While some crime readers will throw a book across the room if they’re not satisfied with the ending, I’m perfectly fine with a great book that trails off into nothingness, or even one that jumps the shark in the last few pages. A good ending, to paraphrase Flannery O’Connor, is hard to find. A good crime fiction ending can be measured a number of ways, from the well-resolved plot, to the twisty shocker, to the emotional devastation of a great noir. Below, you’ll find a few of my favorite endings for 2018, ranked from immensely satisfying and sends you right to bed, to leaves you so emotionally devastated that you may never sleep again. This is not an exhaustive list—after all, one of the hallmarks of a good ending is that it requires time to process, thus lessening the number of works one can finish in a single year. This is also, of necessity, a list which presents limited information. I have tried to represent each ending based on how it made me feel, without giving anything away, so please forgive me any spoilers that slip through.
#FashionVictim, Amina Akhtar
How I Felt At The End: Damn, that’s a high body count.
Will This Keep You Up At Night? You can probably go to sleep right away. Unless you’re a fashion publicist. Then you’ll be very afraid.
Transcription, Kate Atkinson
How I Felt At The End: I knew there was something she was hiding, but I wasn’t expecting it to be…that.
Will This Keep You Up At Night? You will fall asleep swiftly, to the soothing, yet subtly transgressive, sounds of public radio.
Paper Ghosts, Julia Heaberlin
How I Felt At The End: So unexpectedly sweet, especially for a serial killer novel!
Will This Keep You Up At Night? Just long enough to call your sister first, sobbing that you love her.
The Witch Elm, Tana French
How I Felt At The End: Everything is different now….
Will This Keep You Up At Night? Depends on what’s weighing on your conscience….
The Good Son, You-Jeong Jeong
How I Felt At The End: Just cause I saw it coming doesn’t make the inexorable approach of disaster and self-knowledge any less compelling.
Will This Keep You Up At Night? Just until after you call all your relatives and make sure they’re doing okay.
This is How It Ends, Eva Dolan
How I Felt At The End: Wow, that was like Reservoir Dogs, but feminist!
Will This Keep You Up At Night? The revolution never sleeps.
Our Kind of Cruelty, Araminta Hall
How I Felt At The End: OMG What Just Happened.
Will This Keep Me Up At Night? That depends on who’s sleeping next to you.
The Night Visitor, Lucy Atkins
How I Felt At The End: Shocking! But you gotta admit, it was deserved.
Will This Keep You Up At Night? Depends on how much you’re thinking about that poor dog. I know I still am…
The Perfect Nanny, Leila Slimani
How I Felt At The End: Huh, what are we going to do with our lives now?
Will This Keep You Up At Night? Depends on if you have children. Or a nanny. If you have both, you may never sleep again.
Lying In Wait, Liz Nugent
How I Felt At The End: Damn, That’s Effed UP. What will I do with my life, now that I have read this?
Will This Keep You Up At Night? You will never sleep again.
