Wow what a fabulous psychological thriller .The story was a real page turner which had me gripped .There were so many twists and turns I was almost breathless.I guessed the ending twice and was wrong I did not guess the ending.!.Brilliant if I could give it more stars I would .

Really good premise with good build up of suspense. I guessed the 'twist' way before the reveal though which I don't usually so a bit disappointed, hence the three stars

Excellent...lots of red herrings kept me guessing right until the end

HELL YEAH!

This is everything you want from a good thriller. This is a book where the plot slowly adds up to a great climax. I did NOT see that coming.

This book is like an awesome rollercoaster ride. When you think you will go left, you go right. And most of this ride is in the dark.

The main character is awesome, you go from loving her, to hating her, to doubting her, to loving her again. The side-characters are great and really add something to the story. The plot is unbelievable good.

One of the best thrillers I've reed in a LONG time!! READ. THIS. NOW.

This book had so many twists and turns it made me dizzy. I think this year is going to be a great year for psychological thrillers and this is definitely worth a read.
It is clear to the reader from the opening passages of the book that the protagonist, Quincy Carpenter, is a survivor. The forest had claws and teeth. All those rocks and claws and branches bit as Quincy as she ran screaming through the woods. But she didn’t stop. Not when the rocks dug into the bare soles of her bare feet. Not when a whip-thin branch lashed her face and a line of blood stretched across her cheek.
Quincy runs through the woods until she gets to a main road and a policeman. With the pain came the realization. One so brutally awful that it had to be true. Only Quincy remained. All the others were dead .She was the last one left alive.
Via a series of flashbacks we learn Quincy was celebrating her friend Janelle’s birthday in Pine Cottage, a cabin paid for by Janelle’s parents. Quincy can only remember fragments of memory as she has repressed memory syndrome.
"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 the way. Then there’s the end, in which Coop found me in my red-not-red dress.
Everything between these two points remains a blank in my memory. An hour, more or less, entirely wiped clean".

“Final girls is technically film terminology, used to describe the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie. At least that’s what I’ve been told. Even before Pine Cottage. I never liked to watch scary movies because of the fake blood, the rubber knives, the characters who make decisions so stupid I guiltily thought they deserved to die.
Only what happened to us wasn’t a movie. It was our real life. Our lives. The blood wasn’t fake. The knives were steel and nightmare-sharp. And those who died definitely didn’t deserve it. But somehow we screamed louder, ran faster, fought harder. We survived.”
Lisa Milner was the first of the so-called ‘Final Girls.’ Lisa was living in a sorority house in Indiana when a man knocked on the door. The girl who answered it was stabbed to death as were nine other girls who lived with her. One of the local papers was the first to call her a Final Girl.
Quincy was seven when it happened and saw it because her mum was watching it on the news, then four years later it was Samantha Boyd and finally 8 years later Quincy became a Final Girl.
In the present Quincy takes refuge in her baking, she likes the order of it. She has a blog called ‘Quincy’s Sweets’ on which she places her artfully arranged baked goods. Quincy’s apartment is paid for by money gained from a series of lawsuits filed by Janelle’s stepfather and the other parents.
Quincy is icing cupcakes when she receives a text from Coop, the police officer who rescued her from the events at Pine Cottage.
“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?…
A spot of worry presses the base of my spine. Coop’s already here. Which means only one thing – something is wrong.”
Quincy takes a Xanex before meeting him in order to ease her building anxiety. She meets him in their usual place, he likes to check in on her every six months.
No matter how many times I see him, the moment is always there playing on a loop while 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 there.'
Ten seconds later, he saved my life.
Their visits are a bit like a therapy session with him only giving away minimal information about his life but wanting to know every detail of how she is 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.
This time though he has a special reason for coming to see her: Lisa is dead. He wanted to make sure she knew before the press got to know and begin to hound her.
Quincy is unbalanced by Lisa’s death. Lisa who offered to help her and teach her how to be a Final Girl, how much to talk to the press, and how to cope with life after. Quincy spoke to her on the phone but chose not to take her up on the offer.
When she returns to her apartment she finds an email from Lisa sent an hour before she died. The email says she needs to talk to her about something extremely important. Quincy, and the reader along with her, wonders what she wanted to talk to her about.
When Sam Boyd turns up at Quincy’s apartment after years off the grid Quincy feels she has to invite her to stay. After all Sam is the only one who knows what it is like to be a Final Girl but does she have an ulterior motive?
The characters in this book are highly convincing, intriguing and on the whole likeable. The story is very, very good but the characters are what makes this a must read book for 2017.

Three young women who survived unimaginable horror: Lisa, Quincy, and Samantha.
Quincy is the only survivor of a massacre in a wood cabin, 10 years ago, when her friends got murdered. Lisa has lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife.During her shift at the Nightlight Inn, Samantha went up against the Sack Man.
All three girls are named by the press as The Final Girls, even though they don't really know each other very well. They've talked a few times only, but they've never met.

Just when Quincy thinks that her life came back to normal, she is given the horrible news that Lisa is dead. Soon after that, Samantha turned up on her doorstep and turned her life upside down.
I enjoyed reading this book. Is going to be one of the best psychological thrillers of 2017. The characters are unreliable and sympathetic. Quincy and Samantha are two different girls, with so opposite personalities. One is the normal girl who dresses normally, the other one is choosing black clothes and piercings.

Their struggle to survive is magnificent. Quincy doesn't want to remember anything about what happened ten years ago, but Samantha wishes for her to do. I felt that their relationship is like having an angel and a demon telling you what to do but instead you want to do something absolutely different by the two.

The story is so well written that the writer makes you doubt about the each girl's stories.

You thought that you've figured out the plot? Don't be a fool. You didn't.

A well-written book that you must read this year.

Thank you Netgalley for this book that I've got in return for an honest review!

A fantastic, fabulous thrill ride. Couldn't put it down and didn't want it to end. I can't wait to read another book by this author - as the thing that really hooked me was how smartly this was written and how well executed the twists were. 5 stars!!

My first novel.of the year finished!

Imagine the burden of being referred to constantly as a final girl. A girl who is the sole survivor of a terrible massacre that has taken place where everyone else died, be it friends, or just other people that were unfortunate enough to be around at the time. 3 girls all dubbed the final girls. Each of them surviving something horrific. Quincy is the 1st girl, a sole survivor who has a blank in her memory as to what happened to her and her friends on that fateful night. Years after the massacre, after all the buzz has died down, she leads a normal life as a baker, with the help of xanax, her husband and the comfort of knowing that the policeman who saved her all those years ago is still around whenever she needs him. A comfort blanket of sorts. Lisa is the 2nd, someone who has embraced the title, written a book about her ordeal and now helps other girls who are in peril. The 3rd and final is Sam. She has disappeared off the grid.

The 3 girls dont have any connection with each other, other than what happened to them, that is until Lisa is found dead in her bathtub and Sam comes knocking on Quincys door

Who is Sam? What does she want? Will Quincy finally remember what happened to her all those years ago?

This is a fresh and confident debut with some of the most believable dialogue i have ever read. The novel has chapters that alternate between Quincys life now and what happened all those years ago. It builds to an incredible climax that i did not see coming even though i thought i had it sussed many times. A scorching read and a great start to 2017.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced copy.

Final Girls by Riley Sager (Random House UK, Ebury Publishing, Ebury Press)

Genres: Fiction, Thriller, Drama, Mystery



RATING: 5/5


The Story

Quincy is a baking blogger living a picture-perfect life with her lawyer boyfriend in central New York. At least, that's what an outsider would see. When Quincy was in university herself and her friends were brutally attacked at Pine Cottage, a trauma which Quincy has carried with her, along with a media label she can't escape - she is a 'Final Girl'. This name links her with two other survivors of violent crime, Sam and Lisa.

The famous trio have never met, but that will quickly change with Lisa's apparent suicide and Sam's arrival on Quincy's doorstep.Alongside her Final Girl companions comes the past Quincy wants to forget, and some hard truths which make her question even her most steadfast beliefs.

Final Girls is a compelling mystery thriller with a intricate narrative that keeps the reader hooked until the very last page.

The Review

The first thing I thought when I picked up this book was that it was extremely well written.

This may seem obvious - after all it is a published novel. Sadly, that is becoming less and less indicative of quality literature nowadays. When I started reading Final Girls I could tell within the first few pages that it would be an easy read. Sager's prose has a diversity and fluidity which makes it interesting, engaging and yet not so complicated as you have to work out what she's on about. Even better, it's not so simple that you feel like you're reading a book aimed at tweens.

By no means, however, does an easy-reader mean that we are faced with a simple chick-lit novel for people who aren't interested in a good plot or character development. The story is one of the most compelling I've read in a long time.

Sager has actually managed to write a novel full of twists which I didn't see coming. I don't mean to bang my own drum here, but I find imaginative twists more and more difficult to come by. Perhaps I've read too many books, so I expect the unexpected. Or maybe quality authors who still have the ability to surprise a modern audience are just harder to come by. Whatever the reason, I'm delighted to have come across Sager. She's one of those authors who gives you just enough information to make you think you're clever and that you've worked it out, and then throws not one but ten curve-balls at you.

I will admit, I wasn't always happy about those curve-balls. The ending of the novel is not as satisfying as I'd like it to be, because it results in Quincy losing someone who I thought was a brilliant, admirable character. I felt a little cheated, and I'm not sure that the decision really benefited the novel. That, however, is personal preference.

Final Girls is an intriguing, harrowing, uplifting and occasionally tragic story, which sensitively illustrates the reality for many real victims of violent crime. Sager provides a unique opportunity to delve into the psyche of the 'victim', not with one character but with many, and reveals just what we would expect; no two victims are the same, and they may, in fact, be something entirely unexpected.

In many ways Final Girls is a by-the-numbers mystery novel. As you proceed through the story you discover, alongside the protagonist, the gratifying and horrifying truths of life. What helps it to stand out from the crowd, however, are clearly defined characters with real motivations. They are the backbone of this novel. The reader feels for them, understands them, envies them, hates them, and has to find out how their stories end. The plot is compelling, but without this strong cast of characters I'm doubtful the story would have the same impact.

A review copy of this book was sent to myself via Netgalley – the novel is released to the public on 29th June 2017.

I hope you put it on your reading wishlist, and please let me know what you think!

You can follow Riley Sager on Twitter.

[edit]
I loved the cover and description of the book and was delighted to be given the chance to read this. There is so much buzz for The Final Girls around, including Stephen King who called it "The first great thriller of 2017". The story centres on Quincy Carpenter who is the sole survivor of a massacre 10 years ago during a trip with her friends to Pine Cottage. She along with two other girls Samantha and Lisa, also sole survivors in different horrific circumstances, have been labelled The Final Girls. A Final Girl is the girl often depicted in horror movies who fights back against her attacker to win agains the odds..

Since the attack Quincy has rebuilt her life and is doing well until Samantha shows up on her doorstep. Quincy has buried the memories of what happened due to the trauma she suffered but Samantha arrival forces her to relive the past and the true horror of that night. But what are her motives? When the other final girl, Lisa, dies in an apparent suicide, Quincy has to delve deeper in the mysteries of both her and Sam's past to find out the truth.

This book has such an original concept, I loved how the mysteries within the book unraveled and especially Quincy herself. She is strong but also vulnerable, suffering from guilt at being the only survivor. She is taking medication and is not able to refer to her attacker by name, they're just called 'Him' The character of Sam is very different to Quincy and immediately I was very suspicious of her motives, she soon starts to turn Quincy's life upside down and makes her and us question why she has suddenly appeared in her life. The only part of the book that threw me was why Quincy would allow Sam, essentially a stranger, to stay with her at hers. For someone who survived a massacre and is advised against doing this by people close to her didn't feel right to me. However this didn't stop me enjoying the book by any means and I soon enjoyed how the story went from there. Being narrated by Quincy the story switches between the present and the past as she slowly remembers and the way the events at pine cottage are slowly revealed really ramped up the tension and suspense. Even towards the end of the book when I was feeling like I had guessed the outcome I was shocked the find that I had it completely wrong.

This book will have everyone talking in 2017 and I'm sure that it will be picked up to be made into a movie. If you like original thriller books that will keep you reading well into the night just to find out what happens, this one is for you!

Big Thanks to Ebury Publishing for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book, by far one of the best books that I've read in ages. Just when you think you know how it's going to turn out there is another twist and mystery continues. Would definitely recommend this book to my friends as an engrossing read.

Stephen King,no less, has tiped 'Final Girls' as a thriller to watch for in 2017 and I would agree . Not only does he have a reputation for picking books I tend to adore but also it is a damn fine book.
The basic premise is this : the lone survivor of horror movie type killings are collectively known as 'Final Girls'.
Whether by accident or design, these girls were left behind by brutal killings that stormed the media and had them spot lit for celebrity whether they liked it or not.
This trope is used to excellent effect here where Quinn, sole survivor of the Pine Cottage killing, about which she remembers nothing, is unwillingly bought face to face with the events that gained her the wealth that allows her to live a life from the other side of a computer screen.
Her 'safe' relationship with a lawyer who is often away and her fan base at arms length on the flipside of her baking blog, she can avoid dealing with any of the issues she is so obviously struggling with.
The suicide of another 'Final Girl', the resurgence of interest in her case and the appearance of another 'Girl' who has literally dropped off the face of the earth all bring reality crashing in on Quinn in this excellent thriller.
I can see this being a huge hit, thanks Netgalleu and publishers for allowing me to read the proof in return for an honest review.

This book has everything a good thriller needs. There is a gruesome murder story, unreliable characters and a good plot. But somehow it did not get me. It started so well but it started bugging me.

Quincy is a Final Girl. This is a horror-movie-term. The Final Girl is the girl who is still alive after a massacre and maybe she even killed the killer. 10 years ago Quincy survived the attack of a disturbed young man. He killed her five friends while they spent a weekend in a cabin in the woods. Unfortunately she can’t remember what happened during this dreadful hour. She just knows that she survived by running through the woods where a police officer found her. She is fine now, has a nice boyfriend and runs a successful baking blog. Beside her, there are Final Girls knocks on her door. Samantha, who hid for several years because of the press, wants to know if she is all right. Quincy, who feels guilty because of Lisa, invites Sam to stay with her and her boyfriend for a couple of days. But Sam is up to something. She eagerly wants Quincy to remember what happened that night in the cabin.

This book is perfectly all right. It starts very intriguing, and Sam and Quincy a very interesting characters. So it seems. But after a while the story is treading water. The tension stops, there is a lot about the press which is eager to get hold of the girls to get a story. Sam misleads Quincy to do some weird things which made me curious but even more it unnerved me. There are some false leads and you can keep guessing what happened that night in the cabin and who was responsible. But somehow it was not gripping. The twist felt forced. They don’t come subtle, they are really forced into the story. Quincy really annoyed me. She is a character who had a horrible experience but I just could not feel connected to her. She just annoyed me. She does stupid and disturbing stuff. I found it hard to understand that almost everybody in the book was so amazed by her and thought she was strong and just wonderful. I disliked her so much. As a reader I would like to at least understand a little bit why she is obviously so amazing to everybody. But somehow the author failed to show this to me.

I can imagine that this book could be a huge success and a lot of readers like it and write enthusiastic reviews about it. For me it somehow failed to work.