Heather’s Bookshelf: An End to Etcetera
Author: B. Robert Conklin
Released: 11/30/22
Genre: Psychological Suspense
“He likes the idea of the recorder. It makes him think that all of these words won’t be wasted. They won’t be flying through the air like birds. It would mean all of his words wouldn’t come back home. They would be somewhere else. They would be out of his head forever.”
“An End to Etcetera” introduces Selena Harris, a psychologist who has been referred to counsel a 13-year-old boy named Leal Porter after he confesses to drowning another young boy named Thuster.
There’s no evidence to support Leal’s confession, and Selena’s not quite sure what to make of the young man. She believes he’s made up Thuster or that he’s part of his imagination. But there’s something nagging at her that she might be wrong.
Selena’s also got her fill of troubles at home and past traumas. She’s going through a divorce, pregnant, and recently moved back to her hometown to care for her father after her mother died. Will she be able to negotiate everything happening at home while also negotiating what’s going on with Leal? Will she find the truth behind Leal’s recollection?
Trigger Warning: violence, sexual situations, smoking, alcohol use, miscarriage, still birth, sexual assault
Overall, I found this story to be compelling. Selena is an interesting character, especially in the role of psychologist. She has a good heart, but is clearly flawed and damaged by her past traumas. She’s filled with self doubt which only complicates matters when it comes to her sessions with Leal. And then there’s Leal… I didn’t know what to believe from the very beginning. The details that he recounts are so vivid and at times evidence of a juvenile's development/dreams, but consistently shadowed by a nefarious detail. He states things in a way that you can insinuate something worse happened but never comes out and clearly states it. However, I did not find Leal to be especially likable. I didn’t find myself drawn to him or hoping he was telling the truth, I just wanted to find out what the truth was. The other characters in the story are all pretty terrible, just in different ways and in varying degrees. The whole book is set in this tone of pending doom that you’ll never know will come. It kept me pushing forward through the story, though the pacing is on the slower side (which Selena herself actually gets frustrated by). The ending is a wild ride and while it feels a little rushed and maybe a little out there, it was certainly an entertaining read.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A slow burn keeps you guessing until the end in this psychological suspense that loses a little steam by the seemingly rushed conclusion
Want to learn more about the author?
Check out my interview with B. Robert Conklin
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Find it for purchase here or Kindle Unlimited
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