Warning: skip the last 50 pages of that mystery novel and see if you call the twist

Was at a book swap last month at the public library downtown. Some retired English teacher told me she always reads the last chapter first of any whodunnit. Said it changes how you read the whole thing. Tried it on a Patterson book I was halfway through and honestly it made more sense. Felt like I was watching the clues fall into place. Has anyone else tried reading books backwards or am I just weird?

2 comments

2 Comments

drew69012d ago

Huh that retired English teacher knows what's up. I started skipping ahead in thrillers a few years back and it's like having cheat codes for the story. Makes the whole thing feel like a puzzle you're solving instead of just waiting for the author to hit you with it.

benc5312d ago

Almost feels like you're speed running the plot. Pretty soon you'll be flipping straight to page 250 and then just working backwards to figure out who done it and why. I tried it with a John Grisham book once and had the whole thing mapped out in ten minutes flat. The author probably hates us for it but honestly it's way more entertaining than slowly wading through all the setup chapters.