Start at the End by Emma Grey

Start at the End is an emotionally charged story about relationships and how we handle loss.

Audrey Sullivan is a gifted classical musician who dropped out of university after being the target of theft. For years, she has kept that part of her life closed until she meets Fraser Miller at a costume party. Fraser is an ocean scientist who happens to be divorced with a ten-year-old daughter, Parker. He also happens to be the brother of the man who betrayed her at university.

Between jobs and with nowhere to live, Audrey accepts an offer from Fraser to stay in his spare room until she finds something more suitable. It soon becomes clear that they have feelings for each other, and she reluctantly accepts a job as a live-in carer for Parker when she comes to stay with her father. Audrey doesn’t do children, but when she discovers Parker has a natural ability to play classical music on the piano, they form an unlikely and unbreakable bond. Parker reawakens Audrey’s need to create music again, and the two of them spend hours writing and playing music.

But as Audrey and Fraser’s relationship develops, a tragic accident happens, which sends the story spinning into parallel universes. The characters make choices that they would never have made. Both Fraser and Audrey are faced with questions about what might have happened if their lives had been taken, and yet the reader gets to see exactly what happens to each of them and the repercussions of the accident on Parker. There are so many “what ifs” in this story, especially as it slips into two separate versions of reality, each unfolding beside the other.

Start at the End is a cleverly crafted story, though it may be a little disjointed for some. More of a love story than a traditional romance, even though the author has given us a happy ending.

Reviewer: Carole Brungar

Allen & Unwin