I rarely put much value on being surprised because I don't read whodunits. But THE GOOD GIRL offered a very late twist that caught me up. Didn't see it coming by a country mile. THE GOOD GIRL is a story of a kidnapping that careens out of control. I liked it all the way through but the ending sealed the deal for me.

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What recent read surprised you?
I just finished reading THE BLACK LIZARD BIG BOOK OF LOCKED-ROOM MYSTERIES. There are plenty of surprising solutions in this 900+ page tome!
ReplyDeleteThe Terra Data, an SF space opera piece by E. C. Tubb had a surprise ending for me. I was very pleased.
ReplyDeleteWE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES by Karen Joy Fowler and STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel both had surprises.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
Read the Fowler on but afraid to try Station Eleven given the Ebola crisis. I love locked room mysteries. I may have to order that one.
ReplyDeleteNot Ebola, just the "Georgia Flu" that wipes out 99.9% of everyone. It is definitely your kind of book, with the travelling orchestra/Shakespeare company.
ReplyDeleteJeff M.
Patti, you're a mystery reader, but you don't read whodunits? So you only read mysteries in which the antagonist is know from the beginning or very early on? I'm confused, seems to me the large majority of mysteries are whodunits. Huh?
ReplyDeleteWell, GONE GIRL was supposed to be surprising, and really wasn't - on the other hand, despite a really small pool of suspects to draw on, John Dickson Carr's THE BLACK SPECTACLES (aka THE PROBLEM OF THE GREEN CAPSULE) completely fooled me (and I loved how it did it).
ReplyDeleteBIG LITTLE LIARS and HER HUSBAND'S SECRET were pretty surprising.
ReplyDeleteIt may seem self-serving (I'm the publisher) but Jake Hinkson's THE BIG UGLY. I've always known what a superb writer he is but he dug just a little deeper with his latest.
ReplyDeleteNightmare Alley. The final sentences sent a jolt through me.
ReplyDelete