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Book Summary and Reviews of Where You End by Abbott Kahler

Where You End by Abbott Kahler

Where You End

A Novel

by Abbott Kahler

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  • Published:
  • Jan 2024, 336 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

From bestselling nonfiction author Abbott Kahler comes a spellbinding fiction debut: an unusual form of amnesia upends the lives of identical twins, forcing them to face the indelible, dangerous shadow of the past.

When Kat Bird wakes up from a coma, she sees her mirror image: Jude, her twin sister. Jude's face and name are the only memories Kat has from before her accident. As Kat tries to make sense of things, she believes Jude will provide all the answers to her most pressing questions:

Who am I?
Where am I?
What actually happened?

Amid this tragedy, Jude sees an irresistible opportunity: she can give her sister a brand-new past, one worlds away from the lives they actually led. She spins tales of an idyllic childhood, exotic travels, and a bright future.

But if everything was so perfect, who are the mysterious people following Kat? And what explains her uncontrollable flashes of violent anger, which begin to jeopardize a sweet new romance?

Duped by the one person she trusted, Kat must try to untangle fact from fiction. Yet as she pulls at the threads of Jude's elaborate tapestry, she has no idea of the catastrophe she's inviting. At stake is not just the twins' relationship, but their very survival.

Intensely creepy and beautifully written, Abbott Kahler's Where You End is an unforgettable tale of intrigue, revenge, and the quest for redemption.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
  1. Do you know any twins? If so, are they identical or fraternal? Do they share a secret language or have an eerie connection in some way?
  2. How were Kat and Jude similar? How were they different? Do you think their personalities complemented each other?
  3. What would you have done in Jude's position? Would you have told Kat the truth right away, or would you have invented a fanciful new history?
  4. How do you think growing up in The Plan shaped Kat's and Jude's personalities? How did the lessons learned in The Plan follow the twins into adulthood? Would they have been capable of committing murder if not for The Plan?
  5. The Plan was inspired by a few different cults and self-help movements that were popular in the ...
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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Despite working with themes that often slide into the absurd—family cults, creepy twins, amnesia—Kahler never puts a foot wrong. Readers will be rapt." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Artful, evocative prose and realistically damaged characters contribute to the book's potency. At once a vertiginous paranoia tale and a melancholic meditation on identity." —Kirkus Reviews

"A perfectly paced, addictive thriller with a vicious twist." ―Paula Hawkins

This information about Where You End was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Elisabeth Gardner

In one sitting
This book is filled with the unusual. Unusual characters, unusual scenarios, unusual outcomes. Just when you are certain you have it all figured out, down to the secret language, you get (a pleasant) whiplash from another turn. I couldn’t put it down and read 300 pages in one Girl Scout cookies fueled sitting.

I have 5 sisters, but now I want a 6th….Jude!

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Author Information

Abbott Kahler Author Biography

Abbott Kahler, formerly writing as Karen Abbott, is the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City; American Rose; Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy; and The Ghosts of Eden Park, which was an Edgar Award finalist for best fact crime and a finalist for the Ohioana Book Award. Her next nonfiction book, Then Came the Devil, is forthcoming in 2025. She is also the host of Remus: The Mad Bootleg King, a forthcoming podcast from iHeartRadio about legendary Jazz Age bootlegger George Remus. A native of Philadelphia, she lives in New York City and in Greenport, New York, where she is at work on her next novel.

Link to Abbott Kahler's Website

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