Guest post written by The Ends of Things author Sandra Chwialkowska
Sandra Chwialkowska is a television writer and producer who splits her time between Los Angeles and Toronto. Most recently, she served as writer and co–executive producer on the Golden Globe–nominated ABC series Alaska Daily, created by Oscar-winning writer Tom McCarthy and starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank. Sandra holds a BA in literature from Yale. This is her first novel.
About The Ends of Things: A propulsive literary debut, The Ends of Things is both a thought-provoking suspense and a meditation on female friendship and agency—perfect for fans of The White Lotus and authors like Catherine Steadman and Rachel Hawkins.
Beauty and danger. These seem to be the key features of a successful thriller—and a perfect beach book. Many of us reach for thrillers when we’re headed on vacation, but at first glance, it seems counterintuitive: We go on holiday because we want to escape the stress of our hectic lives. So, if it’s rest and relaxation we’re after, why do we choose to read about murder and mayhem?
To help understand this apparent contradiction, it helps to go back, way back, to the Ancient Greeks. They recognized a dichotomy in human nature—the need for order and the need for chaos. This duality was epitomized in their literary concepts of the Apollonian and the Dionysian. Apollonian refers to ideas like order and reason, logic and harmony. Dionysian refers to disorder and irrationality, passion and chaos. Opposites to be sure, but they’re interconnected. Nietzsche wrote about how these two forces of human nature pop up in Greek tragedies all the time.
So, what’s the payoff for feeling this tension between order and chaos? Catharsis—a release of negative emotions. In some ways, the same is true of vacation. We journey to a foreign land to escape, yes, but also to reflect on our problems, so that we can return to our lives refreshed, with a new perspective.
Reading a beachy mystery, then, only enhances our cathartic experience. We become engrossed in the story, and every suspenseful twist and turn dredges up negative emotions we might be struggling with in our own lives. When we reach the resolution, we experience a purging of these emotions, heave a sigh of relief and feel better.
Here are five delicious mysteries and thrillers to feed our obsession with bad things happening in beautiful places:
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
A fast-paced mystery about the disappearance of two siblings, fourteen years apart, at an idyllic summer camp in the Adirondacks. The missing children are no ordinary campers either – they’re the kids of the family that owns the camp and employs the locals.
The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
When a wealthy industrialist hires conman Tom Ripley to bring his prodigal son Dickie home from Europe, Tom travels to beautiful Italy to find Dickie. But Tom’s gradual obsession with Dickie and his decadent lifestyle soon turns deadly.
The Ends of Things by Sandra Chwialkowska
When a solo female traveler disappears from a lux beach resort in the Bahamas, fellow vacationer Laura becomes obsessed with the missing woman and embroiled in the police investigation that unfolds.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
When someone is found dead at an elementary school fundraiser in the scenic Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, suspects and motives abound. A thrilling mystery told in multiple perspectives that centers on three mothers – Celeste, Jane, and Madeline – and their families and friends, in the leadup to the night of the murder.
The Guest by Emma Cline
Set in the Hamptons in the last days of summer, The Guest follows Alex, an enigmatic drifter on the run for mysterious reasons, who skillfully ingratiates herself with the Long Island elite.
