Hot take: Reading the last chapter first actually ruined that mystery novel for me

I tried skipping to the end of 'The Hollow Man' after getting stuck on page 50, and it totally killed the reveal about the locked room trick, so now I'm wondering if anyone else has a specific method for getting through a slog without spoiling the payoff.

2 comments

2 Comments

davidwright5d ago

Page 47 of 'The Hollow Man' is where I almost gave up too. But I found a trick that works for me - I flip to a random page in the middle, read just a few paragraphs to get the vibe of the writing style, then go back to the start. It doesn't spoil the actual plot, just helps me get a feel for how the author is handling clues and red herrings. Like I learned that Dickson Carr loves hiding fake outs in long descriptions of rooms, so now I know to pay extra attention to those parts. That way I can push through the slow bits without knowing who the killer is or how the trick works.

patkelly5d ago

Yeah, "reading just a few paragraphs" is risky for me too, last time I did that I accidentally read the last line of the book and ruined the whole thing. I mean, maybe I just need to embrace being a slow reader who accepts the slog.