Ehhh this one was just okay- I usually devour anything by David Bell, but this one just kinda fell flat for me. While it's not a typical locked room setting, it was one. That was probably the biggest draw- the different setting if a locked room mystery.

Having a hard time with a proper review for this. I listened on audio, which I think helped with the pacing, as others have felt was too slow. Audio felt well paced and I was extremely interested throughout and never got bored.

I also like the mix of suspense and real-world societal issues, which is another issue others seemed to have with the book, wanting it to solely be about murders and not discuss racism, classism, and prejudice, but I thought the balance worked well.

What didn’t work for me was the ending, which I can’t get too far into without discussing spoilers, but having the protestors successfully light the mansion on fire was justice, yes, but I also feel frustrated that protestors were painted in a “they’re looting/destroying things” light, even though some characters had several good points made about them. The “answer” to who the killer was did not bother me, though I did suspect early on, so those who get frustrated when they guess it too early may not like it.

Overall, I thought it was a decent read up until the last 10% or so, but I’m excited to check out other books by this author, as this was my first.

These stories are always fun, where people are locked away in a space with confusion as to why and slowly secrets unravel, tempers unravel, everything unravels really, and then people start dying. Who will come out in the end? This one is set in a university with a professor/dean orchestrating the scenes behind the curtain. Who wants those good grades............ :)

Six college students compete for a fellowship. The students arrive at Hyde House, an old building on the campus, to be interviewed. They are locked inside and cannot leave until the interview process is completed. Unfortunately, one of the finalists dies. The others must figure out if there is a murderer among them, and how they will survive.

An interesting idea, but this book fell a little flat for me. I liked the setting of an old Victorian building on a small college campus. Unfortunately, the story moved along too slowly for my liking. The characters are all unlikable… everyone has secrets and is desperate for the scholarship. Unlikable characters aren’t necessarily a bad thing, but I do like to have someone to root for while reading a novel like this.

The Finalists was an entertaining locked room mystery. Good for fans of David Bell and locked room mysteries.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the description, I thought I’d get a thriller. Instead, I got Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’ mixed with unlikeable characters and a little social commentary.

I had two real problems with this:

First, most of the characters were pompous. Characters I should have liked (the BLM activist, the immigrant, the poor farm boy) were rather insufferable and others, including our main character, were extremely insufferable.

Second, the murders were a little…dull. They weren’t shocking or even particularly vicious. The just…were.

I finished the book, mostly out of curiosity about the who and why, but wasn’t particularly satisfied with anything.

Not for me.

I’ve been reading Bell for a long time, and by now I think it’s more of a habitual thing, since a. the quality really isn’t there to support a dedicated following and b. my tastes for thrillers have matured past this level.
But Bell, to his credit, has discovered a formula a while back and has been plying it ever since, putting out a steady procession of mediocrities that get major publisher releases because…well, because people seem to like mediocrities.
This one is very much in the same vein. With the only notable exception being that the mystery is contained (a locked place mystery) and the solution isn’t easily predictable.
The rest is as trite as it gets with every character being a perfect cliché of themselves and a politically correct message about race, class, and academia wedged in there for some added weight.
But really, the book has enough weight on its own. It’s fattened on trivial minutiae and excessive dialogue to meet the page count the story on its own really doesn’t need or should support.
So you got these six contestants vying for the ultimate academic scholarship, plus, a well-meaning school administrator and a debauched scion of the family who sponsors the program. The competition is a time-worn tradition with very strict rules.
They just didn’t account for dead bodies.
Apparently, those will throw a wrench into any works.
So, yeah, it’s a whodunnit by the way of who cares. It’s also really implausible in its premise because really the rules, their strictness, and everyone’s willingness to follow them after one contestant drops dead doesn’t seem even vaguely realistic.
But overall, if you don’t overthink the plot, the book’s fine. It reads quickly. One of those mindless suspense mysteries you can zone out to. Thanks Netgalley.

This book had me sucked in from the very beginning. I enjoyed reading about the group dynamics and trying to figure out who was responsible for everything that was going on. I kept guessing and second-guessing. I loved all the twists and turns and this was a great read that I highly recommend.

I thought the concept of this book was so interesting! It wasn't as fast paced as I had hoped, but I found I loved the dynamic of the different characters with different stories and their own stakes in winning the final prize. I didn't expect the twist and thoroughly enjoyed the story up until the end.

This book lacked well developed characters which made it hard for me to care about who won the fellowship, The rules behind the competition also didn't make much sense. Overall just not for me!

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

For decades every spring Hyde College chooses six students, students with serious financial need and outstanding academic performances, to take part in the process. To gather at the old Hyde House, a once glorious Victorian mansion, and compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship. The king of scholarships, loan forgiveness, housing, a job after graduation. Six students will enter the house, along with an administrator for the college and the current scion of the Hyde family, an infamously irresponsible son of privilege, but after one of the students dies suddenly it becomes a question of how many will survive the eight hour process or if they will chose to leave early and lose it all.

With The Finalists David Bell makes it clear that he is a skilled writer with a good eye for balancing tension. His character work is largely solid allowing different students to feel more and less guilty as rumors and information on them is revealed. There is a place where Bell sort of falls through on the character work though.

The sort of bouncing back and forth on the sympathy for the son of wealth and privilege proctor of the Process, Nicholas Hyde. There are moments where the reader is told that Nicholas Hyde is the worst, racist, uncaring, or shown that he is ready to hold the whole Hyde Scholarship over the finalists' heads to get his way even as someone has been murdered during proceedings. But then there are points where the protagonist, the reader's view into the story, is left feeling more sympathetic to this guy and his complaints about how the students just do not seem to respect everything his family has done and more, or where his grief over losing his mother is used as a humanizing point to him, and the aspects that the reader has been informed of wind up feeling far more distant that the parts that are being shown. To some degree this is understandable, The Finalists is a locked room mystery where anyone could be a suspect, so wanting to ensure that there is a human element to the rich jerk is important. But it does also mean that it can feel like Bell wants the reader to sympathize more with him than with the students, who are allowed to be messier with a wider mix of traits and flaws shown across the book.

Likewise, it can get tiring seeing the students play dark backstory bingo as they try to figure out who the killer is. It makes sense, given that four of the five are young and that all of them are scared both for their safety and for their futures and the future of the scholarship. Fighting and back biting works to a degree with that and with the characters as they are presented. But the book stubbornly refuses to go anywhere with it, leading to a carousel of character reveals and arguing amid the Process continuing despite all good sense suggesting that an exception should be made for this year's scholarship and that circumstances are, in fact, so far different than anything that could be readily considered that to punish them for breaking the rules would be madness. It makes the book really easy to set down in favor of something else.

Which, of course, leads to the one thing in the book that I just cannot find it in me to forgive, the ending. Despite my previous complaints, The Finalists is a solidly written closed room mystery with good tension and character work that is, on the whole, solid. The ending throws that away entirely in favor of a reveal that was perhaps vaguely hinted at, but not strongly enough to be seriously considered. It looks the reader in the eye and informs them that their time means nothing. And that frustrates me deeply. I think I would read Bell's work again, but it will be a long time before I trust him with a mystery again. The Finalists gets a two out of five from me entirely for that ending.

Students from a prestigious private college are locked in a rundown mansion for a day of exams and interviews to complete for a special scholarship and job opportunity. But when one of them dies suddenly, they must decide if they should stick out the day or try to escape and find help, which would forfeit their chance at the prize.

This had potential, but the ridiculous bylaws, the overly dramatic and unrealistic scenarios made the whole book seem like a really bad Agatha Christie knock-off. If I had had something else to read, I would not have bothered to finish it.

I had really high hopes for this one as soon as I saw it was combining a locked room mystery and a campus/academia setting but unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me.

Although it was slow at parts, I did appreciate the short chapters which definitely helped to drive the suspense. I found the general concept pretty intriguing and enjoyed diving deep into the cutthroat world of elite colleges and scholarships and was generally entertained.

While it wasn’t one of my favourite reads, I did enjoy it enough and I’m certainly curious to check out more form Bell!

(I was requested by NetGalley and Berkley Books to review an ARC of The Finalists. This is my unbiased review)

Six competitive finalists gather together to compete for the ultimate college prize: the Hyde fellowship that promises them a job, all their student loans paid off, and the guarantee that all the remainder of their college terms will be fully covered. The six are in circumstances that make them financial desperate for multiple reasons and they are willing to do whatever it takes to win.

The Six Competitors are : Milo (the expected winner), Natalia (the brain), James (the rule following military student), Sydney (the skilled volleyball athlete), Duffy (the farm boy), and Emily (the one seeking justice for all she disagrees with).

At the door all have to turn in their cell phone and other devices including the college administrator and Nicholas Hyde the heir do the Hyde family. Once the doors are closed the finalists, Hyde, and the administrator are all locked inside. If they leave they forfeit the prize for not only themselves but everyone else in the future.

Shortly after being locked in though things begin to not go as planned. The Finalists begin to question if they should leave after one of them winds up dead. When one dies the rest start to question if they are the next to go and why they are being targeted.

The Finalists was a fast paced thriller that leaves the reader questioning how far they would go to win a prize. The reader sees themselves wondering and asking themselves how far desperation would lead them. Would it lead you to kill in order to even the odds of the competition?

I can honestly say the book left me questioning a lot about the viewpoint of social injustice within minority and how far want, need, and envy will take someone. I kept on reading wanting to know who the killer was. The ending was a surprise but still left me questioning even the innocent.

If you are looking for an academic thriller that is fast paced with well fleshed out characters I would recommend the Finalists by David Bell. Until next time, Happy Reading!

I love a locked room mystery and I love books by David Bell. The Finalists published July 5, 2022

This book was about six college students who attend a small private college vying for a scholarship given out by the Hyde family, for whom the college is named. The original Hyde didn't go to college, and amassed a fortune through hard work -but he wanted others to have what he didn't have - thus the scholarship!

But, the criteria is different. The six students don't know why or how they were selected as finalists for the scholarship - except that they all need it. And they have to be sequestered in the historic Hyde House on campus (still looking like it did in the 1800s) with the last descendant of the Hyde family (who must make the decision by the rules) and a college administrator. And the house is locked. And you can't leave until a winner is selected (by a written and oral test).

And then someone dies....

The premise is great but I really didn't feel I got to know the characters very well. But, David Bell's writing is good and I did want to know what the heck was going on and "whodunit" so I kept reading. And you know what - I did NOT guess who did it - so that was fun for a change!

If you want a good locked room mystery to read by the beach, definitely throw this into your bag. And check out his other books!

Thank you to @berkleypub @netgalley and @letstalkbookspromo for the opportunity to read this book! And to @berittalksbooks @dg_reads and @thephdivabooks for hosting our buddy read!

I don’t have kids, but if I did? My biggest worry would probably be how I was gonna put them through college.
Going to university has never been a guarantee in the U.S., but over the last couple of decades, costs have skyrocketed… meaning you either have to be born into money, qualify for a great scholarship, or go into serious debt, to get a degree.

So imagine all the things that might happen if a small, private university held a contest each year—one that only a select few students were even invited to compete in—with the grand prize being everything… a full-ride, plus a year’s employment at a powerful corporation, after graduation.
That’s the premise of David Bell’s thriller, The Finalists, one of the most of-the-moment suspense novels I’ve read in a long time.
_______________

It’s a typical spring day—hot, sunny, and beautiful—in Eastern Kentucky, when a group of six college students make their way across campus to the prestigious old Victorian heap otherwise known as Hyde House, for a shot at the coveted Hyde Fellowship—a full scholarship (and subsequent year of employment) only offered to an elite few, each year.

As in years past, the contestants represent every subset—a brainiac; a slam-dunk, with all the right connections; a jock; the totally-woke, P.C. person; a by-the-book rule-follower; and an iconoclast, who gets off on not following the herd.

The rules of the game? Everyone hands over their cell phones once inside, and the doors are locked—from the outside—for the next eight hours, as the contest takes place.

This year will be a little different, though: instead of the current rep from the Hyde Foundation (Nicholas Hyde, the profligate sole heir to the mega-corporation) presiding alone—conducting interviews, assessing the students, and making a final decision—he has decided to include the university’s administrator in charge of retention, funding, and such, in the proceedings… for the first time, ever.

What not a single one of them realizes? The fact that this year, not everyone will be making it out alive.
_______________

I’ll be honest: if I’d been the editor, I would’ve made some changes in The Finalists, because there are definitely some areas that could’ve used improvement. But, it still held my interest well enough to see it through to the end—to get to that whodunnit, dang it!—so I’m giving The Finalists an easy passing grade… and recommending it to everyone who’s gone to college, or has their own mini-me’s, who at some point will.
~GlamKitty

Thank you to NetGalley, David Bell and Berkeley publishing for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this one a fair bit. It reminded me of a modern day Agatha Christie mystery and I loved that. It did drag a little bit towards the end, but that would be because I was dying to know who was behind all this madness! I liked the twist because I was really surprised. Not my favourite of his - but still enjoyable and fun.

The level of disbelief you have to have for this story is unbelievable. This locked room mystery has college students vying for a scholarship when one by one they die. They don't call 911 and continue to compete even with a dead bodies piling up in the Hyde house.

The Finalists is simply to far fetched to enjoy. Thank you Berkley for the advance reader copy.

Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for the chance to read and review this book prior to release. All opinions are my own.

I LOVED Kill All Your Darlings by David Bell. It was a big fat 5 star read for me, so I couldn't wait to dive into The Finalists! The cover drew me in and the synopsis promised a wild and intense story!

Unfortunately, it ended up feeling a little (or a lot) overdone. I've read more variations of And Then There Were None than I care to recall and once a book starts reading like it, I sort of tune out. Unfortunately, this one really failed to hold my attention and so many things were SO repetitive. It wasn't a long book, but it probably could have had the same effect if it was cut in half.

I'll still give his next one a try and hope others enjoy this one more than I did!

I had such high hopes for this book. I'm not sure where it lost me. I am a fan of David Bell's work, but this one was way off the mark. I always adore his characters and can relate to them on some level. These, not so much. I almost didn't finish the book, but I wanted to give it a chance.

Each year, at a small private college in Kentucky, six students are chosen to compete for a prestigious scholarship. It is awarded by the Hyde family who founded the school shortly after the Civil War and who continue to provide much needed financial support. As a requirement for the scholarship, the students are sequestered for a day in the historic family home located on campus. They are given a writing assignment followed by a personal interview by the family representative and at the end of the day the scholarship winner is announced. It’s been done this way for over one hundred years without any problems. Until now.

The Finalists by David Bell has all the elements I like. An academic setting, a locked-room mystery, and a variety of characters. The author even introduces timely issues of race, inequality, and homelessness. In addition, he also touches on the very real issues regarding the financial survival of small, private colleges and how they must continually find new ways to attract supporters as well as students.

But, unfortunately, it still seemed to fall flat and the reader must definitely suspend belief in order to begin to enjoy this book. The premise is interesting, although not very realistic and the characters are diverse but largely unlikeable. The story moves quite slowly at times and the behaviors and reactions of the participants are often inexplicable. Since there were moments when I enjoy The Finalists I will give it 3 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.