Gasp!

One of my favorite books of 2016 was I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh. It was a great read for a number of reasons, one of which were the twists. But . . . I read a lot of books with twists. Why did this one stay with me? I couldn't put my finger on it until I read this post - "Surprise Me" by literary agent extraordinaire, Janet Reid, where she says:

"I want to gasp. I want to put the manuscript down and just enjoy that moment when the author turns the story upside down."

Yes! And that's exactly what happened to me when I read I Let You Go. I found myself scrabbling back through the pages to see what I missed. But you know what? I hadn't actually missed anything.  

Ms Reid explains it like this: "That's what surprise is: we had the info, but we didn't know what it meant. . . A good surprise makes perfect sense but you just didn't see it coming."

I want to do that for my readers, whether it's in the short form of a story or in the long form of a novel. I want them to have that moment, maybe even more than one. It's certainly something worth striving for, even if it is, as Ms. Reid says, ". . . really, really simple stuff . . . and hard as hell to carry off."

Is there a book that stays with you because of its twists and turns? How about a movie or TV show? Do you aim for that in your own writing? How do you achieve it? 

A Page-Turning Summer

I don't remember summer reading programs being around when I was a kid, but boy howdy, I would've been all over that. Lucky for me, my county library has an adult summer reading program - you read books, review them on the program's website, and for each one, you're entered in a random drawing for weekly and monthly prizes. Last year, I won a drink tumbler. This year, I won a basket of books! Not only that, but apparently the number of participants exploded. The more people reading the better!

I read some amazing books this summer, and since I love to talk books, here are some of my favorites from June through the end of August: 

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh - okay, I'm cheating here because I finished this one at the end of May, but I can't stop thinking about it. You want twists? Get ready. 

*****

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis - the description on Goodreads says it all: "True Grit meets The Road in this postapocalyptic psychological thriller--narrated by a young girl who has just learned that her adopted father may be a serial killer, and that she may be his next victim." I mean, come on! How awesome is that? I passed this ARC along to my husband, and he was blown away as well. 

*****

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda - I love a good suspense novel, and this one had the added bonus of being told in reverse. Yes, you read that correctly. Reverse. It's well worth your time as both a reader AND a writer.

*****

One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus - I first read this historical fiction novel years ago for a book club. I loved it so much, it's lived on my bookshelf all this time. When it was chosen for a new book club, I re-read it. And you know what? Still loved it. Absolutely loved it. 

*****

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware - a locked room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie's works? A murder on a luxury cruise ship yet all passengers are accounted for? I am so there! 

*****

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys - I've been a fan of this author's ever since I read Between Shades of Gray, a young adult historical fiction novel. Here, according to Goodreads, the author "returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war's most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies." I pretty much wept through the last chunk of the book. An excellent - and important - read. 

*****

Watching Edie by Camilla Way - I was going to rate this a solid four stars over on Goodreads, but the last chunk bumped it up to five stars. The structure - two alternating points of view, one in the present, the other in the past - really amped up the suspense. It's a dark story, but one that delves into the concept of what is real, what is our perception - how we see ourselves, how others see us, and the possibility of change. 

*****

If you've read any of these, what did you think? Will you be adding any to your TBR list? What have you read this summer that blew your mind? Looking forward to any new releases in the Fall? If you're not already a friend/follower of mine over on Goodreads, come find me!

*****

(Even though I received an ARC for one book, the opinions here are honest and presented purely because I enjoyed all of these books.)