I love thrillers, but this was definitely more of a thriller/horror in my opinion. The description and the cover really caught my attention. This book actually gave me the creeps. Chapter 1 really captures a realistic fear and reality for women. I also love to watch movies and TV and a couple comparisons came up to me when I read it. This book had elements like the movie “Kept Woman” and the TV show, “The Patient” with Steve Carell (which he was SO good in). I was unsure of this book at first, but at the same time I could not put it down. I ended up devouring it and wanted to keep reading it. It was a very unique story in that I haven’t read a comparable book like this before. This story was so layered, but also left me with questions and about some of the characters. This was definitely such a rollercoaster ride. If you’re looking for more of a horror type thriller, this is a good one for you.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you kindly to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for early look at this title!

This one definitely wasn’t what I expected, but this unhinged kidnapping thriller was both unique and original. I also really appreciated the author’s writing style, and while I struggled with the ending and overall concept, I do think a lot of readers will like this one!

this was GOOD. i was gagged, i was scared, i was sad, i was lol'ing. girlhood is truly being on alert for scary men at all times.

this, at it's core, is a story about people that have been taken and are being held hostage in a cabin in the woods. HOWEVER!!!!!!! THE TWISTS! THE TURNS! things were happening that i was not(!) expecting, and i was gasping fr.

lastly, this could just be a me-being-aro-ace thing, but i did feel that the addition of the romance plot/smut scene felt out of place? ur being held hostage by psychos, is now really the time to be dicked down?

Thanks to NetGalley and Ticking Clock Press, LLC for an advanced copy of this story.

4.5 rounded up to 5.

The Final Scene is a psychological thriller about a woman (Brooke) who was kidnapped, along with a couple other people, and they play out scenes from their captor's life. If they break character too many times, their captor kills them and they are replaced with someone new. Brooke has outlived everyone, but her days are numbered.

This was an insane story. The tension was very high, and I had no idea what was going to happen next. I felt like this took kidnapping to a whole new level, with the captor forcing her captives into recreating various stages of her life. It was sick and twisted in a way that didn't need a ton of blood or gore etc to make it feel extremely disturbing. The ending was also crazy, with several plot twists I didn't expect. I cared a lot about the characters, and felt very distressed about if and how they would escape. This was very creative and well done, and was extremely fast-paced. I was able to finish this one in less than 24 hours! Also it was worthwhile to scan the QR code at the end of the book for an extra chapter to wrap things up. That was a nice little surprise! It's not necessary to read, but does give a little more closure for those who really prefer that type of ending.

Review posted to Goodreads separately because the link through NetGalley wasn't working, and I will post my review to my review account closer to the publication date.

The tension starts early and never really lets up in this quick read thriller. The ‘why’ people are being abducted is disclosed early on but there are still plenty of twists that keep you engrossed.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone. Remember that show? I do. The show where certain episodes started off weird and got weirder. That’s how this one is too. Imagine being abducted from your life and placed in another persons world one that leaves you trapped in a mid-century cage playing the scripted roles of mother and daughter. Brooke and Kinsey find themselves trapped in a perpetual nightmare created by their abductor. For ten years Brooke has been playing the role of Helen Hamilton while Kinsey plays the role of Grace Hamilton. Throughout the years Brooke has watched men die for not playing the part of Grace’s father correctly.
…
Brooke is a divorced mother co-raising their daughter Jessi. She is the type of woman who blends in instead of standing out. She’s a beautiful curvy woman with body image issues. The issues are not her own they’re from men and other women who claim she’s not a perfect “10”.
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The abductor Mitch chooses those he perceives as nameless to society. Druggies, transients, and what he considers easy prey.
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My mind is a cluster of crazy and wild thoughts trying to process and comprehend what the heck is happening. As badly as I want to believe what is happening I can’t help but feel like the rug is about to be pulled out from underneath me. It’s a page-turner for sure as the pieces need to fall into place soon to make sense of what the big picture is. I’m intrigued and compelled to keep reading eventhough it’s an unusual situation. It’s a horror scene unlike anything I could’ve ever imagined. I’m anxious for a plot twist just to help plunge me further into the madness. It’s highly addictive in a bizarrely and complex way.
…
Steph Nelson wrote a twisted story one that I questioned every step of the way. It just seemed too convoluted. In the end it was a fascinating concept which Steph Nelson pulled off pretty convincingly. Although, the ending was a tad bit anticlimactic. I hoped for something grandeur and with better closure. Overall, I was impressed with the two intersecting stories.

Brooke was kidnapped 10 years ago and forced to act out scenes from her captor Grace's past. She is the only "actor" to have made it 10 years due to her following the rules. Other kidnap victims have come and gone, but Brooke is always the last one standing left alive. Suddenly Grace announcing that they will be performing the final scene, which signifies she no longer needs Brooke and the other remaining captives. It's now or never to make their escape.

This book was a wild ride! I flew through it in two days. I loved the pacing and the different POV's of the characters. It kept you guessing who would survive and what twist would be coming next. I highly recommend and look forward to reading more by this author.

This book started off really well. It did a great job setting the scene and providing information about what the characters were required to do. However, I kept waiting for action, for some kind of twist, turns, suspense, something. Unfortunately towards the middle it began to drag on and became more and more difficult to finish. Also, the introduction to the new character within the middle of the book without previous context was a bit hard to follow.

Wow, what a twisty rollercoaster ride. The Final Scene had me curled up in the corner of my couch, my knees tucked to my chest. My kindle in one hand and my other hand gripping my forehead, stressing for these characters.

The story follows 30-year-old Brooke who is kidnapped on her way home from work. "...a threat you can't see is much worse than one you can keep eyes on." She is brought to a cabin in the middle of the woods, but she is not alone. As the story unfolds, you discover just what horrors Brooke has had to endure over the last 10 years captive in this cabin.

I want to take a moment to mention that I really appreciate the trigger warnings being listed in the beginning of the book. I thought this was a super unique story in the sense that I'd never read anything like it before, which is a rare find and something I really appreciate as an avid thriller reader. The story had my mind racing, going in so many different directions trying to figure out what was happening. When that twist hits, I was so focused on all of the other possibilities I didn't see it coming. There were so many moments that gave me full body chills, from the top of my scalp all the way down my legs.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the author, Steph Nelson, for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC. The Final Scene publishes February 27, 2024.

3.5 stars for this chilling debut thriller.
I went in expecting your average kidnapping story but I got so much more than that. The description sets things up nicely but very very early on you learn that the captives held in the cabin are role playing scenes from their abductor’s childhood. This twist makes everything that much more creepy and messy.
I do feel like the ending section was a bit jumbled for me. I read this almost all in one day, which says something to how invested I was. But by the end it felt like it was trying a little too hard to be twisty and intense and it was just a tad too dramatic and extreme.

And the fact that there are not many reviews for this made it so hard to know what to expect, so this is even more of a testament to my genuine response.

My occasionally unhinged but always brutally honest thoughts:
- This is MESSED UP. But like in a good way?
- Like imagine spending 10 years of your life reliving the same day over and over again pretending to be an outdated housewife in danger of being murdered any day. WHAT.
- I also love the fact that they are held hostage in such a strangely free way, like they can wander outside without actually being able to leave. It’s extra devious but also different than most abductions held in a closet or basement or something.
- The collars added an extra element of danger and I think it helped lead the plot along as the captives had to not only escape, but not detonate their collars.
- Grace acting like her child-self gave me the creeps, and ESPECIALLY when she starts coming on to Derek as her “dad”??
- Mitch was kinda garbage and I never really cared about his character or involvement. He was kind of a wet rag kind of guy. Along for the evil ride but carrying no real personality or interest.
- I loved Kinsey and Brooke and their dynamic, their differences but their way of working together in understanding of their situation.
- The twist of Grace changing the script was really interesting in how this sets off a new urgency to the captives.
- Mina’s involvement was interesting. I knew there had to be a connection and I put the pieces together pretty quick, but seeing it all laid out was fun as it was woven into the other characters.
- I love romance, but this romance was not needed. I didn’t want the characters to end up together because this was some messed up trauma bonding. It kind of felt forced and didn’t actually add much to the overall story.

MILD SPOILERS based on the ending section:
- I simply do not believe that this would be remotely possible to pull off. There’s no way an entire town’s police force just let this shit happen??
- What are the odds that Mina just HAPPENED to be at the Airbnb at the same time all this was happening?
- Did they ever think to look at the collar remote once they got it from Grace? Instead of testing Cody’s collar on the perimeter, did they even check to see if the remote would let them deactivate them??
- Mina and Brady reuniting at the end was cringy and weird. I didn’t need their heartfelt love declaration while the whole freaking forest was burning down? Maybe talk about this later?

It looks as though I’m only the fifth person to rate this ARC on NetGalley, and unfortunately, I’m going to be the first one to not give this book five stars. I did enjoy it quite a bit, but I’m not sure if it reached five-star status for me.

This one is definitely a page turner, and it was definitely original. The synopsis is about all I can get into - we know a person has been kidnapped, and has been living in an isolated cabin for a decade. We also know a new abductee shows up and changes everything. What the synopsis doesn’t tell you is that this small group of people are all main characters in the sickest of plays. The people who are holding them hostage are psychopaths, and the cabin-dwellers are all just along for the ride.

This raced right along, had decent characters and an interesting plot. I think the reason it doesn’t hit five-star land for me is because the story is so over the top. We also learn a few things about the people who’ve been abducted, but we find out very little about the two people who are in charge of this twisted game. I think adding some backstory would have given this book a bit more depth; all of the characters were good, they just could have been more developed.

Despite that, I did enjoy this book a lot. It’s the author’s first thriller, and I have a lot of praise for how unique it was. I give this one four stars, and my recommendation!

(Thank you to Ticking Clock Press, Steph Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on February 27, 2024.)

“The Last thing she thought was, 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘦. That was ten years ago.”

Brooke is snatched on her way home from work one evening and ten years later she is still being held at a cabin by her kidnappers. She has stayed alive by being vigilant and following rules while other victims have not. When a new victim arrives, the dynamic changes drastically and now the only way for Brooke to survive is to break the rules.

This was not at all what I expected it to be going in and I mean that in the best way. The Final Scene is such a unique premise while being wholly believable given the good, the bad, and the truly deranged things some people do. This is a dark and terrifying yet thrilling story, but it’s not without light. Steph Nelson brilliantly captures the fears women have daily simply because they are women, but also inner strength, fortitude and what it takes to be a survivor.

From page one the tension began and the anxiety, claustrophobia and sense of impending doom Did. Not. Let. Up! About half way through the story there’s a new direction introduced which puts a spin on the entire perspective. With complex characters and a twisted plot, I literally could not turn the pages fast enough to see what was going to happen next. When dealing with an emotionally disturbed psychopath all bets are off! Trust me, go into this blind - you won’t know what hit you!

Thank you Steph Nelson, Ticking Clock Press and NetGalley for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Scroll down for potential spoiler trigger warnings.



























⚠️Trigger warnings: body shaming, child loss, language, sexual situations, death, violence, manipulation, menacing, mention of drug addiction & prostitution

This book started and finished at breakneck speed. The amount of times my jaw dropped, the pain and frustration I felt right alongside these characters. It had everything you could ask for in a thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this ARC!

A great story. I really felt for all of the characters. I was hesitant to pick this book up, but I am so glad that I did!