The Best Cliffhanger Endings of the Past 15 Years
Here
they are—the books that left us breathless in the last 50 pages. Some
are traditional thrillers, some whodunits and some roller-coaster novels. Which ones have you read?
By Dawn Raffel
3 of 17
The Lake
By Banana Yoshimoto
192 pages
The Premise: A
young artist named Chihiro is haunted by her mother's death. Ever so slowly,
she falls in love with a mysterious scientist named Nakajima, who has an even
deeper event to hide. Yoshimoto's spare, psychologically instense style has
made her one of Japan's most celebrated authors.
Why the Ending Is a Stunner:
Nakajima's buried secret will leave you in tears, yet the final pages are
sweetly—and believably—uplifting. A word to the wise—don't
read the flap copy unless you want a spoiler.
— Dawn Raffel
Published 11/16/2015
