When bestselling author of the Colton Keys thrillers, Wyatt DeMay, dies, the publisher creates a competition to decide exactly who exactly would continue his legacy and win a million dollars. Five finalists are tasked with completing Wyatt DeMay's unfinished manuscript on Key Island, owned by Wyatt's widow. Once they reach the island, they're stranded with no communication with the outside world. Makes sense considering the potential for leaks of the final manuscript, but when there's a killer on the loose, they could have probably used a phone.

Risa's characters was compelling and reading about the misfortunes and misadventures on Key Island through her eyes was definitely a plus point. The other authors were a bit meh, but I liked the archetypes they embodied. The relationship between Risa and Trent was a bit weird, with the shadow of what happened to her husband hanging over the whole story and her stress to do with her daughter and her finances, so I feel like that was maybe an unnecessary plot point. The shifting POVs also pulled me out of the story.

In terms of structure, I struggled initially and didn't get into the swing of things with the story until they landed on Key Island. Really, only when Lily appeared on the page, did I start to pay attention.

Ultimately, I thought this was an okay read. Not particularly eye-catching or thrilling, but not something that I was in a hurry to get through or something I didn't want to finish. The reveal of the killer seemed a bit obvious in the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley, Level Best Books and Joan Long for the arc of this book.

Five author's are invited to complete a well known author's unfinished manuscript. At stake, one million dollars and a contract to continue the deceased author's work. All you have to do is stay at a private island for seven days and work on the books ending. Sounds perfect right? Well, it was. Until the body washed ashore. And everyone's secrets started to get exposed.

I loved the premise of this book. It started very strong but unfortunately petered off. While not bad in any way, it does become harder to maintain interest. Luckily it is a short novel so I was able to stick it out. The conclusion and suspect were predictable but not unenjoyable.
You may like this if you like locked room/deserted island mysteries.

3 stars.

Good story that is easy to enjoy. There are a few twists along the way but no big revelations. Overall the story is solid and makes sense, however I wouldn’t say it had a bunch of huge plot twists.

From the cover to the synopsis I was quite intrigued by this book. Unfortunately, even though it does start off very promising, it becomes an all out bore fest very quickly with nothing but people running here, there and everywhere until the predictable ending.

I had such high hopes for this book but unfortunately it fell flat. I was so intrigued by this premise and was expecting more out of this. It started out super promising but the second half of the back was underwhelming.

This book started out with a really cool premise! It sounded like a mix of Survivor the TV show and Verity by Colleen Hoover. I was immediately interested and drawn in.

I loved the cover. It really sat the scene for a beachy trip gone awry.

We begin as a best-selling author passes away leaving his widow trying to find a way to finish his book. The finalists will be taken to their private island, however someone there isn't who they say they are. *dun dun dun*

The first part of the book is really cool and it's never bad but it starts to drone on toward the end and I lost some interest. Luckily it wasn't a long read but was kind of bumpy getting to the point.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book!

The Finalist has a flair reminiscent of Agatha Christie with a modern twist. The characters are all stuck on an island with no way out when all hell begins to break loose. Are they alone on this island? What's really going on? It's an old-fashioned mystery anyone would love!

The Finalist by Joan Long was a good read. I was pulled in by the cover with aquamarine sea and blue skies.
5 authors are invited to a remote island to vie for the coveted spot of finishing a famous novelist book for a million dollars. The famous Novelist died recently and his widow would like his book series to go on. For Risa Marr it's a chance of a last time. One by one the people on the island are turning up dead. Risa needs to find out who is the killer before she is next.
I was entertained but thought that the villan was quite predictable. The end of the book kinda of leads me to believe there will be a sequel to this.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for this ARC.

Enjoyment: 3.5
Total rating: 3.5

The famous author of a best-selling thriller series dies before finishing their latest book. What is a publisher to do? Duh - offers a chance to five struggling authors to compete for 1 million dollars and a contract to continue the series, of course!

The lucky five are dropped into an isolated island and given 7 days to draft the ending for the unfinished book. The best conclusion wins. Simple, right? No! One turns up dead, and we know they might not be the last!

Long's take on two of my most beloved mystery tropes - isolated setting and closed circle - delivered an action-packed mystery. This was an easy-to-read, fast-paced book with tons of action at the beginning and a very intriguing setup. I loved the island layout and the idea of a high-stakes writing contest.

Disclaimer: In exchange for an honest review, I am thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of The Finalist

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Finalist.

Risa is one of 5 finalists on a deserted island, owned by a rich author’s widow. One of the 5 finalists will write the ending of the dead author’s latest book, and win a life changing deal to pen more. But things take a deadly turn not long after they arrive on the island, and Risa finds herself wishing she had never entered the competition…

I loved this! The suspense and writing were great, kept me hooked all the way through! I found myself swinging from one suspect to another to try and decide who was guilty. Highly recommend, 5 stars!!!

This was quite a page turner! I was absorbed from the beginning to the end and the author really made the tropical island setting come to life and enhanced the dangerous mood as the story progressed. The cast of characters were well defined and the suspense was consistent throughout. I loved the premise, too. This was the author's debut novel and she wrote with a skilled hand. I enjoyed reading it!

The Finalist started out very promising and the first half of the book was very interesting. The second half of the book just kind of went on and on and nothing much happened, until its rather predictable conclusion. Still, I found it an okay read.

Five authors descend on the small private island now owned by the widow of a famous novelist. The widow has invited the five to compete in completing her husband's most recent unfinished work. The winner receives one million dollars and the ability to take over the characters, plots, fans and funds.

Key Island is virtually deserted and the security and staff have been dismissed for the week. Someone however, must be on the island because some of the contestants begin dying.

I love these kind of locked room stories and it's always a bonus when they are set in a tropical venue. This was a bit unusual plot and the characters were not as well crafted as they could be, a tad flat, but I did enjoy it and if you like locked room mysteries and tropical paradises you will too! #NetGalley #TheFinalist

The Finalist tells the story of best selling author Wyatt DeMay who has recently died before he finished his current book. His wife decides to have a competition to find someone to finish the book and write future books as well, the prize will be one million dollars. Five writers are selected and arrive by boat on a private island.

When I started to read this I immediately thought I could picture this on a Fantasy Island episode. Even though the book involves murder it was light hearted, definitely did not have me on the edge of my seat. The plot is interesting enough to keep you invested until the end.

The Finalist is a good premise and the plot has potential, but it feels a little underdeveloped, particularly when it comes to character depth. I would have enjoyed the book if it gave more background on the primary characters. I feel as though the intent of the book was to maintain a wholesome approach, but it sometimes translated as cheesy. Despite these things, it did keep me turning the pages to figure out the villain. A worthwhile read, but not as good as I had hoped. #JennReviews #TheFinalist #NetGalley

I found The Finalist to be a good, enjoyable read but it could have done with a few more twists and turns for me. I read it, finished it and enjoyed it but it did not thrill me as much as I had hoped it would.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

This is a mystery and suspenseful novel of which Risa, an author, and four other authors are chosen to be finalists for this competition of completing an unfinished manuscript of a deceased famous author, Wyatt DeMay. The five finalists are taken to an island where they are cut off from the outside world and given a week to work on the manuscript. However, things go south quickly as one of the competitors end up dead.

The beginning of this book was rather slow, however, things picked up after the halfway mark. It was an overall enjoyable read.

Thank you Level Best Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am a sucker for this type of book. Five authors are invited to a private island to complete a deceased writer’s last manuscript. The winner will receive a million dollars and a contract to continue the best-selling author’s series. But then one of the authors is murdered. Shades of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, both in the basics of the plot, and in the was characters are presented on a surface level, without delving too deep into their thoughts and who they are. A solid read.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. I liked the plot, I liked the setting, I liked the intrigue. Once the book hit the halfway mark it did start to read like it had been written by a different person, like the novel in the book.
I really didn’t enjoy the second half. The men ganging up against the woman annoyed me. I didn’t like anyone in this book other than the journalist. Everyone else was one dimensional and awful.
I had to force myself to finish this book. It could have been amazing based on the premise and the first half. I guessed the ending before the second murder happened. My boyfriend also guessed the murderer and motive and he wasn’t even reading this, just listening to me chat about it.

Solid Debut. This is one of those books where the premise draws you in, and the author begins executing with the very first page. Solid mystery/ action tale of murders happening on a supposedly secure remote tropical island, this one does a bit of setup before the murders start, but once they do the action picks up reasonably well and stays reasonably well paced through the end. Ultimately one where you can see the promise of this author's ability, while also still showing some things that need some improvement generally. Still, this reader for one is looking forward to Long's next book. Very much recommended.