: Re: Intentionally lying to the reader Similar to this question, but more specifically about outright lies. I am thinking of having a title that misleads or lies about the end of the novel. Something

@Angela458

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This has been done before very successfully by a famous author!

In Anthony Horowitz's Moriarty, the book is started by something along the lines of 'Let me tell you that my name is Frederick Chase...' . The 'protagonist' (the narrator) then goes on an adventure with another Detective to find and arrest Moriarty, a criminal mastermind.

At the end, the Detective is held at gunpoint by an antagonist and looks to the narrator for help. The narrator then goes on to promptly shoot the Detective and flees with the antagonist. It is at this point that the narrator reveals that they initially lied, and that they're actually Moriarty! Genius! (By the way, Moriarty doesn't appear (in the third person) throughout the whole story until this point.)

The reader isn't left feeling betrayed; on the contrary, the readeractually feels quite awestruck.

Anyway, my point is that you can get away with doing anything in your book (such as lying) as long as it interests your reader.

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