Admit it – who doesn’t love a book with a great mind-twisting shock? We live for them! Here are some great reads that will surely make you yell, “I knew it!”
Fight Club follows the story of an unnamed protagonist suffering from insomnia. To deal with his condition, he teams up with someone called Tyler Durden and establishes an underground fighting club as a radical form of psychotherapy.
The club soon grows into a nationwide fascist group, and Tyler uses it to spread his anti-consumerist ideas, recruiting more members to take part in plans to bring down corporate America. As the pranks become increasingly elaborate and dangerous, our protagonist realises that he doesn’t want to be a part of it.
His efforts to stop Tyler are in vain, and it is only at the end that our protagonist learns about his true relationship with Tyler.
If you think that Gone Girl is the most twisted Gillian Flynn book, think again.
Sharp Objects follows the story of newspaper journalist Camille Preaker, who returns to her hometown to investigate the brutal murders of two girls. While investigating, she tries to reconnect with her estranged mother Adora and half-sister Amma.
Unfortunately, Camille never had a good relationship with her mother, who has always preferred her deceased younger sister Marian. Marian died of an unspecified illness when Camille was young, and Amma, who was born after Marian’s death, is now a spoilt teen.
After an investigation that is fraught with mind-blowing reveals of Adora’s dark secrets, Adora is eventually arrested for the murder of Marian and the two girls.
However, in a shocking twist, we find out that Adora isn’t the only murderer.
Alma Rivera, her husband Arturo, and daughter Mirabel, emigrate from Mexico to America on a work visa obtained by Arturo. The family has to leave their rich life behind in Mexico to provide their daughter the educational and medical resources she needs after suffering a head injury.
But life in America is more challenging than expected – the family finds it difficult to adjust as they do not know English. It doesn’t help that Arturo’s job of picking mushrooms is also degrading and monotonous.
They have to quickly learn who to trust and protect themselves from. And even though they form a close bond with a Panamanian family living in the same apartment building, drama and conflict soon ensue.
The ending sees a shocking death that sends the family (and us) spiralling into a black hole of sadness.
The title alone is enough to let us know that this book is going to be chock-full of twists and surprises!
The wealthy, seemingly perfect Sinclair family spends every summer on their private island. The book’s protagonist, Cadence, recalls her life and every summer spent there except for Summer Fifteen – the year that she meets a horrible accident which causes her memory loss.
Her mother refuses to disclose the details of what happened to Cadence during Summer Fifteen. When Cadence finally returns to the island, everything is different.
The Liars – cousins and friends of Cadence who spend their summers at the island too – are nervous and secretive around her. Over time, Cadence’s memory slowly returns, including her memory of her relationship with an Indian boy, Gat. Her gradual revelations and the big ending will leave you completely shell-shocked.
Over time, Cadence’s memory slowly returns, including those on her relationship with an Indian boy, Gat. Her gradual revelations and the big ending will leave you completely shell-shocked.
This is one of those books that draw you in from the very first sentence: “Gil Coleman looked down from the first-floor window of the bookshop and saw his dead wife standing on the pavement below.”
The plot revolves around the mysterious disappearance of Ingrid, an unhappy wife and mother. She writes letters to her husband and hides them in the thousands of books he has collected, instead of giving them to him. When she has written her last letter, she disappears from a Dorset a beach in Dorset, leaving her husband and two daughters behind.
Did she run away? Or did she kill herself? With the narrative shifting between the past and present, you’ll gradually piece the clues together and it seems easy to know how the ending will turn out.
But don’t be fooled! The last chapter is sure to blow up any idea you had of where this book was taking you.
FantasyBoudicca 