Dear Readers,
Every copy of the The Wave at Hanging Rock has a link in the end promising a short explanation of what happens at the end. Unfortunately when my website changed over, the link I used failed to work. I’ve corrected this in all new copies of the book, but I can’t change it in copies that were downloaded before this happened. So this post is just here in case people come to the website looking for this page. It’s on the link below: Hope that helps someone!
Hi Ron, I think (though I’m not 100% sure I remember correctly) there’s a line or two that implies Jesse began blackmailing Natalie and Dave after they murder John, and he gets the money that way (plus it doesn’t actually cost that much to move to Indo and open a bar, it just takes a desire/courage/need to give up your old life to begin a new one). At least that’s the case in my head… Hope that helps!
Hi Greg,
I enjoyed the book, but as with many readers the ending confused me. In my mind I went in a completely different direction since we learned that everything that Jessie had said was a lie, I thought perhaps the “fake” Darren was actually Jim and Jim wanted to escape his life to surf. Or, that maybe Darren was the bright one since it had been his dream to have the bar. Anyway thanks for the explanation.
Hi Gregg, Not sure what all the confusion is about with the ending . I thought it was brilliant ! I loved it . All the way to the end where you indicate Darren is no longer with us . Well done and left a little for my imagination. Thank you , Laura
Hi Gregg, l Have just had finished reading “Wave at Hanging Rock” a few hours ago and l’ve been thinking about the ending since then – perfect! It’s all slotted into place – a real thought provoker – you got it just right!
I love your ‘Rock pool’ books but can’t help wishing you had kept ‘Billy’ 11 years old for longer – all those books we have missed out on!
Sue
Hi Gregg, l Have just had finished reading “Wave at Hanging Rock” a few hours ago and l’ve been thinking about the ending since then – perfect! It’s all slotted into place – a real thought provoker – you got it just right!
I love your ‘Rock pool’ books but can’t help wishing you had kept ‘Billy’ 11 years old for longer – all those books we have missed out on!
Sue
I loved the audio book but I was left so confused with the ending
Hi Pam, I did write a couple of scenes that showed how Darren died, but in the end I didn’t include them as it seemed better to leave it to the reader’s imagination. Ultimately it’s more of an issue for the epilogue than the main story. For what it’s worth, in both cases Jesse used his (Darren’s) drinking to bump him off, messing with the brakes on his car and letting him crash into a stone wall was one of them I remember.
Hope that helps
Gregg
Soooooo, how did Darren die??? I’m so confused! I am guessing Jesse killed him. When, why and how? I loved the first book. I am trying to figure this one out! I’m going to start the third, but am trying to figure this ending out! So many questions! But u have a new fan! Thank you!
Hi Greg,
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain this. I really appreciate it. To be honest, I’m pretty sure most authors would not take the time to personally reply in such a way and for that I am very grateful and impressed and will not take up any more of your time when you can be using it to pen another great read!!!!! Thoroughly enjoying the Desert Run and as always a captivating read! Many thanks once again. Sharon
I have to say that I absolutely love your books but am very disappointed with this ending. Yes, I understand the twist but there are so many flaws in it. I get your explanation that it was Jesse all along but how does that add up? I get that he could have told Darren that it was John who stabbed Jim and not himself (as Darren didn’t see what happened as he was in the sea at the time) but surely at that point John would have said “come on Jesse – what are you talking about it was you!”. It would not have been in his interest to have not said that. Why would John let Jesse lie to Darren and say he was the murderer when he was not? I don’t know I really do not wish to sound anal because I greatly admire your work and loved The Things You Find in Rockpools but this ending just didn’t sit well with me. Also why would Jesse murder Darren’s brother and his girlfriend? OK I guess you could say because he is psychopathic but that means that all the feelings we read in the whole book from Jesse’s perspective was a complete lie. I have to say though that I admire the fact that you accept and indeed have given your fans a chance to get their heads round this. I guess I’m not the only one to feel disappointed with the ending. Anyway, I am about to read Dessert Run and just hope that the ending is more realistic! Many thanks though and I don’t mean to be derogatory as after “Rockpools” you were definitely my favourite author and, don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed Hanging Rock up until the ending. Anyway, happy writing and thank you for giving me the opportunity to feed back (hopefully constructively!)
Hi Sharon, thanks for your comment. I certainly don’t deny there are issues with the ending to the book. The fact I’ve both published a blog post to explain it, and now I’m weighing in on the comments as well seems to demonstrate that pretty clearly!
But I wanted to clarify one point. The idea is not that Jesse lies to Darren when Jim gets killed – but that Jesse lies to us – the readers – all the way through the book. Almost everything he blames John for, and the way he describes John behaving (as the ‘leader’ of their group, and a charismatic, budding psychopath) is actually how Jesse has behaved/his personality.
So Jesse stabbed Jim, then used the strength of his personality to force his friends into helping him cover it up. John then broke free of Jesse, using his money and connections to set up a new life in London, with security to protect himself from Jesse. Jesse was jealous of this, and saw Natalie’s arrival as a way to get to him. Darren was always weak willed, easily manipulated and never a problem for Jesse to control. You asked why Jesse killed Darren’s brother – I can’t remember now how much of Darren’s brother featured in the book (in the earlier drafts he was more of a character) – but essentially he always saw through Jesse – hence why Jesse took pleasure in killing him. I think he got bored of Angel, so she had to go too…
You might feel the narrator lying to the reader throughout the book is a step too far in the unreliable narrator genre, which is totally your right, but just to clarify, that’s the point of the book. (And the point I’m trying, and probably still failing to explain in this reply!)
Anyway, thanks for your comment!
Well, THAT book was a real mindbender. I do enjoy your writing and had previously read Rock Pools and Desert Run before Hanging Rock. You’re adept at creating suspense but then your abrupt endings are suddenly upon the reader. And in this case, it was very confusing. But please continue writing. Your books are so refreshingly original! And by the way, I do favor the audiobook versions. You’ve chosen very good narrators.