Speechless! That rounds things up. I still cannot believe this was a debut novel because of its complexity in character development and plot and penmanship.
Let's not forget the way this book surprised me completely, because I did NOT see that coming, and I am great guessing things in thriller! But no, this one was a complete surprise and one I still can't get out of my head.
It might have been lacking a bit in the mystery part during most of the novel, but that's only because it gave more importance to the characters in a way that wanted the reader to really get to know them.


I found the writing to be really good, easy, fast paced and thrilling. It definitely felt like a fresh and vivid read and its short chapters also helped the story to move along in an addictive and nerve-breaking way.
The switch between present and past that took part slowly in every couple of chapters was fluid and tricky. It kept you guessing because Quincy's Final Girl plot unravelled bit by bit, so you couldn't get the complete picture, which was a great idea because that way you kept guessing wrong all of the time.
It started out slowly which is something I usually don't like in any other genres, but in these type of psychological thrillers I think it's the way to go. That slow burning method is what helps you get into the character's mind


Keep in mind that this story was a hard one to summarize and try to speak about giving the particular genre of it, where it is so easy to spoil things when one doesn't want to. So I kept things as light as possible.

This one took the Final Girl concept to a whole other level! although it might start a bit slow, it gives some Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer vibes, giving the concept of it all, but in this case the author just took it all up a notch and made everything more confusing, thrilling and overall mouth-watering! We start this story knowing that there are currently three Final Girls in the US. Fina Girl aka the lone survivor of a massacre.

We follow Quincy, a final girl (she doesn't believe in this term and says she is not such thing) with some serious memory problems who apparently adjusted (or so she thinks) quite well to the normal life she now leads. She lives in NYC with a stable companion, Jeff, in an apparent great apartment (thanks to some unexpected money), has a blog and has no friends except for the officer who saved her that tragic day years ago, Cooper. That's all we know about how this woman passes her days. Neither she nor her companion talk about her past, they simply ran a thick veil through all of that misery. Everything is calm and clear until one day one of the surviving final girls turns up dead, from an apparent suicide. This happening is the start of a frantic recollection. Another day all of a sudden Sam, the other final girl, Sam, appears in Quincy's door wanting to reconnect, be there for her, basically whatever she wants/needs. This appearance takes Quincy's life by surprise and slowly starts to turn everything into an absolute chaos or more precisely starts to point out how Quincy's life is not normal or not OK at all, doesn't matter what she tries to project to the outside world, the inside is just rotten. Quincy and Sam make quite the pair and although Quincy is happy at first to have some understanding company, her significant other, Jeff, and her trusted saviour/counselor, Cooper, don't feel the same way. Things evolve, plots get more complicated and confusing giving that we keep getting glimpses into what happened to bring Quincy to this situation.
Things seem to go in a clear direction, but as it turns out, the plot keeps thickening and you find yourself immersed in this zigzag road with no clear finish line.

Is fair to say that this book starts slow and that gives as the opportunity to get to know our main protagonist better and get into the psychological part of this thriller. It set the foundation for what's to come pretty well. And along the way, I fell in a nerve-wrecking state more than once and twice, giving some of our character's actions!! I left myself go completely into this read.

Suffice to say that I didn't see the final twist coming. In fact, I had taken a note about something similar happening but I underlined it as an impossible, because the absurdity of it all, but well, guess my surprise when everything turned out the way it did! This book left me open-mouthed and completely in love with it, but also left me exhausted because of all of the energy I had put into it.


This story brings a good cocktail of different characters to live. From the now to the flashbacks we get so many different storylines and personalities that enrich this story.
Quincy is our main protagonist and is such a rich and enraging character... She is the one that made me so anxious, angry and frustrated... but also equally engaged into the story and her Final Girl situation and development. Her boyfriend Fred was another great addition because it served to give her character some kind of moral compass to it all.
Sam, is a tricky character to describe. I didn't like her from the beginning, but still I recognized something good in her, something that wanted to help Quincy, in her own strange way that is. Not an especially nice or bright character, but one necessary to unveil everything in Quincy's darken memories.
Then we've got Cooper, the officer who rescued Quincy in the first place. We get presented to this character as a sweet guy, secretly and at some degree in love with Quincy. He is another character who is always there for her and frankly he is the major pillar in Quincy's foundation.
Between the flashback characters we meet a colorful arrange of teenagers. An apparent, at first glance, nice and funny bunch with some jealousy entwined. But it was specially one sweet guy that caught my eye at the end of it all, which only made this story's ending even sadder.

Wow! That was my first reaction when I turned the last page of this book.
The Final Girls is a dark and gripping read. The author had me hooked to the story right from the beginning of this book, so much so that I literally could not put it down until I finished it.
This was a fast paced thriller and although I thought I might know the answers the author managed to throw in enough red herrings to keep me guessing until the end.
Riley Sager has created a brilliant story with twists and turns that leaves you not knowing who or what to believe. A must read for 2017.

A really fascinating and gripping novel. It got me intrigued in the psychology of sole survivor syndrome for this seemed to fill the majority of the novel. I could empathise with the assault in the park (bearing in mind her mental state and being egged on) but never condone it. However, underneath all this is a roller coaster of a sub plot which links in a way that cannot easily be forecast, right up to the grand finale, the big showdown. I would challenge anyone to second guess all the twists and turns as they develop. The novel is lengthy but never dull and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the genre

This is an impressive debut that’s difficult to summarise without giving spoilers. So I’ll just say it’s a pacy, well-written thriller full of twists and turns and red herrings that leads you up the garden path and back again until the final unexpected reveal. There are two teeny clues along the way that point to what really happened at Pine Cottage but if you’re able to put them together to arrive at the solution before you read it on the page, then you deserve congratulations (or you’re lying!). My only slight reservation is that I didn’t really fall in love with Quincy as a character but the unfolding plot kept me hooked in spite of this.

Excellently plotted and written. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be looking out for more by this talented author

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.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book begins in the past as one of the female protagonists, Quincy is fleeing for her life from the cottage her friends were killed in. The chapter is written very well and it conveys the character and her terror in a really concise way.

As she learns of the death of one of the other "final girls", Quincy is devastated and realising that her past will once again take over her life. The other final girl, Sam, arrives out of nowhere shortly before they find out that Lisa's death was not a suicide but was indeed a murder.

A journalist that Quincy hates tries to tell her that all is not as it seems with Sam and that she is lying to Quinn. Quinn doesn't know who to trust and finds herself spiralling out of control. The memories that Quincy could not recall are starting to filter through the blackness of her mind.

This story is brilliantly written and the twists and turns keep you guessing right up to the end. I was so shocked when the culprit is revealed. I would never have guessed.

Great book. I give it five out of five stars.

I am profoundly grateful to NetGalley and Dutton for my copy.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Kept me guessing right to the end. Will definitely recommend this and will look for others from this author

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

The premise really intrigued me - a slasher satire (of sorts), with lots of twists and turns (as you’d expect with the genre). If you know the genre, the title is self-explanatory, and even if you aren’t familiar with the term ‘final girl’, it kind of does exactly what it says on the tin. In this case, there are three girls (now women), all whom have survived different massacres and thus share this unique bond/experience/damaged world view, even if they all deal with it in very different ways.

But of course, things aren’t really over and there can only ever be one final girl.

Firstly, I was gripped and the book is very easy to follow. The author did enough to keep me interested right until the end, though, I had already sort of guessed the ending by that point, so when it came (and I was at least half right) I was slightly disappointed. I always hope to be blindsided at this point, somehow, and have my assumptions squashed, but unfortunately the ending did not slay me as I hoped it might. Still, it was an enjoyable read and I would recommend to fans of slasher/thriller mysteries.

Premise 4*
Readability 4*
Story arc 3*

An excellent thriller that I could barely put down. Once the story gets going , it never stops until the final pages. The concept of a Final Girl, a lone survivor of a massacre,is in itself an intriguing one, and this book boasts three of them. The focus is Quincy, a woman struggling to put the past behind her, particularly the terrible night when an escaped psychiatric patient killed a group of her friends, and its working, maybe a little too well, since she has no memories of the night in question left. When one of her fellow Final Girls dies, and another turns up on her doorstep, she begins to question herself and her memories, and things take a turn for the dark when she becomes involved in an illegal act.
Saying any more would only spoil what is an incredible story, full of twists and turns ,one that leaves the reader unsure who to trust, at even at times wondering what is going on. The book starts slowly but the tension gradually increases to an almost unbearable level as events unfold, both in the present and in the occasional chapters that gradually reveal what happened to Quincy that night. It's a smart book, and one that held my attention and had me gasping with surprise more than once. I highly recommend it.

Don;'t you just love a book with a twist? Well, if you do,, you'll need to be adding this to your list then. The story follows Quincy, sweet young woman, baker, fiancee and all round doing-OK-good-girl. But Quincy is a member of a club that no-one wants to belong to. She's a Final Girl, she is a sole survivor of a bloody masacre.

Two other final girls are Lisa and Sam, both in different parts of the country and both sole survivors of their own massacres. To the press and public they are intriguing and mysterious and they clamour over information and stories about them.

Quincy remains resolutely mute to all offers of money for sharing her story. She just wants to keep her head down, lay low and get on with her life with her public defender fiance. But then Lisa is found dead, wrists slit lying in her bath. And the question on everyone's lips is - why would she come through so much only to take her own life? Then Sam, evasive and off the grid for years turns up at Quincy's door and she's not at all what Quincy expected. Can Quincy trust her? With one journalist claiming Sam's lying to her and the subtle psychological games she plays, Quincy's left wondering what's really going on.

Told variously then and now, Quincy's backstory is slowly revealed and Sam's layers are pealed back, until the final twisty truth is revealled. I wasn't expecting that ending - always and bonus and a very good reason for recommending this book for lovers of twisty mysteries.

This was an okay book it didn't keep me gripped as much as I had hoped.

This is one of the best thrillers I've read! The book has wonderfully complex characters as well as a compulsive reading plot. The author takes the movie trope of a Final Girl, the lone survivor of a terrible event, and makes her the focus of this book. Quincy is already dealing with the aftermath of a massacre that killed her friends some years ago when a new threat is found at her door. The book starts slowly, giving the reader time to allow musing on the different ways of handling trauma and grief. The pressure builds to revelations that pull you down a rabbit hole of theories and red herrings. The protagonist was very interesting to watch as she works to unwind the memories she hasn't been able to access since that terrible day and tries to handle to the situation unfolding.
To talk further about this book I'd have to add spoiler warnings; I will say that I am already planning on buying this for a friend who I'm certain will love it! The characters are well drawn, the plot is gripping and the writing style hooks you in from the start. This is a fantastic debut novel from Sager and I hope to read more from this author.
For fans of: 'The Girl on the Train', Psychological Thrillers and classic slasher movies.

My first five star book this year! I could not finish it fast enough. I literally fought sleep to continue reading - paid for it at work the next day but it was worth it!

Books marketed as having a “twist” often leave me disappointed because I’ve guessed said twist. But this book kept me speculating until the very end.

A phenomenal debut! I’m already looking forward to this author’s next offering.

A competent debut with a Single White Female vibe, Riley Sager debut is a solid thriller built around an interesting and original premise.
Quincy Carpenter is a final girl, the survivor of a horrible horror movie style massacre, who is trying to get her life back on track. But when a fellow final girl turns up dead, and another appears on her doorstep, it sets off a chain of events that draws her back into the world she is trying to escape.
After drawing you in with what at first appears to be a fairly formulaic thriller, Sager proves to have a few tricks, throwing a few curve balls on what turns out to be a thrilling and quite cinematic final act.
Some of the dialogue feels a little overwritten and it takes a good third of the book to really kick into gear, but it's minor gripes in what is otherwise a fun and thrilling trip.

''Final Girls'' is everything you want from a thriller; enough twists and turns to keep you on your toes, great characters and a strong edge-of-your-seat story.

Quincy is as you'd expect, a feisty character with an inner strength that seemed to be mostly made up of steel. Making up a third of the Final Girls her tragic, violent past obviously looms over the whole story, especially when another member of the group is found having apparently committed suicide. And whilst Quincy seems to have moulded herself from victim to survivor, the discovery along with the sudden appearance of the third Final Girl, Samantha Boyd, sends her into a cycle of almost self-destruction.

The characters are really well portrayed and I couldn't help but be unnerved by Quincy's downward spiral, and was left to feel increasingly worried and suspicious of the influence Samantha was having on her. Yes at times it did seem like some of the things Quincy got up to were a bit forced, but they were always understandable so I didn't mind too much.

The fact that the current storyline runs alongside the mystery of what really happened at Pine Cottages, makes the book even more of a page-turner and it felt like I had to solve one mystery to be able to unlock the other.

''Final Girls'' is a real knockout of a story, it's already being announced as a huge hit for 2017 and it's very easy to see why.

OMG...................brilliant absolutely brilliant....I actually do not know what to say other than ...I wasn't expecting that at ALL!!!
I could not put it down it had me gripped and on the edge of my seat jumping to conclusions and thinking that I knew who it was...clearly I was 100% wrong ...what a shocker.., I loved the plot adored the characters not one bad word to say about it.
One word to some this book up is EPIC

Wow, I consider myself pretty good at figuring out twists but I did not see this one coming.

Quincy, Lisa and Sam are the 'Final Girls', the sole survivors of separate massacres. Quincy is trying, and struggling, to live a normal life in New York after the murders of her friends at an event known as Pine Cottage.

When Lisa suddenly takes her own life and Sam arrives unannounced on her doorstep, Quincy is forced to confront the events of the night that led to the deaths of her friends.

Told part in the present day and flashback this is a wonderful debut from a writer I will be following in the future. The tension in the flashbacks as we get closer to the climax of Pine Cottage had me like a coiled spring ready to snap. Riley Sager is a name to watch.

Final Girls will have you gripped from the start, it's a well paced dark thriller, and great debut from Riley Sager.Three survivors from 3 separate masacre's, all trying to get on with their lives, putting the horrors of the past behind them, with the media relentless in their continuous hounding of the girls, even naming them the Final Girls Club, their lives are one long silent scream, what secrets lie behind those screams, hidden in the darkness of the past?....now rearing up it's ugly head and bringing new dangers to threaten their lives. The character's are well written, you may not like them all, or their behaviour, but this just makes the plot all the more believeable. This book was really hard to put down, it's one of those rollercoaster journeys, fast, slightly eases up to take in the view, up, down, a few quick fast turns , building up the suspence, holding your breath as the tension rises, before you zoom down into the final straight ,heading for an ending you really never saw coming, but leaves you totally exillerated, and at the same time shocked!!...it is the whole package, unwrap it, you won't be disappointed.

Such an amazing book. Thoroughly gripping from beginning to end. If you like thrillers, you'll love this.

Quincy carpenter is one of 3 girls who have survived unthinkable horrors, Different massacres at different times, the only survivors of each unthinkable event- the press has named them "The Final Girls". There is no one else like them, until one of the final girls Lisa, commits suicide .................or did she? Quincy has no memory of the events she survived, Is it time for the final, final girls to meet and work together to discover what really happened at Pine Cottage?

This book is so well written it had me enthralled, and even though (most of the time) I knew what was coming I just couldn't stop reading. It is so full of twists and turns. I think a lot of the twists you can see coming yet it is still oddly gripping.

Riley Sager grabs your attention and sucks you in using tense atmosphere and impressive imagery. For all I thought I knew what was coming I still didn't guess the ending! I would have given the book 5 stars but I just didn;t think the ending made any sense! The author was doing so well and if he continued with the line he was going down it STILL would have been a great book, but despite this, the writing is just so good and gripping it deserved a good review!

Just be warned you will be gripped from the start but you don't get any answers until the VERY end of the book!