I good story with some pretty unlikable characters. Plenty of twists to keep me guessing to the end.

Final Girls

What a thrilling read!

The first thing that caught my attention was the flashbacks at the beginning of the chapter. I really enjoy this style of writing where we got stories from the past and present simultaneously. To me, it added the exhilaration in finding out the truth.

Quincy was one the Final Girl, meaning she survived a horrible mass murder and the media tried to portray her as the chosen one - the one to tells the tale. However, she refused to play the part and chose to live a normal life - as normal as she could be - and it seemed that she succeeded. She chose to bury her trauma by baking and psychological repression.

The story begins with another Final Girl, who had been trying to connect with Quincy, died of an apparent suicide. After that the media circus begins again with reporter contacting her, and another Final Girl, Samantha came to visited her.

From the first time she appeared in the story, it was very apparent to me that Sam was trouble. Why? That’s for you to find out. I have to say that the author did a stellar job in crafting the mystery surrounding Samantha. I DIDN’T SEE THAT TWIST COMING.

Meanwhile, Quincy was trying to move on, but it was proven hard to do with the media interest around the Final Girls and Samantha sticking around. We got to see her slowly losing control of herself - which she tried to get back by relying on Xanax.

I have to say that the ending part of the book was the BEST part of the book. As we got closer to the truth, the story got pretty thrilling. The moment when Quincy started to remember that night really made my heart raced. IT WAS SO WELL WRITTEN.

I think the author really does an excellent job in keeping the mystery and keeping the audience guessing until that final twist.

I will recommend Final Girls to everyone for sure.

This title was a Did Not Finish. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with it whether it be for characters, story-line or writing style.

Thank you for providing me with a copy.

Well, as far as psychological thrillers go, this one certainly has an original plot! We’ve all seen those teen horror movies, where from a group of friends, only one survives a horrific massacre. Riley Sager’s Final Girls takes this concept and adds a new twist, by revisiting Quincy, survivor of an horrific holiday cottage massacre years after her ordeal. She’s doing her best to put the past behind her – she’s avoided the media, has a successful career and a fantastic fiance. To all intents and purposes, she got it together and isn’t letting the past hold her back. But inside, she’s still struggling to come to terms with that awful night, and the guilt of being one of three “Final Girls” – a small group sharing a similar traumatic experience. But when fellow final girl, Lisa, is found dead in an apparent suicide and Sam, mysterious and enigmatic third sole survivor turns up apparently seeking support from Quincy, it would seem her ordeal isn’t quite over just yet.

I loved the concept of this book, and thought it started really well. Quincy is clearly just about holding it together and with most of that terrible night a blank, I was intrigued to know what had happened. When Lisa is killed and Sam shows up, the tension builds and it’s clear Sam isn’t exactly who she seems. There’s a creepy, unsettling feeling about her, and my hackles where raised where she was concerned right from the start.

I did feel the book dipped in pace and lost some tension a little after the first fifty pages, although the interspersing of flashbacks to Pine Cottage kept me interested enough to carry on and find out just what had happened all those years ago and how it was connected to the death of one of the other Final Girls. Then around the half way mark, boy did it pick up again! As I raced towards the dramatic climax, I was surprised by some twists I hadn’t seen coming, and even though I knew something was amiss, I hadn’t expected it to turn out as unexpectedly as it did.

I mostly thought the character of Quincy was very well written, and the turmoil, guilt and need to not be a victim came across convincingly. However, I didn’t connect with her as much as I felt I should have, possibly because the author lead the reader to question Quincy’s reliability as a character too, which unfortunately left me feeling slightly detached.

Overall, I thought this was a good read. A unique and fascinating plot, some unexpected twists and turns and enough tension and intrigue to keep me reading. Although I found the pace a little slow going at times, I was glad I kept reading and felt the second half of the book redeemed it, with me reading it in one breathless chunk. If you’re looking for a new twist on your psychological thrillers with a hint of horror, then this may be the book for you.

Fascinating premise, especially from a purely psychological point of view. The mental state of the sole survivors of massacres. The way they are hounded by the media, and considered both miracles for surviving and mistrusted because they did. They also often suffer from survivors guilt and PTSD.

Quincy has no memory of the event that took her innocence and fills her with constant fear. She can remember before and being saved afterwards, but the murderous middle bit evades her completely. She has no memory of how she lost a house full of friends to a murderous lunatic.

Therein lies the problem. She can’t fill in any of the details, which makes the police suspicious. Perhaps not about her guilt, but about her hiding something. Then again you just don’t know.

The press knows her as one of the three Final Girls. Now one of them is dead and the second has turned up on Quincy’s doorstep. At first Quincy feels sympathetic towards Sam, but their new friendship starts to tear when Sam starts to show interest in the one person Quincy feels belongs to her. Coop is her saviour, her protector and just hers in general.

Sam starts to place Quincy in situations that make her act instinctively, unfortunately her instinct seems to indicate a predilection for violence. A survivor of violence, who has impulse control issues and the instinct to punish someone physically. Makes you wonder doesn’t it?

Sager wants the reader to consider the psychological aspects of the trauma,but at the same time consider why only one out of many managed to emerge from such violent altercations. Casting a huge shadow of doubt over the lucky survivors.

Fear, guilt and anger make this psychological game of chess a gripping tale of suspense, which will make you question everyone and everything.

A truly Haunting novel: packed with atmosphere and twists, at times really frightening:
The "Final Girls" of the title refers to lone girl survivors of isolated massacres. Three in particular. Quincy, the lead character in the novel, survived the Pine Cabin Murders. She presses on with her life as normal as she can, the memory of that fateful night forever blocked from her mind. At least that is until another Final Girl, Samantha, appears on her doorstep. Samantha seems intent for no obvious reason, to force Quincy's memory to relive her forgotten memories. To say too much about the plot is to spoil it and I'm afraid you will have to read it to realise why this novel has received such raving reviews.
Riley Sager, a pseudonym for a existing published author, has written a stunner of a book. I thought that I had it all worked out at 43%: more fool me. Definitely a book for Holiday reading. You won't be disappointed.

Final Girl, that's what a girl that survives a massacre is called. Quincy, become a Final Girl ten years ago when an escaped patient from a mental hospital killed all her friends and wounded her. There are two other Final Girls; Lisa and Samantha. But, Samantha disappeared years ago and no one knows where she is until she shows up on Quincy's doorstep after Lisa's suicide. But, why is she there?

This is the kind of book where one knows right from the start that there will be a lot of twist and turns, secrets and revelations. And, at the central is, of course, Sam, why is she there? Why does she show up after Lisa has died? You just know that something is off. Not to mention that one can feel that there is something off about Quincy as well. That's what appealed to me about the story. I enjoyed guessing and second guessing myself while I read this book. I quite enjoyed this book, the pacing was good and I loved the whole mystery that surrounded the two Final Girls. The ending is also very good, not at all what I had expected to be honest. Although I have to admit that the final chapter could I have lived without. Felt a bit like over the top, like something from a movie.

Final Girls is a great thriller. I quite enjoyed listening to the audio version of this book and look forward to reading more books by the author.

this book should be a bestseller. it was amazingly written.

I really enjoyed this book. Quincey Carpenter was the sole survivor of a massacre of a group of friends at a woodland cottage. She and 2 others who were also sole survivors of similar events, have been given the nickname of the Final Girls. When one of the other girls turns up at her apartment, and the other one is found dead shortly after emailing Quincey saying she needs to speak to her urgently, she begins to worry. I really liked the characters in the book, and the story was well written and fast paced. The eventual denouement left me reeling! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.

I am feeling quite giddy today.  Giddy because it's been a long time since a book has resonated with me quite like the mighty Final Girls did.  Having recently turned the last page I feel drained, I feel bereft, I feel strangely empowered, I want to shout from the rooftops exactly how much I enjoyed reading this incredible piece of fiction.  I think it's fair to say I LOVED Final Girls by Riley Sager!

From the moment I saw that cover, read the blurb and read a couple of early reviews I knew this was going to be a new favourite read.  In a very egotistical way, it feels as though it was written just for me.  I say that because it's everything I WANT in a book.  You know that age-old advice to wannabe authors?  They say write the book YOU would want to read?  Well, I'm afraid that won't be happening for me because this is the book I want to read and it's been written!  I actually feel envious of those that haven't  read Final Girls yet - I would give almost anything to be able to read this book for the first time again!

Quincy Carpenter is a Final Girl.  Not by choice, no one chooses to be a Final Girl.  There are two other women who lay claim to the title, thanks to two separate massacres several years apart.  Quincy is the newest addition to the exclusive little group and the most reluctant to adopt the title.  She would rather forget everything that happened to her and her friends that fateful night in the woods.  She barely remembers what happened anyway thanks to selective memory loss, and that's just fine by her!  When the original Final Girl, Lisa Milner, turns up dead in an apparent suicide bid, Quincy is stunned.  She cannot understand why Lisa would take her own life after everything she survived at her sorority house in Indiana.  She's even more shocked when elusive, mysterious Samantha Boyd - the only other remaining Final Girl shows up at her apartment.  Having hidden from her family and, well, life for years now Quincy cannot understand why Samantha all of a sudden wants to get to know her.  Has Lisa's suicide brought the two survivors together? Or is it something else completely....?

Where to start..?!  I'm normally a fan of the characters in a book but this time it was more about the situation, for me.  Ninety percent of the time I really liked Quincy, but she also irritated me with her refusal to accept or even acknowledge her past.  For this reason I despised her attorney boyfriend, Jefferson, and Quincy's negligent mother for encouraging her to look to the future, not the past and suggesting she try her best to be 'normal'.  Samantha was mysterious from the moment she arrived in the story and I couldn't for the life of me work out what she was up to.

I absolutely loved the flashback sections where the reader is transported to that night in the woods ten years ago.  There is the most wonderful horror movie vibe about the events of that night which made me feel nervous and apprehensive, despite having a fair idea of what was going to happen.  The pressure mounts as Quincy begins to slowly recall her memories, filling in some pretty frightening gaps and realising what secrets she has kept since that blood filled night.  It's fantastically written and so very well done.  I loved it!

Would I recommend this book?  Most definitely.  It's a new favourite and one I will be driving everyone around me crazy with!  I'm so excited that this book exists - it's perfect and I want everyone to read it so you can all see how awesome it as well.  Brilliantly addictive, deliciously dark and everything I want in a book! Superb.

Five out of five stars.

I chose to read an eARC of Final Girls.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

I absolutely loved this book. It was slightly darker than the usual psychological thrillers out at the moment and I think that's what stood out. A fantastic debut!

Three different women, one common scenario – they’re all survivors. Each girl has been branded a ‘Final Girl’ by the media and their stories are plastered around the world for all to see. They’re called ‘Final Girls’ because that’s exactly what they are: each is a sole survivor of a gruesome massacre – everyone else died.

Final Girls is Quincy’s story with the other two Final Girls joining her in parts. Currently, Quincy’s life is going well. She has a supportive fiancé, a great baking business and is comfortable. However, when Sam, another Final Girl, visits her unexpectedly things go from bad to worse. The more Sam is a part of her life, the more Quincy realises that she needs her in her life. Without Sam questioning everything, Quincy will never come to terms with the severity of it all. Plus, this gives you a better understanding of exactly why certain people are involved in her life and just why they want to keep Quincy close.

Coop is someone that has supportive Quincy throughout the whole ordeal. He was the one she ran to when covered in blood and is her contact within the Police. They do have a slight unhealthy relationship, whereby Coop worships Quincy and she confides in him, rather than Jeff, her fiancé. I always got the impression that they were more than just friends, but apparently that would be stepping over the line.

In the words of Maroon 5, ‘it’s not always rainbows and butterflies’ in this novel, it’s dark; harrowing, and makes you question everything. They’re essentially a group of ‘messed-up’ people who can’t get over the unintentional feeling of sadness. I suppose you wouldn’t be feeling all joyful after the experiences you’d went through. Why are these girls the only survivors? Why does Sam come find Quincy to cause trouble? All the questions!

No spoilers, I promise. But, let’s just say that you will NOT expect the ending, especially the actual reasons behind the massacres and why each were the only survivors.

Final Girl is technically film terminology, used to describe the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie. At least that’s what I’ve been told.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I was going too. It took me a while to get into it but once I did the twists came thick and fast. As his story progresses we get to see more of Quinn and what she's capable of. I thought the fact that she couldn't remember anything from that night was a really good concept to revolve the story around.

3/4's of the way through this and I no longer knew who was bad and who was good. This made for a really interesting and tense read. I'm only just starting to read thrillers this year as I don't normally read them as I scare easily however I'm finding myself really enjoying them.

Overall this book was complex and thought provoking and I absolutely adored it

Booooring.

I did not realize that Stephan King blurbed this novel until I was almost done with it. I have to say, I absolutely agree with the Master of Horror.

I wouldn't exactly call it a Horror book, but it is definitely an amazing Thriller.

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Final Girls is an interesting story that shuffles between showing Quincy's present, where she has been able to get past her horrible past(which doesn't last that long), and what actually happened on ThAt NIGHT!

She doesn't remember the night all of her friends died clearly, and we get to see what actually happened through out the story, one sprinkle at a time. Sometimes, that drove me crazy, but I love this type of books. It is the A+ type that keeps me hooked.

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She remembers that past slowly. Not because she wants to, she has been trying to bury the past for so long, but because the last Final Girl alive, besides Quincy herself, pays her a visit. And she is not leaving without answers, no matter what she has to do to get them.

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Some people weren't satisfied with the turn events, but I believed that the ending was genius!! Throughout the book, I kept on guessing how the events would turn out to be, and for the 1st time since forever, I was wrong .


If you want a book that will leave you with Goosebumps while reading it AND After Finishing IT, then Final Girls is the perfect book for you!

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I received an eARC in exchange with an honest review.

Quincy is a member of a gang called Final Girls, but she is not interested in having any contact with the other members. She wants to forget about her ordeal - not that she can remember much of it anyway. She buries herself in baking instead, and forges a new life for herself away from the eyes of the media.

Quincy lives in a flat with her boyfriend, Jeff, and has the occasional visit with Coop, the cop who rescued her when her five friends were slaughtered at a cabin in the woods. He is now her 'protector', and he's always there to make her feel safe. There are cleverly written flashbacks, so the reader is driven mad with wanting to know what happened, whilst wanting to hide behind a cushion.

One of the other girls, Lisa, is reported as having committed suicide, and the other one, Sam, turns up on Quincy's doorstep, instilling chaos and fear into Quincy's carefully constructed life.

Fast-paced, chilling and atmospheric, this book had me gripped, reading late into the night. The twists and turns kept me guessing, right until the end.

A breathless thriller.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Each girl survived an unthinkable horror. Now someone wants them dead...
They were called The Final Girls.
Three young women who survived unimaginable horror. Three victims of separate massacres grouped together by the press. Three strangers bound by similar traumas.
Lisa. Quincy. Samantha.
When something terrible happens to Lisa, put-together Quincy and volatile Sam finally meet. Each one influences the other. Each one has dark secrets. And after the bloodstained fingers of the past reach into the present, each one will never be the same.

*2.5 stars*

Disappointed is the strongest emotion I had after finishing this book. Lots of rave reviews about the "best thriller of 2017" - but I just didn't see it.

For a start, the first 200 pages or so were just boring. The flashbacks to the past events were either incredibly insipid (let's get drunk, will I lose my virginity?...) and only hints at things that could have happened. I didn't find that suspenseful - just annoying.

This ended up creeping up to the score it got for a much more thrilling last 100 pages. Everything seemed to click together and it chugged its way home with suspense quite well...

...and then the ending happened. It felt like it tried too hard to be clever. Lost half a star (but I still rated it three all up, really only for about 100 pages.)

Is it a great thriller? I can see why people think so. But I have read soooooooo many over the years, it has to be VERY good for me to rate high.


Paul
ARH

while the blurb did give a little peak into the book, little did I know what I was getting into ! Lisa, Samantha and Quincy have one thing in common- they are all survivors of a mass massacre. They are called the final girls. Quite naturally, if one is subjected to such horrendous torture, they can never be normal. But Quincy seems to have adopted a normal lifestyle. With a baking business, a beautiful home and a supportive boyfriend- everything seems perfect. Coop is her support system- the same cop who found her on the fateful day that changed her life... When everything seems to be going as normally as it could, Lisa commits suicide and Samantha turns up at Quincy's door.
With this blurb in my head I began this thriller , and was I floored ?
The book is dark, and painted with bold colours standing out on the dark canvas. The characters have an air of mystery about them. They are messed up in their own ways and the book takes the reader to a point when you don't know whom to trust anymore.
The line between sanity and dangerous insanity is a fine one and all the characters seem to hover around it. The book progressed in ways that I did not anticipate it to, and it was quite impressive!
The climax sure was a high point, and the end was so unexpected that I just needed to take a few moments to just comprehend where the book has finally got me to!! Overall, a dark read that has a potential to mess with your head !