While this had such an interesting premise, it fell flat. The storyline was all over the place and would have done better without the flashbacks. I was also confused with a few of the characters who popped up all over the place.

Always The First To Die is a suspenseful dual timeline thriller that follows Lexi, while she is a teen on the set of the horror film Breathless in 1998, and as an adult dealing with the aftermath of a category 4 hurricane.
Lexi is cast in a small role in a horror movie that is being filmed in her hometown's abandoned and rumored haunted mansion. 25 years later, her estranged father in law still lives on the mansion's property. Lexi's daughter Quinn sneaks off to the Keys to help her grandfather film the sequel to Breathless, and look for clues to the whereabouts of her missing father, Cam. When a hurricane hits the island, stranding Quinn and her grandfather, and cutting off communication, Lexi heads to the Keys to bring Quinn home.
This was a fast paced, claustrophobic thriller with twists I didn't see coming. I enjoyed the mystery in both timelines of this story, and Lexi was written as a strong female lead character. The only issue I really had was with Quinn, the daughter; She was supposed to be 17, but she was whiny and immature and read more as a young teen, especially considering we are reading Lexi's POV at the same age in the 1998 chapters.
Overall, I did enjoy this book ,and would recommend it to others. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Always The First To Die in exchange for my honest opinion.

Enjoyed this new thriller by RJ Jacobs. Very entertaining. Nice take on horror/slasher films with no shortage of quirky characters. Dual timeline unfolds nicely with a good amount of creep factor.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Always the First to Die is a subtype of locked room murder mysteries. Lexi's husband disappeared a year ago, and she's estranged from her FIL, a famous horror film director. Lexi died in one of his films as a teenager, and now her teenager, Quinn, has slipped away to join his next film. A hurricane strikes, and Lexi goes down to rescue her.

Once there, the 2 become enmeshed in Murders, ghostly sightings, and mayhem.

Good take on final girls and locked rooms.

3.7/5

I liked the book but I felt like everything was down to the last quarter of the book regarding the excitement and drama (though I guess that tracks with how a horror movie plays out). I thought the storyline and premise was interesting, though I expected more drama along the way and it was more focused on the flashbacks than building suspense during the current situation.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you love classic horror movies you'll LOVE this novel, a clever take on the final girl theme with some great characters, a haunting atmospheric setting and some great twists and turns

It is hugely addictive, all the characters know the rules but ignore them anyway and as well as being a hugely readable mystery this also has intriguing family drama elements with relatable people and suitably scary.

This would make a great movie. Loved it.

Can you imagine being trapped in a horror movie in the keys and playing the same role in real life that your did as a teenager? This was a mirror image of the movie set Lexi was apart of. Lexi needs to recuse her daughter in a hurricane but starts to realize when she’s in the Keys things are eerily similar to the horror film she was apart of two decades ago. Really enjoyed the different horror movie references to bring everything full circle. It was a quick, exciting and keep on the edge of my seat read.

This book was really interesting. It was the first I have read by RJ Jacobs, but it won't be the last.

This book was a little slow to get off the ground, but I kept with it and I'm glad I did!

Always the First to Die is the third RJ Jacobs novel since 2019, all of which are psychological thrillers with blend in elements of horror. Considering Jacobs runs a private practice as a psychologist and has taught Abnormal Psychology one imagines he brings a vast number of ideas to repackage in his page-turners. He is also undoubtedly also a horror film fan, as it would be difficult to write a novel like this and not be knee deep into the genre! The plot is top-heavy with film references and even the title Always the First to Die references the good-looking young woman (often scantily clad) who are the first to be despatched by whichever serial killer any horror film worth its salt opens with.

The structure of Always the First to Die was nicely balanced with two stories told almost two decades apart. They do not mirror each other, but there are some similarities in that both are based around the making of an iconic horror film called ‘Breathless’. In the flashback nineties story teenager Lexi auditions to be an extra in the filming of ‘Breathless’, but after the director falls out with another actress she is elevated to be the first victim of the serial killer. The film becomes a worldwide smash and Lexi (who does not pursue a career as an actress) truly is famous for fifteen minutes. If the title ‘Breathless’ was meant meant to mirror ‘Scream’ it missed the mark slightly as ‘Breathless’ is already the name of a classic New Wave French Film, which was remade in the USA in the eighties with Richard Gear.

Most of the action takes place in the present day with the adult Lexi (now a librarian) having a teenage daughter about the age she was when she made her cinematic debut. In the opening stages we realise that her daughter Quinn has sneaked off to spend time with her grandfather Rick Plummer, who is also the director of ‘Breathless’ whom she realises is planning on filming ‘Breathless 2’. However, the plot is considerably muddier, the previous year her husband (Rick’s son Cam) disappeared, presumed dead, on his father’s Pinecrest Estate on the Florida Keys where both films were filmed. The story was complex and although it was never dull, neither did it truly catch fire. There were a few twists along the way, but the story lacked genuine scares.

Much of the thrills were built around Lexi attempting to find Quinn whist being totally estranged from the director, her father-in-law Rick Plummer. Considering Plummer was portrayed as a legendary cult film director he contributed very little to the book and was a rather dull old man and the reader saw little of his fabled eccentricities. As Lexi heads to the Florida Keys in search for her daughter she has another major worry which dominates large section of the book; a Category Four hurricane has closed the local area down. I was unconvinced battling the natural elements added much suspense to the novel and potentially pushed the story further away from horror into action territory. However, the fear and anxiety Lexi fears for her child was palpable and helped keep the tension levels high.

The relationship between mother and daughter was one of the strengths of Always the First to Die as Lexi did not want her child to make the same mistakes she did, whilst her daughter continues to silently grieve for the father she still believes to be alive. But again Plummer, the grandfather film director, had little to contribute to the complex family dynamics and remained in the background. I did wonder what Lexi was getting so uptight about and considering the only voice the story has is her first-person narrative she did at times test my patience.

RJ Jacobs does his very best to throw as many horror film tropes into the mix as possible, with the ‘cursed film’ also playing a big part which is explored in the nineties flashbacks. Although these scenes were nicely portrayed and showed how Lexi met her future husband and the origins of the curse they did not add a huge amount to the plot, even if they did show a slightly more animated Rich Plummer, when he was a much hungrier and ambitious young director. Along the way there were lots of references to horror films, but few were written naturally into the plot and came across as slightly forced. There was even a potential supernatural touch thrown into the mix and even a spin on the Final Girl story.

Even though there were multiple story strands and it was fascinating to see how they all interconnected together via the dual timelines, the main hook which hung everything together was slightly underwhelming. Once again it leaned too heavily on a classic horror trope, as whilst the characters are stuck together during the huge storm there is a killer on the loose. This slasher element of the story, where there were limited suspects and lots of neurotic characters, was not enough to connect everything together with the genuine killer not being unmasked until well into the film (and no, I didn’t guess correct!) But neither was a blown away by the ending.

Always the First to Die was a decent page-turner which easily held my attention, but there are a lot of books very similar to this on the market and it lacked the edge to separate itself from the crowded pack.

I loved the premise of this book, but I feel like it struggles to get off the ground. The first 20% or so is mainly exposition and flashbacks, which are well-written, but prevent the main narrative from moving forward. Even though the description of the Florida Keys and the horror film elements are really intriguing, they weren't enough to hold my attention. I was expecting more tension and action. Ultimately, this book wasn't for me, but hopefully it will be a stronger fit for other readers.

Jacobs
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I considered myself very lucky that I had the chance to read R.J Jacob's new book. I am a huge fans of his previous novels and (fan girl moment) we're bookstagram friends 😀. Always the First To Die is definitely my new favourite. Packed full of tension I literally couldn't put it down. I loved the slasher/horror references, which make this thriller a must read 📚. Highly recommended xx

This book was hard to put down. It’s an easy read that sucks you in keeps you interested the whole time. I kept thinking it would turn into a slasher movie type of book but it didn’t. It’s not one of my favorites from this year but I really did enjoy reading it. Read this when you need a fun and fast read. It was good.

A fresh take on the slasher film genre, Always the First to Die has it all!
Lexi lost her husband last year and is still mourning his death while raising their teenage daughter. Once famous for a role in a slasher film as a teen, she refused to return to the Florida keys where she grew up and had many less then happy memories.


When her daughter runs away on an overnight class trip to the Keys and a hurricane bears down on the coast, she has no choice but to return to her old stomping grounds. Before long she is embroiled in a murder and has to solve it before she and her family are next. Excellent flashbacks and lots of horror movie references, Always the First to Die is horror movie fun! Thrilling, original and engaging - this is a story for all slasher movie fans. If you miss your slasher movies, love a strong heroine or just like the atmospheric storm novels, then this book is for you! #AlwaysTheFirsttoDie #RJJacobs #Sourcebooks #Netgalley

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I really enjoyed this book. I mean a thriller based around a cursed horror movie!! Right up my alley.
Author did a great job writing and keeping the storyline’s straight and connected.

When Lexi was a teenager, she had a small role in what came to be a revered horror movie. She ended up marrying the son of the director and having a daughter with him. Fast forward to present day, Lexi's husband died last year and her daughter is currently stranded on one of the Florida keys because of a hurricane. Lexi has to drive down to rescue her daughter, but the scene when she arrives is eerily reminiscent of the horror movie she starred in.

I wish there had been more suspense in this book. I felt like there were some good twists in the last third of the book, but it was a bit slow suspense wise getting there. A lot of build up for the one final scene. I can see fans of horror movies liking this a lot though - it definitely felt like how one would play out!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and R.J. Jacobs for the advanced copy of Always the First to Die in exchange for my honest review.

After reading the synopsis I had no doubt in my mind that I would love this book, and I'm happy to report that was indeed the case! There is a sense of almost mortal dread that permeates throughout the entire book due to the hurricane conditions. As someone who lives in the Midwest I've never experienced that particular type of natural disaster, but Jacobs writes about the absolute destruction so well I can put myself in the scenes.

Add to that a subplot centering around a box office smash horror movie from the 90s? Yes please!!

I can tell you with absolutely certainty I would not have guessed the ending to this one in a million years, but I was very satisfied with it. R.J. Jacobs has undoubtedly solidified himself as an autobuy author for me.

Always the First to Die will be on US bookshelves September 14!

As a teen Lexi was featured in a horror film called Breathless where she met her future husband. As an adult her husband disappeared and now her teen daughter has gone to the Florida Keys to find some answers. They both wind up back in the place where Breathless was filmed and their lives are starting to resemble a horror movie.
I felt the horror references in this book were well done, but the storyline itself wasn't the least bit spooky. Thriller wasn't something I'd associate with the book. Lexi was an ok main character and I liked the flashbacks with her, but it could have done with more depth in the secondary characters. While this was readable, I felt there were many missed opportunities for a better story.

First thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the chance to read this book.

Always the first to die is a book about a horror movie set that was “cursed” and the sequel that’s having the same sort of issues. I could see where the horror movie themes and elements were supposed to play in, but it never felt like it did enough.

I wish it would have committed more fully to the 80s-90s slasher film themes and tropes of the movie portrayed in the book. The stakes never felt real enough, and the tension never got high enough to get me truly invested.

I think overall the book has a great premise, which is why I was excited to read, but doesn’t reach its full potential.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. Always the First to Die will be a great pick for all of the horror and thriller lovers! It kept my attention and I liked the setting!!

A book that left me BREATHLESS (oohhh puns, you will know what im talking about once you read this book)

This is my first RJ Jacobs book but I have seen his book in our library back overseas.

The book was an easy flowing one which gave me a nostalgic feel.
The book follows Lexi who desperately wants her daughter, Quinn, to come back home because she is in a place where she promised not to go back… Pincrest Estate. For Quinn, it is a significant visit because who else is in the estate other than her grandfather, renowned director Rick Plummer.
Years ago he directed a horror movie which was said in that place and many things have followed… terrible things. Was it mythical hollywood curse or someone is behind it all?

This book is a 4.5/5 knives 🔪🔪🔪🔪
The book is something I will re-read and honestly, I picture the cast members as the brat pack.