See It End

PRAISE FOR BRIANNA LABUSKES What Can’t Be Seen “The book’s well-constructed plot matches its three-dimensional characters. Psychological-thriller fans will be eager for more.” —Publishers Weekly A Familiar Sight “A horrific brew for readers willing to immerse themselves in it.” —Kirkus Reviews “A strong plot and unforgettable characters make this a winner. Labuskes is on a roll.” —Publishers Weekly “A Familiar Sight has everything I crave in a thriller: a shocking, addictive female lead; unexpected twists that snapped off the page; and an ending that made me gasp out loud. I never saw it coming, but it was perfectly in sync with the razor-sharp balance between creepy and compelling that Labuskes carries throughout the novel. This is a one-sitting read.” —Jess Lourey, Amazon Charts bestselling author Her Final Words “Labuskes skillfully ratchets up the suspense. Readers will eagerly await her next.” —Publishers Weekly “Labuskes offers an intense mystery with an excellent character in Lucy, who methodically uncovers layers of deceit while trusting no one.” —Library Journal Girls of Glass “Excellent . . . Readers who enjoy having their expectations upset will be richly rewarded.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) It Ends with Her “Once in a while a character comes along who gets under your skin and refuses to let go. This is the case with Brianna Labuskes’s Clarke Sinclair—a cantankerous, rebellious, and somehow endearingly likable FBI agent with a troubled past. I was immediately pulled into Clarke’s broken, shadow-filled world and her quest for justice and redemption. A stunning thriller, It Ends with Her is not to be missed.” —Heather Gudenkauf, New York Times bestselling author “It Ends with Her is a gritty, riveting roller-coaster ride of a book. Brianna Labuskes has created a layered, gripping story around a cast of characters that readers will cheer for. Her crisp prose and quick plot kept me reading with my heart in my throat. Highly recommended for fans of smart thrillers with captivating heroines.” —Nicole Baart, author of Little Broken Things “An engrossing psychological thriller filled with twists and turns. I couldn’t put it down! The characters were filled with emotional depth. An impressive debut!” —Elizabeth Blackwell, author of In the Shadow of Lakecrest OTHER TITLES BY BRIANNA LABUSKES Dr. Gretchen White Novels What Can’t Be Seen A Familiar Sight Stand-Alone Novels Her Final Words Black Rock Bay Girls of Glass It Ends with Her This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Otherwise, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Text copyright © 2023 by Brianna Labuskes All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. Published by Thomas & Mercer, Seattle www.apub.com Amazon, the Amazon logo, and Thomas & Mercer are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc., or its affiliates. ISBN-13: 9781542035545 (paperback) ISBN-13: 9781542035538 (digital) Cover design by Rex Bonomelli Cover image: © monkeybusinessimages / Getty Images To Charlotte Herscher For the many ways you’ve helped me grow as a writer. And for loving Gretchen as much as I do. CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWO LAUREN CHAPTER THREE GRETCHEN CHAPTER FOUR MARTHA CHAPTER FIVE GRETCHEN CHAPTER SIX LAUREN CHAPTER SEVEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER EIGHT LAUREN CHAPTER NINE GRETCHEN CHAPTER TEN LAUREN CHAPTER ELEVEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWELVE MARTHA CHAPTER THIRTEEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN LAUREN CHAPTER FIFTEEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN LAUREN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN MARTHA CHAPTER NINETEEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWENTY LAUREN CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO LAUREN CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR LAUREN CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX MARTHA CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT LAUREN CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE GRETCHEN CHAPTER THIRTY LAUREN CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE GRETCHEN CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO MARTHA CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE GRETCHEN CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR LAUREN CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE GRETCHEN CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX LAUREN CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT LAUREN CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE GRETCHEN CHAPTER FORTY MARTHA CHAPTER FORTY-ONE GRETCHEN CHAPTER FORTY-TWO LAUREN CHAPTER FORTY-THREE GRETCHEN CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR LAUREN CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE GRETCHEN CHAPTER FORTY-SIX LAUREN CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN GRETCHEN CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT LAUREN CHAPTER FORTY-NINE MARTHA CHAPTER FIFTY GRETCHEN CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE LAUREN CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO GRETCHEN CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE LAUREN CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR GRETCHEN CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE MARTHA CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX GRETCHEN CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN LAUREN CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT GRETCHEN CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE LAUREN CHAPTER SIXTY GRETCHEN CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE LAUREN CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO GRETCHEN CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE MARTHA CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR GRETCHEN CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE LAUREN CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX GRETCHEN ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE AUTHOR CHAPTER ONE GRETCHEN Now Dr. Gretchen White wondered if her steak knife was sharp enough to open up her date’s carotid artery. She lovingly pictured the warm splash of blood that would follow, the flap of serrated skin, the goldfish gape of his mouth. “So then you own the digital image . . .” The man went on, unaware that he was one more migraine-inducing story away from a violent end. For most people, the threat was hyperbolic, but Gretchen knew she had to remove herself from the situation before her control truly slipped. She was often just a hairbreadth away from consigning that nonviolent part of her diagnosis as a sociopath to hell. She had made it to thirty-eight years old without having murdered anyone, though, and this sad excuse for a dinner companion wasn’t going to break her streak. Gretchen stood while the man was midsentence, and walked away from the table, the quick click of her stilettos matching the pulse that had spiked with rage. From a lifetime of experience, she knew the emotion was disproportionate, knew it would simmer into almost nothing if she gave it even a little bit of time. But while it burned bright, she decided she would aim it at the person who should really take the blame for tonight. Detective Lauren Marconi, who tried to convince Gretchen she was normal, that she could sit in a trendy restaurant and pretend politeness for the length of an entire dinner. Gretchen had to put up with things far worse than a dull