No spoilers: 16 books with jaw-dropping twists

Cole, considered the 'perfect husband,' is left shocked when his wife, Mel, leaves him. Seeking isolation, he moves to the coast and befriends Lennie, an artist leading a similar solitary existence in a precarious cliff-edge cottage. However, their lives are upended when two young women vanish after protesting gendered violence near their homes. Now at the centre of a police investigation and media storm, it becomes clear that Cole and Lennie may not know each other as well as they assumed.

Anisa Ellahi, a Bollywood subtitle writer in London, dreams of translating great literature. Her boyfriend Adam’s extraordinary aptitude for languages only makes her feel worse, until he reveals his secret: the Centre, offering fluency in any language in just 10 days. Sceptical yet intrigued, Anisa joins, surrendering her possessions and contact with the outside world. But as she delves deeper she uncovers the disturbing hidden price of the Centre's services. This is a book with a twist we promise you won't guess. 

Twenty years after a baby is stolen from her push-chair, a woman is murdered in a care home. The two crimes are somehow linked, and a good bad girl may be the key to discovering the truth. With every reason to distrust each other, three women must solve a mystery with three suspects, two murders, and one victim. If they do, they might just find out what happened to the baby who disappeared, the mother who lost her, and the connections that bind them. Otherwise known as The Queen of Twists, Alice Feeny, author of Daisy Darker, lives up to her name in this gripping mystery. 

It's the A-list event of the decade: an abandoned island has been repurposed as Island Home, an exclusive luxury getaway. It's the jewel in the crown of the Home Group, a collection of private members' clubs, and everyone wants to be on the list. But as the guests begin to assemble, things take a deadly turn. It turns out that the beautiful people are harbouring some pretty ugly secrets, and would do anything to hold on to their reputations. This whodunnit will keep you guessing, with a number of unexpected twists and turns. 

It is Friday, 5 p.m. You're being interviewed for the job you always wanted, in an office thirteen floors above the city. There's nobody else around but you and the interviewer, and their questions are getting stranger and more unsettling. Your fear is rising, and the only route out is to answer a seemingly impossible question . . . Twists and turns come thick and fast in this read, leaving you jaw-dropped at the end of every chapter. 

Grieving husband? Or cold-blooded killer? JoAnn Chaney examines the dark side of marriage in As Long As We Both Shall Live. ‘My wife! I think she’s dead!’ Matt frantically calls to park rangers, explaining that he and his wife, Marie, were out hiking when she stumbled on a cliff edge. It’s a tragic accident. But when police discover Matt’s first wife also died in suspicious circumstances they have a lot more questions for him. Packed with plot twists, this is an unputdownable thriller about a marriage gone sour. 

They say you can't choose your family, but what if they're wrong? Chloe, leading a contented life as a newspaper archivist and caretaker for her grandmother, becomes fixated on the unresolved case of Angie Kyle, a girl her age who vanished. When Chloe faces homelessness due to her grandmother's relocation, she seizes a risky chance: becoming a lodger in Angie's family home.  In a house where everyone has something to hide, is it possible to get too close? This story of obsession and loneliness will have you changing your mind about each of the characters right up to the final page. 

Fifteen years ago, three sixteen-year-old girls meet at an exclusive private school in India. Sabah and Noor are both popular, while Alia, a new arrival from England, tries to win their acceptance. Before she knows it, Sabah and Noor’s intoxicating world of privilege and intimacy opens up to Alia and she finally feels like she belongs. But with intimacy comes jealousy, and with privilege resentment, and Alia finds that it only takes one night for her bright new world to shatter around her. Now Alia, a cabinet minister in the Indian government, is about to find her secrets have no intention of staying buried. 

Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen are the masterly writing duo behind numerous heart-racing thrillers. Their latest, The Golden Couple, has an unbelievable twist buried within its pages. Avery Chambers is a therapist who has lost her licence because of her maverick methods. If she can't fix your problems in ten sessions, she won't take you on. Into the therapy room step golden couple Marissa and Mathew Bishop, golden that is until Marissa's infidelity. From this point, the three of them are on collision course, with submerged secrets that threaten more than just a marriage.

Dr Richard Carter and his wife were murdered in what was one of the most infamous double murders of the modern age. Their daughter, ten-year-old Sara Carter, spent eight years in a children’s secure unit for the crime and is now living a quiet life under an assumed name with a family of her own. On the anniversary of the crime, journalist Brinley Booth is tasked with tracking down Sara and her older sister Shannon. But confronting what really happened on the night of the murders will have consequences for them all. The twists in this dark read will leave you not knowing which characters to believe. 

The incredible twist in this classic read is just as impactful now as it was when the story was first published. On a moonlit London night, art teacher Walter Hartwright meets a young woman – beautiful, terrified and dressed entirely white – alone on the street. Compelled to help this piteous creature, he finds himself caught up in a world of secrets, murder and madness, with an impossible mystery to solve.

This heart-wrenching love story comes with a shocking twist. Sarah and Eddie have just spent seven perfect days together, falling head over heels in love and talking about a future together that Sarah can’t wait to start. But then Eddie goes on holiday and never calls again. Sarah can’t believe that she’s been ghosted and refuses to move on – she is certain that something has happened to him. When Sarah finds out that there is a reason for Eddie’s silence, the truth is more painful than she could have ever imagined.

You might already be familiar with this one, as Gone Girl became a global sensation as a consequence of its truly jaw-dropping twist. Nick and Amy Dunne have the perfect marriage, or so it seems. When Amy goes missing, suspicion falls on Nick who adamantly protests his innocence. As Nick starts a personal investigation into his wife’s disappearance, the dark and twisted secrets that lay at the heart of their marriage start to come to light. 

As the only Black employee at Wagner Books, Nella Rogers is thrilled when Hazel starts working alongside her. They hit it off straight away and it certainly seems that working life at the office is only going to get better. But then Nella receives a sinister note. As disturbing incidents start to escalate, Nella starts to wonder if they're connected to Hazel's appearance. . . The Other Black Girl is a razor-sharp piece of social commentary as well as being a dynamic thriller full of twists and turns to leave you on the edge of your seat.

This suspenseful read blew up on TikTok as readers couldn't stop gushing about the unexpected twist at the heart of the story. Every year, the rich and privileged Sinclair family holiday together on a private island. But two summers ago, one of the teenagers, Cadence, suffered a traumatic head injury so severe that she lost her memory of what exactly happened, and nobody in the family wants to talk about it . . . Cadence is determined to find out what happened that summer and the truth will change her life unalterably.

In Barkley Cove, North Carolina, the enigmatic Marsh Girl has long been a subject of rumours. When Chase Andrews is found dead in 1969, suspicion immediately falls on Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya defies expectations. Living alone in the marsh, she is sensitive and intelligent, finding solace in nature. As she craves connection, two young men are captivated by her, leading Kya to embrace a new life – until the unthinkable happens. Now also a major film, Delia Ownens's storytelling is beautifully atmospheric, ending with one of the best twists in modern literature.