This was not my favorite read, to be honest. It was missing a little something. Enjoyable but not the kind of book you demand your friends read.

I received a free ARC from MetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was mediocre for me. I felt the story got very confusing with the main character not knowing who she was. I figured out a good bit of the twist before it happened. It also seemed to go on longer than it needed to.

I loved this author’s first book, Before I Go to Sleep. It was suspenseful and the pages just kept turning. I was excited to receive an e galley of this title even though I did not read it right away.

This novel is set in a seaside town that has fallen on hard times. Nonetheless, documentary film maker, Alex, has chosen to shoot a film here. Why this location? What will she discover in Blackwood Bay? Does she have a former connection with this place? Pick this one up to find out.

In my opinion, this book was okay. It was not as good as Before I Go to Sleep though.

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher for this title. All opinions are my own.

The coastline of northern England is the setting of this suspense that has a strong gothic feel. Alternating time periods create an abundance of suspense and none of the characters can be trusted. The mystery seems like it’s moving in one direction but then completely takes a different turn. The twists just keep on coming and the ending is completely unexpected.

You may be able to escape from many things, but one thing will always find you. The cameras and the truth.

Blackwood Bay has sadly been devastated by dwindling tourism and the bad economy. In steps film-maker Alex to shoot her new documentary. This area seems idyllic and peaceful, until this perfect quiet place is shattered.

What does Alex find in this dying town? Follow the trail and see.....

Told in a now/then setting this story slowly gives away its secrets. Set in a small town where everyone knows everyone adds to the sinister feeling of the story. With drug use and abuse as the main subjects in the book it sets on some gritty content and I was happy Watson saved us some of the details on the more disturbing parts. I did find the flow of the story a bit bumpy but that is often with flashback stories, still I had a hard time putting it down.
•
Alex is the main character of this book and her place in the story is clear and yet it is not at all. I did not understand her motives to stay so secretive all the time, while on the other hand she seems to fully trust random strangers. As she is the narrator it made me doubt her view on the other characters too. But the excitement of the things happening in the story make up for that.

I have absolutely loved SJ Watson's two previous novels, so I was highly anticipating this one, which may not have worked in my favor. Watson does an excellent job crafting a creepy atmosphere with an intriguing character that can't quite remember why she left the town. There were certain elements that didn't quite match up, so this was a four-star read for me.

A propulsion edge of your seat thriller about four missing girls in a small town in Northern England. A film crew arrives in town to make a small town documentary and from there we learn the secrets of the four missing girls. Thrilling!

I loved this author's first book, Before I go to Sleep. This book is also about memory loss, but not nearly as clever as his first book. Yes, it is atmospheric, I could visualize the village but the whole story is so convoluted and the characters are rather pathetic, there is nothing pleasant about this book. A big disappointment.

Another great book by SJ Watson and one that was definitely worth the wait. It has been some time since I read something by this author and no matter that length of time, he still knocked it out of the park for me as a reader. Watson explores themes of memory and identity through the lens of a documentary - which I thought was such a fresh take in this genre. The narrator, Alexandra Young, with secrets of her own who goes from being an observer behind the camera to part of the story, which I thought was BRILLIANT. The plot was perfectly paced and twists, well-executed, the setting atmospheric, and the characters were well developed.

2.5 stars. I have enjoyed this author in the past so I was anxious to read this one. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it very well. The plot wasn't very original and the dialogue was just too much and not much happening. I was wishing for a little more suspense.

This is my first SJ Watson novel. I have seen a lot of hype for this author so was pretty excited to get this ARC. The plot is one that dances around the genre of lost memories and unreliable narration. The setting was enticing, and I was interested in the set up of the whole novel: a young woman is sent to a remote English village to do an indie documentary film and, of course, gets wrapped up in a mystery while there.

I'm not sure why this didn't work for me. I often felt like the narration just didn't go anywhere fast enough. The first 50 pages or so didn't flow well for me; I found myself constantly re-reading and trying to piece together what was happening. I figured out where the plot was going rather early on. That's not automatically a detriment for me. I often enjoy the momentum of a story, even if I think I know where it's going. But in this case, I felt like the narrative didn't have much with which to engage me beyond figuring out the who-dun-it. It might just be, too, that I read this at a bad time of the year (the start of a new semester).

Despite my experience with the book, I think others may like this writing style and enjoy the plot. I also will still give Watson a second look. This one just did not click for me.

I loved Final Cut-- it is slower paced than a lot of your standard thrillers-- but then this isn't your standard thriller! S.J. Watson writes so well about the way memories (or lack thereof) can define us even when (especially when!) that definition feels wrong (and absolutely is) and how terrifying it can be to face not just an external threat, but the threat of not/possibly never knowing one's own true interior self. Highly recommended.

Overall, an enjoyable psychological thriller. The plot, pacing, and characters were interesting. I read it in just a few settings so I could get to the ending.

Alex is a film maker who goes to Blackwood Bay to make a film. When she gets there she realizes she’s been there before but can’t remember anything specifically. This starts off with a good premise. But it falls flat towards the middle. It feels like it just goes round & round in circles. It doesn’t advance fast enough. It picks up a bit when it gets towards the end. I didn’t find it all very believable. Trigger warning for rape, self abuse. It was a difficult read in that regard.

Final Cut is a solid, well-written atmospheric psychological thriller from the author of Before I Go to Sleep. The story follows a documentary filmmaker who travels to a very small fishing village in northern England to make her next film and gets pulled into the mysterious disappearance of two local girls. The thriller is a bit of a slow-burn with an atmospheric setting that almost feels like a character itself. The plot is twisty with intriguing characters. If you're looking for an original psychological thriller, this is a good one to check out!

a book that you will want to read in one setting because it’s not that twisted and good. You won’t sleep so be ready!

While at first a bit confusing and hard to connect all the characters, this book ended up being ok. I was skeptical but about 15% in everything started to fall in to place. Quite sad but realistic to see how controlling someone can be over someone else who is in a vulnerable position themselves. Very timely and scary. I also loved how it showed that someone can use their passion to work thru and educate others about psychological issues (filmmaking being the outlet here).

In Watson's new thriller, filmmaker Alexandra Young travels to Blackwood Bay, a quaint English seaside village that has fallen on hard economic times, intent on making it the subject of her next documentary. It is the site of an unsolved ten-year-old mystery surrounding two teen girls, and another teen girl's disappearance three years ago.

Alex is quickly swept into the village's history and eerie mood, and is unsettled by her interactions with its long-time residents. There is a palpable foreboding unease in the air at Blackwood Bay, with hints of thinly-veiled buried secrets just below the surface. Alex's filming leads her to links between past events and present-day odd incidents and behavior. Uncertain whom she can trust and acting on instinct, Alex is drawn into a deep, sinister web of deceit that places her in grave danger. Can she unearth the truth of what happened to the missing girls before she herself is silenced?

Final Cut is an atmospheric pulse-pounding tale of lies, manipulation, and psychological suspense filled with dark twists and surprises that engages readers from its opening scenes to it final moments.

Alex Young lives in the documentary world that constantly needs feeding. A mysterious card beckons her and her crew to Blackwood Bay to tell the everyday life story. What happens next will revive old suspicions and evoke old nightmares for Alex. As events unfold following a disturbing pattern Alex and her crew get caught up in the mysterious deaths that span decades. Even more upsetting is the fact that Alex may have been the one that got away. Happy reading