Review: Final Girls by Riley Sager

Title: Final Girls

Author:  Riley Sager
Publisher: Dutton

Publishing Date:  July 11th, 2017

Pages: 342
Genre: Adult Psychological Thriller

Series:  Standalone
Source:  Audio

 

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.

I am not sure how I came across this book, but I have been adding a bunch of adult mysteries and thrillers. This one was on audio, and it sounded so very interesting. I couldn't pass it up and I decided to jump right in. This book was so good. I have been in the mood for thrillers lately and this one hit the spot. It was what I expect out of thrillers and I really enjoyed it. 

Quincey went through a mass murder spree in her early college days. All her friends were slaughtered and she was the only one left. She has spent years of putting her life back together and speaking with another survivor of a traumatic murder experience has helped. There are actually three of them, and they call themselves the final girls. Quincey has a good life, she is living with her sweetheart of a boyfriend, she has a blog for baking, and she is dealing with her anxiety. Everything starts to fall apart though when one of the final girls, Lisa dies and the other final girl, Sam, shows up on her doorstep. Quincey's life starts to unravel, she doesn't know what is real and someone is after her. 

This book was suspenseful and it was crazy. So many things to mess with the readers head. There is a ton of thrills and chills and its full of all the drama. It was a very steady paced read and I enjoyed the book from start to finish. Lots of characters to love and to hate and to really not know how to feel about. 

The book starts off with the murders that happened in the cabin with Quincey and her friends. Only a snippet of the ending, when she escapes. Then we fast forward to the present and where Quincey is with her life. It takes no time at all to get a feel for Quincey, her life, and her struggles. I connected to her very early on in the book. 

Quincey struggles. I mean I would too. She has major anxiety, doesn't leave the house much, has nightmares. She doesn't remember that night. Years of therapy and not a single memory of the murders. All she can remember is the before and the after. She sees this as a blessing but she is obsessed with the details of the other final girls' experiences. 

Quincey has a great boyfriend and she also has a pretty great relationship with the cop that found her on that fateful day. She has support through these too. There is a tiny bit of spark between her and the cop but really no relationship. They kind of see each other off-limits and Quincey really loves her boyfriend. 

Sam, the remaining final girl, she is a trip. I wasn't sure if I should like her, hate her, fear her. She messes with Quincey and in turn, it really messed with my head. Sam is wild where Quincey is controlled. Sam wants to bring out the anger in Quincey, she thinks this will help her, her memory and her anxieties. Of course, this is where the wreckage begins. 

The story is very exciting and even though it doesn't deal with murder or suspense the entire book there are moments of the murder as Quincey remembers. This brings in some dark parts of the story. The story though also deals with Quincey and her issues of being a final girl, her anxieties, her fear, and her moment's weakness. From beginning to end, a real page-turner. 

The entire book was jam-packed full of drama, excitement, and suspense. I loved it. 

Riley Sager is the pseudonym of a former journalist, editor and graphic designer who previously published mysteries under his real name.

Now a full-time author, Riley's first thriller, FINAL GIRLS, became a national and international bestseller and was called "the first great thriller of 2017" by Stephen King. Translation rights have been sold in more than two dozen countries and a film version is being developed by Universal Pictures.

Riley's next book, THE LAST TIME I LIED, will be published in July. It was inspired by the classic novel and film "Picnic at Hanging Rock" and one horrible week Riley spent at summer camp when he was ten.

A native of Pennsylvania, Riley now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. When he's not working on his next novel, he enjoys reading, cooking and going to the movies as much as possible. His favorite film is "Rear Window." Or maybe "Jaws." But probably, if he's being honest, "Mary Poppins."

Website: www.rileysagerbooks.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rileysagerbooks
Twitter: @Riley_Sager. (less)