by Barb, first December ever in Key West
My friend Leslie Wheeler is here today with an interesting post about last lines in fiction. Leslie is writing in support of the latest release of Best New England Crime Stories, The Devil’s Snare. One lucky commenter below will receive a copy.
For six years I was a co-editor, co-publisher of the Best New England Crime Stories series, along with Leslie and our friends Kat Fast and Mark Ammons. It was one of the most interesting and fun things I’ve ever done and I learned a ton about writing, editing, and publishing.
Fast forward nine years and there have been numerous changes on the ownership and editorial fronts but it makes me so happy this wonderful annual collection persists, now with editors Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and Leslie Wheeler.
Take it away, Leslie!
The Importance of Last Lines
As a writer and editor, I am well aware of the importance of first lines in novels and short stories. They are the invitation writers send prospective readers to enter their fictional worlds. That invitation often involves a question or problem that must be resolved. If done right, readers accept the invitation. In last lines, the author bids readers good-bye, and either leaves them satisfied they took the journey, or not. Some last lines in novels have been so effective that they are stamped on readers’ collective memory. For example, Gone with the Wind ends with Scarlett O’Hara’s response to Rhett Butler’s equally famous: “My dear, I don’t give a damn” with these words: “I’ll go home and I’ll think of a way to get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.”
Writers of short stories, however, don’t have the luxury of length to dole out their openings or closings. They must find not only the right words but the right number of words for the beginning and end. I would argue that last lines can either make or break a story. What makes a successful ending? Here are three examples taken from stories, which appear in Devil’s Snare, Best New England Crime Stories 2024, co-edited by Susan Oleksiw, Ang Pompano, and myself.
“The Business of Others” by Gabriela Stitler ends thus:
“It’s over,” he said.
“I know.”
“I’m sorry.” He said it so softly I almost didn’t hear.
So softly we could pretend he didn’t need to say it.
This is a low-key but telling ending to a story about a couple who watch their neighbors ruin their lives in a love triangle gone bad, and must find a way forward themselves. The last lines show us that they will probably succeed, having learned from the mistakes of others.
But stories don’t have to end with a change in behavior of a main character to work. In Paula Messina’s “Fish Eyes,” a young man struggles to find out why a fishmonger is in danger. Although he is successful in finding a resolution to the problem, he realizes that the fishmonger can’t stop the behavior that got him in trouble in the first place.
“Nothing, no one would ever stop Mr. Clemente from reveling in a beautiful women’s eyes.”
This humorous ending is in keeping with the overall light-hearted mood of the story.
Stories can also end well even when the main character fails to achieve his chief goal. In “Chinese Exclusion” by Michael Ditchfield, a young, newly married lawyer cannot save a wrongfully accused man from the death chamber, but succeeds on the home front.
“We needed more justice. . . Then I got off my internal soap box and surprised Gladys: I put in the laundry.”
Here, the shift from the lofty to the mundane is a nice twist.
As I hope these examples demonstrate, there is more than one way to write effective last lines.
Readers: Do you have favorite last lines from novels or short stories? One of the commentators will receive a free copy of Devil’s Snare.
About The Devil’s Snare
Devil’s Snare brings together 24 crime stories featuring the innocent to the professional hitman in circumstances that highlight shrewd, the clever, the professional, the accidental, the reluctant sleuth and more. Authors are Christine Bagley, Nancy Brewka-Clark, Bruce Robert Coffin, Hans Copek, Michael Ditchfield, Christine Eskilson, Kate Flora, Connie Johnson Hambley, Sean C. Harding, Kathryn Marple Kalb (Nikki Knight), Chris Knopf, Alison McMahon, Paula Messina, Susan Oleksiw, Eugenia Parrish, Ang Pompano, Stephen D. Rogers, Clea Simon, Sarah Smith, Shelagh Smith, Gabriela Stiteler, Mo Walsh, and Leslie Wheeler.
Crime Spell Books Facebook page
About Leslie Wheeler
Leslie Wheeler is a co-editor/publisher at Crime Spell Books, which publishes an annual anthology of Best New England Crime Stories. She is also the author of two mystery series: the Miranda Lewis Living History series and the Berkshire Hilltown Mysteries. She divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the Berkshires, where she writes in a house overlooking a pond.
The Wickeds 
If I’m reading a series, I like a last line (or a few) to be kind of a set up for the next book, something that makes me eager to jump into the next book. For cozies, I’m a sucker for a happy ending, so I like a last line to be a grande finale. Drives me crazy to read a whole book and then have a dubious, murky ending!
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Very true, Kathy, about last lines for series novels. When I’m writing them, I try to set up for the next book, and if you’re writing a cozy, it should have a happy ending. Otherwise, readers will be turned off. Thanks for your comment!
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Last lines are so important. Julia Spencer-Fleming’s HID FROM OUR EYES ends like this:
“Then where’s Flynn, Chief? Where is he?”
Russ shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know, Knox. I don’t know.”
This conversation about a former member of the PD who has disappeared baits us for the next book (if she ever finishes it). The repeated phrases from each of them are powerful.
My copy of the anthology is waiting for me to finish my current library book and I can’t wait!
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Wow! That’s a whopper of an ending, Edith. I’m not surprised it’s got you waiting breathlessly for the next book. I like to end my books with a question or comment about something left hanging that will be addressed in the next book, but I’ve never closed with such a provocative question. Hats off to Julia Spencer Fleming!
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When put on the spot, I can never remember the things that make a book stand our – like last lines. Instead, I will say that often to me they bring closure, like tying up loose ends or letting me know it all worked out for the characters we’ve come to love within the pages of a book, and often they led to new beginnings, either for troubled characters in this book or leaving you with hopes that there’s another book coming to finish up the last line. Either way, I desire to read the last line with a smile or a sigh content and happy that I read this particular book.
DEVIL’S SNARE sounds like an amazing collection of grime stories. I’ve now added it to my TBR list and can’t wait to read and review it. Thank you so much for the chance to win a copy!
2clowns at arkansas dot net
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Thanks for your reply, Kay! Like you, many readers might not remember that exact last words of a novel or short story. Confess I had to look up the first part of Scarlett O’Hara’s last lines, so perhaps it can be the feeling the ending leaves you with that’s important. I decided to do a post on last lines when I realized I couldn’t get the last lines of Gabriela Stiteler’s story out of my head. Then I looked at other last lines of stories in Devil’s Snare, and picked a couple more that really resonated with me.
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I looked through a few favorite books from authors I figured I could count on. First, Randy Wayne White–whose first lines are always wonderful. Last lines are good too. He ended “Shark River” with these final lines: “She was laughing, then she was roaring. ‘Tell me about it, pal,’ she said. ‘Tell me about it!'”
Then I turned to old old favorite Charlotte Armstrong. Her ending for “Mischief,” published in 1963, made me laugh. Here’s her last lines:
“‘In my speech,’ cried Peter. ‘Now I have to think of a better ending.’ He glared at them.”
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Those are two intriguing endings, cberry. Thanks for sharing them. I especially like having Peter glare at them, because it’s something I’d probably do if I thought I’d finally figured out my ending, and then was told not.
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Writing is an act of faith. You never
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As I was saying, writing is an act of faith. You never know how it will turn out. It’s always great to get reactions from readers, even if one of the readers is the editor. I wish I could say something brilliant about why I chose that ending. It just felt like the right way to end the story and in keeping with Donatello’s take on the whole affair. Thanks for mentioning “Fish Eyes.”
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Hi, Paula, you’ve got it right when you say “writing is an act of faith.” I don’t always know exactly how my books or stories are going to end, but I remind myself that I’ve been in this situation before, and have to trust that the ending will come to me when I get close, as yours obviously did. Thanks again for giving us “Fish Eyes”!
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Last lines can be amazing, and give me the ending I expected but they can be disappointing and upsetting too. J ave read many with both. My favorite one is After all, tomorrow is another day.
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Yes, Anne, endings can be disappointing, especially if you’re expecting one thing and the story ends another way, but when they work, it’s wonderful!
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Congratulations and welcome back! I love your examples of various ways to end a story.
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Thanks, Sherry, I’m glad you enjoyed my post. I had fun picking the examples, and could have given more, but decided three would do it.
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I really enjoyed this post, Leslie! The examples you shared from Devil’s Snare beautifully illustrate how last lines can resonate in different ways—whether by showing change, humor, or a poignant shift. One of my favorite last lines comes from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express: “It is for you to decide. Have you understood everything clearly?” It’s such a brilliant way to leave readers questioning morality and justice.
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Ang, glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for sharing favorite last lines from Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. They are good ones! While familiar with the story, I don’t remember the last lines, though perhaps I should have.
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Last long are so important. There are many times when I’ll read a short story, and I will think, this is good, this is good, and then I get to the end and I’m disappointed, thinking, that’s the end? It can ruin the enjoyment of a story.
That said, I didn’t read any of the examples in the column. I didn’t want the story spoiled. I’m hoping to win the anthology.
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Hi. It’s Barb Goffman. I’m the one who made the supposedly anonymous comment. I thought I was signed in.
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Hi, Barb, Great to hear from you. I’m actually the other “anonymous” on this post, because I thought I was signed in when I wasn’t also. Yes, endings can be disappointing, and I don’t blame you for not reading any of the examples, because it would ruin the stories for you. I worried about how much I was giving away in this post, but I was sort of hoping people might forget what they’d read here when they got around to actually reading the stories.
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I’m not coming up with any great last lines at the moment, but I certainly agree that they are critical. It’s what hopefully stays with the reader after they’ve stopped reading.
(No need to enter me in the giveaway.)
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Hi, Mark, no worries about coming up with great last lines. I find them hard to write myself, while cliffhanger endings for chapters in a novel are easy. You have to ask yourself what impression do you want to leave with your readers. I once had the experience of giving a story what I admit was a non-ending only to have a reader write her own ending for it. Realizing that her ending wasn’t right for the story I wanted to tell, I forced myself to come up with a suitable ending.
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honestly no I just don’t like it to be a cliffhanger
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Thanks for your comment, Crystal. I agree that cliffhanger endings don’t work for short stories. Where I think they do work is at the end of chapters in a novel. There they have the effect of encouraging the reader to read the next chapters which usually contain the missing information.
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Don’t have a favorite last line but I do want my last lines to serve as a fitting conclusion to wrap up the book.
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Don’t have a favorite last line but I do want my last lines to serve as a fitting conclusion to wrap up the book. Sorry that I did not realize it was going to be posted as anonymous, so I am posting again
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Thanks for your reply, cherierj. I totally agree that last lines should be a fitting conclusion to a book or story.
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Firstly- what a great write up! I just finished reading the anthology and there are a number of outstanding stories. I had a 9th grade teacher who said that a good ending is like a kiss goodnight or a punch to the gut. It stuck with me then and is still gnawing away when I work out the end of a piece. I really like the line Ang included from Murder on the Orient Express specifically for crime writing. At the core, I think a lot of the genre explores that tension. And as a writer, I love exploring where exactly the line is- at what point does a murderer become sympathetic? I suppose that Agatha lady knew a thing or two about a good mystery. -Gabi
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Hi, Gabi, I’m glad you liked the write-up. I like what your 9th grade teacher said about good endings–that they are either a kiss good night or a punch in the gut. Will have to remember that–thanks for sharing!
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I like Kay Garrett’s comment; I want a book to leave me glad I read it and happy to know I’ll read it again someday. Many people don’t realize that the last line in the movie “Now Voyager” is also the last line of the novel. “Don’t let’s ask for the moon! We have the stars!” I was young when I first read my mother’s copy, and I still love being reminded that we should never let reaching for the moon blind us to what we already have.
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Anonymous, that’s a great line from the movie and book, “Now Voyager: “Don’t let’s ask for the moon! We have the stars!” Think I probably saw the movie, but haven’t read the book. Thanks for sharing such memorable lines.
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24 stories! What a holiday gift for me! I can’t wait to read them… I wish you all the best holidays…. Mady
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Thanks for your enthusiastic response to the anthology, and a big thanks for Barb Ross and the rest of The Wickeds for hosting me on your blog. And happy holidays to you all.
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