I'm Thinking of Ending Things

I could not predict this book. I love how dark and disturbing it was. It led me down a path of psychological vertigo. By the end, I had exhausted all possible predictions and guessed wrong.

The shock of the twist wrung me out dry. I’m a big fan of books that can take you on a turbulent journey and then deposit you onto uneven ground, leaving you to question your own reality. Was it all real, or was it a part of some awful, waking dream?

Few books have gotten under my skin like this one. Every page brims with eerie trepidation and a growing sense of dread. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read it again.

"Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can't fake a thought."

During a trip to meet her boyfriend's parents, a young woman considers ending the relationship. The anxiety of meeting a partner's family is universally relatable, but Reid's debut novel takes this fear to a whole new level. Every page brims with… show more.

Before it was a Netflix movie (psst! The book is way better), this slim little book creeped me the hell out. It’s a simple premise: A woman is driving with her boyfriend to meet his parents for the first time, only she’s not really sure the relationship is going to work out. However, this psychological thriller will have you on the edge of your seat from the very beginning—only you won’t know why until the very end. I’m shivering just thinking about it.

My wife will frequently finish a book, close the cover, exhale deeply--then open it again and start over, diving straight in to a second read. For the longest time, I didn't understand it and she could never quite articulate why she did this. It was good or she wasn't ready to leave the characters behind or that classic spousal response of "just because." When I finished I'm Thinking of Ending Things it finally clicked. I closed the cover, exhaled deeply, and thought "I'm pulling a Jessica" as I dove right back in.

A hit debut novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things will have you questioning everything—both the relationship of the couple in the book and maybe your own. Narrated by Jake’s unnamed, new girlfriend, the story winds you through the gripping trip they take where she meets his parents. It’s not always a super-fast-paced thriller but it will keep you turning the pages because, for most people (who haven’t seen the movie), you won’t see what’s coming. I love a thriller you can read before bed without nightmares, but will still have you waking up and thinking about it.