End of Story

End of Story—A. J. Finn’s second psychological thriller—was published in February 2024. It follows Nicky Hunter, who is invited by controversial mystery writer Sebastian Trapp to write his memoirs before he dies. Nicky, however, wants to solve the 20-year mystery of the disappearance of his first wife and son. The second point of view is Trapp’s adult daughter, Madeleine, who, despite preferring to keep family secrets hidden, begins to realize her memory of the past may not be the reality she wants.

This guide is based on the 2024 HarperCollins Kindle edition.

Note: Out of regard for clarity and in adherence to the source text, this guide refers to Cole Trapp with masculine pronouns and nouns.

Content Warning: This novel contains violence, suicide and suicidal thoughts, including an attempt by a minor, murder, traumatic past events, disappearance of family members, psychological distress, emotional and physical child abuse, and bullying.

Plot Summary

Nicky Hunter, a detective-fiction expert, arrives at the Trapp house in San Francisco to write Sebastian Trapp’s memoirs. Sebastian is rumored to have killed his wife and son 20 years ago, as their disappearance was never solved. Nicky is greeted by Sebastian’s beautiful second wife, Diana, and taken to Sebastian, who sits in a beautiful library surrounded by relics from his fictional detective series and mementos from his personal life. Sebastian says he hopes he and Nicky can solve a few old mysteries. Nicky is put in the attic—the room of the missing son, Cole. Sebastian’s nephew Freddy drives Nicky into the city, where she eats and reviews the mystery of what happened 20 years ago on New Year’s Eve. Hope, Sebastian’s first wife, was dropped off at a liquor store after midnight. Cole was sleeping over at his cousin Freddy’s house. Both Hope and Cole were missing by the morning. Sebastian was cleared, and 10 years later, he published another book. Five years later, he married his first wife’s assistant, Diana. Upon returning to the house, Nicky meets Madeleine, Sebastian’s daughter, who lives in the mansion after withdrawing from her legal program.

Sebastian takes Nicky to the local men’s club for lunch and talks about his parents. Diana gives Nicky a photo album: She says that Cole and Hope had an inside joke about the phrase “Cherchez la Femme,” which Cole used whenever he was looking for his mother. Later, Madeleine brings Sebastian a package addressed to him. Inside, there is a red origami butterfly with the words “Cherchez la Femme” on it. Sebastian crushes it. Madeleine gets a text that addresses her as Magdala, Cole’s private nickname for her. The sender says they are Cole.

Diana reveals that she lost her first husband and an unborn child in a car accident. She shows Nicky old home movies of the Trapp family that reveal Cole being bullied by other kids. Sebastian appears unable to understand his son’s pain. Nicky gets to know Freddy, thinking he, like Madeleine, is stunted because of proximity to the family. She talks to Isaac Murry, Sebastian’s former research assistant, who reveals Cole’s attempt at death by suicide. Diana asks Madeleine to move to another country with her. Nicky finds Cole’s diary, which reveals the extent of the bullying he experienced and Cole’s deep dislike of himself.

Nicky goes sailing with Freddy’s friend, Jonathan. Afterwards, they watch a movie based on one of Sebastian’s books. Jonathan expresses his ideas about what happened to Hope and Cole. Meanwhile, Madeleine hides, watching as Diana views another painful home video of Cole’s birthday party: Sebastian makes cruel comments to his son, and Hope tries to boost his spirits.

Freddy finds Diana and tells her that he suspects his mother, Simone, has always been in love with Sebastian. He kisses Diana, who makes him leave. Madeleine texts Cole about Nicky; he tells her to let Nicky stay but to keep her enemies close.

Sebastian takes Nicky to a low rock maze built into a bluff on the coast where he proposed to Hope, conceived Cole, and where he and Madeleine go sunrising. He talks about his daily struggle with thoughts of death by suicide. Madeleine and Diana watch home videos from the night Cole and Hope disappeared: Cole gives Hope a necklace that says “Cherchez la Femme” on it, but Sebastian mercilessly berates him. At a Midsummer party the Trapps give, Madeleine looks for young men who could potentially be Cole. She meets and suspects Jonathan. Simone says she borrowed jewelry from Madeleine without permission to match the Medusa costume the shop mistakenly sent her. Jonathan and Nicky go upstairs and kiss. On their way back to the party, they stop in the library and find a person wearing a devilish mask of Sebastian’s fictional villain. The masked stranger tries to run, but Nicky tackles and punches him. She rips off the mask, revealing Freddy, who runs, destroying a huge champagne tower as he goes. Later, the family discovers another paper butterfly on the typewriter that says, “Tell them what you did to her” (214). Sebastian collapses. Simone insists on staying the night. Madeleine won’t answer her door, so Simone gives Madeleine’s jewelry to Diana. At midnight, Nicky observes Diana looking curiously at something in her hand.

The next morning Diana is found floating in the koi pond, dead. Detective Springer—and her partner Timbo Martinez, a young, blonde man—arrive to investigate. Springer believes her death to be a homicide despite a note in Diana’s writing that says she can’t go on. Nicky offers to leave, but Sebastian asks her to stay. She and Jonathan go to a bar that Freddy frequents. The bartender won’t talk about Freddy but warns Nicky that Jonathan is hiding something. A man follows Nicky, telling her that Freddy often carried takeout from a restaurant called The Tigress. While they look at pictures from the party, Nicky asks Simone if she’s always loved Sebastian. Simone says she has loved him since the day she met him—her wedding day. Madeleine reassures Nicky that Sebastian doesn’t want her to leave.

Nicky tracks Freddy to an apartment in Chinatown, where he has set up a studio broadcasting for fans of the Trapp mystery. She picks up a photo of herself, which is addressed to someone. Freddy runs away when he sees Nicky. She chases him through the street but loses him. The addressee on the photo informs Nicky that the masked seller, Freddy, sells items from the Trapp house.

Madeleine goes to Jonathan’s house and sees magazines addressed to someone with a different name. He gets mad at her, and she leaves. Later, her father tells her and Nicky that he is stopping his treatments. Cole texts Madeleine, instructing her to find and read his diary. She reads about the terrible bullying Cole suffered. She also finds a post card from someone named Sam Turner hidden in the diary’s binding.

Sebastian tells Nicky that he bullied Cole to toughen him up, which he regrets. Nicky goes to Betty’s bar to meet Freddy, who admits to having a substance use disorder. He will go into a rehabilitation facility that day. Later, Sebastian asks Nicky if she has all the answers yet; she says no. She helps him to his room using the elevator, but it stops, and the power goes out. Nicky says she hears footsteps running. When the elevator starts working, they exit and find an origami butterfly with the words “last chance” written on it. Madeleine arrives home, hears the yelling, and calls the police.

Later that night, Sebastian wakes Madeleine and takes her sunrising. Nicky finds a letter from Sebastian under her door; he says he killed his wife and child. She and Detective Martinez follow them. As the sun rises over Sebastian’s favorite maze by the ocean, he sends Madeleine away. She returns right as he’s about to shoot himself. Nicky and Martinez arrive, and Madeleine asks Martinez if he’s Cole and if he will forgive her. Nicky reveals that she is Cole, and she will forgive her. She recounts telling Hope that she didn’t belong in her body. Hope took her to a specialist in Seattle, Dr. Sam Turner, who started treatment. They planned to escape to Seattle, but Hope disappeared, and Nicky left alone.

When Nicky asks Sebastian where Simone got Hope’s “Cherchez la Femme” necklace, Madeleine confesses to killing Hope accidently and taking the necklace. She’d seen Hope leave, angrily confronted her, then pushed her. Hope hit her head, and Madeleine threw her body into the ocean. Simone borrowed it for the party without permission, and Diana recognized it, having just watched the home movie of Hope’s birthday. When Diana confronted Sebastian, he killed her to protect Madeleine. He tells Nicky that she is a good writer before shooting himself. Later, Nicky finds a manuscript Sebastian left for her—the final novel of his series. She begins to read.