The Finalists
by David Bell
Pub Date: July 5, 2022
Berkely
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. The Finalists is a chilling and profound look at the lengths both students and colleges will go to survive in a resource-starved academic world.
I am usually a great fan of this writer but for some reason this book dragged for me. What I did enjoy is the ease of David Bell’s writing. Short, quick chapters that always end with a bit of a cliffhanger so you can’t stop.

While this wasn’t a favorite I’m still a huge fan and already queuing up for next year’s release!
3 stars

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!

This was an interesting read for me. Basically, six students with need but also superior academic skills, are chosen to compete for a really incredible prize/scholarship. This will pay for their tuition and their student debt while also providing a place to live and a job when they finish school. However, the day starts with a sudden death and the the group is locked in for the day already. Do they break the bylaws and risk losing the prize to get out of the house? Or do they risk their lives hoping to still win?

I enjoyed the premise of this book, and even though I know I'm not supposed to lean on believability in a story, I really struggled to understand the actions of the students and adults throughout this tale. I was also a little bored at times because some conversations seemed redundant at a certain point. However, if this sounds interesting to other readers then I encourage you to pick this up and give it a go!

Out July 5th!

Six college students gather together to interview for a significantly notable scholarship; one that will cover their tuition, and even guarantee a paying, full-time job after graduation. The students are all different, with their intelligence the only criteria that really brings them together. But when one student dies before the scholarship interviewing even begins, the remaining students and school representatives must decide how far they are willing to go in order to keep the scholarship contest going.

As a fan of David Bell I was so excited to read “The Finalists”, but unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. I felt that the traditions and rules that had to be followed to be eligible for the scholarship money were unrealistic and required an extreme suspension of disbelief. The character of Nicholas Hyde is unsympathetic and very weird. This was very slow paced and the characters were unreliable and not developed. I did appreciate the short chapters and the pace did pick up a bit in the second half. The ending was interesting and not quite what I expected. I did like the fact that it was a “locked room” mystery, as I enjoy reading those types of mysteries. I will continue to read David Bell though since he is an excellent author and I have really enjoyed his previous work. Thank you to David Bell, Berkeley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I thought the summary sounded quite interesting, but I really struggled with this one. Too many parts were extremely unbelievable (even for fiction). Things felt rushed, and there was as much plot or character development as I expected, and I never felt connected to the characters. In fact, I didn't even really like them. This wasn't even close to being the thriller I expected based on the description.

What an odd way to conduct a scholarship contest.

Six chosen candidates are locked in a house that belongs to the college‘s owner, and they have to complete an essay and follow all the bylaws pertaining to this scholarship.

While they were in the house one of the candidates mysteriously dies, and the students are not allowed out because if one of them leaves or they stop the procedure that has to take place on this certain date there will never be another scholarship for anyone.

As they finish with one part of the contest, and after they have had lunch, another member dies.

What is going on?

Who can be murdering these people in this locked building?

Everyone begins to tell tales about each other, to blame each other, and mistrust each other.

Will they continue to follow the bylaws to the T or break tradition and try to get out of the locked building and alert the police that are guarding the house?

THE FINALISTS has a very detailed, well written story line and pulls you in, but it dragged for me.

Even though the tension was high, this book wasn't my favorite of Mr. Bell's, and I wanted to tell the characters to get out of that house before they all were murdered and to get the attention of the police who were right outside.

I certainly would have left, and I would have made every effort to let the police know there were dead bodies inside.

Did they finally TRY to get out?

They did TRY, but what HAPPENED when they tried?

What happened to everyone?

How were the murders carried out, and who was the murderer?

You will have to give the book a go to see. 3/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

This book is another winner for Bell. It’s very much a thriller but also a competition as well. The characters are incredibly fleshed out and the plot feels real. This book was great I couldn’t wait to find out what happened and I wasn’t disappointed.

David Bell does it again! I love suspenses that are set on college campuses and this may take the cake as one of my favorites.

When six college students step into the Hyde House on a spring day to compete for the best scholarship the college has to offer they will not be ready for everything that occurs during those 8 hours. From deaths, threats, and accusations the 8 hour ordeal will rattle all of them and leave the reader scrambling to figure out how it will end.

This probably ranks near the top of my list of David Bell novels! This is a great one to grab for the summer. You will not want to put it down!

This is one of my favorite authors, but I struggled to get through this one. I felt there was too much debating on what to do, rather than doing anything. The whole thing about staying in the house after the first death was strange. The reveal was also a little strange and felt rushed to wrap things up. A miss for me, but looking forward to the next one by this author.

I’m so sorry.

I thought I would love this. I did not.

From the description, I thought I’d get a thriller. Instead, I got Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ mixed with unlikeable characters and a little social commentary.

I had two real problems with this:

First, most of the characters were pompous. Characters I should have liked (the BLM activist, the immigrant, the poor farm boy) were rather insufferable and others, including our main character, were extremely insufferable.

Second, the murders were a little…dull. They weren’t shocking or even particularly vicious. The just…were.

I finished the book, mostly out of curiosity about the who and why, but wasn’t particularly satisfied with anything.

Not for me.

• ARC via Publisher

What a fantastic book! So you have a blend of academic and political strife that is quietly in the background. The political stuff is all background noise to the scholarship on the line, and it's a big one. It gives the students their whole senior year paid for, which is a big deal because it's a private school.

The whole day revolves around a written portion and interview portion with one man meant to decide who wins. Unfortunately this man is not quite the best representative of his family lineage. He arrives hungover and not all that committed to the process. The students and Vice President of the college (who is our narrator) are planning to role with it.

The process begins with them being locked inside this house. It's all been done before and should be a standard kind of experience until someone dies. That's when the dividing lines are drawn. Then people argue and accuse each other. Worse, someone ELSE dies. Then they realize they really can't get out of the house and no one can see or hear them outside the college.

It's such an intense ride and I'm so glad I read it. I absolutely recommend! I loved it right through to the end.

Slight criticism, the cover gave me the impression it will be futuristic, but that wasn't the case at all. All good though. I still loved it!

6 college students are selected to compete with each other for the famous Hyde Fellowship. The competition involves entering the Hyde House and spending 8 hours with a college administrator and Nicholas Hyde, the heir to the family fortune. If any students leave before the time is up they will be immediately disqualified. When one of the 6 students drops dead, mayhem ensues. With the doors locked and no where to run, will the other 5 survive?

This wasn't my favorite book. It was a bit slow and seemed like a young adult genre book to me. I didn't hate it or love it. I will continue to read David Bell though since he is an excellent author and I have really enjoyed his previous work.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for my ARC!

Many books require a suspension of disbelief in order to be truly enjoyed, a squint-eyed reading of the logic underpinning the premise or character motivations. This is one of those books. The set-up really doesn’t make any sense. Some of the character actions and reactions even less so. It’s all in service of a great hook that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. While the concept is intriguing, the execution feels very rushed. Stock characters, a tiresome dialogue-heavy narrative, and dollops of heavy-handed social commentary made this one a very tough read.

It left me utterly baffled, so I checked out some of the other reviews and noted that more than a few readers are fans of the author but were left cold by this latest novel. Not sure what happened here, but this one is a major miss.

Six college students gather together to interview for a significantly notable scholarship; one that will cover their tuition, and even guarantee a paying, full-time job after graduation. The students are all different, with their intelligence the only criteria that really brings them together. But when one student dies before the scholarship interviewing even begins, the remaining students and school representatives must decide how far they are willing to go in order to keep the scholarship contest going. Written with the heat of our current social issues, asking tough questions about race and what it means to win something that comes about because of wrongs committed against previous generations, this book shines the light on some very timely scenarios. This wasn’t one of my favorites from David Bell, and I found it a little difficult to believe in parts, but then again, they say truth really is stranger than fiction.

Special Note: Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thriller that keeps you reading and guessing. Unfortunately, it was also just over the line of unbelievable. I am all about locked room mysteries but, I just couldn't go along with no one leaving. There is an explanation of why but without spoiling anything I just didn't buy it. Did keep me reading so it wasn't all bad.

One of my favorite writers, a dark academia theme, and a locked room mystery? This book had all the ingredients for a five-star read, but unfortunately, this one fell short for me.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒅:
The short chapters
Academic setting
Locked room mystery

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕:
Read like a YA thriller
Lack of character development
Extremely dialogue heavy, which got repetitive
Requires an extreme suspension of disbelief

I was engaged while reading, and I kept hoping the characters would come alive after the first few chapters, but they never really did. My biggest issue with this book was the 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆 suspension of disbelief required. I was hoping for a worthy follow-up to KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS, but this one just missed the mark.

The Finalists by David Bell

✨ thriller (obviously) w/ out a guessable ending!
✨ short and easy to read chapters
✨ people die!
✨ dark academia vibes
✨ locked room

Overall, the concept of this book was intriguing to me, and I read it right away after receiving my copy. Six college students, an administrator, and the heir to the college namesake are stuck together in a room as the students compete to win a prestigious scholarship. I found most of the characters believable so yay for that.
I will say I have not read any of this authors past novels and have nothing to compare it to in that regard.

I was not disappointed by the gradual (but purposeful ) build in tension as the book goes on. I also didn’t guess the ending which is a real treat for thriller and mystery lovers everywhere! If you’re intrigued by a high-stakes, dark academia mystery, please add this book to your TBR. 💖

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This was my first encounter with this author and it wasn’t a good first impression. This book was utterly ridiculous and really boring. I predicted everything from page 1 and could have done without reading it

I had never read anything by this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The whole book basically takes place within a few hours. A group of college students come together to compete for a life changing scholarship. The scholarship has some odd rules, one being all the students, vice president and the family representative of the scholarship must be locked in the house. Naturally, someone dies pretty quick and the rest of the book is, part trying to get out of the locked house and part trying to get out of the house, and trying not to be next.
The book was well written, the characters were mostly realistic if somewhat annoying. But my biggest issue was the end, to me personally the end was odd and didn't fit. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

As part of an annual tradition giving away a highly valuable and, therefore, highly coveted scholarship at a small, private college, six students, a college administrator and a representative from the school's founding family meet in an old home Victorian building on campus and agree to be locked in for the day with no electronics to compete in an essay and interview contest for the money. Harmless, right? Well, when one student dies, it becomes clear that a killer must be among the group. As things go from bad to worse, the group is faced with tough decisions and hard truths.

The concept of this book was immediately intriguing, so as soon as I read it, I wanted to read the book and was ecstatic to receive a copy. The trouble starts in the beginning, as the scholarship tournament is plagued by protests and new information about the Hyde (scholarship/founding) family which sends the college campus and scholarship process into a tizzy. And then things get started, lol. It really does get going quickly. And I was pulled in! It's a locked room mystery, where the subjects literally cannot escape because they've agreed to be, well, locked in.

The only annoying part of the mystery was the students themselves. They're college students and do they ever act like them. The whining and lack of, well, logical thinking, grated on me at times. Like they acted extremely irrationally and selfishly and then wondered why no one trusted them or wanted to listen to them. Well, I have a few ideas.

But overall, I was really into the plot. And I did not guess the ending, though I was a little confused about some things. But overall, It was good. It was something very different. And I liked that.

As a huge fan of David Bell’s books, I delved between the pages of his latest novel, “The Finalists,” with eager anticipation. Unfortunately, my excitement was met with disappointment, as I quickly realized that his latest venture was a huge miss for me. I have no issue suspending reality or even treading into controversial waters, but it was the characters themselves that I found extremely off-putting. In particular, the 6 students vying for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship were unlikeable, combative and totally lacking in deportment. Not a single one was worthy a candidate for such a coveted award, furthering my inability to connect with the story as a whole. And while the quick, short chapters and the mystery aspect is what compelled me to continue reading, the “big reveal” came as no surprise, as it is what I had come to suspect about mid-way through the book. Overall, a good concept that could have been executed better.