A little slow to start off with, but then SJ Watson has you thinking and takes you through the story with little twists and turns. SJ Watson back at his best, from Before I Go To Sleep, and makes you wonder at what your minds can actually do.

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview of this book. I was really looking forward to reading it as I loved the previous books from this author. This one was a major letdown. The storyline was just all over the place & the characters all unlikable. There was no real structure to the story & at times it was confusing. The "twist" was fairly obvious and I felt let down by the ending as it was very rushed.

Alex is a film maker going back to shoot her latest documentary to Blackwood Bay, her hometown, a seaside town where in the last ten years a girl committed suicide and another two went missing. When she was young she suffered some kind of trauma that caused her dissociative amnesia so when she goes back she intends to find out what happened to her and the other girls.

While not being the most original premise it started strong enough with a MC with an intriguing backstory, a good set of characters (maybe too many) and an atmosferic setting that added to that sense of menace. But it came a point where the story started to stall, going aroung in circles and not getting anywhere. It felt like Alex was in a hamster wheel! We get a lot of "I can't tell you", "you better get out of here", "it's better you don't know" and loaded glances and silences. Come on! What's the point of having Alex investigate if no one is telling her anything. Communicate, people, COMMUNICATE!

It's not till the last 25% that it picks up some pace again, but the ending felt a bit contrived and the big twist wasn't so surprising as I've recently read another book with the exact same one, so I saw it coming from afar.

Not a bad book per se, but for fans of psychological suspense one we've already read dozens of times.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK/Transworld Publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've really been looking forward to Final Cut and S. J. Watson doesn't disappoint.

#NoSpoilers but Watson is a master of memory bending thrillers. Atmospheric, dark and a tad creepy,

Final Cut is cracking story, well told. Highly recommend.

I am a huge fan of S J Watson’s books and this was such a gripping, atmospheric read that left my heart racing on many occasions; I absolutely loved it!

This story is told from the perspective of Alex who is visiting Blackwood Bay to film her new documentary. It used to be a popular seaside destination but now resembles a ghost town. From the moment she arrives, the community is suspicious of Alex and her intentions as to why she wants to set a film in their village. Whilst Blackwood Bay may seem like an ordinary place, it soon becomes clear that there are many secrets lurking beneath the surface that its residents are trying to keep buried. But with Alex determined to uncover the truth about the village, she soon discovers that finding the answers she so desperately craves may mean she is required to face the secrets of her own past too.

From the outset I found myself invested in this story and couldn’t wait to find out how the events of the past were linked to Alex’s life in the present. The interspersion of the ‘then’ chapters worked so well and I felt like I was there with Alex trying to piece everything together. The setting of Blackwood Bay and its eerie qualities really added to the mystery and tension too. As I was reading I found myself mistrustful of everybody and my emotions were constantly heightened. I am glad my trust in one particular character wasn’t misplaced though. I also really liked the way the film footage played such a crucial role. Like the cover says, the camera never lies...

I had a suspicion in the back of my mind right from the beginning which I constantly found myself re-evaluating and dismissing as the story progressed. Just when I’d decided my idea could be a real possibility, something else would happen that made me rule it out again. I therefore couldn’t believe it when it turned out to be true! It was just the most perfect, genius and clever twist. I was speechless and even read the chapter again to appreciate just how brilliant the reveal was!

Final Cut is such a fantastic, fast-paced and truly perfect thriller. I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end! I will be recommending this to everyone!

This was a huge disappointment, although I should have known better after this author's second book, which I did not like at all. I loved Before I go to Sleep, but perhaps it's time to part ways with S. J. Watson, since clearly the other novels were not for my taste.

***Be aware of minor spoilers ahead***

What we have here is another drama that resembles more a soap opera than a psychological thriller, full of cliches (I swear, I can't anymore with the fugue states and dissociative memories. It's been done and redone so, but so many times by now, please authors, just stop!) and weak characters that can't hold the flimsy plot. We can see almost all the supposed twists from the beginning and the first person narration does not help matters at all.. I also did not like the dialogue, and was never really engaged with the story.

All in all this was not the novel for me but I can imagine others liking it since the trope of "unreliable narrator girl who has to come back to her small town where she suffered so much she even blocked some memories but now she'll solve everything and finally she'll be happy" seems to be in yet...

I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was an engaging and thrilling book, that continually surprised me with its twists and turns. The main character was compelling and a great vessel for the audience, providing a perspective that enhanced the book's narrative. I will say this book should come with a litany of trigger warnings, particularly for sexual assault and rape of minors. That said, a fantastic book that utilises the main character's memory loss expertly.

Final Cut by S J Watson
I give this book 3 stars
They tried to hide the truth. But the camera never lies…
Blackwood Bay. An ordinary place, home to ordinary people.
It used to be a buzzing seaside destination. But now, ravaged by the effects of dwindling tourism and economic downturn, it’s a ghost town—and the perfect place for film-maker Alex to shoot her new documentary. But the community is deeply suspicious of her intentions. After all, nothing exciting ever happens in Blackwood Bay—or does it?
It took me a long time to get into this book ,its storyline didn't grab me,it built up slowly.Some good twists and turns,and kept me guessing,an interesting read.
With thanks to Netgalley, the Author and the Publisher for my chance to read and review this book.

*Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and author of this book for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Author of 'Before I Go To Sleep' and 'Second Life', SJ Watson returns with a crime thriller that will chill your bones and make no one seem innocent in his new book ' Final Cut.'

Alex is forced to return to Blackwood Bay, a small village that she once knew, when her last chance to make her career as a film producer is on the line. But her path of film making rather than to document village life as she first planned ventures toward the past history of girls missing and some suspected dead and even as she ventures to the town, Alex is wary of what she is being told, something doesn't seem right.

With her camera by her side, and help from those of equal drive to find out the real reason for the girls' disappearance, Alex pushes forward in her own investigation to discover the truth about the village, and, along the way discovers more about herself.

This book has so many twists and turns I bet that you won't even figure out the truth behind all that goes on until it hits you in the face. It was compelling and intriguing to follow Alex as she learned more about the village and the girls that many villagers are too unyielding and hesitant to talk about.

Alex is determined to find out more about what has happened in this small village in the north of England, especially in regard to the two girls who supposedly died while was rumoured to run away.

The story itself from what she hears from the villagers does not seem right, and, as memories from her own past come to resurface, Alex is even more resolved to bring the truth to light.

The characterisation within this story is very strong and the plot only drives it to a compelling read as we follow the clueless path to try to make sense of the real reason these girls have gone.

The only downfall in this story for me was some of Alex' responses and decisions that did not make sense. The majority of her decisions seemed to be of a character and sounded realistic in how she came about them however there were a few that felt more forced in the writing and conclusions.

Watson is clever in how his entire story pans out and by the end I was honestly so shocked and confused, urging myself to read faster and find out more. I'm very grateful to have been given the chance to read this arc and cannot wait to see it on shelves in bookstores and online by August.

I loved Before I Go to Sleep and so I was really excited to read this new novel. It revolves around Alex who is a documentary film maker. Alex heads to a small coastal village in the North East where recently teenage girls have been going missing. Throughout the story Alex realises she is linked to the village and the girls but can't recall why...

The story was good and original but it took a very long time to draw me in and I would not say I was gripped or excited to get to the end. It was well written and really did set the scene well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Doubleday at Random House UK- Transworld Publishers for the Arc of Final Cut By SJ Watson❤️

Also thank you to SJ Watson for writing this mind-blowing book!❤️

Follows a girl named Alex who is a documentary film maker who is comissioned to work for Channel 4 to make a documentary about a small Yorkshire town named Blackwood Bay. This village has a huge past as over the last decade many girls have gone missing!😱 One girl is reported to of committed suicide but Alex actually knows of this place how and why she knows this is the question?

She ends up having memories from her past which ends up haunting her so she asks questions to make sense of this and feels something bad this is backed up by video clips of villagers Alex is determined to find out the truth and what happened to the girls this features case reports and news from many many years ago

It had so many twists and turns and mystery to it it kept me wanting more and was so page turning and I wasn't expecting the shock ending to this!😱

Well done SJ Watson for this 😱

I definitely recommend to anyone!
5 stars definitely ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Alex, an award winning film maker for Channel 4, heads to Blackwood Bay on the North East coast, a village made famous for it’s recent history of missing teenage girls. The place is known to her, and although she can’t recall why, she’s aware of some connection between herself and the missing girls. Alex is aware of the residents unease at her presence, and as the story unfolds, so do snippets of Alex’s own memories.

As the web unfolds, the twists keep coming, and this psychological thriller is superbly dark with a creepy climax. The flashbacks are well placed, and wit just enough detail to keep the suspense continuing to the end. Although the first quarter of the book is mainly scene-setting, I found the plot and characters completely believable, especially when they slip into context as Alex’s memories emerge.

This is another great book from S.J. Watson.

With thanks to S.J. Watson and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

I really enjoyed Before I Go To Sleep, but this new novel just doesn’t grip me in the same way. I found it hard to get in to the story, and found all the different characters confusing, who related to who and why, and having to check back constantly . It’s a shame, it initially had promise but didn’t work for me.

Loved loved loved Before I Go To Sleep so was very ready to start Final Cut, I have a background in documentary making and love thrillers so yep perfect book for me!

I read about 20% of this story but it wasn’t for me. DNF. That doesn’t mean you won’t love it though! A fantastic author with a great history of writing so don’t be put off by me!

(Middle review for DNF as not to disrupt other reviews)

I enjoyed this read quite a lot. It was intermittently fast paced and for the most part I didn't suspect what would happen next. Watson built suspense well throughout the novel. Alex is a film maker, who hasn't been too successful to date. She is the lead protagonist and the story is told in the first person, from her point of view. She is sent to Blackwood Bay to film a documentary. This village is unsettling for her however. A number of tragedies took place in the past and unfortunately she is unable to remember all of the events. The story switches from present day to her memories of the past. I found it a little confusing at times and not always credible if I'm honest but I did enjoy it. I give it 3 stars.

I was really looking forward to reading this book, and at first I found it intriguing but I soon became confused by the writing style.Maybe it was just me but I found it to be too slow and nothing much seemed to happen.I am afraid I got pretty bored with it.It will hopefully hit the spot with other readers, but was not for me I am afraid.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Alex is a documentary film maker who winds up in a small seaside town called Blackwood Bay to shoot her latest film. Though she is not there to investigate, she becomes interested in the suicide/disappearances of two girls, Daisy and Zoe, 10 years ago.

After absolutely loving Before I Go To Sleep, I am sorry to say this one was just ok for me. It started off interestingly enough but soon I found there were too many characters to keep straight and I was struggling to remember which side player was which, and that detracted from my enjoyment and caused my mind to wander. I also found the ending to be a little too farfetched to be believed and I do understand that you often have to suspend disbelief with this genre, but it didn't quite work for me. Hoping the next one is a return to previous form.

Alex is a documentary film maker. She is commissioned by Channel 4 to make a fly on the wall type film about Blackwood Bay, a small Yorkshire coastal village. Alex travels there with a heavy heart as the village has an unsettling past. Several girls have gone missing over the last ten years, one of them, a girl called Daisy is reputed to have committed suicide. Alex knows the place but how and why? Over the following few days, Alex begins to have some perturbing partial memories which haunt her. She starts to ask a lot of questions to make sense of this and her feelings that something bad is happening is further reinforced by some of the film clips villagers send her. What is the truth? What happens to the girls? Alex is determined to find out. Alex tells the story which is interspersed with news and case reports from a few years ago.

The premise is good as is the first half of the book which has a sense of mystery, intrigue and a ghostly element. The setting is very atmospheric with the steep streets, quaint shops, surrounded by the North York Moors and enclosed with secrets. I imagine somewhere like Robin Hoods Bay which helps me to get a vision in my head! There are some intriguing elements that bind the missing girls together and Alex’s returning memories are interesting as a lot of these are raw and show she sank low at one point. The characters are good with a mix of likeable, unlikeable and untrustworthy.

Unfortunately, about half way through the storyline flatlines and is never shocked back into life. It goes round and round in circles, with pointless questions and oh boy, are there ever a lot of questions, there’s too much navel (and star) gazing, the plot wears thin, so much becomes obvious so the element of surprise is gone and it goes on and on with no resolution in sight. The tension and menace of the first half diminishes and the conclusion is so melodramatic I just didn’t buy it. This is such a pity as the first half I’d rate a four star and the second is sadly a two star, hence the meet in the middle three.

Overall, this was shaping up to be a good read but the momentum disappears which is disappointing.

With thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

Alex is sent to make a film in her home town of Blackwood Bay.
She hasn’t been home for a long time because of an incident that happened to her that she has little memory of.
Two girls have gone missing and the town is suspicious of people arriving asking questions.
A slow moving psychological thriller.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was very excited to read Final Cut as I am a huge fan of Before I Go To Sleep by the same author.

Final Cut is an interesting story with a very unreliable narrator.

The book revolves around 3 girls, 2 of which have gone missing and 1 of which committed suicide in Blackwood Bay. I found the first half of the story hard to get into, particularly when it came to the 3 girls as their stories unfolded. I often found myself confused, having to clarify which girl was which.

About 50 percent in to the novel I was hooked. Everything clicked into place and I really enjoyed experiencing how the story unfolded. It became a page turning thriller which I couldn’t put down.

As usual in this genre there are twists a plenty which I really enjoyed. Overall an interesting, slow burn thrill ride which takes some time to get into, but can’t be put down once you get there.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange for a review.