WHERE YOU END is a taut psychological thriller from Abbott Kahler, a pseudonym for bestselling nonfiction author Karen Abbott. I am pleased to report that her debut novel is a success, with plenty of plot twists and revelations.

In March 1983, identical twins Kat and Jude Bird were in a terrible car accident that nearly ended Jude’s life. It did cost Kat her memory of nearly everything that had occurred prior to the crash, and she is having a difficult time of it. From nearly watching her sister die in the hospital to fumbling through her own life each day, it has been quite an ordeal. They live in a small apartment on the outskirts of Philadelphia and have no family to speak of. Kat learned from Jude that their father walked out on them when they were quite young, and their mother was killed by a reckless teen driver. They are truly on their own.

"WHERE YOU END is an enigma of a novel that bears the face of a psychological thriller while containing all the tropes of a family drama full of secrets."

Because this is a story about memory and time, there is a dual narrative that begins over a dozen years prior to the accident. We get to see Kat and Jude as young girls growing up in a mostly broken household. However, it is not broken in the typical dysfunctional way. Both parents are quite quirky. Their father is a scientific genius who once traveled the world pitching a special kind of helmet that promised certain powers. Their mother has gone completely off the deep end in the New Age direction and is the local leader of a self-help group/cult practicing what is called The Plan. Most of the girls’ formative years are spent surrounded by other children of the parents who make up The Plan. It is here where the secrets and truths about Kat and Jude lie.

Returning to the present day, Jude takes care of people's houses, while Kat bumbles around still trying to find herself. In doing so, she comes across a few recurring characters. The first is Nancy, a young lady around her age who is collecting for a charity. They continue to cross paths in the neighborhood, and Nancy even tries to help her by suggesting she visit a psychic who might be able to tell her about herself. This is of interest to Kat because she has begun to think that Jude could be lying to her about certain things.

Kat also comes upon a local bar at the behest of Sab, a young gentleman who invites her to the competitive and pricey game of high-stakes poker. Things are okay until Kat loses big one time and smashes up the bar in a fit of rage on her way out. Sab recognizes that she is literally not herself and cannot understand or control her emotions at times. This leads him to take her to a weekly meeting where others can speak openly about their problems such as anger management.

Abbott Kahler does a great job with the plot device of amnesia to slowly lift the veil of truth with each passing chapter. As we learn more about the girls' childhoods and their negative experiences with The Plan, it becomes increasingly evident that something big happened in the past that Jude is keeping from Kat.

WHERE YOU END is an enigma of a novel that bears the face of a psychological thriller while containing all the tropes of a family drama full of secrets. The suspense lies in the unveiling of these secrets and watching as Kat (along with readers) puts everything together to determine what is really going on. I look forward to more forays into fiction from Kahler.