End of Story
{{Short description|2024 novel by A. J. Finn}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| image = End of Story - AJ Finn.jpg
| author = A. J. Finn
| language = English
| genre = Thriller
| publisher = HarperCollins
| published = February 20, 2024
| isbn = 9780062678454
| country = United States
| pages = 416
| caption = The U.S. edition of End of Story
}}
End of Story is a novel by American author A. J. Finn and published by HarperCollins on February 20, 2024 (United States) and February 29, 2024 (United Kingdom).{{Cite web |title=End of Story by A J Finn |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780062678454 |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=www.publishersweekly.com |archive-date=2024-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216231314/https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780062678454 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=End of Story |url=https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/end-of-story-a-j-finn |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=HarperCollins Publishers UK |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216231314/https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/end-of-story-a-j-finn |url-status=live }} Set in San Francisco, it is a thriller about a young woman writing the biography of a celebrated crime writer. The novel follows Finn's 2018 debut novel The Woman in the Window.
The book failed to make the New York Times' bestseller list,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/2024/02/25/hardcover-fiction/|title=Hardcover Fiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Feb. 25, 2024 - The New York Times|work=The New York Times |via=NYTimes.com}} though debuted at number 12 on Publishers Weekly hardcover fiction list.{{Cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/94488-this-week-s-bestsellers-march-4-2024.html|title=This Week's Bestsellers: March 4, 2024|first=Carolyn|last=Juris|website=PublishersWeekly.com}}
The same publication gave the novel a starred review calling it a "tour de force" and a "spellbinder [that] surpasses the high bar set by Finn’s bestselling debut, The Woman in the Window." Chris Hewitt of the Star Tribune praised the novel's plot and scene-setting, concluding that "Finn is an assured, witty writer with a gift for entertaining description and sharp instincts."{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chris Hewitt Star |title="Woman in the Window" author A. J. Finn has new thriller for fans. |url=https://www.startribune.com/at-last-aj-finn-has-a-new-thriller-for-fans-of-his-woman-in-the-window/600342839/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=Star Tribune |archive-date=2024-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216231315/https://www.startribune.com/at-last-aj-finn-has-a-new-thriller-for-fans-of-his-woman-in-the-window/600342839/ |url-status=live }} Writing in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Gail Pennington noted the novel's unexpected plot twists and concluded that "Finn has crafted a book that is fresh, intelligent and — best of all — delightfully witty."{{Cite web |last=Post-Dispatch |first=Gail Pennington Special to the |date=2024-02-16 |title=Review: New mystery by A.J. Finn is worth the wait, as are other whodunits |url=https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/books/review-new-mystery-by-a-j-finn-is-worth-the-wait-as-are-other-whodunits/article_ffdd70ce-cacd-11ee-9759-cb42fe113095.html |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=STLtoday.com |language=en |archive-date=2024-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216170737/https://www.stltoday.com/life-entertainment/local/books/review-new-mystery-by-a-j-finn-is-worth-the-wait-as-are-other-whodunits/article_ffdd70ce-cacd-11ee-9759-cb42fe113095.html |url-status=live }}
The Times of London praised Finn’s talent as a “skilful stylist” for whom there is “no doubt that he can write, and well", though it noted "A cynic may think that Finn’s resolution is deliberately provocative; a critic may query the slow pacing."{{Cite news |last=Owen |first=John Dugdale {{!}} James |date=2024-02-21 |title=The best thrillers for February 2024 — racial justice avengers go rogue |newspaper=The Times |url=https://archive.today/20240221165340/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-best-thrillers-for-february-2024-an-ingenious-sleeping-beauty-whodunnit-2gtksjmcg |access-date=2024-02-21 |language=en |issn=0140-0460}} Other reviews were also less than effusive. Writing in The Washington Post, author Nora Krug said of the story that "the plot drags on," and "the setup is complicated," concluding that readers may "quickly be hoping for end of story."{{Cite news |last=Krug |first=Nora |date=18 February 2024 |title=A.J. Finn had a spectacular rise and fall. Now he has a new novel. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/18/end-story-aj-finn-review/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=20 February 2024 |archive-date=20 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220202008/https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2024/02/18/end-story-aj-finn-review/ |url-status=live }}