Domestic Thrillers The Night It Ended by Katie Garner

Finding the truth seems impossible when her own dark past has her seeing lies everywhere she looks…

From the outside, criminal psychiatrist Dr. Madeline Pine’s life appears picture-perfect—she has a beautiful family, a successful mental health practice, and a growing reputation as an expert in female violence. But when she’s called to help investigate a mysterious death at a boarding school for troubled teenage girls, Madeline hesitates. She’s been through tragic cases before, and the one she was entangled in last year nearly destroyed her…

Yet she can’t turn away when she hears about Charley Ridley. After Charley was found barefoot and in pajamas at the bottom of an icy ravine on campus, the police ruled her death a tragic accident. But the private investigator hired by her mother has his doubts. If it were Madeline’s daughter who died, she’d want to know why.

Arriving at the secluded campus in upstate New York, Madeline’s met by an unhelpful skeleton staff and the four other students staying on campus during winter break. Each seems to hold a piece of the puzzle. And everyone has secrets—Madeline included. But who would kill to protect them?

TheBigThrill had a chance to catch up with Katie Garner for a quick chat about her debut thriller, THE NIGHT IT ENDED:

Katie Garner, Credit Kyle Giacomarra

In addition to a great read, what do you hope readers will take away from this story?

THE NIGHT IT ENDED dives heavily into questions surrounding what it means to be at the bottom and what you think you need to help you climb out of it. I’d love for readers to close the cover and feel more comfortable talking about mental health and to not feel ashamed to seek help, that depression and anxiety are very common and need to be accepted with no shame or stigma attached. You never know what those around you may be dealing with.

Can you pinpoint a moment or incident that sparked the idea for this book?

I had the idea for THE NIGHT IT ENDED many years before I actually began writing it. One day, I had a lightning moment where I suddenly had the urge to do some urban exploration. I came across an abandoned castle in the Catskills and knew I had to write a book set in this location, but I didn’t know what. I had a feeling I wanted a boarding school book, something dark, something that had meat, and wasn’t a story you could easily forget. I put my hopes and dreams for the story away for a few years and wrote other ideas. Then one day, Madeline very vividly came to me and THE NIGHT IT ENDED was born.

What can you share about what you’re working on next?

My next novel is something I can’t wait to talk about, but I don’t want to give too much away yet. I can say there’s a female main character going through some very stressful life events—there’s also a super creepy house and a high body count. Naturally.

Katie Garner was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. She has a degree in Art History from Ramapo College and is certified to teach high school Art. She hoards paperbacks, coffee mugs, and dog toys and can be seen holding at least one of those things most of the time. Katie lives in a New Jersey river town with her husband, baby boy, and shih-poo where she writes books about women and their dark, secret selves. THE NIGHT IT ENDED is her debut novel.

To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website