Fight Club. The Usual Suspects. The Sixth Sense. These movies are all so popular because they were able to master one of the most difficult techniques for any writer to pull off: the twist ending. It is so, so hard for a writer to pull of a twist that is so shocking that it totally throws us for a loop. But, when it’s done well, there’s nothing else quite like it. We reached out to the Savvy Reader community to compile a list of the books with the absolute best twist endings out there. Here’s the list of books with (spoiler-free!) endings that totally floored the Savvy Reader community!
Joanne: The Silent Patient
Shauna: The Chestnut Man. Honestly did not see the reveal ahead of time. Soren Svestrop did a fantastic job with the reveal. I cannot wait for more of his books to be translated into English.
Brianna: The Wives by Tarryn Fisher
Kimberley: Loved the “twist” in The Last Mrs. Parrish. So clever!
Susan: I think for me it was Lucy Foley’s The Guest List. I had an actual, out loud “ohhhhhhhh” moment. Did not see that coming…
Ashley: The One by John Marrs and When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole
Nikki: Actually did not see the Last Time I Lied twist coming at all! Usually I at least have some inkling but not this time.
Kelly: The Case of the Velvet Claws by Erie Stanley Gardner in 1933.
Marisol: Good Girls Lie. The ending had me shook.
Lynda: Life of Pi by Yann Martel totally blew my mind! I did not like the book and then the twist came and I LOVED it!
Liz: The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead had a twist at the end that really surprised me.
Alice: Sister Dear by Hannah Mary McKinnon!
Darlene: The one that I just finished reading: Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson.
Colleen: I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid. I felt like it was perfection and it instantly became a top 5 ever read.
Dana: The Silent Patient!
Jesse: The Woman in the Window and I’m Thinking of Ending Things are the first two that come to mind!
Tammy: Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger
Becca: The Guest List by Lucy Foley
That is a lot of really great thrillers! And, by the looks of it, The Guest List might be the one that we found the most shocking!
What do you think, Savvy Readers? Did your favourite twist ending make the cut? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @SavvyReader!
Happy reading,
Jesse
Oh I see a good amount of thrillers that are on my TBR. I really can’t wait to read some of these.
I liked the twist on “Truth be Told”, by Kia Abdullah, “The Death of Vivek Oji”, by Akwaeke Emezi and the twist on “Unraveling Oliver”, by Liz Nugent.
Try “I Let You Go”. You’ll find you are not reading the story you thought were reading!