Top 10 books with plot twists you would never expect.
Have you ever stayed up past 11 pm, flipping the pages of a book faster and faster, waiting for the suspense of an ending never imagined? I'm sure we have all been there before, including myself. That's the allure of a plot twist ending: it pulls you into its pages, bringing you into your own world of imagination.
Below are 10 books that have kept me and others up all night to find out the unexpected.
1. The Housemaid – Freida McFadden
Follows a troubled woman, Millie, with a troubled past, as she starts her new job as a live-in maid for a wealthy couple, the Winchesters. As we learn more about the Winchesters, it turns into a mission and a dangerous game with hidden secrets that keep you turning the pages to find out the truth.
2. Shutter Island – Dennis Lehane
U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels arrives on Shutter Island in the 1950s, where the criminally insane are sent, as one of two Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient, Rachel Solando. While Marshal Teddy starts to discover the absolute truth of Shutter Island, where flashbacks haunt him, you will begin to wonder if you are the one going crazy.
3. The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides
Working at a psychiatric hospital, Theo Faber treats Alicia Berenson, a famous painter. Alicia has been accused of murdering her husband and has not spoken a word since. Theo, losing sleep over Alicia, obsesses over what happened to her, while his own world seems to be ripping at the seams. The twist at the end will leave you in awe.
4. The Guest List – Lucy Foley
Intended to be a unique wedding for successful couple Jules Keegan and Will Slater on a remote island in Ireland, it churns into trouble as a storm rolls in, exposing secrets and resentments, where everyone is a suspect. On the isolated cliff in Ireland, the author takes the reader through the different points of view of various characters, keeping the reader in suspense about who the killer may be.
5. Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens
Kya is only six years old when her mother can no longer take her husband's domestic abuse. Young Kya's four siblings slowly leave their broken-down shack one by one, all hoping to escape their abusive Pa and find a better life. Once a week, Pa sends Kya into town to do the shopping, and this is the only time she is visible to the townspeople. At 10 years old, Pa disappears, and Kya learns to care for herself. As Kya matures, she catches the eye of the local boys and becomes entangled in a murder trial. The marsh girl has no one on her side and must make mature decisions to save herself.
6. Reckless Girls – Rachel Hawkins
A group of six girlfriends in their twenties decides to take a break from reality and travel to a remote island in the Pacific, Meroe Island. Looking forward to days of soaking up the sun and partying all night long sounded ideal until the girls became isolated from civilization. Tensions are high, and secrets are revealed that lead to violence and revenge, testing their friendships.
7. Wrong place, wrong time – Gillian McAllister
A mother, Jen, witnessed her son stab a man to death. Jen wonders how she can save her son. She starts to find herself reliving the days that led up to her son's crime in reverse. Within each day, she relives going further back into time, and Jen must piece together the crime, trying to find her way to stop the tragedy and save her son's future. Just as you think the mystery is solved, more secrets are revealed.
8. The Tenant – Freida McFadden
Ever experience a crazy roommate? Here's a roommate story that will leave you thinking you're crazy. This story follows a young man, Blake, and his fiancée, Krista. Blake has a lovely house in the city, but after his layoff as the VP of marketing, he can barely afford his place. The couple decides to rent out a room to a tenant named Whitney. After Whitney moves in, strange and bizarre events begin to unfold. As Blake starts to question Whitney, without his fiancée's support, he decides to investigate Whitney. With a shocking and twisted ending, secrets are unveiled.
9. The Only Survivors – Megan Miranda
Ten years after two vans crashed during a high school senior volunteer trip, the nine students who survived gather for their annual reunion. The reunion takes place near the beach at "The Shallows." The yearly reunion reminds them they all have each other; however, a storm rolls in and cuts them off from all communication. With bizarre texts and missing members, this psychological thriller delves into the dark secrets of the survivors. The author changes the POV between the current day and the past, following the main character, Cassidy, and the investigation into what really happened during the crash ten years ago.
10. The Girl Who Was Taken – Charlie Donlea
The abduction of two high school senior girls, Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald, from a small town in North Carolina, rocks the community. Megan's escape from her abductor leaves her to become known as the girl who escaped the bunker. However, Nicole Cutty remains missing. As the years pass, Nicole's sister, Dr. Livia Cutty, a forensic pathologist, hopes that one day her sister will be on her table, revealing her story. Unfortunately, being from a small town, there was little investigation from local police, leaving Livia Cutty to unfold her sister's abduction with the help of Megan. The two girls discover the disappearance of Nicole Cutty, revealing secrets that will rock this small community.
Plot twist books stay with us, especially with their unforgettable endings. These 10 books will leave you playing detective. Let me know if these books kept you up all night, turning pages, until the wee hours of the morning, playing detective to solve the mystery.
