Top Five Most Dramatic Twists I Read In 2021

Hello everyone,

Today I am looking back at the most shocking and unexpected plot twists I read during 2021, and I am super excited to share them! Out of all the top five posts I write at the end of each year, this is perhaps my favourite as it makes me relive a moment where I was genuinely caught by surprise while reading.

It is a unique feeling, and when a twist is done well, it can truly elevate a book from a good one to a great one. So here are my top five for this year, without any spoilers 🙂

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The Whole Truth by Cara Hunter

This twist is not only hugely unexpected; it also poses numerous questions for the reader which were previously unthinkable. In just one event, your suspicions are turned full circle and the main character suddenly starts to come across as an unreliable narrator.

The questions persist right up to the end of the book, and you are never sure which way things will go.

The Lost Ones by Anita Frank

This one was full of twists and revelations towards the end, and it was such a good book that it absolutely deserves its place on this list! It contains a compelling, haunting setting and an excellent cast of characters, and there is quite a broad narrative at play. One of these twists was particularly surprising, and I was always on tenterhooks to find out what would happen next.

Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

The twist in this book is revealed in a slightly unusual way, but it achieves maximum effect. When it happened, I was totally wrong-footed and I think I shouted out loud! It changed the whole complexion of the book and raised the stakes to a new level, leaving me on tenterhooks for the remaining chapters.

Before that, the mystery is already pretty intense and creates a huge amount of uncertainty surrounding the narrator and other characters, but this twist really does send shockwaves through the plot.

Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson

The lesson to take away from this twist is never to take a single character for granted. About halfway through this book – the second in the series – comes a new mystery, the answer to which turns out to be a massive curveball that I really did not see coming.

It was just the twist the book needed to make it that little bit more thrilling, and it led to an intriguing climax that allowed Holly Jackson to demonstrate how good she is at writing crime.

Lies Like Wildfire by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

In a sense, this one was not really a twist; more of a clever technique to completely change the atmosphere and direction of the story. It works an absolute treat, as I was enthralled by how the author keeps the reader in the dark with only the merest hint of clues, leading to question marks over the motives of all the characters.

It turns what had been an interesting though fairly low-key mystery into a thoroughly gripping one, dropping like a bombshell and setting up the rest of the book perfectly.

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Have you read any of these books? Which books did you read in 2021 that contained the best twists? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading 🙂