Thanks for providing me with an ARC of Final Girls.

"Final Girl" is actually a term from the film industry and refers to those young women, who are the last living female in movies like Scream or Halloween, when all the others around them were murdered. However, Riley Sages novel Final Girls is not such a slasher story, since the book starts years after the women's experiences. They have already adjusted to a somewhat normal life.

Quincy is certainly a different Final Girl, which may be because she has almost no memories of the events of that night ten years ago. Whatever happened at Pine Cottage is only a black spot for Quincy in her mind. She has never said the name of the killer again, her only contact with this part of her life is the cop, Coop, who found the young Quincy after the massacre. Quincy, of course, has to fight with the consequences of Pine Cottage in some ways. Her days start with a Xanax to calm down her nerves and her she keeps her home a secret since the Final Girls have a bizarre fandom community, but also stalkers who write threatening letters and would like to succeed where the original murderers failed. That sounds like an exciting theme for a novel and would have had a lot of potential for a thrilling reading time. Unfortunately the book did not live up to my expectations.

Final Girls is told in two strands from Quincys perspective. For one there are the events of Pine Cottage, the memories that Quincy has lost and are now revealed in small peaces bit by bit. Then there is the Quincy of the present whose everyday life we ​​observe and which is experiencing the current events. Unfortunately, both strings tend to run side by side rather than intertwine, because Quincys memories remain hidden for herself and serve only the reader as an insight to the backstory.
As far as the current events are concerned, the oldest Final Girl, a woman named Lisa, is suddenly found dead. Everything points to a suicide, which no one can really understand. Remember when I told you about those creepy fans and stalkers? I have expected one of these weirdos to be out to kill the Final Girls, but for about 50% of the book nothing happens. Sam, the third final girl, suddenly appears in front of Quincys doorstep and invades her quiet way of life. Within a short time Sam turns Quincys ordered life upside down and for me it was simply not understandable what happens between the two women. Quincy trusts Sam right away, just because she is a final girl too. She does not ask anything, lets Sam manipulate her to take drugs, hit strangers in the park at night and steal things from the store. Quincy behaves like a stereotypically rebellious teenager without a clear explanation for this sudden pattern of behavior.

You have to give the book some credit for the second half though, since there are some surprises I did not see coming. Even if you have some suspicions right from the beginning, the author manages to hide an extra twist and consciously play with the expectations of the reader. Still, I sadly felt no tension, because it is not a killer, but the relationship between Sam and Quincy which drives this story. Both characters have different ways to deal with their past and while this is somehow entertaining it is far away from being a thriller. At some point I was simply bored so much that I stopped reading for several weeks and then only continued in small steps, here and there a few pages.
The protagonists seemed flat and unbelievable. Quincy has a blind faith in Sam, appears naive and seems to want to prove to Sam how cool she is, while Sam is impulsive and manipulative or destructive. Quincy, however, defends her every time and does not question anything. Neither one of the characters made me feel sympathy for them. Somehow, the intention of the novel also seems to change. For example, it is told that the Final Girls can only trust each other because of their similar past, then again it is emphasized that a similar destiny does not make allies. What now?

Final Girls was a light and easy read for me, but just the first part feels stretched and uneventful. The characters lack sympathy and their constant back-and-forth in behavior makes it difficult to keep up. Only Quincys memories from Pine Cottage offer a touch of criminalistic curiosity. The second half of the book is a bit more interesting. At some point everyone seems suspicious, but things feel too constructed. I can’t describe the book as bad, but I would recommend it only to those who have perhaps a slight experience in reading crime.

Thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. I liked the way suspicion passes amongst different characters and just when you think you know what's happening, there's another curveball. The flashbacks really added to the unfolding tension and the conclusion was very satisfying. My first Riley Sager, and won't be the last!

I found Final Girls a really good read, well-written and very intriguing, the twist was such a surprise I nearly went back to re-read any clues I'd missed! I can see this being a massive hit, and I can't wait for Sager's next book.

Quincy has survived her own horror story: during a weekend with her friends in a cottage in the wood, a psychopath escaped a detention center and killer all her friends.

This is why for the paper Quincy is one of the final girls, so the only survivors of a group from a serial killer. The other two girls are Lisa and Samantha and both of them survived a horrific event.

Quincy has built again her life: now she is a food blogger, she has a fiance, the only thing is that she does not remember anything from the night of the murders. This apparent quiet will abruptly change with the news of Lisa's suicide and with the meeting with Sam, disappeared from the public scene a few years before.

Final girls is a likable thriller, with some unforeseen change of event and with more foreseeable ones. The narration is engaging till the meeting between Quincy and Sam, then a story mostly unrelated with the main narrative thread begins about their night adventures; this was the most boring part in my opinion (because it moves the focus from the thriller part to something else). I think boring also the bakery moments, it ok that the main character has a new life, but there is too much food and muffins and decorations nowadays on internet and television.

Overall the book is good at the beginning and at the ending, too bad for the central part that could have been exploited better.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me the copy necessary to write this review.

This is one of those books that is a rip roaring read from start to finish. Interesting characters, fantastic plot twists and an interesting narrative carry this book.

Starting out ten years after the Pine Cottage Massacre, sole survivor Quincy Carpenter is trying to lead a normal life with no memory of that fateful night which has given her the label of Final Girl. A term used for survivors of a slasher film. Living her life, she has a district attorney boyfriend Jeff and writing a baking blog.

Things take a turn when Lisa Milner, another Final Girl, has committed suicide or has she? There is a past to unlock and secrets to expose and Qunicy must fight against the past to make it out alive.

The author has done a fantastic job creating full characters that you spend your time investing. Capturing the pathos of the label that has been thrusted upon Qunicy, Lisa and Samantha and how each one has coped in their own way. With proper and very successful usage of flashback, the author is able to move the story forward and keep the reader interested in the fate of the characters without losing plot threads.

The introduction of each plot and the twists and turns enable the reader to try to sort out the mystery but at the same time, they do not bog down the story with plot expositions. This is a first class read that pushes the reader forward. A book that stands on its own merit and builds upon it.

This is written by a first time author who really nails it. This is one author I have no placed on my list to look out for. They have a real talent to capture a situation and drive you forward. The plot twists are magnificently handled and I predict this will be a great summer read when it is released this summer. This is a fantastic read and highly recommended.

The blurb:

Each girl survived an unthinkable horror. Now someone wants them dead...

They were called The Final Girls.

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

My thoughts:

This book is a very good read. Not everyone is who they seem and the plot took off in a completely different direction to which I expected. 4*

Final Girls is one of those books that grabs you by the collar and hurls you into a maelstrom of darkness, twisted minds and leaves you reeling as you try to work out where the truth lies.
Who are the Final Girls? They are the lone survivors of terrible killings; the ones whose psyches have been massively impacted by their experiences and who know that, although they are survivors, they will never be quite the same again. They are bound together in a club no-one ever wants to join.
Lisa Milner survived a massacre in her sorority house. Sam Boyd was the only survivor of a motel killer dubbed ‘The Sack Man’ and Quincy Carpenter was the last girl standing after six of her friends were murdered in the Pine Cottage massacre.
Our guide and narrator is Quincy. 20 years later and she is doing a decent job of putting the past behind her. She has a nice boyfriend and she has her own, popular, baking blog.
Then Lisa is found dead in her bath; having apparently committed suicide by slitting her wrists.
Quincy of course has alerts set and is shocked when she hears about Lisa’s death. She can’t believe that Lisa, who wrote a book about surviving, would give up in this way. Then, out of the blue, Sam appears on her doorstep. She, too, has heard about Lisa’s death.
Quincy invites Sam in to stay for a couple of days, but in doing so she is faced with having to bring up the past she has worked so hard to forget; to relive the horrors of that evening that left her soaked in blood and her friends dead.
I love a good, evil, serial killer book and this one is twisted, suspenseful and very fast paced. This is a book you will not be able to put down. Riley Sager has an evil mind and I, for one, just love it.
Unputdownable.

This is a really good mystery! I usually work out who or what is happening quite quickly in mystery thriller books but this one really surprised me!

I wasn't expecting that to happen and am still smiling over how well it tricked me.

Highly recommended to all, it's a wonderful mystery and really good read.

You've all seen the films- mass murder in a dorm, camper carnage in the woods. Bloodied, bruised & battered but alive;the one survivor-the Final Girl!

Quincy, Sam and Lisa were the girls from three separate atrocities. Lisa has become a psychologist and spends her time trying to help other girls who have gone through trauma. Quincy can't remember much about the night that took her friends. She remembers running out of the woods and Coop the cop who found her and saved her by shooting the man running after her. Years later she is building a life for herself.When Lisa is found dead- apparently having taken her own life & Sam turns up at her door her hard won peace flies out the window.

This is an absorbing novel where you struggle to find the truth. I loved it! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for giving me the chance to read it. I'm sure it will be a bestseller when it is published in July ( I thought it was this month which is why this is so early!)

Interesting thriller with a couple of twists and turns. I don't think they are unpredictable but they are done well enough to keep you guessing. Worth reading.

I've read a few psychological thrillers lately, but this one really had me transfixed. It moves along at a startling pace, and has you wondering what happened, right up until the final few chapters and it's startling conclusion.

Quincy and five of her friends from college, have gone up a cabin for their friend Janelle's birthday weekend. It's meant to be a weekend of fun; hiking, cooking, drinking and partying. However, it all seems to go wrong when they go for a hike up to a rock at the top of the hill. On the return they spot someone outside the cabin. He's around their age and claims to have broken down. They invite him to join them as night is falling. After getting ready for dinner and eating, the partying commences. So does the nightmare. All of Quincy's friends are murdered that night, leaving her the sole survivor of the Pine Cottage Massacre.

A few years before Pine Cottage, two other women - Lisa who survived a college sorority mass murder spree, and Sam, who was the only person to escape with her life after a massacre at a motel - also endured and survived horrible massacres. As they were the only survivors of similar situations, the press nicknamed them "The Final Girls".

Eight years after the event, Quincy still has no memory of what happened that night, and is suffering from repressed memory syndrome. She's managed to start afresh and runs a successful baking blog, lives with her boyfriend Jeff, and has a guardian angel in the form of police officer Coop. Sam went off grid and Lisa was living a nice life in a small country town. This all changed the day Lisa was found dead. Now only two final girls remain.

None of them had ever met, until one day, not long after Lisa's death, when Samantha turns up out of the blue on Quincy's doorstep. Sam seems intent on making Quincy remember what happened at Pine Cottage all those years ago. Which makes Quincy wonder what she really wants, and whether she's hiding something? When the media breaks new details about Lisa's death, Quincy starts to try to untangle the messy web of what Sam wants and where she's been, Lisa's death, and what actually happened that grim night at Pine Cottage.

Final Girls is an intriguing, twisty and utterly compelling novel. It's extremely well written, with the characters slowly showing more sides to themselves, which pulls you further and further into the book. It's written from the first person point of view, apart from the chapters which flash back to the day leading up to the massacre and the following police interviews, which are in third person.

It's an easy, yet gritty and brilliant read, which will see you flying through the chapters wanting to know more about what happened at the cabin that night. I ended up second guessing each character along the way, with the many turns the story takes. By the end of the book I felt like I had had the rug ripped out from underneath me; there are more than a few gasp out loud moments. Highly recommended to all fans of dark and suspenseful thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Penguin Random House UK, Ebury and the author for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

*I will post the review to Amazon on publication day and Goodreads shortly

Thanks to Net Galley & Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review. What an amazing book, if you enjoy a good thrilller then this is a must read. Wow! The pages just keep turning.
Quincy is the sole survivor from Pine Cottage where a group of her friends were violently murdered 10 years ago. Quincy is one of 3 Final Girls - sole survivors of tragic horrific crimes. Quincy is tracked down by Samantha on of the other Final Girls, but is Samantha who she says she is?
The 3rd girl Lisa is found dead - looks like suicide but she has been murdered.
The detective who found Quincy in the forest following the murder of her friends has stayed close to her, and Quincy again goes to him with her concerns about Sam & now Lisa's murder.
Quincy has never been able to remember all the details of that tragic evening, Sam takes her back to Pine Cottage and Quincy feels her life is in danger once again. Will being back at the scene of the crime help release hidden memories.
This book is a definite 5 star read.

I’ve had a copy of Final Girls sitting on my kindle for about four months now. After a spate of books that felt almost like a chore reading, I wanted something different and exciting that would kick start my reading mojo and so I decided to start Final Girls. Brilliant decision. This book has every component required to create my ideal book: unreliable female narrator, flashback narrative, unpredictable twists, gruesome massacres worthy of cult Hollywood status, and a plot so carefully planned out and intricately woven that the ending hit me right between the eyes.

Quincy Carpenter is a Final Girl. She is the sole survivor of the massacre at Pine Cottage when all of her teenage college-mates were slaughtered. 10 years later she has a career as a well loved Baking Blogger. In a loving relationship with Defence Lawyer Jeff, Quincy has put the events of her past behind her. Or so she thinks. She doesn’t actually have any memory of the fateful night in the woods and is becoming increasingly reliant on Xanax, but is keeping her life tightly sewn up until rough around the edges Sam comes along. Sam is another Final Girl, surviving the attack on the motel where she worked, from the man known as “Sack Man”. After the suicide of the first Final Girl, Lisa, who had previously survived a sorority house massacre where she lost nine of her sorority sisters, Sam seeks out Quincy so they can support each other. After all, no one can understand what it’s truly like to be a Final Girl apart from each other. The surprise arrival of Sam in Quincy’s life is about to send shock-waves reverberating through many lives. Both are hiding something, and both are determined to find out each other’s deep and darkest secrets.

There are two timelines running alongside each other, present day and flashbacks to Quincy’s time at Pine Cottage. This slowly drip feeds the reader little parts of the story piece by piece and builds up the suspense and anticipation. Narrated from Quincy’s point of view we are given her perspective on the killings, and the events happening presently, and her point of view isn’t always trustworthy. I did really like Quincy as a character, I could understand why she repressed her traumatic memories when others around her couldn’t. I think her choice of career as a Baking Blogger was interesting, almost as if she was trying to bake away with sugar all the bitter parts of her mind. I didn’t trust Sam from the minute she showed up, although her carefree attitude was almost enviable. The more the book went on the more layers of Sam’s personality were pulled back and I was really happy the way the story ended for her.

The planning and plot line was superb. I’ve read so many psychological thrillers of late that I feel they are all becoming samey, I can predict from a few chapters where the story is going. This did NOT happen with Final Girls! I had no idea where the story was leading, who to trust, and who to be suspicious of. All of my instincts were totally wrong, but looking back all the clues were there, hidden in plain sight. It’s not often an author can get to me like this, but Sager had my mind bending in all directions. There are a few twists through the story before the big one at the end, and whilst it turns the book on its head, it is a clever, clever ending.

This book made me feel like I was living Quincy’s life, I was there, I was a Final Girl. I was in Pine Cottage and I was terrified. I wouldn’t be surprised if this book becomes a movie very, very soon. Cannot praise this highly enough, overall rating five fabulous stars. After all that excitement I’m away for a Xanax washed down with Grape Soda (just like Quincy) 😉

Thanks to Riley Sager, Dutton Books and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

The Final Girls

This book absolutely gave me goosebumps. I could not put it down. You spend the novel thinking you know exactly what's going on and exactly who you can trust...until the rug is pulled spectacularly from underneath your feet. You almost feel betrayed, that's how real the emotions are!

I would love to read this again now I know how it ends, to look back over any clues I may have missed! I very rarely give 5 stars, but this was a no brainer. Treat yourself to an afternoon with your feet up reading this masterpiece folks, you won't regret it. Be prepared to be thinking about it for a while after you turn the last page. I really can't wait to see more from Riley Sager.

I was kindly sent a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

A gripping thriller, with so many twists and turns that everyone will be talking about this book in 2017. This was a well written, original concept, that will keep you guessing right up to the end.

The press have labelled them the ‘Final Girls’ – after the young, pretty victim who remains standing at the end of a horror movie. There are Quincy Carpenter, Samantha Boyd and Lisa Milner. Separately they survived massacres that should have killed them – that did kill many others – and they remain survivors, ‘tethered to tragedy’ and with the press interested in their lives and endless websites, true crime podcasts and blogs fascinated by their stories.

Ten years after a trip to a remote cabin with her friends, which resulted in Quincy Carpenter being the only survivor, she has re-built her life. She now has a nice apartment, a boyfriend and has thrown her energies into a baking blog. She still has a tendency to take the odd pill, and still meets up with Coop, the police officer who rescued her that terrible night, but otherwise she is coping. Much of this, she feels, is due to her inability to being unable to remember what happened that dreadful night. Still, the new life she has carefully built up, is about to be invaded by the past that always threatens to intrude on the present.

Lisa Milner is found dead, in a suspected suicide. Quincy is horrified; this was the woman who wanted to mentor her and who wrote, “The Will to Live.” The woman who seemed determined to be a survivor, even if Quincy shied away from meeting her and Samantha Boyd has gone into hiding. Now the press is full of stories about Lisa and Samantha Boyd suddenly turns up on Quincy’s doorstep. Quincy’s boyfriend, Jess, is understandably concerned about the past shattering his and Quincy’s carefully constructed life, but she feels that they must offer Samantha a place to stay. However, is Samantha who she says she is? Why has she appeared now, what was Lisa Milner attempting to tell Quincy before her death and why is Samantha so keen for Quincy to discover what happened so long ago at Pine Cottage?

This really is a great crime novel. We have the current storyline, of Quincy beginning to realise that she must confront her past, plus the images from her past, as she gradually begins to remember what happened so long ago. There are lots of twists and turns, the plot is never quite going the way you think it is and, if you like fast paced novels with plenty of action and good characters, you will really enjoy this. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I love crime thrillers. And I love horror movies. So it's fair to say that I REALLY loved Final Girls. The term 'Final Girl' is used to describe the last girl standing in horror films - and it's also what the media have dubbed Quincy, Lisa and Sam, who were all the sole survivor of massacres that left their friends dead. When one of these 'Final Girls' dies, things start to get interesting. An enjoyable 'whodunnit' perfectly mixed with teen slasher movie-style flashback scenes that brilliantly build the tension, this book had me gripped from the first page to the last. I loved Quincy as a character (even if she did make some questionable choices!) and I thought the plot was well-paced with enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. Stephen King was spot on when he described Final Girls as the first great thriller of 2017.

I had this book for a while but didn't go straight to it and to be honest the title was a little too powerful, it put me off. I was worried the book wouldn't live up to the title but boy was I wrong!
I was gripped by the first page and totally intrigued by the plot. As I read further I thought I was guessing the truth and the story went the same way which made me pleased I was correct but also disappointing that it was that predictable.
Again I was wrong! Totally did not see the ending, I was so shocked by it as the author did such a good job leading down other avenues but looking back there was small subtle hints that were easily missed as the fake plot clues were much more obvious.
Big well done to the author for writing such a clever plot, I found the book enjoyable. I couldn't put it down, I just had to know what happened.
The characters were so strong and believable which made the ending work and not have me thinking 'no!' That's not right.
So the book did live up to the title very much so, I'm gutted I didn't pick it up sooner and nearly as gutted that I've finished it. As I got to the last few pages, I slowed up my reading pace just to make the book last longer. This doesn't happen often with books. I'm hoping there will be an second instalment.

This is a very entertaining thriller in the classic teen slasher movie style for a large part of the book. However, there is also a 'bloody' good story to be found in between all the stabby gore and screaming flashbacks. Highly recommended.

Hard book to get into once past chapter 4 was very good great story