The Girlfriend Book Ends With A Shocking Death

Meeting a significant other’s parents can be daunting. But in Prime Video’s new series The Girlfriend, it gets downright deadly.

Based on Michelle Frances’ novel of the same name, the thriller follows the tension-filled power struggle between Cherry, a young woman in a passionate relationship, and Laura, her new beau’s mom, who will do anything to keep them apart.

Both the show and the book follow that conflict to shocking (but different) ends. Want to compare as you watch along? Here’s The Girlfriend book ending and plot summary.

A Different Kind Of Love Triangle

Laura is a successful filmmaker based in London. She and her husband, Howard, are parents to a medical resident, Daniel, of whom Laura is especially protective after her daughter, Rose, died of illness as a newborn.

When Daniel begins dating a real estate agent named Cherry, Laura disapproves, suspecting that Cherry is only interested in him for his money. She’s right to be concerned, because Cherry — who did not grow up with Daniel’s privilege — is indeed obsessed with marrying Daniel to obtain his lifestyle, and tries to drive a wedge between him and his mom to do so.

When Cherry takes Daniel on a white-water rafting trip on Laura’s birthday, she accidentally knocks him off the boat and into rocks. He’s in a coma for more than five months, but miraculously survives. But before he wakes up, Laura urges Cherry to take a break out of town, during which time she claims Daniel died, and they held the funeral.

Laura takes Daniel to France to recuperate. But after they return, Cherry learns that Daniel is still alive. She gets back together with Daniel and vows to ruin Laura’s life in revenge.

Cherry & Laura’s Final Fight

Cherry sabotages Laura’s work by killing a puppy and sending it to Laura’s colleague, claiming it was from her. On the personal front, she writes a letter that leads to Howard asking for a divorce. She won’t be satisfied until Laura is completely out of the picture.

Meanwhile, Daniel learns from Cherry’s mom that she will indeed do anything to get what she wants, including, she implies, ruin (or end) Laura’s life.

To prevent Daniel from learning the whole truth from Laura, Cherry drugs Daniel one night and goes to Laura’s house to confront her, planning to goad Laura to charge at her and fall into a hole in the garden, causing a seemingly accidental death. During the struggle, Cherry ends up falling to her death in a final and surprising twist.