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Final Girls: A Novel Paperback – January 23, 2018
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“If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King
Ten years ago, six friends went on vacation. One made it out alive….
In that instant, college student Quincy Carpenter became a member of a very exclusive club—a group of survivors the press dubbed “The Final Girls”: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who endured the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape the massacre at Pine Cottage. Despite the media's attempts, the three girls have never met.
Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life. Her mind won’t let her recall the events of that night; the past is in the past…until the first Final Girl is found dead in her bathtub and the second Final Girl appears on Quincy's doorstep.
Blowing through Quincy's life like a hurricane, Sam seems intent on making her relive the trauma of her ordeal. When disturbing details about Lisa's death emerge, Quincy desperately tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies while evading both the police and bloodthirsty reporters. Quincy knows that in order to survive she has to remember what really happened at Pine Cottage.
Because the only thing worse than being a Final Girl is being a dead one.
WINNER OF THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FOR BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDutton
- Publication dateJanuary 23, 2018
- Dimensions5.47 x 0.78 x 8.2 inches
- ISBN-101101985380
- ISBN-13978-1101985380
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From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Deliciously scary.”—New York Times Book Review
“A terrific read!”—Karin Slaughter, New York Times and international bestselling author
“Sager does an excellent job throughout of keeping the audience guessing until the final twist. A fresh voice in psychological suspense.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Sager cleverly plays on horror movie themes from Scream to Single White Female, creating an homage without camp. Despite comparisons to Gone Girl, this debut’s strong character development and themes of rebirth and redemption align more closely with Flynn’s Dark Places.”—Booklist (starred review), “The Year's Best Crime Novels”
“The tale builds to a fantastic conclusion that will have readers thinking of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl and Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train....This brilliant horror/psychological thriller will fly off the shelves.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“You know the cold dread that washes over you while you’re watching a slasher flick? That’s how you’ll feel reading this blood-spattered mystery.”—Entertainment Weekly
“Part thriller, part horror story, Final Girls borrows riffs from Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Single White Female, but remains its own sophisticated creature....Taut and bloody, this chilling mystery invites Gillian Flynn comparisons. Readers should prepare to sleep with the lights on.”—ShelfAwareness
“Stephen King dubbed this page-turner about three women with a seriously grim bond the ‘first great thriller of 2017.’ So yeah, it’s good.”—Cosmopolitan
“A twisty thriller that keeps you guessing whodunit.”—Family Circle
“In horror movies, the 'final girl' is the one young woman who makes it out of a slasher film alive. But in Sager's story, Quincy, who survived a mass murder, refuses to play into the 'final girl' trope. Instead, she creates a fulfilling life in NYC. Then, a woman like her dies of an apparent suicide, and Quincy's well-crafted facade gradually begins to unravel. This one will keep you guessing until the very last page.”—PureWow
“Final Girls is a twisty horror novel that will keep you perched, terrified, at the edge of your seat until the very last page.”—Bustle
“Sager quickly ratchets up the mystery and the psychological suspense in classic slasher-movie fashion...[and] takes time to delve into the head of the main character, creating an emotionally charged experience readers won’t soon forget.”—BookPage
“The tone of this book is absolutely spot on—more Dark Places than Gone Girl—but it’s creepy as hell and it evokes the best qualities of ’80s slasher movies.”—Book Riot
“Far and away the best thriller that came out this year.”—PopSugar
“A cleverly devised, expertly written psychological thriller.”—Fresh Fiction
“Final Girls is the reason they came up with the term ‘page-turner.’ ”—PopHorror
“Riley Sager’s loving ode to the slasher film, Final Girls, was 2017’s perfect summer read.”—CrimeReads
“Readers won’t want to put this intense thriller down on the beach blanket—though that blanket may come in handy for hiding under during some of the book’s scarier moments.” —The Deseret News
“The Final Girls need you. You must sit down with this book, you must read. You must start flipping pages, faster, faster, faster. The Final Girls are tough, everything survivors should be. But the new threat is clever, ominous, even closer than you suspect. You are about to gasp. You might drop the book. You may have to look over your shoulder. But you must keep reading. This is the best book of 2017, the Final Girls need you.”—Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Find Her
“Final Girls is a compulsive read, with characters who are at once unreliable and sympathetic. Just when you think you've figured out the plot, the story pivots in a startling new direction....A taut and original mystery that will keep you up late trying to figure out a final twist that you won't see coming.”—Carla Norton, bestselling author of The Edge of Normal and What Doesn't Kill Her
“Part psychological thriller, part homage to slasher flicks and film noir, Final Girls has a little bit of everything: a suspicious death, a damaged heroine, an unwelcome guest who trades in secrets, and not a single character you can trust. Plenty of nail-biting fun!”—Hester Young, author of The Gates of Evangeline
“There are uncommon books and films that crack the ‘safe place,’ that have us forgetting it’s only a story. Nobody knows exactly how this is done, but when it’s done, we know it. Final Girls is operating on that plane; you will check your own arm for a wound a character suffers, you will look across the room when a character hears someone coming, and you will wonder if you yourself have the mettle to endure being a Final Girl.”—Josh Malerman, author of Bird Box
“Smart and provocative, with plenty of twists and turns, Final Girls will have the reader racing breathlessly toward its shocking conclusion.”—Sophie Littlefield, award-winning author of The Guilty One and The Missing Place
“Phenomenally drawn characters and an intriguing premise make this one of my favorite books I've read this year. An outstanding novel.”—Hollie Overton, bestselling author of Baby Doll
“Captivating and compelling, with a refreshingly brilliant premise, Riley Sager is one to watch.”—Lisa Hall, bestselling author of Between You and Me and Tell Me No Lies
“An intriguing, original idea. We’ve all shuddered at bloodbath stories—but how does the survivor cope? It made me think outside the psychological box. Fresh voice, great characterization, and unexpected surprises. This stayed in my mind because it was different.”—Jane Corry, Sunday Times bestselling author of My Husband's Wife
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
My hands are covered in frosting when Jeff calls. Despite my best efforts, the French buttercream has oozed onto my knuckles and into the hammocks between my fingers, sticking there like paste. Only one pinkie finger remains unscathed, and I use it to tap the speakerphone button.
"Carpenter and Richards, private investigators," I say, imitating the breathy voice of a film noir secretary. "How may I direct your call?"
Jeff plays along, his tough-guy tone pitched somewhere between Robert Mitchum and Dana Andrews. "Put Miss Carpenter on the horn. I need to talk to her pronto."
"Miss Carpenter is busy with an important case. May I take a message?"
"Yeah," Jeff says. "Tell her my flight from Chi-Town has been delayed."
My faade drops. "Oh, Jeff. Really?"
"Sorry, hon. The perils of flying out of the Windy City."
"How long is the delay?"
"Anywhere from two hours to maybe-I'll-be-home-by-next-week," Jeff says. "I'm at least hoping it's long enough for me to miss the start of Baking Season."
"No such luck, pal."
"How's it going, by the way?"
I look down at my hands. "Messy."
Baking Season is Jeff's name for the exhausting stretch between early October and late December, when all those dessert-heavy holidays arrive without reprieve. He likes to say it ominously, raising his hands and wiggling his fingers like spider legs.
Ironically, it's a spider that's caused my hands to be coated in buttercream. Made of double-dark chocolate frosting, its stomach teeters on the edge of a cupcake while black legs stretch across the top and down the sides. When I'm finished, the cupcakes will be posed, photographed, and displayed on my website's roster of Halloween baking ideas. This year's theme is "Revenge of the Yummy."
"How's the airport?" I ask.
"Crowded. But I think I'll survive by hitting the terminal bar."
"Call me if the delay gets any worse," I say. "I'll be here, covered in icing."
"Bake like the wind," Jeff replies.
Call over, it's back to the buttercream spider and the chocolate-cherry cupcake it partly covers. If I've done it right, the red center should ooze out at first bite. That test will come later. Right now, my chief concern is the outside.
Decorating cupcakes is harder than it seems. Especially when the results will be posted online for thousands to see. Smudges and smears aren't allowed. In a high-def world, flaws loom large.
Details matter.
That's one of the Ten Commandments on my website, squeezed between Measuring Cups Are Your Friends and Don't Be Afraid to Fail.
I finish the first cupcake and am working on the second when my phone rings again. This time there's not even a clean pinkie finger at my disposal, and I'm forced to ignore it. The phone continues to buzz while shimmying across the countertop. It then goes silent, pausing a moment before emitting a telltale beep.
A text.
Curious, I drop the icing bag, wipe my hands, and check the phone. It's from Coop.
We need to talk. Face 2 face.
My fingers pause above the screen. Although it takes Coop three hours to drive into Manhattan, it's a trip he's willingly made many times in the past. When it's important.
I text back. When?
His reply arrives in seconds. Now. Usual place.
A spot of worry presses the base of my spine. Coop is already here. Which means only one thing-something is wrong.
Before leaving, I rush through my usual preparations for a meeting with Coop. Teeth brushed. Lips glossed. Tiny Xanax popped. I wash the little blue pill down with some grape soda drunk straight from the bottle.
In the elevator, it occurs to me that I should have changed clothes. I'm still in my baking wear: black jeans, one of Jeff's old button-downs, and red flats. All bear flecks of flour and faded splotches of food coloring. I notice a scrape of dried frosting on the back of my hand, skin peeking through the blue-black smear. It resembles a bruise. I lick it off.
Outside on Eighty-Second Street, I make a right onto Columbus, already packed with pedestrians. My body tightens at the sight of so many strangers. I stop and shove stiff fingers into my purse, searching for the can of pepper spray always kept there. There's safety in numbers, yes, but also uncertainty. It's only after finding the pepper spray that I start walking again, my face puckered into a don't-bother-me scowl.
Although the sun is out, a tangible chill stings the air. Typical for early October in New York, when the weather seems to randomly veer between hot and cold. Yet fall is definitely making its swift approach. When Theodore Roosevelt Park comes into view, the leaves there are poised between green and gold.
Through the foliage, I can see the back of the American Museum of Natural History, which on this morning is swarmed with school kids. Their voices flit like birds among the trees. When one of them shrieks, the rest go silent. Just for a second. I freeze on the sidewalk, unnerved not by the shriek but by the silence that follows. But then the children's voices start up again and I calm down. I resume walking, heading to a cafe two blocks south of the museum.
Our usual place.
Coop is waiting for me at a table by the window, looking the same as always. That sharp, craggy face that appears pensive in times of repose, such as now. A body that's both long and thick. Large hands, one of which bears a ruby class ring instead of a wedding band. The only change is his hair, which he keeps trimmed close to the scalp. Each meeting always brings a few more flecks of gray.
His presence in the cafe is noticed by all the nannies and caffeinated hipsters who crowd the place. Nothing like a cop in full uniform to put people on edge. Even without it, Coop cuts an intimidating figure. He's a big man, consisting of rolling hills of muscle. The starched blue shirt and black trousers with the knife-edge creases only amplify his size. He lifts his head as I enter, and I notice the exhaustion in his eyes. He must have driven here directly from working the third shift.
Two mugs are already on the table. Earl Grey with milk and extra sugar for me. Coffee for Coop. Black. Unsweetened.
"Quincy," he says, nodding.
There's always a nod. It's Coop's version of a handshake. We never hug. Not since the desperate one I gave him the night we first met. No matter how many times I see him, that moment is always there, playing on a loop until I push it away.
They're dead, I had choked out while clutching him, the words gurgling thickly in the back of my throat. They're all dead. And he's still out here.
Ten seconds later, he saved my life.
"This is certainly a surprise," I say as I take a seat. There's a tremor in my voice that I try to tamp down. I don't know why Coop's called me, but if it's bad news, I want to be calm when I hear it.
"You're looking well," Coop says while giving me the quick, concerned once-over I'm now accustomed to. "But you've lost some weight."
There's worry in his voice too. He's thinking about six months after Pine Cottage, when my appetite had left me so completely that I ended up back in the hospital, force-fed through a tube. I remember waking to find Coop standing by my bed, staring at the plastic hose slithered up my nostril.
Don't disappoint me, Quincy, he said then. You didn't survive that night just to die like this.
"It's nothing," I say. "I've finally learned I don't have to eat everything I bake."
"And how's that going? The baking thing?"
"Great, actually. I gained five thousand followers last quarter and got another corporate advertiser."
"That's great," Coop says. "Glad everything is going well. One of these days, you should actually bake something for me."
Like the nod, this is another of Coop's constants. He always says it, never means it.
"How's Jefferson?" he asks.
"He's good. The Public Defender's Office just made him the lead attorney on a big, juicy case."
I leave out how the case involves a man accused of killing a narcotics detective in a bust gone wrong. Coop already looks down on Jeff's job. There's no need to toss more fuel onto that particular fire.
"Good for him," he says.
"He's been gone the past two days. Had to fly to Chicago to get statements from family members. Says it'll make a jury more sympathetic."
"Hmm," Coop replies, not quite listening. "I guess he hasn't proposed yet."
I shake my head. I told Coop I thought Jeff was going to propose on our August vacation to the Outer Banks, but no ring so far. That's the real reason I've recently lost weight. I've become the kind of girlfriend who takes up jogging just to fit into a hypothetical wedding dress.
"Still waiting," I say.
"It'll happen."
"And what about you?" I ask, only half teasing. "Have you finally found a girlfriend?"
"Nope."
I arch a brow. "A boyfriend?"
"This visit is about you, Quincy," Coop says, not even cracking a smile.
"Of course. You ask. I answer."
That's how things go between us when we meet once, twice, maybe three times a year.
More often than not, the visits resemble therapy sessions, with me never getting a chance to ask Coop questions of my own. I'm only privy to the basics of his life. He's forty-one, spent time in the Marines before becoming a cop, and had barely shed his rookie status before finding me screaming among the trees. And while I know he still patrols the same town where all those horrible things happened, I have no idea if he's happy. Or satisfied. Or lonely. I never hear from him on holidays. Never once got a Christmas card. Nine years earlier, at my father's funeral, he sat in the back row and slipped out of the church before I could even thank him for coming. The closest he gets to showing affection is on my birthday, when he sends the same text: Another year you almost didn't get. Live it.
"Jeff will come around," Coop says, again bending the conversation to his will. "It'll happen at Christmas, I bet. Guys like to propose then."
He takes a gulp of coffee. I sip my tea and blink, keeping my eyes shut an extra beat, hoping the darkness will allow me to feel the Xanax taking hold. Instead, I'm more anxious than when I walked in.
I open my eyes to see a well-dressed woman entering the cafe with a chubby, equally well-dressed toddler. An au pair, probably. Most women under thirty in this neighborhood are. On warm, sunny days they jam the sidewalks-a parade of interchangeable girls fresh out of college, armed with lit degrees and student loans. The only reason this one catches my attention is because we look alike. Fresh-faced and well scrubbed. Blond hair reined in by a ponytail. Neither too thin nor too plump. The product of hearty, milk-fed Midwestern stock.
That could have been me in a different life. One without Pine Cottage and blood and a dress that changed colors like in some horrible dream.
That's something else I think about every time Coop and I meet-he thought my dress was red. He'd whispered it to the dispatcher when he called for backup. It's on both the police transcript, which I've read multiple times, and the dispatch recording, which I managed to listen to only once.
Someone's running through the trees. Caucasian female. Young. She's wearing a red dress. And she's screaming.
I was running through the trees. Galloping, really. Kicking up leaves, numb to the pain coursing through my entire body. And although all I could hear was my heartbeat in my ears, I was indeed screaming. The only thing Coop got wrong was the color of my dress.
It had, until an hour earlier, been white.
Some of the blood was mine. The rest belonged to the others. Janelle, mostly, from when I held her moments before I got hurt.
I'll never forget the look on Coop's face when he realized his mistake. That slight widening of the eyes. The oblong shape of his mouth as he tried to keep it from dropping open. The startled huffing sound he made. Two parts shock, one part pity.
It's one of the few things I actually can remember.
My experience at Pine Cottage is broken into two distinct halves. There's the beginning, fraught with fear and confusion, in which Janelle lurched out of the woods, not yet dead but well on her way. Then there's the end, in which Coop found me in my red-not-red dress.
Everything between those two points remains a blank in my memory. An hour, more or less, entirely wiped clean.
"Dissociative amnesia" is the official diagnosis. More commonly known as repressed memory syndrome. Basically, what I witnessed was too horrific for my fragile mind to hold on to. So I mentally cut it out. A self-performed lobotomy.
That didn't stop people from begging me to remember what happened. Well-meaning family. Misguided friends. Psychiatrists with visions of published case studies dancing in their heads. Think, they all told me. Really think about what happened. As if that would make any difference. As if my being able to recall every blood-specked detail could somehow bring the rest of my friends back to life.
Still, I tried. Therapy. Hypnosis. Even a ridiculous sense-memory game in which a frizzy-haired specialist held scented paper strips to my blindfolded face, asking how each one made me feel. Nothing worked. In my mind, that hour is a blackboard completely erased. There's nothing left but dust.
I understand that urge for more information, that longing for details. But in this case, I'm fine without them. I know what happened at Pine Cottage. I don't need to remember exactly how it happened. Because here's the thing about details-they can also be a distraction. Add too many and it obscures the brutal truth about a situation. They become the gaudy necklace that hides the tracheotomy scar.
I make no attempts to disguise my scars. I just pretend they don't exist.
Product details
- Publisher : Dutton; Reprint edition (January 23, 2018)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1101985380
- ISBN-13 : 978-1101985380
- Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.47 x 0.78 x 8.2 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #6,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #288 in Murder Thrillers
- #726 in Psychological Thrillers (Books)
- #1,024 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author
Riley Sager is the New York Times bestselling author of seven novels, most recently The House Across the Lake and Survive the Night. His first novel, Final Girls, has been published in more than 30 countries and won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Hardcover Novel. His latest book, The Only One Left, will be published in 2023 by Dutton Books.
A native of Pennsylvania, he now lives in Princeton, New Jersey.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They appreciate the interesting twists and turns that keep them hooked. The characters are described as interesting, complex, and dimensional. Readers praise the writing quality as brilliant and easy to read. They describe the book as a thrilling page-turner that keeps you hooked until the end.
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Customers find the book engaging and enjoyable. They enjoy the unpredictable twists and strong pacing that keep them invested in the story. The plot and structure keep readers hooked until the end. It's a nice read for travel days or when you're in between series.
"This book was fantastic. It kept me guessing throughout. The twists! Present day collides with the unfurling of the truth of the past...." Read more
"...The book is so darn fun to devour and just take for face value. OVERALL Loved it! Highly recommend it but not for the faint of heart...." Read more
"...Brilliant structure, riveting, forcing you to turn every page to the next and the next...." Read more
"...Despite this, the engaging plot and strong pacing kept me invested in the story, allowing me to overlook these minor issues...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's twists and turns that keep them turning the pages. They find the story entertaining and a great read for mystery fans. The narrative is well-done, keeping readers guessing throughout.
"This book was fantastic. It kept me guessing throughout. The twists! Present day collides with the unfurling of the truth of the past...." Read more
"...back and forth constantly between likable and unlikable, suspicious and not suspicious, the possible killer or totally innocent, all the way to the..." Read more
"...While the story is undeniably entertaining, there were moments where character decisions seemed less grounded in reality than I would have preferred...." Read more
"One of those books that draws you in from the beginning. A great thriller that keeps you on your toes...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's character development. They find the characters interesting and complex, with a psychology that is explored. The female characters are never seen as victims, and they are flawed. Readers also appreciate the likable, believable characters.
"...This book has complex, three dimensional characters most of whom are not just black and white, having both admirable and awful characteristics...." Read more
"...There is then the list of characters, all well drawn, especially in their psychological makeup - detailed, fascinating, crossing back and forth..." Read more
"...in this novel with one of my favorite tropes: two seemingly unreliable characters...." Read more
"...The book kept my interest and the way he wrote the characters made me feel very strong emotions. The twist I didn’t see coming!..." Read more
Customers enjoy the writing quality of the book. They find it brilliant and engaging, transporting them into Quinn and Jeff's world. The words truly come alive on the page, making it a fast-paced and easy read. Readers appreciate the author's skill in crafting stories.
"...add so much to the overall plot and mystery because they're so perfectly written, each one offering another direction, another suspicion, the night..." Read more
"...Sager’s writing style is accessible and immersive, drawing readers into the narrative with ease...." Read more
"...Secondly, I felt that this novel was a page turner. The writing enveloped me and transported me right into Quinn and Jeff's apartment, Pine Cottage,..." Read more
"...The storyline had me in its grip, the writing was brilliant, there was plenty of suspicion to go round in this novel with one of my favorite tropes:..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's engaging plot that keeps them hooked until the end. They find it easy to read and say it keeps their attention without being boring.
"...Brilliant structure, riveting, forcing you to turn every page to the next and the next...." Read more
"...Secondly, I felt that this novel was a page turner...." Read more
"...Thorough thoughtfulness in his plot. Keeps you turning the pages - recommend to your friends' reading lists." Read more
"...It was a very anxious read and made me look around each corner. Coming to the end I definitely got the oh sh!t moment. And I couldn’t put it down...." Read more
Customers enjoyed the book's thrills and found it an enjoyable read. They described it as a fun, interesting journey that kept them engaged throughout.
"...It was quite the wild ride, and I loved every second of it...." Read more
"Super fun! Got a little boring here and there but overall I loved it. Great last 1/4 of the book!" Read more
"...Lots of thrills and suspense- starting to become a Riley Sager fan." Read more
"...One of my favorite books in recent memory. Scary, fun, weird, and wrapped up in a nice, satisfying ending...." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's style. They find it well-written with good imagery and few dull moments. The story is described as cool, unique, and engaging.
"...She has a beautiful Manhattan apartment, a very nice boyfriend, a successful cooking blog / website and a hefty nest egg..." Read more
"...There is then the list of characters, all well drawn, especially in their psychological makeup - detailed, fascinating, crossing back and forth..." Read more
"...She has a successful baking blog, a gorgeous apartment in New York City, and a wonderful boyfriend, who she thinks is planning to propose, and a..." Read more
"...And geez I really wanted to like this book. On the one hand, it's well-styled and written...." Read more
Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it well-paced and fast-paced, while others feel it drags in the middle and loses interest.
"...which is, for the most part, Quinn's voice - filled with tension, fast, furious, almost breezy were it not for the subject matter...." Read more
"...Still a good story but takes a bit of time to get going. Worth the read though." Read more
"...Despite this, the engaging plot and strong pacing kept me invested in the story, allowing me to overlook these minor issues...." Read more
"...It's a little slow in the middle but I promise it's worth it!" Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2024This book was fantastic. It kept me guessing throughout. The twists! Present day collides with the unfurling of the truth of the past. I don’t want to say too much, but if you like a thriller wrapped up in a bit of a mystery, read this.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2017I have to confess that I pulled an all nighter to finish this book. I could not put it down and will be paying the price today but it was so darn worth it!
SYNOPSIS
In slasher movies, it always comes down to one last girl who survives after all the other people have been killed. One girl who fought harder, ran faster and/or outsmarted the psycho killer. The one left is referred to as the "Final Girl." This is the fictional story of Quincy, one of three infamous Final Girls with whom the press and American people cannot get enough.
In the past ten years since the brutal attack in which Quincy lost her five best friends, along with her anonymity, she has been in touch with one of the Final Girls, Lisa. The sole survivor of a sorority house massacre 20 years ago, Lisa reached out to Quincy after Quincy's attack offering support. Quincy is aware of the third survivor, Samantha, but has never met or spoken with her. Samantha has been off the grid for the past several years, most likely avoiding the unwanted celebrity which comes along with being a Final Girl.
When the book opens, Quincy seems to be moving on. She has a beautiful Manhattan apartment, a very nice boyfriend, a successful cooking blog / website and a hefty nest egg (from one of the victims parents suing anyone and everyone who even remotely played a part in causing the attack). The tabloids even seem to have lost their fascination with her.
One day she gets a cryptic call from the police officer who found her running away from her attacker the night of the massacre. "Coop," wants her to meet him asap. She has stayed in touch with Coop since that awful night; he has been her protector, advisor and friend over the years, but he rarely asks for an asap meeting. The news he has for her is life changing. Lisa, one of the Final Girls has committed suicide. A couple days later, while Quincy is still reeling from the news, Samantha, the mysterious third Final Girl shows up literally on her doorstep wanting to talk.
After Samantha shows up, the cracks in Quincy's perfect life begin to show. Maybe she's not as okay as she thinks she is. Maybe xanax and grape soda in NOT the breakfast of champions. Maybe the fact that Quincy still has no memory of the attack at all is not a positive thing.
To top things off, it seems Lisa may not have actually killed herself. Did someone kill her? If so, why? Should Quincy and Samantha worry about their own safety? Speaking of Samantha, why is she there? Why choose now to reappear? Lots and things seem to be simmering below the surface.
WHAT I LOVED
This is just such a good book. I have it 4.5 Stars because I am very stingy with that 5th star. In order to be a 5, a book needs to be flawless, cover new ground and leave me absolutely amazed. This came pretty close.
I love so many things about this book!! One of my favorite elements in a book is well written characters. This book has complex, three dimensional characters most of whom are not just black and white, having both admirable and awful characteristics. I don't like books where all the characters are either 'good' or 'bad.' I loved the parts where the reader began so see behind Quincy's perfect image. She was just so much more fun when she was not perfect. I loved her obsession with grape soda. At first I thought I misread it because it seemed so out of character. But when it was explained later, it all clicked.
I do think Samantha ended up being my favorite character. I loved speculating throughout the whole book whether or not she was what she claimed. She is not anymore I'd hang out with but she made reading the book so intriguing. Janelle was another favorite. She reminds me of so many girls I have known and hung out with. Note I said 'hung out with' versus 'hang out with.' You learn after a couple of Janelles.
The plot was AWESOME! Omg! I loved every twist, every detail and every revelation. So worth missing a night of sleep. Every 50 pages or so I changed my mind about the characters; suspecting each one of them at one time or another. So fun!! I never figured it out until the big reveal.
WHAT I DIDN'T LOVE
As previously stated, I really LOVE this book! I guess if you wanted to be picky, and go over everything with a fine toothed comb, there are a couple things that didn't seem likely, but why would you want to do that??? The book is so darn fun to devour and just take for face value.
OVERALL
Loved it! Highly recommend it but not for the faint of heart. There are some pretty violent parts. Maybe skim through those if that kind of thing bothers you.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2017I just this minute finished Final Girls. Normally, I'd wait a few days before writing a review; I'd wait until I'd given the novel time to sink in, down deep, until I was certain about what I wanted to say. No need to do so with Final Girls. It's the first novel I've read in a very long time that I simply could not put down. There is first the plot itself, which starts strong and never lets up. There is then the list of characters, all well drawn, especially in their psychological makeup - detailed, fascinating, crossing back and forth constantly between likable and unlikable, suspicious and not suspicious, the possible killer or totally innocent, all the way to the end. Quinn, the narrator, and Samantha, another Final Girl, are flat-out compelling to get to know, and they come across as real human beings. And then there's Sager's style, which is, for the most part, Quinn's voice - filled with tension, fast, furious, almost breezy were it not for the subject matter. Interspersed throughout, though, are short chapters told in third-person, chronologically detailing the actual events of the night of the murders at Pine Cottage, and all I can say is that they are damnably frustrating in the best sense of the word as they tell you the story of that night little piece by little piece. They're the ticking clock, the ticking-off clock on the bomb of the novel. They add so much to the overall plot and mystery because they're so perfectly written, each one offering another direction, another suspicion, the night moving forward with one new possibility after another, and each one making you feel as though you're the guy from the bomb squad trying to decide which wires to cut in which order. And all while the same technique is being employed in the present. It's like being on two trains simultaneously, both of them hurtling out of control toward each other. Brilliant structure, riveting, forcing you to turn every page to the next and the next. My only qualm is that I did guess the killer's identity very early, but not because Sager gave anything away - I don't know why I knew, but I just KNEW. However, this did NOT spoil the story in any way at all; after all, he might yet have proved me wrong. I read somewhere recently that Riley Sager is a pseudonym for another well-known author, and I would imagine this is true; Final Girls is a bit too accomplished for a first writer's thriller. So, now that I've finished the novel and am no longer in taut suspense over IT, I'm STILL in suspense to learn which well-known author actually wrote it! Damn you, Riley Sager, damn you!
Top reviews from other countries
- Jussara BerlieReviewed in Brazil on September 28, 2023
3.0 out of 5 stars final Girls
I first read Home Before Dark, and I thought it was a great book! As there is no order, I decided to read Final Girls now. But I confess that the book takes a while to get going, the relationship between Quincy and Sam is confusing, not very tangible or understandable. There are moments when it even irritates the whole situation. But there is a good end, not very possible, but there is.
- EricReviewed in Canada on May 23, 2023
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping fast paced novel
Wow this book was a wild ride. From basically start to finish everyone introduced is a suspect in this fast paced novel. Written in a way where every character is suspicious and unreliable, without straight up telling us that they are, was incredible to me. The unreliable protagonist, who may be harbouring a big secret, adds just even more depth to the mysteries revolving around her.
The final act was great seeing the last of the flash backs unfold right as the current events also did coming together in a perfect cinematic way. The twist was pretty basic (because I had thought of deeply elaborate potential twists) but it was still good regardless. There are a few other things I wish they elaborated on but since I want this to remain spoiler free I won’t say them.
Other than that it was for sure one of my favourite novels this year. A great plot, mysterious characters, and some bloody gruesome flashbacks all made this a most memorable story.
- EllenReviewed in Germany on August 16, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping thriller
5★
This was my first book I read by Riley Sager and I enjoyed it a lot! I didn't expect to give it this high of a rating, but it somehow felt right. I don't think there was a single thing I didn't enjoy about the book.
Thoughts:
- Overall, the story is pretty fast-paced. The writing is easy to read - though I mostly read this on audio, which I also have to say was very good.
- I personally liked the characters. Do they make dumb decisions sometimes? I guess. But who doesn't, right?
- I also enjoyed the small glimpses into the past to see what actually happened that night. It kept me interested in the story throughout the whole book.
- Sometimes I'm glad my brain is too dumb to piece a mystery together because at least I enjoyed the plot twist and reveal at the end. I had many theories; this was not one of them. Overall, the ending to me felt very satisfying.
- Loved the slasher movie vibes!
Honestly, there's not much to say without spoiling the book. I'm simply excited to read more by this author in the future. It was fun. So if you're looking for a quick read with slasher movie vibes, pick this up.
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Erika Fdz FReviewed in Mexico on April 28, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente libro
Ya soy fan de Riley Sager! El primer libro que leí de él fue "the last time i lied" y me atrapó, decidí comprar este libro y pasó lo mismo, me atrapó desde el principio y lo leí en muy poco tiempo. La historia es bastante interesante y tiene giros que no te esperas, es bastante agradable de leer y mee gusta la forma en que describe a los personajes, deja un poco a la imaginación para que tengas tus propias ideas y no da descripciones detalladas que se vuelven aburridas.
Ya tengo todos los libros del autor y todos me han parecido excelentes!
- Pinkie10Reviewed in India on March 13, 2020
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun Rollercoaster
If you haven't read Riley Sager's work before, this is a great start! The writing & mystery was so good, kept the reader engrossed till the end of the book.
Pinkie10
Reviewed in India on March 13, 2020
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