Fiction_L Archives novels with a twist ending Dates: 1/15/00,1:11 PM  through  1/24/00,4:19 PM  (21 postings) Search for: Select one or more indexes to search: 2011-current     2009-2010     2004-2008    1995-2003    (Matches from each index will be displayed separately in the results page.) Return to January 2000 thread menu   |   Fiction_L Archives Menu

FROM: "Cathy Weiss" <[removed]@oplin.lib.oh.us>
REC'D: 1/15/00, 1:11 PM

Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....

Cathy Weiss
Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library

FROM: "Nora M. Armstrong" <[removed]@clsn1269.cumberland.lib.nc.us>
REC'D: 1/15/00, 1:42 PM

I think the twist at the end of Grisham's "The Partner" may take many
readers by surprise.

Nora Armstrong
Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center
Fayetteville, NC
(910)483-7878, FAX (910)486-6661
[removed]@cumberland.lib.nc.us

FROM: "Holly Sanhuber" <[removed]@ci.muskego.wi.us>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 7:56 AM

How about Barbara Michaels's BE BURIED IN THE RAIN? The last sentence
turns everything on its head in a chilly, supernatural fashion. Holly
_________________________________________

Holly Sanhuber, Director
MUSKEGO PUBLIC LIBRARY
W182 S8200 Racine Avenue
P.O. Box 749
Muskego, WI 53150
414-679-4120; FAX 414-679-4123
e-mail: [removed]@ci.muskego.wi.us

>----------
>From: Cathy Weiss[[removed]@oplin.lib.oh.us]
>Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 1:16 PM
>To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
>Subject: Novels with a good "twist" ending
>
>Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
>to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
>think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
>but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
>away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....
>
>Cathy Weiss
>Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library
>
>
>
>

FROM: "Viccy Kemp" <[removed]@ci.carrollton.tx.us>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 8:28 AM

I have never forgotten the ending of Southern Discomfort by Rita Mae Brown.
It completely altered the reality of the book. AND it took place in the last
two paragraphs of the book! Rita Mae Brown is a wonderful author. I enjoy
her fiction more than her mystery series.
HTH
Viccy Kemp
The opinions are my own; the library wouldn't want 'em!

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cathy Weiss [[removed]@oplin.lib.oh.us]
> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 1:17 PM
> [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Subject: Novels with a good "twist" ending
>
> Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
> to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
> think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
> but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
> away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....
>
> Cathy Weiss
> Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library
>
>

FROM: <[removed]@lib.cnib.ca>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 9:04 AM

Hannibal by Thomas Harris was a bit of a shocker. I didn't like the book much, but the ending was unexpected. I wonder how
they'll do the movie version?

Nicole Patterson
CNIB Library
Toronto, ON

>>> [removed]@oplin.lib.oh.us" 15/01/2000 2:51:46 pm >>>
Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....

Cathy Weiss
Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library

FROM: "Connie Regan" <[removed]@cooklib.org>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 9:04 AM

Judas Child by Carol O'Connell has a terrific surprise ending that makes you
want to immediately re-read the book.

Connie Regan
Cook Memorial Library

FROM: "Kay Blakeman" <[removed]@jefferson.lib.co.us>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 2:31 PM

Cathy -
Sabbathday River, by Korelitz, has a surprise at the end. I never
suspected...
Kay Blakeman Standley Lake Library
Reference Librarian 8485 Kipling St.
303-456-0806 Arvada, CO 80005-1237
[removed]@jefferson.lib.co.us


-----Original Message-----
From: Cathy Weiss [<A HREF="mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us">mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us</A>]
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 12:17 PM
To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: Novels with a good "twist" ending


Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....

Cathy Weiss
Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library

FROM: "Kaite Mediatore" <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 1/17/00, 11:40 PM

Without a doubt _Persian Pickle Club_ by Sandra
Dallas. I defy anyone to see that ending coming before
you read the last line. That's how I sell the book to
mystery readers. "You'll never guess who did it. And
if you do, you have to come back and tell me when you
knew." They can't and they don't. But they do come
back and talk to me about the ending!

=====
Kaite Mediatore
Leawood Pioneer Branch Manager
Johnson County Library
Box 2933
Shawnee Mission, KS 66201-1333
913-344-0250 fx:913-344-0253
[removed]@jcl.lib.ks.us
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
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FROM: "Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center" <[removed]@darkstar.rsa.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 8:25 AM

The Snake by John Godey

LaRae Muselman, Outreach Librarian
Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center
Pekin, IL 61554
[removed]@darkstar.rsa.lib.il.us
<A HREF="http://www.rsa.lib.il.us/~mitbc/heart.htm">http://www.rsa.lib.il.us/~mitbc/heart.htm</A>

FROM: "Kathleen L Shannon" <[removed]@edmail.com>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 8:32 AM

Susan Leslie's "Unfinished Tapestry" (1989) has MULTIPLE twists for about the last third of the book. You think you've figured it out more than once, only to find that's not really it either!


Kathy Shannon
Thornwood H.S.
South Holland, IL
--


>


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FROM: "Kathleen L Shannon" <[removed]@edmail.com>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 8:36 AM

--Thought of another one (a bit old): Agatha Christie's "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd". Some mystery fans feel she didn't play fair with the reader on this one, but the clue IS there (in one sentence!) if you read very carefully!

Kathy Shannon
Thornwood H.S.
South Holland, IL


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FROM: "Nancy Eggert" <[removed]@chipublib.org>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 9:41 AM

Ruth Rendell's The Bridesmaid has a twist on practically the last page of
the novel (as do a few of her other titles).

Nancy Eggert
Northtown Branch
Chicago Public Library

FROM: "Jeanne Etling" <[removed]@ccs.nsls.lib.il.us>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 10:01 AM

Both mysteries by Alan Beechey have twists at the end that stumped me.
First is An Embarassment of Corpses and second is Murdering Ministers.
Very enjoyable reads.

Jeanne Etling
Dundee (IL) Township Public Library District

FROM: "Winfield Public Library" <[removed]@horizon.hit.net>
REC'D: 1/18/00, 10:01 AM

Can you please post the list when you have one compiled? I can see lots of
possibilities with this one.

Joan Cales
Winfield Public Library

Joan Cales
Special Services Librarian
Winfield Public Library
<<A HREF="http://www.wpl.org">http://www.wpl.org</A>>
email <[removed]@horizon.hit.net>

FROM: "Ellen Reynolds (PLS-HQ)" <[removed]@pls-net.org>
REC'D: 1/19/00, 7:32 AM

The ending of The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook (1996) was a
surprise to me.

--
Ellen J. Reynolds
Information Resources/Adult Services Coordinator
Pioneer Library System
4595 Rt. 21 N. Canandaigua NY 14424
716-394-8260
[removed]@pls-net.org

FROM: "MILLS Kirby D" <[removed]@ci.eugene.or.us>
REC'D: 1/19/00, 6:51 PM

A few come to mind....

The Magician -- Sol Stein. Brilliantly ironic ending, the twist
is in the final sentence

The Ultimate Game -- Ralph Glendinning

The Dark Descends -- Diana Ramsey

The Running of Beasts -- Bill Pronzini & Barry Malzberg

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story -- Michael Dibdin

Mirror Mirror on the Wall -- Stanley Ellin

One Deadly Summer -- Sebastien Japrisot. Wonderful book with
a denouement exceptional even for Japrisot

Prelude to a Scream -- Jim Nisbet

Banshee -- Margaret Millar

Pick-up -- Charles Willeford. As in The Magician, the revelation
is in the last sentence. Also, Willeford's posthumous masterwork,
The Shark-Infested Custard, has a final scene of truly evil
humor

Some of these end on a twist on identity which I ought not
even hint at. Others just present a total surprise. Oh, a
colleague of mine said to include Cat and Mouse by Christianna
Brand. Hope these help.

-----Original Message-----
From: Cathy Weiss [<A HREF="mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us">mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us</A>]
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 11:17 AM
To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
Subject: Novels with a good "twist" ending


Apologies to the group if this has been covered before, but I'm starting
to work on a bibliography of novels with good surprise endings. I can
think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey Deaver comes to mind),
but most of the books I've read which would fit this category have faded
away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance for any input....

Cathy Weiss
Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library

FROM: "Jaffe" <[removed]@suffolk.lib.ny.us>
REC'D: 1/20/00, 5:00 AM

Valentine by Tom Savage really surprised me.
This is a fun list. Could you please compile it?

Karen Jaffe

FROM: "Virginia Franklyn" <[removed]@yahoo.com>
REC'D: 1/20/00, 10:23 AM

Two good books are 'Fight Club', by Chuck Palahniuk,
and the young adult book 'I am the Cheese', by Robert
Cormier. Both book have great 'twist' endings.

Virginia Franklyn

--- MILLS Kirby D <[removed]@ci.eugene.or.us>
wrote:
> A few come to mind....
>
> The Magician -- Sol Stein. Brilliantly ironic
> ending, the twist
> is in the final sentence
>
> The Ultimate Game -- Ralph Glendinning
>
> The Dark Descends -- Diana Ramsey
>
> The Running of Beasts -- Bill Pronzini & Barry
> Malzberg
>
> The Last Sherlock Holmes Story -- Michael Dibdin
>
> Mirror Mirror on the Wall -- Stanley Ellin
>
> One Deadly Summer -- Sebastien Japrisot. Wonderful
> book with
> a denouement exceptional even for Japrisot
>
> Prelude to a Scream -- Jim Nisbet
>
> Banshee -- Margaret Millar
>
> Pick-up -- Charles Willeford. As in The Magician,
> the revelation
> is in the last sentence. Also, Willeford's
> posthumous masterwork,
> The Shark-Infested Custard, has a final scene of
> truly evil
> humor
>
> Some of these end on a twist on identity which I
> ought not
> even hint at. Others just present a total surprise.
> Oh, a
> colleague of mine said to include Cat and Mouse by
> Christianna
> Brand. Hope these help.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Cathy Weiss [<A HREF="mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us">mailto:weissca@oplin.lib.oh.us</A>]
> Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2000 11:17 AM
> To: [removed]@maillist.nslsilus.org
> Subject: Novels with a good "twist" ending
>
>
> Apologies to the group if this has been covered
> before, but I'm starting
> to work on a bibliography of novels with good
> surprise endings. I can
> think of a few authors who do this well (Jeffrey
> Deaver comes to mind),
> but most of the books I've read which would fit this
> category have faded
> away from my so-called memory. Thanks in advance
> for any input....
>
> Cathy Weiss
> Warren-Trumbull Co. Public Library
>
>
>
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Talk to your friends online with Yahoo! Messenger.
<A HREF="http://im.yahoo.com">http://im.yahoo.com</A>

FROM: "Lisa Colcord" <[removed]@ci.glendale.az.us>
REC'D: 1/20/00, 12:14 PM

I am so excited to be able to recommend one of my all time favorite novels by my absolute favorite author! Is it Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee. It sounds kind of lame, but is actually very good, about a girl who falls in love with a robot. It was out of print for a long time, but was recently republished in paperback.

Lisa Colcord
Librarian
Glendale Public Library
Glendale, AZ

FROM: "Valerie Maine" <[removed]@nslsilus.ORG>
REC'D: 1/21/00, 3:55 PM

A book I read several years ago that had a final sentence that changed and
explained everything was The Genesis Code by John Case.

Valerie Maine
Vernon Area Public Library
Lincolnshire, IL 60069

FROM: "Ann Theis" <[removed]@co.chesterfield.va.us>
REC'D: 1/24/00, 4:19 PM

David Housewright (<A HREF="http://www.davidhousewright.com">http://www.davidhousewright.com</A>) has a twisty/nifty ending
in his latest (and quite good) mystery - DEARLY DEPARTED.

Ann~Overbooked <A HREF="http://www.overbooked.org/">http://www.overbooked.org/</A>

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