Six Envelopes
Inside each envelope is the ending of a novel that I have read to the last page. The rule for this video is simple. I will not open a single envelope. No culprit, no victim, no reveal, and no hint about who is fooling whom. You get a ranking of twist endings, and you get zero spoilers.
The short answer: in my view, the best twist on this list belongs to The Silent Patient, with a twist rating of four and a half out of five. The other five follow in order, down to a three and a bit. Every rating here is my opinion, and every book has its own ending page for afterwards.
What Counts As A Spoiler
Here is what counts as a spoiler on this channel, so you can hold me to my word. I will not say what the twist is. I will not say who it happens to. I will not say which character, or which part of the story, turns out to be the key. I will give you what the publisher puts on the back cover, and nothing past it.
For the ending itself, I will use the same few measures for every book. Those measures are about timing and fairness. Where in the book does the big turn land? Were there clues on the page, or does it come from nowhere? And when you flip back to the first chapter, does the book look different?
To rate honestly, I had to know every twist, so I went back through all six books to the last page and marked the clues. Where a turn lands is measured by text position, with the cover pages and the extras at the back left out. That is my own count, and the percentages you will see are rounded to a whole number.
How I Rate A Twist
Each twist gets three scores out of five. Surprise is how hard it hits when it lands. Clues is how fairly the book plays, which means a careful reader could have seen it coming without the author cheating. Reread is how much the earlier pages change once you know.
Then I average the three scores and round to one decimal place. That average is the twist rating. A five would mean the book plays fair, hits hard, and gets better on a second read. It is a high bar, and nothing on this list clears it.
A word on the scale. One means the twist is a footnote. Three means it is a good one that a close reader might guess. Five is the kind of ending you recommend to a friend without being able to tell them why. Half points are allowed, and I set each score before I looked at the average, so the ranking is a result and not a plan.
Two honest limits. First, this is taste, and a thriller fan will weigh surprise more heavily than a fan of drama. Second, only books I have already covered with an ending page made the list, so famous twist novels are missing. This is not the best twists ever written. It is the best six I can stand behind, so we count down from six to one.
Number Six: Incidents Around the House
Number six is Incidents Around the House, by Josh Malerman. It is a horror novel, and the publisher’s pitch is a family and something that has moved into their home. The big turn lands about ninety-seven percent of the way in, in the very last stretch of the book.
Surprise, two and a half. Clues, four. Reread, three and a half. That averages out to three point three. The book plays very fair, and that costs it some surprise. Horror readers will enjoy the ending more than twist hunters will.
My advice is to read it for the dread, and treat the ending as a bonus. Once you have finished, my full ending page for Incidents Around the House is on bookexplained dot com, and it is linked in the description.
Number Five: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Number five is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is not a thriller. It is a drama about a screen legend who tells her life story to a writer. The big turn lands about ninety-three percent of the way in.
Surprise, four. Clues, four. Reread, two and a half. Average, three and a half. The reveal is planted with care and plays completely fair, but most of the book stands on its own, so a second read changes less than it does in a thriller.
Judge it for what it is. If you only love twists, it will sit lower on your shelf than mine. If you love a big emotional last act, it will sit a lot higher. The ending page for Evelyn Hugo is there when you are ready.
Number Four: Verity
Number four is Verity, by Colleen Hoover. The publisher’s pitch is a struggling writer who is hired to finish a bestselling author’s series, in the author’s own home. The big turn lands about ninety-three percent of the way in.
Surprise, three and a half. Clues, three and a half. Reread, four. That averages three point seven. The clues are there, though they are thinner than in the books above it, and Verity rereads very well.
It is an adult thriller with explicit scenes and strong language, so check my review page first. When you have finished Verity, the ending page is waiting, and I would love to hear which part of it you argue about.
Number Three: His and Hers
Number three is His and Hers, by Alice Feeney. The publisher’s pitch is a news presenter and a detective who are pulled into the same murder. The last big turn lands about ninety-seven percent of the way in, in the final chapter.
Surprise, four. Clues, three and a half. Reread, four. Average, three point eight. It is a big, busy puzzle with clues on the page, and a second read is fun. It loses a little because some of the clues are so well buried that finding them takes real effort.
If you like to guess along, this is the best book on the list for it. Keep notes as you go. The ending page for His and Hers is linked below, for when you want to check your notes.
Number Two: None of This Is True
Number two is None of This Is True, by Lisa Jewell. The publisher’s pitch is a podcaster who meets a woman who shares her birthday. The last big turn lands about ninety-nine percent of the way in, in the final chapter.
Surprise, four. Clues, three and a half. Reread, four and a half. That averages four. This is the book I would hand to someone who says they never miss a twist, because the clues are spread across the whole book and a second read changes nearly every scene.
In my view its last turn is the least backed by clues, and that is the only reason it sits behind number one. The ending page for None of This Is True is linked below.
Number One: The Silent Patient
Number one is The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides. The publisher’s pitch is a famous painter, a long silence, and a therapist who is determined to make her speak. The big turn lands about ninety-three percent of the way in.
Surprise, four and a half. Clues, four and a half. Reread, four and a half. The average is four and a half, the highest on the list. It moves fast, the clues are fair and sit in plain view, and a second read feels like a different book.
That is why it wins. It is the only book here where all three scores match and all three are high. If you only pick one twist from this list, make it this one. Then come back and compare notes.
The Full Chart
Here is the whole chart. Four and a half for The Silent Patient. Four for None of This Is True. Three point eight for His and Hers. Three point seven for Verity. Three and a half for Evelyn Hugo. And three point three for Incidents Around the House.
The average across all six is three point eight. That is a solid score for a list I chose on purpose, and it means none of these is a bad pick. Even number six is a fair book that I would recommend to the right reader.
No two books tie once the averages are rounded, so there was no tiebreak to argue about. Number two trails number one by half a point, and number six trails it by more than a full point.
Remember that the numbers are my opinion, and your ranking may look different. If you finish one of these and disagree with me, tell me which one, and tell me why.
Where To Start
So which one should you read first? If you want the best twist, start with The Silent Patient. If you want the most puzzle, pick His and Hers. If you want clues to hunt on a second read, pick None of This Is True. And if you would rather have a great story than a twist, pick Evelyn Hugo.
Whichever you choose, finish it before you open the matching ending page. All six are on bookexplained dot com, linked in the description. The ending pages are full of spoilers. This list page is not. All six are adult books, so check the content notes on each review page.
Which of the six have you read, and did you see the twist coming? Tell me in the comments, and please, no spoilers. Subscribe for more lists like this one, and tap like if this saved you from a spoiler.