Final Girls

by Riley Sager

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie-scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to -- a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout's knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media's attempts, they never meet. Now Quincy is doing well -- maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won't even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past. That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy's doorstep. Blowing through Quincy's life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa's death come to light, Quincy's life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam's truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

• ISBN10: 1432839470
• ISBN13: 9781432839475
• Publish Date: 14 June 2017
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 26 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thorndike Press Large Print
• Edition: Large type / large print edition
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 606
• Language: English

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

Four out of seven Riley Sager books in, I think I can confidently say what is the author's style: slow burn tension, culminating in a usually very twisty third act. I have found that this structure of Thriller leaves me wanting something a little bit more shocking and satisfying - when you reach like 80% of a book and you still have no real answers to the mysteries, only to be hit with red herring after red herring, though it might be entertaining in theory, I'm going to be a little mean and call it lazy.

You see, when you go through supposed shock after shock, it feels as though the book is only going through the motions of it, not really making it shocking or entertaining, because as soon as one reveal is settled, another one comes. It's exhausting and, honestly, frustrating to read plot twists where you don't really have a moment of Oh! THAT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE?!, or, at least, feel the tension only being cranked up even higher for an explosively satisfying third act - this was Lock Every Door for me. I've been chasing its high ever since. I want bonkers, I want ridiculous, I want bone-chilling shock and satisfying tension. I don't feel like this book gave it to me.

This does suffer a bit as a debut: there's not one but two love (tri)angles, which leads to jealousy from women who feel way better than the cause for said behavior; the tension isn't as razor sharp, rather kept through more enticing than not breadcrumbs surrounding the main characters and their motives, even if I can instantly recognize the structure behind the author's other novels.

I'm in too deep, and I still haven't been entirely lost on Riley Sager - I believe the remaining books by him I haven't read still look promising, I just might wait a little longer before getting into them.

[Kim Deister]

I’ve had a lifelong love affair with horror and thrillers, whether in cinematic or written form. So when I got this book, it was because I found the title and the premise behind it fascinating. The final girl trope started with movies, the last girl or woman left alive. Final Girls is about three of these girls: Quincy, Lisa, and Sam. Each of them is the sole survivor of different horrific murders, linked by their shared experiences and trauma, even as they’ve never met.

They’ve each dealt with their “final girl” reality in different ways. For Quincy, that means throwing herself into becoming a social media baking influencer, her relationship with her boyfriend, and her ongoing friendship with the cop who saved her that terrible night. She considers it a blessing that her memories of the horrors she survived are incredibly limited. But then her carefully curated life is thrown into turmoil, when one of the final girls dies under mysterious circumstances, and the other suddenly shows up on Quincy’s literal doorstep.

There are so many twists and turns, red herrings that take the reader to unexpected places. There were so many times when I thought I had it figured out, only to discover that I had no clue whatsoever. I love, love, love that in a thriller.

The book has so many layers, largely because of the dual storylines. One takes place in the present day as Quincy struggles to figure who to believe and who to trust as she fights to remember. The other takes place in the past, at the time of the horrific events she lived through.

It is an utterly engrossing read, trying to puzzle out the story. I truly couldn’t put it down!

[alindstadtcorbeax]

Star Rating: —> 4 Stars


This was all kinds of messed up & so absolutely captivating ! I loved how the book consistently had a palpable sinister undertone, or a feeling that something or someONE sinister was lurking around the corner. I really enjoyed this Sager novel! I think it is my second favorite of the three i've read thus far (the other two being Home Before Dark, & Lock Every Door). I'll have to think on it a bit more! It definitely dragged on a bit too long for parts, but other than that, I am thoroughly thrilled/chilled & entertained ! So; a win in my opinion. :))

[readingwithwrin]

4.5 stars

Since that one fateful night when Quincy was a teenager hanging out with her friends, her life has never been the same. The aftermath of a brutal attack left her the sole survivor with no idea who did it or why she has been left to pick up the pieces and restart her life.
She is now a baker and lives with her longtime boyfriend and does her best to forget that night. But is she forgetting or is she just living a lie? That something that you end up slowly figuring out throughout the book as you learn more about Quincy and the other victims who have also been soul survivors of brutal attacks.

Overall I enjoyed this book, it kept me on my toes all the time. Quincy is a character that you like one moment and the next you wonder what in the world is she doing. Which was frustrating at times, but also made the book far more interesting. The people in her life I saw at one point all as suspects and slowly ruled them out as time went on. Which made the ending surprising for me about something things. I had figured out one part of the ending reveal beforehand because things weren't adding up, but I completely missed other things, and I thought the killer was everybody but the person it ended up being.
I'm now interested in reading more Sager books to see if they are a new mystery/thriller author for me.

[leahrosereads]

I've clearly watched too many crime dramas/thrillers because the first inkling I had of the who dunnit, ended up being right.

The characters were all really interesting and flawed, and I loved the writing. Will definitely be reading other books by this author!

[clementine]

I took a class on horror in undergrad that was one of my favourite classes ever, and I had really high hopes that this book would play with horror tropes in an interesting way. But while it was very trope-y, it certainly didn't subvert them. It had no sense of the irony, humour, or intelligence required to make it a successful satire. It only had cardboard characters and a few cheap twists that were completely unsatisfying because they came out of nowhere. (I actually guessed the identity of the killer purely because there were so few options, but the reveal just feels out of left field in a bad way.) The pacing was slow, the story was repetitive, and the writing was not nearly tight enough to genuinely be thrilling or tense. I wasn't expecting this to be a masterpiece of fine writing, but I thought it would be kind of interesting and fun. Not the case!

[Laurie]

If I have to describe this book in 3 words, they will be way, too and slow. This book takes way too much time to build up. I quit halfway in because I fell asleep whilst reading it. The story became interesting at 75% (I fast forwarded) and that's way too late for a thriller.

It started off really promising, let me be clear on that. However, the story didn't move one single bit and whenever it did, it was very predictable. It's such a pity, because I had high expectations for this one. It seemed like a murder mystery with a twist which was not standard in the thriller genre. Oh how wrong was I.

No, I would not recommend this book to anybody, sorry.

[lauriesbookshelf]

If I have to describe this book in 3 words, they will be way, too and slow. This book takes way too much time to build up. I quit halfway in because I fell asleep whilst reading it. The story became interesting at 75% (I fast forwarded) and that's way too late for a thriller.

It started off really promising, let me be clear on that. However, the story didn't move one single bit and whenever it did, it was very predictable. It's such a pity, because I had high expectations for this one. It seemed like a murder mystery with a twist which was not standard in the thriller genre. Oh how wrong was I.

No, I would not recommend this book to anybody, sorry.

[whisperingchapters]

Quincy and her friends were on vacation at Pine Cottage when there's a massacre and all of her 6 friends are murdered and she's the only survivor. The media dubbed her one of the Final Girls, joining Lisa and Samantha, who were both survivors of murders. Ten years later, Quincy is still trying to move past it and is doing well, until Lisa is found with her wrists slit. Quincy is left rattled by this apparent suicide. Samantha ends up showing up at Quincy's house, making Quincy relive her past. As new details surface about Lisa's death, Quincy tries to unravel Sam's truth from her lies, and trying to remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Because we've suffered and lived, we have the power to inspire others who are suffering. It was bullshit. All of it.

Right from the start, this book had that suspenseful feel to it. It starts off ten years ago, with Quincy bleeding from stab wounds and running away from the cottage where her friends have been murdered. The media calls Quincy a Final Girl, which means it's the last woman left alive at the end of a horror film. But Quincy doesn't consider herself one of them, not even when another Final Girl, Lisa, calls her to teach her how to be a Final Girl. All Quincy wants is to move past it all and in a way, she has. She's living with her boyfriend, has a her hobby of baking. Everything seems fine, until Lisa is found with her wrists slit. This shatters Quincy's life. Because of this apparent suicide, Samantha, another Final Girl, appears at Quincy's house. Instead of Samantha helping Quincy, Sam pushes her to recover her memories, to really think of what happened, which in turn has Quincy questioning everything.

There were so many twists and turns! The plot is incredibly well-written. I thought I was understanding where the author was taking me, only to have to go back to where I started because I obviously knew nothing! My mind was reeling with all the possibilities. What left me completely stunned was seeing Quincy piece together her memories of what went down and when it all came together, I was completely shocked and speechless. Final Girls kept me up until very late at night. I couldn't go to sleep because this book demanded I read it. And I demanded answers! It was beyond addicting. I loved how the author wove together this intricate story. I still can't believe this is a debut novel. It's so very well done! I mean, I couldn't even trust the narrator. I questioned everybody! Without a doubt, this was a thrilling ride!

I'm his creation, forged from blood and pain and the cold steel of a blade. I'm a fucking Final Girl.

Final Girls is an intense, addictive and intricate mystery thriller that will leave readers biting their nails, on the edge of their seat and their minds reeling, trying to guess what happened. It's a must-read for 2017 and definitely a favorite of mine.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.