Belgian author Barbara Abel’s new domestic thriller, AFTER THE END, is a standalone sequel to her debut book Mother's Instinct. As Nora settles into her new home with her two children, she becomes friendly with the neighbors next door and enters into a dangerous game of manipulation and madness. Nora, her teenage daughter and her young son are adjusting to their new lives. After separating from her husband, Nora is determined to make it on her own and accepts a job as a classroom assistant. As she juggles work and home life, she must rely on her neighbors to help with the children. Tiphaine, Sylvain and their son Milo Geniot are the neighbors next door. Milo is not their real son, and the family has secrets that stretch back eight years and a few deaths. As Nora gets to know the Geniots, and her daughter starts a relationship with their son, the two families become intertwined in a dangerous situation. Nora’s estranged husband has suspicions about the neighbors, and his inquiries light the fuse on an explosive encounter. AFTER THE END is a twisty, dark, domestic thriller that asks: Do you really ever know your neighbors? This sequel to Mother's Instinct can be read alone. However, the story will make more sense if the books are read in succession. The characters are immersed in the minutia of their daily lives – work, school, homework, dinner, etc., but their lives are overshadowed by dark secrets, dangerous relationships, and bad decisions. Nora is fiercely protective of her children, but she lacks sound judgment. Her estranged husband is trying to protect his family. However, his impulsiveness leads to tragedy. And at the center of it all is the neighboring Genoit family, living with guilt, desperation, and the fear that their past actions will be exposed. This creates a highly volatile setting with unstable characters, and the final showdown is a devious action by a truly diabolical person. The plot moves swiftly, with engaging writing and complex characters who constantly surprise readers. AFTER THE END is an addictive spiraling journey into chaos on a quiet suburban street.
In this riveting domestic thriller, a standalone sequel to Mothers’ Instinct, a recent divorcée and her two children befriend their new neighbors, only to realize there\'s something dangerously unsettling about the couple next door.
After separating from her work-obsessed husband, Nora Depardieu is ready for a fresh start. With her vivacious teenage daughter and eight-year-old son in tow, she moves into half of a cozy two-family house in a tranquil suburb and goes to work as a teacher’s aide.
Being a working single mother is a challenge, and Nora is grateful when her new next-door neighbor, Tiphaine Geniot, offers to watch the kids. The arrangement thrills Nora’s daughter, who has begun a mutual flirtation with Tiphaine’s fifteen-year-old son, Milo.
But Nora doesn’t know that the Geniots are a disturbed couple whose lives were destroyed by a devastating loss. She also doesn’t know a tragic secret about Milo that is also connected to her new house.
As the truth of the past come to light, what Nora doesn’t know could kill her. . . .
Translated from the French by Natasha Lehrer
No excerpt available.
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