Books that leave you hanging.
There is nothing better than a book that keeps you wanting more. As the tension builds with every chapter, pulling you deeper into the story, you suddenly reach the final page—only to be left teetering on the edge of a cliffhanger.
From heart-pounding thrillers to epic fantasy to mysterious science fiction, cliffhanger endings are both thrilling and maddening. They ignite anticipation and excitement, making you eager to reach for the next installment while also testing your patience when you realize the sequel may be years away.
But that's the magic of a well-executed cliffhanger—it leaves a lasting impression, keeping you hooked long after you’ve closed the book.
We’ve curated a great collection of books with gripping cliffhangers to get you hooked. This includes well-known cliffhangers such as Catching Fire and A Storm of Swords from two popular series, to newer reads such as The Guest. From suspenseful sequels to satisfying standalones, these reads will leave you hanging in the best possible ways.
Which have you read and which one are you reading next?
20 Books With Cliffhangers
The Guest
by Emma Cline
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/FAULKNER AWARD - A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
"Alex drained her wineglass, then her water glass. The ocean looked calm, a black darker than the sky. A ripple of anxiety made her palms go damp. It seemed suddenly very tenuous to believe that anything would stay hidden, that she could successfully pass from one world to another."
Summer is coming to a close on the East End of Long Island, and Alex is no longer welcome.
A misstep at a dinner party, and the older man she's been staying with dismisses her with a ride to the train station and a ticket back to the city.
Husbands & Lovers
by Beatriz Williams
"My favorite kind of page-turner--unputdownable!"--Martha Hall Kelly, author of The Golden Doves
New England, 2022. Three years ago, single mother Mallory Dunne received the telephone call every parent dreads--her ten-year-old son, Sam, had been airlifted from summer camp with acute poisoning from a toxic death cap mushroom, leaving him fighting for his life. Now, searching for the donor kidney that will give her son a chance for a normal life.
Cairo, 1951. After suffering tragedy beyond comprehension in the war, Hungarian refugee Hannah Ainsworth has forged a respectable new life for herself--marriage to a wealthy British diplomat with a coveted posting in glamorous Cairo.
For the Wolf
by Hannah Whitten
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND TIKTOK SENSATION!
The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.
As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose--to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods.
Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again.
Magical Midlife Madness
by K F Breene
"Happily Ever After" wasn't supposed to come with a do-over option. But when my husband of 20 years packs up and heads for greener pastures, and my son heads away to college, that's exactly what my midlife becomes. A do-over.
This time, though, I plan to do things differently. Age is just a number, after all, and at 40 I'm ready to carve my own path.
Eager for a fresh start, I make a somewhat unorthodox decision and move to a tiny town in the Sierra foothills. I'll be taking care of a centuries-old house that called to me when I was a kid. It's just temporary, I tell myself. It'll just be for a little while.
That is, until I learn what the house really is: something I never would've thought possible.
One Dark Window
by Rachel Gillig
THE FANTASY BOOKTOK SENSATION!
Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home--she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.
But nothing comes for free, especially magic.
Her Majesty's Royal Coven
by Juno Dawson
A Discovery of Witches meets The Craft in this epic fantasy about a group of childhood friends who are also witches.
If you look hard enough at old photographs, we're there in the background: healers in the trenches; Suffragettes; Bletchley Park oracles; land girls and resistance fighters. Why is it we help in times of crisis? We have a gift. We are stronger than Mundanes, plain and simple.
At the dawn of their adolescence, on the eve of the summer solstice, four young girls--Helena, Leonie, Niamh and Elle--took the oath to join Her Majesty's Royal Coven, established by Queen Elizabeth I as a covert government department. Now, decades later, the witch community is still reeling from a civil war and Helena is the reigning High Priestess of the organization.
The First Sister
by Linden A Lewis
Combining the social commentary of The Handmaid's Tale with the white-knuckled thrills of Red Rising!
First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars--the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister's hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain--Saito Ren--whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is much harder when you're falling in love.
Gideon the Ninth
by Tamsyn Muir
WINNER of the 2020 Crawford Award
Finalist for the 2020 Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as arcane revenants. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse.
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue
by V E Schwab
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
USA TODAY BESTSELLER
NATIONAL INDIE BESTSELLER
THE WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER
A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever--and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.
Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.
But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
The Poppy War
by R F Kuang
One of Time Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface.
When Rin aced the Keju--the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies--it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn't believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin's guardians, who believed they'd finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard--the most elite military school in Nikan--was even more surprising.
But surprises aren't always good.
Dark Matter
by Blake Crouch
There is a reason the book sold so many… everyone wanted to tell their friends to read it so they could also be left hanging on, desiring more and more. Enjoy this book with cliffhangers so you can be included in the club.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - OVER ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD! - NOW STREAMING ON APPLE TV+
"Are you happy with your life?"
Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the kidnapper knocks him unconscious.
Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.
Before a man he's never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”
A Gathering of Shadows
by V E Schwab
A book series can add to the cliffhanger drama, since they do intentionally suck you in for the next book in the series. And V.E. Schwab is a master of that. All ages will be interested in this, not just the young adults.
The second adventure in #1 New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab's beloved Shades of Magic trilogy--a dazzling world of parallel Londons where the balance of power is ever perilous, and for one city to flourish, another must die...
Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Essen Tach tournament, and another London is coming back to life...After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning. But magic must always live in balance--and so now, another London will fall.
Golden Son
by Pierce Brown
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow's kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds--and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love--but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind's destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution--and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo's principles of love and justice to free his people.
He must live for more.
Catching Fire
by Suzanne Collins
The second novel in the worldwide bestselling series by Suzanne Collins, now an acclaimed film series starring Jennifer Lawrence
Sparks are igniting. Flames are spreading. And the Capitol wants revenge.
Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
by David Wroblewski
An Oprah's Book Club Pick
#1 New York Times Bestseller
"A mystery, a thriller, a ghost story, and a literary tour de force . . . an authentic epic, long and lush, full of back story and observed detail . . . the author exercises a certain magic that catches and holds our attention, a magic that is undeniably his own."--Los Angeles Times Book Review
Born mute, speaking only in sign, Edgar Sawtelle leads an idyllic life on his family's farm in remote northern Wisconsin, where they raise and train an extraordinary breed of dog. But when tragedy mysteriously strikes, Edgar is forced to flee into the vast neighboring wilderness, accompanied by three yearling dogs. He comes of age in the wild, struggling for survival, until the day Edgar is forced to choose between leaving forever and returning home to learn the truth behind what has happened.
The Well of Ascension
by Brandon Sanderson
Now with over 10 million copies sold, The Mistborn Series has the thrills of a heist story, the twistiness of political intrigue, and the epic scale of a landmark fantasy saga.
They did the impossible, ending the thousand-year reign of the godlike Lord Ruler. Now Vin, the former street urchin turned powerful Mistborn, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire.
As tensions grow in the wake of the uprising, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.
It may just be that killing the Lord Ruler was the easy part. Surviving the aftermath of his fall is going to be the real challenge.
Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
NOW ON BROADWAY
The international bestseller and modern classic of adventure, survival, and the power of storytelling is now an award-winning play.
After the sinking of a cargo ship, a solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan--and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger.
Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi Patel, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with the tiger, Richard Parker, for 227 days while lost at sea. When they finally reach the coast of Mexico, Richard Parker flees to the jungle, never to be seen again.
A Storm of Swords
by George R R Martin
You'd have to be living under a rock to not know about Game of Thrones. But reading the books, watching the tv show, you understand why this it's on our list of book with cliffhangers. They are literally in almost all the chapters. Pulling at all your emotions, NEEDING more! And honestly, still wanting more since we are all waiting on the final installment.
THE BOOK BEHIND THE THIRD SEASON OF GAME OF THRONES, AN ORIGINAL SERIES NOW ON HBO.
Here is the third book in the landmark series that has redefined imaginative fiction and become a modern masterpiece.
A STORM OF SWORDS
Of the five contenders for power, one is dead, another in disfavor, and still the wars rage. Joffrey sits on the Iron Throne, the uneasy ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His most bitter rival, Lord Stannis, stands defeated and disgraced, victim of the sorceress who holds him in her thrall. Young Robb still rules the North from the fortress of Riverrun. Meanwhile, making her way across a blood-drenched continent is the exiled queen, Daenerys, mistress of the only three dragons left in the world. As opposing forces maneuver for the final showdown, an army of barbaric wildlings arrives from the outermost limits of civilization, accompanied by a supernatural army of the living dead. As the future of the land hangs in the balance, no one will rest until the Seven Kingdoms have exploded in a veritable storm of swords. . . .
And Then There Were None
by Agatha Christie
Of course we had to add the Queen of Mystery to our list of books with cliffhangers. There's a reason she's called the queen, Agatha won't disappoint. But she will leave you wanting more especially in this book.
"If you're one of the few who haven't experienced the genius of Agatha Christie, this novel is a stellar starting point." -- DAVID BALDACCI, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Ten people, each with something to hide and something to fear, are invited to an isolated mansion on Indian Island by a host who, surprisingly, fails to appear. On the island they are cut off from everything but each other and the inescapable shadows of their own past lives. One by one, the guests share the darkest secrets of their wicked pasts. And one by one, they die...
Which among them is the killer and will any of them survive?
No matter the genre, a great book with a cliffhanger will keep you waiting for what’s next. So grab one of our books recommendations and dive into your next thrilling read.