As an avid reader, I tend to tear through books, often reading several novels a week. But the more I read, the easier it becomes for me to predict what will happen at the end of any given book.
While I don’t particularly mind this—and in fact love a trope-filled romance every now and again—there’s nothing better than finding a book that completely surpasses any expectations I had for it. Crazy twists, unexpected villains and shocking endings are all very welcome on my bookshelf. With that in mind, here are five books I’ve read this year that kept me guessing until the very end, with picks across the literary fiction, fantasy, science fiction and non-fiction genres.
1. The Rabbit Club by Christopher J. Yates
An American teenager arrives at Oxford and quickly finds himself drawn into the mysterious and manipulative world of the Saracens, an elite secret society, in The Rabbit Club.
As his ambition deepens, reality and illusion blur and he inadvertently sets in motion a series of events that lead to far greater consequences than anyone could have ever imagined.
Reading this dark academia thriller was a truly mind-bending experience and it was much darker and more complex than I was expecting. The ending blew me away – and made me want to immediately re-read the whole book to find everything I missed.
This is the perfect autumn read if you really want something to sink your teeth into.
You can buy The Rabbit Club here.
(Image: Talya Honebeek)
2. King Sorrow by Joe Hill
Six friends make a deadly deal with a dragon in King Sorrow, Joe Hill’s first novel in almost 10 years. We follow Arthur, Gwen, Colin, Donna, Van and Allie over the course of four decades as they’re forced to choose a new victim for King Sorrow every Easter – or face death themselves.
At just shy of 900 pages, you’d be forgiven for presuming some parts of this novel must surely drag on or be predictable.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, however. King Sorrow takes you on a wild, genre-bending journey, full of all kinds of twists and turns that I, for one, never saw coming. I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy, but this novel will be out in the world later this month.
You can pre-order King Sorrow, out October 21, here.
(Image: Talya Honebeek)
4. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
I feel like everyone I’ve spoken to has already read I Who Have Never Known Men but, for the uninitiated, this 1995 dystopian novel sees 40 women living in a subterranean cage, guarded by male guards.
But after an unexpected event, they find themselves venturing out of the bunker and into the strange world that awaits them above ground.
It might be short, but this novel packs a punch. The plot is fairly simple yet extremely thought-provoking, and had me scouring Reddit and Goodreads for theories about the novel’s events long after I finished reading it.
You can buy I Who Have Never Known Men here.
(Image: Talya Honebeek)
5. Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work by Sarah Wynn-Williams
Careless People is Sarah Wynn-Williams’ gripping account of going from a young New Zealand diplomat to the Director of Public Policy at Facebook. A firm believer in Facebook’s potential to change the world for the better, Wynn-Williams found it to be a different story while rising through the ranks.
This memoir starts with Wynn-Williams’ near-death experience with a shark, and somehow just keeps getting wilder from there. I’ve heard some crazy stories over the years about Facebook, but this memoir made me realise just how much went on behind the scenes.
I would highly recommend the audiobook, which is narrated by Wynn-Williams herself.
You can buy Careless People here.
(Image: Talya Honebeek)