If you read thrillers, then you’ll know what I mean. You think a book is over. And then (often in an epilogue) comes a weird little info drop that turns everything on its head and leaves everything up in the air again. I’m talking about the Last Minute Plot Twist that cause an Unresolved Ending and it’s a trend I’m not that thrilled about.
Thrillers With Last Minute Plot Twists: The New and Unsatisfying Trend of the Unresolved Epilogue
In this post I will give examples of books that have Last Minute Plot Twists, but with NO SPOILERS. If you DO want spoilers, you can click through to my spoiler post on each book and read the ending.
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I love thrillers and have read them for as long as I can remember. But to me, the best part of a mystery or thriller is that things gets resolved. The murder is solved, the crisis is averted. Chaos turns to order. I think that’s why I found thrillers so satisfying during the pandemic.
Then came this newish trend of the unresolved ending. I’m not sure where it started or exactly when. But it’s a book that SEEMS to resolve things and then, at the very last minute (often in an epilogue) leaves everything up in the air again.
WHY???? Unless there’s a sequel in the works, I don’t get it.
Here is my list of some books I’ve read recently that had the unresolved ending or a last minute plot twist.
All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers
This one has a REALLY unresolved ending. Like a total cliffhanger.
If you’re annoyed too, come join my Spoiler Discussion Post for All Good People Here!
Nothing More to Tell by Karen McManus
Well, this book DOES have more to tell. This is a semi-unresolved ending.
The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson
The Weekend Away is about a married mom who goes on a girls’ weekend with an old friend. But then her friend turns up missing and she has to try to find her. The missing person case gets resolved (no spoilers) but then there’s an epilogue that was a big … what? This is going to be a Netflix movie and the author said on Instagram that she changed the ending so maybe that horrible last minute twist got cut?
Check out my SPOILER FREE review of the Weekend Away here
Want to read the spoiler? Here’s my Spoiler Discussion for the Weekend Away.
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
The Sanatorium is a locked room mystery about a police officer and her partner who are trapped by an avalanche in a luxury hotel (and former sanatorium) when she visits to help her brother and his fiancée celebrate their engagement. The police officer solves the case and then there’s this weird little epilogue that raises some unanswered questions. We’re having quite a discussion about it on my Spoiler Review for The Sanatorium. And guess what, in book two, The Retreat, we still don’t get answers.
You can read my SPOILER FREE review of the Sanatorium here.
Want to read the spoiler? Check out my Spoiler Discussion for the Sanatorium here.
Check out my Spoiler Discussion for The Retreat!
The Guilt Trip by Sandie Jones
The Guilt Trip is about a group of six connected by friendship, marriage and family who gather at a beachside villa for a destination wedding. As secrets start to spill out, things turn deadly. Everything seems resolved but you guessed it: an epilogue turns things upside-down.
Read my review of the Guilt Trip here
Check out my spoiler discussion of The Guilt Trip here!
The Last Flight by Julie White
Two women, each who want to escape their lives, switch plane tickets in an airport. But then things go terribly wrong. This one definitely had an unresolved element which drove us CRAZY in my spoiler discussion for The Last Flight, which you can find here!
Do you have examples of the last minute plot twist in movies, TV or books? Please leave them in comments, but just don’t say what the twist is so that we don’t spoil anyone. (Feel free to discuss ALL the spoilers on my spoiler posts, though, as that is what they are for!)
You reminded me that I still haven’t listened to The Sanatorium. I haven’t read many adult thrillers that have that last page plot twist, but I thought Karen McManus did it will in One of Us is Next and Two Can Keep a Secret.
Ooh, interesting. I think it’s okay to do that if you know there will be a next book (and YA loves to do that in early books in series or trilogies.) The weird thing to me is when adult books that are standalones do it. Why?????!!!!
I’ll be honest, I think I’ve become addicted to those last minute twists! I find myself wondering now when I start a thriller just how crazy or unpredictable this one will turn out to be. 🙂 The Sanatorium is one I’ve seen mixed reviews for but the setting seems so eerie I want to try it! And I’m not a fan of unresolved endings either. I’m good with twists but I like a nice resolution!
haha they are SO unnerving and to me the last year and a half has been the same. I need closure!
The main on I can think of is the first season of Hill House on Netflix (has their been a 2nd?). When the bent neck lady was explained my jaw dropped. These all look intriguing.
I have not seen that show but maybe I will give it a try!
I do not like unresolved endings. Seems too much like a cliffhanger which I hate. I want a complete book when I read one.
I agree! Please clean up the giant plot mess you made, authors! It’s only polite.
I have never read a book that does this…not that I remember…anyhow, I’m not sure I like the idea. I mean, if it was ONLY one book in a while, it might be genius. But if it becomes a trend, it’s a bit cheap IMO.
Agree – the fact that so many books are doing this makes me crazy. My take? It gets people talking.