This thriller was very interesting the first few chapters, but it quickly disappeared. I was told a lot of things that had happened previously but not shown, and I’d rather have the previous ten years of the main character (Brooke) entrapment in this sick “play house”, “reimagine life”-thing the perpetrator put her and the other captives through. That was scary and intriguing to read about.

If more focus had been put on that I feel like I would have cared more about the characters. I’m also not quite sure why they were put in the cabin to act out their captor’s childhood/adolescence /young adulthood either. I did skim a bit because I got bored when romance suddenly made an appearance so that might have been brought up.
To summarise – started very interesting but ended on a boring note.

What a unique thriller!

This was terrifying and addicting. I had to know what happened to Brooke and Derek. I truly was not expecting the twist at the end and how it all came together.

This was a great story, unique and twisty!

Imagine what it feels like to go through life, following a psychopath’s rules, playing a character in their story every single day for 10 years knowing that if you do ANYTHING wrong you will die. Brooke is in that position. She was abducted and held hostage pretending to be Grace’s mom in a sick play that depicts Grace’s childhood.
Other players come in and out of Brooke’s life over the years, but Brooke has followed the rules and manages to stay alive. The idea/premise behind this psychological thriller/horror novel is so original and while it does seem nearly impossible it could also be so very real.
From the first sentence I was drawn in and hooked and read this in one setting. The characters will come together and be tied to each other in unpredictable ways. This is my first book by Steph Nelson and she is forever henceforth on my radar. Thank you to Steph Nelson, NetGalley and Ticking Tock Press for this early copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Ticking Clock Press Publisher for an ARC ♥️
“The Final Scene” was a dark and haunting ride that left me with goosebumps. Brooke's story was an eerie whisper in my ear, a constant reminder of the horrors that lurk in the shadows. Steph Nelson masterfully crafted a tale of captivity and survival that had me questioning my own sense of safety. The twists and turns were like icy fingers down my spine, and the tension built up to a heart-pounding climax. I felt like I was trapped in the cabin alongside Brooke, desperate to escape the clutches of her captor. And that ending? Absolutely chilling. Steph Nelson’s skillful storytelling had me on edge, wondering what would happen next. This book was a haunting and unsettling read that I won't soon forget. If you're ready for a thriller that'll send shivers down your spine, definitely pick this one up 😵‍💫

2.5 stars (rounded up)

Outlier review here - sorry.
I read 'The Final Scene' in one sitting, drawn in by its creative and original premise, despite its improbability. The prospect of unraveling 'the final scene' kept me intrigued throughout the read, but unfortunately the positives end there. Despite the compelling premise, the book is plagued by grammar and tense-related issues. These become glaringly evident when the omniscient narrator abruptly shifts between different character viewpoints within a single paragraph (more than once!). The chapter structure is strange, as is sentence and paragraph structure. This significantly effected my overall reading experience. Character development is lacking, and the dialogue often reads like a movie script, focusing more on action directives rather than prose and narrative. I actually expressed my frustration with the editing flaws and poor dialogue out loud on numerous occasions.

While the twist failed to surprise me, the novel's premise and concept warrants a 3-star rating. Unfortunately, due to its edit and grammar shortcomings, I can only give 2.5 stars overall. I hope the novel gets another strong edit before release date as 'The Final Scene' has the potential to be a great psychological thriller!

My thanks go to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for giving me early access to this book. All opinions are my own.

This is an intense ride! It started out strong but overall just wasn't a favorite for me.
It's somewhat anxiety-producing given the content and it is also just plain creepy.
Thank you NetGalley, and the publisher, for access to this ARC.

Ugh this started out so good! It was something new and not just an average kidnapping story. It was creepy and insane! Got me hooked on the first few pages. Until it went downhill and I completely lost interest.

Probably because of the lack of chemistry between Brooke and Derek. Their mutual attraction seemed forced and out of place. There is no character development for Brooke and considering the situation they're in, the villains weren't developed enough, not sinister enough, not unhinged enough.

Also, can somebody explain why the author had to include romance and stuff in this narrative? I mean, they're being captive for pete's sake! Who got time for that? They're supposed to survive, escape and chase freedom, not end up together. Nope.

This book has a lot of potential to be a hit and I'm hoping the right readers would gove this a chance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ticking Clock Press, LLC for the advanced copy! 👍🏻

After watching a video review on this book, I knew I had to run to netgalley to see if I could get an ARC. Thankfully I did! The premise alone reminded me of the book The DollHouse by Sara Ennis except it takes place in the woods. The cover is so creepy! It definitely was another reason I wanted to read this book. I love a good cover. 
Right from the start, I wanted to keep reading. The idea that these girls are kidnapped and forced to play pretend as someone from the kidnappers family is crazy! And if the kidnapped people don't play along, they will easily be replaced. Each chapter's end left with a sentence or two that made you want to know more. To keep reading so you can figure everything out. 

Stab Worthy Scenes:- When you find out what happened between Brooke and Tyson and also what happened when he was cut from the "play."- How Derek, Kinsey and Brooke start to work together to get out in 6 days.- The plan for Brooke to get one of the remotes from Mitch by flirting with him.- Kinsey trying to take off the electric collar around her neck with a nail file.- The reason that Derek and Mina know each other.- 
Thank you to @netgalley and steph nelson for allowing me to read this book in advance! The Final Scene comes out February 27th!

Final Thoughts: This one was so easy to read in the sense that the action was continuous and I just kept reading and would lost track of time. Also having short chapters was a huge plus. I love the character development between the three main characters. How they go back and forth from having hope to utterly giving up. The last 50 pages were intense and crazy. I became so invested in this book that I had to finish reading it as soon as possible to see if they escaped. The ending was *chef's kiss* revenge and justice all in one.

The final scene (the title will make sense as you get into the book) follows Brooke, a normal every day mother, who is kidnapped on her way home from work.

The beginning starts with an anxiety inducing climax as we witness the events of the kidnapping. The execution of the scene is done wonderfully and we witness every internal alarm go off in Brookes body as she is being followed by a man after getting off the bus and beginning her everyday walk home.

Brooke is sure this is the moment her life ends, and yet we flash forward to 10 years later where she is still being held captive.

We find out there are other captives with her, and the reason for this mysterious man kidnapping multiple people (it’s a weird one for sure, took me a minute to wrap my head around).

This is well written, unique and entertaining.

Publish date 27th Feb

Thank you to ticking clock press , Steph Nelson and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

"Tears, and the horror of knowing that you're going to die anyway, no matter what you do, but still, you try."

So, I want to start off by saying that this is a thriller, but it still falls under the horror category for me. The events are horrific. This book was extraordinary!

The main character, Brooke, was one of the most strong willed characters I have met. Her will to survive was admirable. She was such an empowering woman after all she'd been through. A tough as nails little spit fire.

Lets talk about the story, just wow. This was such an incomparable read. I have truly never read anything even close to this plot. I found myself holding my breath while reading certain parts of this book, scared to breath, because I was worried about what would happen next. My anxiety was in full swing. Steph builds up such a hopeless feeling, that the only thing I can compare it to, is a nauseating feeling of dread. I was rooting so hard for these characters that my stomach was doing flips at each twist and turn. This is a thrilling ride.

The horrors of being kidnapped and trapped, are real life things that happen every single day to unsuspecting victims. However, this story turns those into a whole new nightmare of its own.

Holy cow, I cannot give this book enough praise. It's so different from other kidnapping stories I have read. This is truly unimaginable. How she came up with this, it's just brilliant.

“Favorite stories are full of friends to visit when you have nobody else.”
📚
Brooke was 30 years old when she was abducted on her way home from work. A decade later, she’s the longest-tenured captive sequestered in an inescapable Oregon coastline cabin. Adept at following her volatile kidnapper’s warped demands, Brooke knows that attention to detail is crucial and even slight deviation means death. Hardened by trauma, she’s determined to go along in order to survive and somehow, one day, return to her mother and daughter. But after a new prisoner joins the fray and upends her controlled existence, Brooke quickly realizes that time is running out, and she must decide whether she’s brave enough to finally break the rules.

Gripping and suspenseful right from the start, The Final Scene is an anxiety-inducing, page-turning, pulse-pounding journey that exudes foreboding and dread. Nightmarish in its realism, it offers an exploration of and view into how cautiously women walk through life, programmed to please and accommodate — smiling, acquiescing, apologizing, ignoring primal instincts, and constantly dealing with intense fear in seemingly mundane situations where male entitlement crosses the line.

The result is a layered, twisty, fast-paced collision course built upon believable characters, captivating backstories, merciless tension, and intoxicating thrills that this reader devoured in only two days — an edge-of-your-seat must-read for horror and thriller fans alike!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ticking Clock Press, LLC for sending this forthcoming release for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

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”.
…
The abductor Mitch chooses those he perceives as nameless to society. Druggies, transients, and what he considers easy prey.
…
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.