Speculative Fiction

What if with every person you met, after just one touch, you have a vision of the last time you’ll see each other? Ever. Normally, these visions are innocent—two friends just drifting apart, a random stranger that brushed past you then never crossed your path again.

But not today.

When I accidentally touch him, within only moments of our first meeting, I’m bombarded by visions of his death.

And from what I can see, I’m the reason he dies.

Now I just need to figure out why, and how to stop this from happening. Because not only am I to blame, but his very last words to me are...I love you.

‘To Whatever End’ is premised on the paranormal but very intriguing idea that a person could see beyond the tangible through touch…up to the end of a relationship or of a life. At least, it was an interesting one that deserved a bit more detail that wasn’t quite afforded here, as Lindsey Frydman chose to focus more on character development, namely, Quinn’s obsession with trying to end her supernatural ‘curse’ by trying out different combinations of pushing away a guy that she likes in order to save him.

Much of the book continued in this vein: slow development into Quinn and Griffin’s relationship, Quinn’s increasing panic with the stalker and several threatening notes that makes her believe that they are both hurtling towards tragedy. But Frydman didn’t really give credence to this paranormal gift of Quinn’s in any case despite having set it up very well, bringing the story round through a series of events that suggested that Quinn’s ‘powers’ might have really be grounded in something otherworldly, tempered with what individuals make out of their own realities.

As a result, ‘To Whatever End’ felt too much like a story composed of dangling loose ends – none of which really tied up solidly by the end – up until the climax that seemed like a convenient (and unbelievable) explanation of what really was affecting Quinn (or not). I was left befuddled more than satisfied; this turned out to be a story that held mind-bending potential, but never reached the stars.