book was too long. It became repetitive and frequently drifted off into stream-of-consciousness writing which I am not a fan of. Toward the end I found myself just wanting the story to end.
I received an advance copy of the book. All opinions expressed here are my own.

This is a mysterious, fast-paced, adult psychological thriller that will keep you guessing to the end.
Title: The Night It Ended

Author: Katie Garner

Publication Date: June 27, 2023

Publisher: MIRA (Harlequin Trade Publishing)

Genre: Mystery, Thriller (Psychological), Suspense

Pages: 416

Content Warnings: Mental Illness, gaslighting, murder, adult/minor relationship, self-harm, abusive relationship, medication abuse, depression, anxiety, extra-marital affairs, blood, wounds

R Contains profanity, violence, drug use, or nudity.
› Told in dual timelines, The Night It Ended is a wild ride with a shocking twist.

› The first timeline is December 3, one year before the other timeline. "C5" is working with the police department interviewing "EO12" to get the full story of what happened. All names are redacted. We learn that "EO12" had an affair and something really bad happened. The second timeline is a year later, starting on December 16. This timeline is told in first-person from the perspective of Dr. Madeline Pine, a criminal psychiatrist with a teenage daughter named Izzi and a husband named Dave. Something bad has happened with her family and we know that they don't talk anymore. Dr. Pine's mental health is not good. She's acting very strange, like putting the SIM card for her second phone under her tongue "for safekeeping" and then getting rid of it on the train. Why does she have two phones? Is one for work? Why get rid of the SIM card?

Dr. Pine receives a phone call from Matthew Reyes, a private investigator. Charlotte Ridley (Charley), a sixteen-year-old female was found dead in the woods near Shadow Hunt Hall, an all-girls boarding school in upstate New York and her family hired Reyes to get to the bottom of what happened. The police said it was an accident, but Charley's family is suspicious. She was found wearing no shoes and pyjamas outside in winter. The police think she sleepwalked and froze to death. However, her feet were clean and had no marks from walking barefoot in the woods and snow, and she had defensive wounds on her hands and forearms. The autopsy said she died on the first day of winter break and almost all of the staff and students have left for the break. So if Charley was murdered, then the killer is still on campus. There's not a lot of physical evidence, so Reyes needs witnesses to help him figure out what happened.

› Reyes called Dr. Pine because he was impressed by her work on the Strum case last year and saw she's the author of a book called Dark Side: A Psychological Portrait of the Criminal Female Mind. Most of the students have gone home for Christmas break and Reyes has been asked to wrap up his investigation by the time they return on January 2nd. He's having trouble getting the girls to talk to him and is hoping a psychologist can help.

› Shadow Hunt Hall is an old building surrounded by 300 acres of dense forest and a cement wall. With a gated entrance, there's only one way in, and one way out. The only people left on campus are the headmistress - Emilia Hawke, four students - Hannah, Kiara, Violet, and Alice, the school assistant - Rosemarie, the maintenance man - Blake Edwards and his son Jeremy Edwards.

› While Dr. Pine and Reyes work together to try to discover what happened to Charley, Dr. Pine's mental stability unravels. She's having panic attacks, hallucinations, and flashbacks to what happened to her family. Someone left a brick under her pillow, someone has been moving her things around, and messing with her medication. The suspense builds continuously and Dr. Pine is in danger from the beginning as she's interviewing students and tracking down the truth.

› "Questioning the unquestionable is the only way to learn the truth. And I will learn the truth."

› I rate reviews similar to the CAWPILE method
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 8
I just wanted a little more characteristics and backstory.

› Atmosphere: 8
I love the setting and mood, I just wanted a little more description and world-building.

› Writing Style: 7
High-quality writing, high readability, however a little wordy and repetitive.

› Plot: 7
My one complaint is the first half of the book felt a little willy-nilly. It felt like a 3-star book for most of it until the ending blew me away.

› Intrigue: 6
I struggled for the first half.

› Logic: 6
I don't know if the plot holes have been fixed before the final copy, but I would hope that an editor caught them.

› Enjoyment: 7
This book had me feeling all the feelings. I felt frustration, anger, confusion, and sadness.

Average 7

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★

› Final Thoughts
• The Night It Ended felt like a 3-star read for most of my experience, then the ending absolutely blew me away and twisted everything I thought I knew. This is a dark, mysterious, tense, fast-paced, emotional debut novel with complicated characters about self-preservation and survival. I will read everything Katie Garner writes. According to her website, the author has another adult psychological thriller coming out next summer. Bring it on. You won't trick me next time.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending this book for review. All opinions are my own.

Dr. Madeline Pine’s life looks like she has it all – a fairytale life. But the fairytale is a hoax as we soon see when Dr. Pine starts investigating the events of a mysterious death at Shadow Hunt Hall an exclusive boarding school for troubled girls.
This book is full of mystery and intrigue with an ending that will blow you away.
A must read!
Thank you Netgalley for my ARC

Really enjoyed this book. I was SHOCKED at the ending. Great first book by this author will def be looking for more.

THE NIGHT IT ENDED was very confusing at first. Sometimes I find it hard to follow unreliable narrators. However, the last 25% was so good. Everything came together and made sense. The twists throughout made the conclusion even more satisfying. This was a very different psychological thriller than I’ve read before.

I finished this book in an afternoon. There were times I thought I knew where this book was going but was so surprised with where it went. Good edge of your seat thriller

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

It was a fantastic read.. I could not put this book down it was so good!! I need a physical copy like yesterday!! This book kept me guessing the entire time!!!

Dr. Madeline Pine is a criminal psychiatrist called into the case of a young girl’s tragic death. Madeline has become known for specializing in cases of female violence. It is the Christmas holiday and if Madeline takes the case, she will be away from her husband and daughter. But then Madeline imagines how she would feel if her daughter Izzy had been killed, so she agrees to go to the exclusive school where the death took place.

Was the young girl Charley’s death a tragic accident, or could foul play have been involved? Due to the holiday, there is very little staff present at the school and only a handful of students. Madeline does her best to piece together the events surrounding Charley’s death.

As events begin to unfold two things become clear - more than one person has a secret, but then so does Madeline herself. At least one secret is her unstable mental health and how she manages it. Has someone killed to protect their secrets and can Madeline as well as the private investigator also present unravel the truth?

What a stunning debut novel! Not only was this book intense throughout, but the twists just kept on coming. In fact, as shocking as the twists were, the ending literally blew my mind. I can say without a doubt that this was an ending I never saw coming. As this story is being told, there are also conversations in transcript form. Both the investigation into Charley’s death and those transcript conversations were compelling.

Many thanks to MIRA and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Dr. Madeline Pine, a criminal psychiatrist, is called in to consult with private detective Matt when a girl is found dead at an isolated all-girls private school in upstate New York. The police have ruled it an accident, but her mother who lives across the country wants to know what really happened. Madeline is an unreliable narrator thanks to her personal issues and most of the book was a bit disorienting. Interspersed throughout the chapters is a heavily redacted interview from a year prior. The story ends with a doozy of a twist.

Charley was found dead at Shadow Hunt Hall and Dr. Madeline Pine has been hired to get answers for her mother. It's winter break at the boarding school for "troubled" girls and Charley, Kiara, Hannah, Violet and Alice had stayed behind while the rest of the school went to their homes (or elsewhere). Everyone has a secret and the collective has something to hide as well. Then there's the interview transcript that appears periodically. Does it help the reader know what's coming? It didn't help me but then there's an aha moment. This is almost gothic in tone (the creepy school, the snow, the lurking issues). And there's a good incorporation of mental health. The students are pretty unlikable, Madeline pretty sympathetic, and the answer a bit of a surprise. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A nice debut.

I have some mixed feelings about this book, rating this a 4 but in my opinion it was closer to a 3.75 for me.

Dr. Madeline Pine is asked to help investigate a death at an exclusive boarding school for troubled girls. The
story goes back and forth between the current investigation and an interview with a client from a year before that nearly destroyed her. She sets off interviewing the four girls, Alice, Hannah, Violet, and Kiara who were the only girl's who didn't go home during winter break. This story will take you for a crazy ride leaving you to wonder who to trust..

There were things about this book that I loved, like the plot twists reminiscent of The Silent Patient, the creepy old school in the snow vibes, plenty of unreliable characters to go around, and the mystery surrounding the Dr's family. I love a good thriller and this one had all the feels of a suspenseful whodunit

I did however have a few issues with the book, I really didn't connect with the characters living in the boarding school, and the doctor drove me a little bonkers with all her ridiculously poor choices and bizarre behavior. I felt like it was a bit slow throughout, but wrapped up nicely with some fun twists that I didn't see coming.

thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book for my honest review.

This book was SO GOOD!! Kept me guessing until the end. I knew something was up, and she wasn’t who said she was, but I couldn’t figure it out until near the end. I think the book could’ve been a little shorter. I like that this involved two separate plots that came together. Loved this!!