There she is. A dead psychopath at her feet. She's covered in blood and hanging on by a thread. It's how every horror movie ends. The killer is dead and she's survived. The Final Girl. But, what happens to her after the credits roll?
Following a massacre killing all of her friends, Quincy does well moving on and creating a life for herself. Or does she? Dubbed a "Final Girl" by the media, Quincy is thrown into a category with two other women she's never met who've also been massacre survivors. All is seemingly well until one of the other Final Girls is found dead and the other shows up at Quincys door. Are they next?
This book was a creepy, terrifying tour-de-force that kept me biting my nails, checking locked doors, and ultimately losing sleep. The characters were all so believable and complex that they practically jump off the pages the minute they are introduced. I loved the back and forth between what happened to Quincy in the woods and her present day life. This was like reading a horror movie with heart. At times, I felt myself slowing down reading this because I didn't want it to end. The amount of twists and turns in the last quarter of the book were not only mind-blowing, but pure genius. Right when I thought I had some of it figured out, my theory would tumble down like a poor game of Jenga.
A phenomenal and terrifying tale with flawed and doomed characters, not only am I thankful I was able to read this, but I'm anticipating reading it a second time. I simply cannot wait to see what Riley Sager comes out with next!

If you’ve ever seen a horror movie, you’re likely familiar with what a “final girl” is, even if you haven’t heard the term before. A “final girl” is the last woman alive within a horror film, usually of the slasher genre. She’s typically the one that’s left to confront the villain/killer at the end of the movie. Ellen Ripley from Alien, Laurie Strode from Halloween, Alice from Friday the 13th, and Sidney Prescott from Scream would be examples of “final girls”.

Take that theory and let’s bring it to the book Final Girls by Riley Sager. In Sager’s story, we’re introduced to Quincy Carpenter who is a real life final girl. Quinn, as she’s called, and two women who came before her were victims of tragic and violent massacres, leaving only them behind. Due to the circumstances surrounding their situations, the media dubbed them final girls and showering attention on them that none of them were interested in receiving.

Flash forward to 10 years after Quinn’s brush with death. She has a very small support group that contains the only other people who understand exactly what she’s going through: the other “final girls”. Quinn’s life gets turned upside down again when the original “final girl” turns up dead in her home. Quinn must come to terms with this loss and what it means for her before it’s too late.

Going into the story and having not really read the synopsis provided by the publisher, I assumed that the book was a slasher horror story that played out something like Scream. Given what I told you about the book already, this was obviously not the case. What you do get is the story of a woman in denial of her PTSD, having gone through an ordeal that pretty much no one can relate to, which again, is something that they touch on quite a bit.

Final Girls is a fast-paced and compelling page-turner. I started it and was finished a day or so later, even factoring in the fact that I had to work and do other things in between the times when I could sit down and read.

While it’s not technically YA, it felt like a nice and easy read along the lines of something you would get in the YA world, which isn’t meant as disrespect (I love YA!). Some “adult” novels just get bogged down by trying to use serious tones and really uptight storytelling methods that feel a bit stiff when you’re trying to consume a book, if that makes sense, but Final Girls is focused on telling the story and laying out what’s going on in Quinn’s mind from start to finish.

Not only do we get the present day story of what’s happening but we get bits and pieces of the mystery of Pine Cottage, where the massacre of Quinn’s friends occurred. I say mystery due to the fact that Quinn has a severe trauma induced amnesia revolving around the events that transpired there so as we uncover more of the present day story, we get more and more of the story leading up to everything as well.

Final Girls has a lot of twists and turns that I thoroughly enjoyed and while some of them are a bit predictable in nature, I didn’t feel like any of them took me out of the book while I was reading it. Like I said, I was pretty consumed by the book while I was reading it.

Verdict:
Read it! Final Girls is an exhilarating ride from start to finish and does a great job of presenting the characters, story, and the mysteries. If you like books like The Widow or Girl on the Train, I think that Final Girls will definitely be up your alley.

Final Girls will be available in stores on July 11, 2017.

Loved it! It's best to go into this one reading as little about it as possible.

Final Girls was a fun take on horror movie tropes. It was hard to put down. The climax left me somewhat underwhelmed.

Thanks to the publisher, I received an ARC copy of FINAL GIRLS by Riley Sager. This is a debut effort from this author, and that fact alone is stunning enough. This novel will go down as the runaway bestseller of 2017, and quite possibly as one of the greatest thrillers of the past decade.

It is at times Gillian Flynn's GONE GIRL, at others, Marisha Pessl's NIGHT FILM. And then it is altogether something else completely.

I don't want to go into details about the book, to do so would be a grave injustice to the reading experience. All I will say is the book jacket will give you a synopsis idea. But not even the synopsis does justice to the story.

I read this in one sitting. I began around eleven o' clock at night, and finished at five in the morning. It is a book that demands to be read. It demands to be finished. And I was both holding my breath because of the way Sager commands the pace of the story, and because I was anxious about what was going to happen next.

This is one of those books that will have THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN success, but with any justice, will be lauded for its originality, unique voice, and remind readers everywhere why reading is so much fun.

Thank you again to the Publishers, and thanks to Riley Sager for delivering a book that was as exciting as anything I've read in years.

Looking forward to Riley's next effort.

TEN OF TEN stars.

Definitely had me reading into the night. You think you know, but then you don't. Pages filled with so many twists and turns my head is spinning. Thank you for the opportunity to read. I'll be ordering this book for the library collection.

I really wanted to love this book - it seemed right up my alley (thriller, horror movie reference....)
Unfortunately it was better in theory then in execution. If there had been more character development (i.e. I just didn't really care or like any of the characters) it could have been much more thrilling, in my opinion. The ending redeemed the novel slightly so I gave it 3 stars. (from goodreads review)

I really enjoyed this book, although I guessed how it was going to end before the ending. This book really kept my attention and had me sitting on the edge of my seat.

Wow. Just wow. This book is absolutely incredible in every aspect. And, days later, the story is still with me. It's powerful and it's haunting. Read it.

This is the first book I have read from this author and I really liked it. Could not guess where the story line was going and the ending was a complete shock. Will watch for more of her books and will recommend her to my mystery readers

Horror film meets psychological thriller with a really unexpected ending. Can't wait to see what the author will come up with next. Hopefully the Final Girls will not be the Final book that Ms Sager writes.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

my review: https://youtu.be/Al-lfMjFQW0?t=16m13s

Final Girls
Riley Sager
Available: July 18,2017
Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
There is always an amazing book that comes out in the summer that the entire country becomes obsessed with for long after the tans have faded. This is that book for 2017.
What I loved: For the longest time I was going down the path that X was happening and Z is doing this, V is lying, and so on but then BAM! Those last few chapters completely shattered what I thought was going on within the story and it was completely turned around. What I thought was reality in the book was completely the opposite and I had no idea who was coming, who was going and what happened. It is the best feeling when the story can have a hairpin twist and turn that makes your stomach drop as if you’re on a roller coaster from hell.
What I didn’t love: While it is a little slow to build in the beginning and Quincy isn’t always the most likable character, I now understand her nuances now that I have completed the book. While I was reading it, I admit I was trying to figure out what actor would play what role in the film adaptation of the book and then finally decided that it didn’t matter.
What I learned: I’m glad I remembered the rules from Scream..
Overall Grade: A

www.FluffSmutandMurder.com

Wow!!! I feel like I have just taken a ride on the rollercoaster of all rollercoaster with this novel!!! The Final Girls has officially BLOWN. ME. AWAY!! Being that its a psychological thriller I don't want go into details for fear of spoiling, so if you haven't read the synopsis--go read it now!!!!

I love mystery/thriller novels that take my thoughts in so many directions that I never see the major twists and turns coming, Riley Sager is a true master at this skill. The book is timed perfectly and the addictive storyline kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book!! I had initial thoughts and developed several conspiracy theories, but NONE of them were correct!!! Riley Sager has knocked it out of park with this debut novel!! If you are looking for the fantastic summer read, than Final Girls is a MUST!! This 5 star novel is most definitely going on the top of my 2017 favorites!!

I really liked this book. It caught my interest right from the start. Just when I thought I had it figured out there was a nice twist.

This was a great thriller. I read many of these types a book and I love it when I can't figure it out! The characters were believable and I loved the way the author went back and forth between past and present. I really didn't know what was going to happen.

I have many patrons that come into the bookstore looking for a great thriller - this will be one that I suggest as it was a quick and satisfying read.

Thanks for the opportunity to review!

This book was so well written and so suspenseful that I stayed up all night and read it and couldn't stop and put it down. Riley is a young woman who was the sole survivor of a horrible attack which killed 5 of her friends. She is a "final Girl" since she was the only one who survived. She is trying to forget the past and live her life but events soon get in the way. The book was well written with chapters in the present and then chapters in which Riley was having flashbacks to the horrible night when her friends were killed. There was a lot of suspense and speculation and I never figured out "who done it" until the very end. Fantastic book!

Oh gosh oh my. OK folks let's start this wild ride I found myself on.

What drew me to this book originally was the title "Final Girls". One of my favorite tropes and one criminally unused and overused somehow. (for the record my favorite modern Final Girl is Emma Roberts in Scream 4, much like Neve Campbell in Scream, Emma is as much a deconstruction of the trope as she is an embodiment of it at times).

After reading the excerpt in the recent Buzz Books sampler I absolutely needed to read it. This is as much a thriller as it is a psychological look at how time, memory and emotions can make a person blind. There is so much horror for Quincy to have endured it makes sense for her to push it out of memory. Not just of the killings, but of other factors - if she remembered she'd have to examine how certain other clues would mess her up even more.

When discussing it with a friend (that I more or less peer pressured into reading it) we were both surprised that who the killer turned out to be didn't register with her (or us) beforehand. Looking back at context clues, little things that could be waved away added up real quick.

The book is largely from Quincy's POV and she is, at the best of times, unreliable as a narrator when it comes to the missing chunk of memory and her emotions thereafter. Whether because of the trauma of the event or her almost compulsive need for alcohol and Xanax to get through the day/night, Quincy doesn’t see or feel things in a normal way. Sager excels at making the reader feel that – there are times when Quincy is so high on Xanax and alcohol and her own spiraling emotions that I wasn’t sure just how “real” the reality she was perceiving was.

There’s something about Tina Stone/Samantha “Call me Sam” Boyd we should all discuss. This girl…she is super sketch from the get-go and never seems to let up. I mean this literally. Now again, going back to how Quincy’s perceptions are unreliable, but Tina/Sam is ALWAYS sketch. You can’t ask her what her favorite brand of cookie is without it becoming an interrogation requiring “enhanced methods”. A simple walk down the sidewalk leads to theft and violence. She claims it’s to help Quincy accept her past, but her methods are so messed up you have to wonder what she did to move past her own trauma. Then again maybe not since she’s quick to mouth the right words, but is so obviously NOT OKAY with her past.

And we have Jeff…Jeff the most normal, bland guy you could ever meet. I’ll be honest I don’t even remember what he looks like? I just remember how…wrong he felt for Quincy. She says he accepted what he meant to be with her (both as a weird sick fascination for the press and her own trauma), but he does everything except give her a lobotomy to make her push it aside. Not overtly, like her mother with the huge push for Quincy to live on Xanax to become “fine” again. In that emotional guilt sort of way.

There is a number of times that Quincy will feel guilty for being a burden on Jeff because of things she can’t help. When a positive attribute of your relationship is the fact neither of you can (or will) talk about important matters (in his case about his job, in hers about her past) that’s not healthy. When instead of trying to understand WHY she is feeling anxious he simply assumes it will pass with her favorite meal, you have a problem. I’m not sure if he knew the full extent of her emotional dependence on Xanax to “get through the day”, but I’m not sure how he could miss it.

As a person Jeff didn’t seem like a bad guy – especially considering he was a public defender and very committed to his job as one (there’s a couple times the conversation of “Would you defend the guy who massacred half a dozen people?” and his answer was basically yes, because they deserve a fair trial. While that may be true, you don’t say that to a survivor of such a horrific massacre who happens to be your girlfriend). It was just obvious he and Quincy were not made for each other.

Which is where Coop comes in. Coop, the policeman who called in the crime. Coop who has been there for Quincy through everything. Coop who drops everything to drive from the Poconos to New York City if Quincy needs him. Coop who is solid and steadfast and while not overly affectionate in the way that Quincy craves, does at least understand she’s a fragile glass house with hairline fissures everywhere. Coop obviously cares for her – everyone mentions it at least once and just as obviously wants a wall between them. As to why, it’s anyone’s guess as Quincy has never felt a need to trespass beyond that invisible barrier, even if she wanted to.

The book comes full circle at the end. I mean that in the best way – it all ends where it all began in an almost mirror copy of the life or death struggle Quincy first found herself in ten years ago. Everybody wants answers to their questions – why did HE do it? How at fault was Quincy and her friends really? Why was Quincy spared – yes she was injured, but nowhere near as badly as her friends. In the end will knowing the truth of what happened that night help her to move on (as Tina/Sam claims) or will it just make her already crumbling, messy life that much worse?

When the truth does come out – about that night, about HIM and about Quincy’s involvement – it’s both startling and unsettling. As I mentioned earlier once you know the truth the clues left behind build a solid picture of just how disturbing the reality is.

Sager takes you on this wild rager of a ride and from page one the reader is so tied up in the feelings of Quincy that you too get blinded to what really happened. So so good. Whole heartedly recommended.

This is a winner. The lone survivor of a massacre at a secluded cabin in the woods deals with the aftermath. She's linked by this tragedy to two other women, or "final girls" as the press has dubbed them, also survivors of mass murders. There are secrets on top of secrets. Twists you don't see coming. Characters with multiple layers. I was kept guessing until the final reveal. If you love psychological suspense you will like this. If you have a soft spot for 80s and 90s slasher type horror movies, you may also like this as there is definitely an old school slasher horror movie vibe here.

WOW! Explosive and powerful - a great way to start off 2017 with this novel of heart pounding suspense! A page turner until the end with a shocking ending! Just as you think you know who did it - you better think again.