Have You Ever Predicted a Book's Ending?

[mountaingirl8]

And if you were correct in your prediction, how did it make you feel about the book overall?

[bluemel4]

The first book in The Maisie Dobb's mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear had a pretty obvious ending. I was able to predict the end 1/3 of my way into the novel. But I still enjoyed it because the book was so much more than just a mystery novel. It felt like I was reading historical fiction. The book was so rich with details about the time period it covered that I was enchanted. I loved Maisie and was interested in her process of solving the mystery. Predicting the ending did not diminish the book it just left room for me to focus on other aspects of the novel.

[mountaingirl8]

The first book in The Maisie Dobb's mystery series by Jacqueline Winspear had a pretty obvious ending. I was able to predict the end 1/3 of my way into the novel. But I still enjoyed it because the book was so much more than just a mystery novel. It felt like I was reading historical fiction. The book was so rich with details about the time period it covered that I was enchanted. I loved Maisie and was interested in her process of solving the mystery. Predicting the ending did not diminish the book it just left room for me to focus on other aspects of the novel.

Thanks for the answer! Sometimes it takes away from the enjoyment of the novel, other times--like in this instance--it does not, only helps you enjoy the book more.

[Rachaelamb1]

I'm pretty sure I solved several Nancy Drew books when I was a kid. Once you read enough of them it can get predictable. That didn't stop me from enjoying them though.

[gracepine11]

I solve most kid mystery books.

[Hendmosaad89]

yes, on multiple accounts.

[mountaingirl8]

Thanks for the answers! I agree with you about Nancy Drew books; I did the same thing when I was little lol. I also predicted the ending to a John Grisham book.

[DATo]

The last novel I can remember predicting the outcome of was Peace by Gene Wolfe. It was quite a leap and frankly I was surprised that I was right.

When I was younger I used to take great delight in attempting to predict the outcome of the Alfred Hitchcock TV shows. Each of these stories contained a twist ending and I would estimate my overall score throughout all these shows at approximately 60% correct. Almost all of my own short stories contain a twist and I think the unintended training I got from watching the Hitchcock programs has helped me enormously in constructing my own twist endings.

[moderntimes]

All the time. I am a huge mystery fan, have 3 private eye novels of my own, and I review mystery books for a website. So I read dozens of mysteries a year.

It's therefore sometimes easy to know where the story is headed and that tends to spoil the story for me. But as you can see, I am pretty deep into the genre, so I don't reveal endings in my reviews and I try to write the review on the basis of a "general" mystery fan, someone not so steeped in the genre, and therefore surprised by the ending.

Occasionally a book will twist things in totally unexpected ways, and this is always a huge plus for me. But the twist has to be inherent in the story theme and not some horrible deus ex machina that is so fake and artificial that it ruins the book.

This is especially "bad" when I'm watching TV with my girlfriend, and there's a police procedural or other typical cop or lawyer thriller, and I can pick out the bad guy in about 5 minutes. I did this for NCIS and Law&Order and other shows, and I've learned to keep quiet, ha ha.

But really, TV is soooo predictable compared with books. It's like the writers have 4 or 5 basic plots and shuffle them episode to episode and even different shows. The same. Boooring.

[Rachaelamb1]

This is especially "bad" when I'm watching TV with my girlfriend, and there's a police procedural or other typical cop or lawyer thriller, and I can pick out the bad guy in about 5 minutes. I did this for NCIS and Law&Order and other shows, and I've learned to keep quiet, ha ha.

But really, TV is soooo predictable compared with books. It's like the writers have 4 or 5 basic plots and shuffle them episode to episode and even different shows. The same. Boooring.

Haha...sooo true! Once you watch a few it gets really easy to predict. I have to keep my mouth shut so my husband can enjoy the show.

[Dreamer In Storyland]

I don't like books with predictable endings. I love twists and turns, and always being on an edge wondering what's about to happen next.

[moderntimes]

I don't like books with predictable endings. I love twists and turns, and always being on an edge wondering what's about to happen next.

Agreed. But what is annoying as much as predictable plot lines is if twists are egregious or artificially inserted just to provide a mixup.

I have written 3 modern American private detective novels and I can attest how difficult it is to avoid either Scylla or Charybdis, ha ha. I agonize over realistic plot lines (my stories are very realistic and not at all fanciful) and work very hard to invoke suspense and "what happens next" and at the same time, make the story line believable and not appear contrived.

If you're writing (or reading) realistic stories this is essential, but what also gigs me about fantasy (which is why I rarely read it) is that the author thinks "okay, this is fantasy, so anything I put into the story is okay" and it's not.

Ever watch reruns of the clone TV shows "Bewitched" or "Dream of Genie"? If you can stand to watch for a few minutes, you'll see exactly what I mean -- if you have magic then they can do anything. We've got the bad witch or whomever doing rude things to the husband, then the gal rescuing it by an equally silly spell and it goes back and forth to the point of absurdity (if the show wasn't already absurd).

Fantasy writers (poor ones) do this all the time. If they want a plot twist, they insert a wizard or magic spell or a dragon or whatever. You can't tell your plot twists without a scorecard!

I just finished reading and reviewing about a half dozen mysteries, all sorts of stories, from a werewolf cop (I kid you not) to a noir thriller set in modern London. Most of these books had sensible plots and the twists made sense within the fabric of the story. A couple of them howerver pulled a rabbit from the hat (deus ex machina in other words) and it ruined the suspense.

It's a tricky tightrope to walk, if you're a writer. But if you make it work, the personal rewards are great, because you know you didn't "cheat" on the twists.

[debbiebee]

I actually predicted the ending of Murder on the Orient Express correctly - don't worry, no spoilers! - which was bizarre as I'm lousy at solving mysteries.

[TrishaAnn92]

I have a few times and I have to say it's not my favorite thing to do. I find that an ending that is unpredictable is more exciting and can really get the reader thinking about the story.

[Spud]

Any Dan Brown books. Once you have read two you can predict exactly who will do what once you're 25% in .... very badly written