Novels With Multiple Narrators

When writer Nel Abbott’s body is found in a lake, her death changes the lives of more than just her now-orphaned daughter Lena. But Nel isn’t the only woman to be found in the lake known as the Drowning Pool — just a couple of months earlier Lena’s friend was found there too, along with countless other women before them. Drawn to the lake to research these mysterious deaths, Nel already had a painful history tied to the Drowning Pool — though her sister’s is worse. Jules vowed to never return to town, but now she has to return for Lena — and the truth. From the perspectives of Jules, Lena, and other suspicious characters, find out who’s to blame in a town full of suspects.

To celebrate their fifth anniversary, Eliza and Graham are given an exciting weeklong vacation — too bad their marriage is anything but exciting right now. Eliza and Graham are more like roommates who never see or talk to each other. But what went wrong? Told from their alternating perspectives, both know they were once deeply in love for a reason — how did their marriage fade away so quickly? Determined to make the most of the week, Eliza and Graham decide to get separate rooms and pretend to meet each other for the first time. While their connection sizzles as strangers, will it fizzle out once the week is up — or can they find a way to keep the spark ignited for good?

Celine Bangura and Bradley Graeme are decidedly not friends anymore, but when they’re partnered up for a class camping trip that gives them a chance to win a scholarship, they decide to suck it up. But their history is a messy one, and not so easy to brush aside. Alternating between the two with their version of the events that tore them apart four years ago, see if soccer-playing Brad and TikTok conspiracy theorist Celine can stomach revisiting the end of their close friendship to give themselves a real shot at winning. Or will this trip down memory lane not only jeopardize their scholarship chances but also their chance to become more than just friends?

Told in interview style, read the account of different band members, family members, and managers of how the famed 1970s band Daisy Jones & the Six went down in history — and flames. As they skyrocketed to stardom but just as quickly fell from grace, these band members learned the hard way that sex, drugs, and rock and roll come at a price. As you piece together the whole story, you’ll discover that everything is not as it seems — or is it? With unreliable narrators that miscommunicate, contradict, deny, and omit information, you’ll need to decide for yourself what is and isn’t the truth — and who can be trusted not only to be honest with the interviewer but with themselves.

In 1929, the infamous Hope family murders made headlines. The only possible suspect is Lenora Hope — but why would she kill her parents and sister? Now it’s 1983, and though never proven guilty, Lenora’s reputation is tarnished forever. Sent to take care of her after a series of strokes is Kit McDeere — the next in a succession of nurses who quit shortly after arriving at Hope’s End. Though Lenora’s strokes have severely affected her ability to move and speak, she and Kit find their own way of communicating. With just one finger, Lenora tells her side of the story to Kit on a typewriter. Alternating between Kit’s perspective in the present and Lenora’s perspective of the past, you’ll find holes in both their stories.

Hazel, Miriam, August, and Joan all have different memories of Memphis and the home they grew up in. Hazel remembers the family she made with her loving husband in a time of struggle, her daughters Miriam and August remember facing familial tragedy, and Miriam’s daughter Joan remembers the brutal sexual assault she experienced at only three years old. When Miriam comes back to Memphis after escaping her abusive husband, her daughters Joan and Maya must adjust to life with their aunt August and abusive cousin Derek. Through the perspective of the late Hazel, her daughters, and Joan, learn their full family history and see that while life-changing violence has shown up in each generation, so has their unconditional love and support of each other.

Twins Jude and Noah are as close as can be — until one day they aren’t. Told through Noah’s point-of-view three years before Jude’s, you’ll see the side of their relationship that seems unbreakable. But as Jude takes over, her story depicts a family full of strangers. Told in these alternating perspectives and timelines, Noah and Jude’s stories will have to meet in the middle for everything to become clear. As Noah’s story moves forward, see how they are forced to adapt to drastic changes that later affect their entire family. If Noah and Jude can mend the close relationship they once had, they might be able to give each other the sun, the moon, and so much more.

Siobhan, Miranda, and Jane couldn’t be any more different, but they have one essential thing in common — their boyfriend. Between dating a life coach, a tree surgeon, and a charity shop volunteer, it isn’t surprising that he stands up all three of them on Valentine’s Day. Despite each of them granting him forgiveness, their suspicions remain. But as each woman’s story and side of things progresses — could it be that they have this all wrong? If their boyfriend is keeping something from all of them, is it really another woman — or two — or is it a bigger secret entirely? As the three of them get closer to the truth, their fates are at risk of much more than just heartbreak.

When a Facebook comment makes Jivan, a Muslim woman, a suspect in a terrorist attack, her quest to prove her innocence becomes national news. Meanwhile, Lovely is an aspiring actress and Jivan’s English tutee who is struggling financially and socially — until she gains attention from testifying at Jivan’s trial. Although Lovely has Jivan’s alibi, her freedom would come at the cost of Lovely’s now blossoming career. Between these two first-person narrators is the omniscient third-person narrator who follows PT Sir, Jivan’s previous gym teacher, who rises in success for his affiliations with a right-wing political group intent on keeping Jivan in prison. As the accomplishments of others hinge on Jivan’s downfall, Jivan’s innocent comment might have cost her a life sentence.