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xalrynne's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Pitched as a dark academia thriller, This Is How We End Things is a fast-paced murder mystery with lots of twists.
The story takes place at a university among a cohort of six PhD students who are studying the psychology of deception. Which means they are all very skilled at lying. And then one of them ends up murdered.
Even the most skilled liar can’t keep their darkest secrets from coming to light during the investigation, and each student has secrets they’re aiming to keep hidden.
I really enjoyed this novel, but I wouldn’t describe it as dark academia. It has an academic setting and there’s a murder, but I don’t feel like it has the right vibe to fit in with the dark academia subgenre. For one, the main POV in the novel is a detective, and I feel like in dark academia, there are no detectives right off the bat. The focus was less on the students’ POVs and actions and more on what the two detectives were discovering as they were investigating the case. We did get POVs from the six students as well as some other minor characters, but I did feel like the “main character” of this book was Detective Larson.
Overall, though, this book was a quick read that really captured my interest. I read it very quickly and had a great time trying to solve the mystery along with the characters.
The story takes place at a university among a cohort of six PhD students who are studying the psychology of deception. Which means they are all very skilled at lying. And then one of them ends up murdered.
Even the most skilled liar can’t keep their darkest secrets from coming to light during the investigation, and each student has secrets they’re aiming to keep hidden.
I really enjoyed this novel, but I wouldn’t describe it as dark academia. It has an academic setting and there’s a murder, but I don’t feel like it has the right vibe to fit in with the dark academia subgenre. For one, the main POV in the novel is a detective, and I feel like in dark academia, there are no detectives right off the bat. The focus was less on the students’ POVs and actions and more on what the two detectives were discovering as they were investigating the case. We did get POVs from the six students as well as some other minor characters, but I did feel like the “main character” of this book was Detective Larson.
Overall, though, this book was a quick read that really captured my interest. I read it very quickly and had a great time trying to solve the mystery along with the characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent