Bookish Questions – Do you like twist endings?
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Do you like twist endings?
I love a twist ending! Finding a book that doesn’t end the way you expect is a nice change. Particularly when so many books these days have plots you can see right from the first paragraph. The best plot twist I’ve read recently, came in the form of Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. The story of Bernadette’s life and disappearance is told through found emails and letters, all the way to a conclusion I wasn’t expecting. I vote you give this one a read.
Do you like plot twists? What’s the best plot twist you’ve read recently?
A twist in the tale is always better than total predictability, as long as it makes sense. One of the things I dislike about some modern “cosy mystery” writers is that as you say, you can either see it coming from Page 1, or they pull their “twist” totally out of left field. Josephine Tey’s “Inspector Alan Grant” novels are good in that she gives the reader all the elements to solve the mystery, and yet in such a way that we are surprised. I read “The Man in the Queue” not long ago and really enjoyed it. George Simenon is good at the surprise ending that shouldn’t be, as well. I guess that’s why they’re still read and loved today. Agatha Christie, OTOH, is sometimes guilty of rabbit-out-of-hat “surprise” endings that consist of hiding essential info up her sleeve until the last minute or coming out with something totally weird.