Who Peeks at the End of a Book?

I do!

I know this is crazy, but usually around a third of the way through a novel, I flip to the back to check out the ending. If the book is in traditional genre romance, they always have a happy ending, so I pretty much know where the book is headed anyway, but I still have a guilty thrill by hopping ahead. On the other hand, women’s fiction or historical novels don’t always end happily, and I want to brace myself for what is coming.

Last year I read a book which I had mistaken for a genre romance book, and foolishly neglected to read the last few pages. It had a great historical setting with a magnificent challenge for the hero and heroine to overcome. By the end of the book, not only have the hero and heroine split up, but the heroine’s daughter was tragically killed in a laughably bizarre accident. I was so mad! That was not what I bargained for when I invested a weekend delving into that novel. I actually thought the girl’s death was handled clumsily, as if the author was grasping at straws to up the emotional ante. As a reader, I felt manipulated and I really wished I had peeked at the end of that one.
Anyway, I know that I can’t be the only one who indulges in this little quirk.

The only author I refuse to hop ahead for is Ken Follett. I actually paperclip the final pages together so I don’t let myself down and cheat. So far he has been really good about delivering “the right” ending, but I can never be 100% certain.

I hope you all have some wonderful reading scheduled for this long holiday week…… and you’ve got my permission to peek ahead!