"I'm Thinking of Ending Things is one of the best debut novels I've ever read. Iain Reid has crafted a tight, ferocious little book, with a persistent tenor of suspense that tightens and mounts toward its visionary, harrowing final pages" (Scott Heim, award-winning author of Mysterious Skin and We Disappear).
You will be scared. But you won’t know why…
I’m thinking of ending things. Once this thought arrives, it stays. It sticks. It lingers. It’s always there. Always.
Jake once said, “Sometimes a thought is closer to truth, to reality, than an action. You can say anything, you can do anything, but you can’t fake a thought.”
And here’s what I’m thinking: I don’t want to be here.
In this smart, suspenseful, and intense literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.

In this smart and intense literary suspense novel, Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic
, and Lionel Shriver’s
,
your dread and unease will mount with every passing page” (
) of this edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric,
pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go.

We don’t get visitors. Not out here. We never have.
In Iain Reid’s second haunting, philosophical puzzle of a novel, set in the near-future, Junior and Henrietta live a comfortable, solitary life on their farm, far from the city lights, but in close quarters with each other. One day, a stranger from the city arrives with alarming news: Junior has been randomly selected to travel far away from the farm...very far away. The most unusual part? Arrangements have already been made so that when he leaves, Henrietta won't have a chance to miss him, because she won't be left alone—not even for a moment. Henrietta will have company. Familiar company.

J'ai peur. Je me sens un peu fou. Je ne suis pas lucide. Les hypothèses sont justes. Je sens grandir ma peur.

Un garçon et une fille, dans une voiture lancée à travers la campagne enneigée. Il est absorbé par la route, elle est perturbée par des souvenirs brumeux, ainsi que par d'incessants appels provenant de son propre numéro. Parfois, ils parlent. S'aiment-ils ? Quelques heures plus tard, les voilà attablés face à leurs hôtes, ses parents à lui, dans une ferme reculée. La maison est glaciale, la mère se plaint d'entendre des voix, le couple stocke au sous-sol des peintures inquiétantes. Le fossé entre les deux amants se creuse, sous le poids de tous les non-dits. Et il y aussi cette angoisse, qui a point et ne cesse de grossir, jusqu'à ce que se produise l'innommable...