Back to THE FUTURE
THIS GRITTY PAGE-TURNER GOES BACK AND FORWARD IN TIME
Social commentary is blended with crime and intrigue in this gritty page-turner. This Is How It Ends has a particularly interesting structure as it’s told from the points of view of two women. One character’s story goes forward in time while the other’s goes backwards.
There are twists of course, but it’s the then-and-now set up that really keeps the reader struggling to bring all the threads of the plot together.
Ella is a young activist with a strong following and plenty of enemies. At the moment she’s campaigning to help the residents of an ageing London tower block who are facing eviction so the building can be torn down and replaced by luxury apartments.
Molly is a seasoned campaigner, remaining in her shabby flat in the condemned building until the bitter end. She’s become almost a surrogate mother to Ella.
The story begins at what is meant to be a moment of triumph for the two women. They’re celebrating having raised the money to fund a book project and are throwing a rooftop party for their patrons. But Ella is in trouble. There has been an incident and a man is now dead. Desperate for help, it’s Molly she calls on.
Rather than admitting all to the police, who they think would welcome a chance to imprison such troublemakers, they hide the body in an abandoned lift shaft.
Molly’s story tells of what she does next, her fear of being caught and her worries about Ella as the days go by.
Meanwhile Ella’s story reaches into the past and reveals some of how she got to this point. The tensions rise as mistrust grows between the two women.
This is a novel that feels very much of the moment, providing food for thought as well as thrills and spills. All of the author’s social commentary could easily have got a bit preachy but actually it’s handled really well and never gets in the way of the relentless ramping up of tension.
I particularly liked the character of Molly, who is fiercely fighting middle-age as well as for her causes. The relationship between her and Ella is subtly nuanced.
And, yes, it kept me guessing – every time I thought I had a grip on things, the plot would spin again and I’d be left speculating, right up to the final dramatic moments.