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Final Girls

Riley Sager (Goodreads Author)

3.83 · Rating details · 91,250 ratings · 11,877 reviews

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 ...more

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Hardcover, 342 pages

Published July 11th 2017 by Dutton

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Average rating 3.83 ·

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· 91,250 ratings · 11,877 reviews

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Jul 01, 2017 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery-thriller, 2017, botm

I must confess my expectations were pretty high going into Final Girls. It's been receiving starred and positive reviews left, right and centre. It keeps popping up on the "must-read thrillers of 2017" lists. So I'll allow that the extent of my disappointment might have something to do with that.

Final Girls takes the trope of the "final girl" - the blood-soaked sole survivor that staggers away from a massacre at the end of a horror movie, like Sally Hardesty and Alice Hardy - and attempts to tur I must confess my expectations were pretty high going into Final Girls. It's been receiving starred and positive reviews left, right and centre. It keeps popping up on the "must-read thrillers of 2017" lists. So I'll allow that the extent of my disappointment might have something to do with that.

Final Girls takes the trope of the "final girl" - the blood-soaked sole survivor that staggers away from a massacre at the end of a horror movie, like Sally Hardesty and Alice Hardy - and attempts to turn it on its head.

In this book, Quincy Carpenter is one of those Final Girls. A party at a cabin in the woods with a bunch of her drunk friends ends with all of them dead. Except Quincy... the Final Girl. Years later, she's moving on. Sort of. She is with a great guy called Jeff and she bakes to soothe all her troubles. Until one day, a woman called Lisa - the first Final Girl - is found dead. Shortly after, yet another Final Girl - Samantha Boyd - shows up at Quincy's home.

The first two thirds-ish of the book is so so sloooowwwww. In the present, Quincy spent her time baking cupcakes and angsting over the past that she doesn't remember, and having the most dull disagreements with Jeff the bore. When Sam shows up, we spend more time making baked goods, followed by some bonding and nail-painting... and who the hell cares?!

This alternates with the past - short scenes from the Pine Cabin massacre - but for a long time, we get nothing here either. These snippets show the teens getting drunk, smoking pot, and Quincy debating whether she wants to lose her virginity or not. I'm sorry, but I couldn't help thinking: will someone come along and kill these people already?

I upped my rating to two stars because things picked up around the last third of the novel. Dramatic things started to happen. It is not a spoiler to say that Sam Boyd is one seriously twisted character with several closets full of secrets. And, of course, the Pine Cabin massacre is not all it first appears.

But then the ending happened and I felt let down again. I'll say one positive thing - the author successfully juggles a handful of red herrings throughout, and many of the things the reader will probably expect to happen are not the twist the book moves towards. That being said, I thought the actual reveal was disappointing. It didn't seem to fit with the rest of the story and felt plucked from nowhere for the sake of having a shock ending. I didn't buy into it.

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Aug 08, 2017 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, mystery-thriller-etc, own

Let us just take a moment to admire the beauty of my UK edition of this book. My favorite colors together: pink & black =)

As you will see in the first picture, it's the standard front cover with brilliant pink and black standing out. Oh, Book Depository I love you and thank you for making my day.

This next photo shows you the inside cover flap which is black and goes perfectly with the rest of the book.

And in the final ( <--- heh ) picture, we have the freaking awesome black colored outer edge ...more

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Mar 05, 2017 Miriam Smith (A Mother’s Musings) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: kept-book, giveaways

I seem to be on a run of really good books at the moment but this one totally blew me away! "Final Girls" by Riley Sager was just SOOOO good!!
I was drawn into this intense story from the very first page until the tremendously gripping end. I started this on a Saturday morning and I was a ghost in my house until it was finished Sunday night it is that unputdownable and addictive!
"Final Girls" is about three girls, Quincy, Sam and Lisa, sole survivors of three separate murderous killing sprees bu I seem to be on a run of really good books at the moment but this one totally blew me away! "Final Girls" by Riley Sager was just SOOOO good!!
I was drawn into this intense story from the very first page until the tremendously gripping end. I started this on a Saturday morning and I was a ghost in my house until it was finished Sunday night it is that unputdownable and addictive!
"Final Girls" is about three girls, Quincy, Sam and Lisa, sole survivors of three separate murderous killing sprees but linked by their trauma. When Lisa dies mysteriously and Sam suddenly turns up on Quincy's doorstep, a series of events following their new friendship ensues. Who can Quincy trust and will she totally remember the events of that terrible night she endured many years ago.
You just don't know where this story is going at times it's so well plotted and written - just when you think you may have worked everything out you realise in the final chapters you are so wrong! Twists and turns will keep you guessing all the way!
There's two stories running alongside each other, the present day Quincy and the unfolding events that occurred the night she survived her ordeal at Pine Cottage with the horrid anticipation of what's going to happen clearly palpable. I love this style of writing which for me always adds to the enjoyment of the plot. I'm not normally easily freaked out but I have to admit that there were times that there was slivers of ice running down my spine and I'm not sure I would like to read this late at night and on my own! Adrenaline was searing at my senses during the highly climatic end!
This was one hell of thrilling ride, I know Riley Sager will do really well with this book - I wouldn't be surprised if this was made into a horror/thriller movie.
I more than recommend "Final Girls" and I will certainly read more by this author in the future. For a writer to be able to engage the reader as well as this debut author has done, is just amazing and this hotly anticipated book will resolutely be the talk of 2017!! A huge 5 stars! ...more

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Nov 02, 2016 Chelsea Humphrey rated it liked it

Shelves: from-publisher

3.5 stars

I feel like the past 13 reviews I have written have been tough; they all are books that I don’t want to spoil for the reader and am having trouble putting the proper wording forward to describe my feelings. I’m going to try and be brief on this review, but I’ve found myself somewhere in the middle of the opinions I’m seeing spread out over the internet. Yes, if you are a regular reader of thrillers and mysteries you have a good chance of having the whodunnit figured out early on (I don’ 3.5 stars

I feel like the past 13 reviews I have written have been tough; they all are books that I don’t want to spoil for the reader and am having trouble putting the proper wording forward to describe my feelings. I’m going to try and be brief on this review, but I’ve found myself somewhere in the middle of the opinions I’m seeing spread out over the internet. Yes, if you are a regular reader of thrillers and mysteries you have a good chance of having the whodunnit figured out early on (I don’t want to say exactly when I had it figured out to avoid spoilers as it was very early on), but honestly it doesn’t matter as Final Girls is still a compulsive and addictive read.

Let me back up for a moment… As an avid reader in the Mystery/Thriller/Suspense genre (meaning I read on average 150-200 books in the genre per year), it’s getting difficult to find a book where the big twist is a complete surprise. I’m going to share a secret of mine, because it may help another reader as it’s helped me. After I read the unspecified section of the beginning of the book, I flipped to the end to see if my guesses were correct. GASP! Hold the torches and pitchforks! When I confirmed my suspicions, I realized the burden of expectation that we as readers place on a big, shocking reveal just became another aspect of the plot. I enjoyed the book even more than I would have with unrealistic expectations. All this to say, I’m glad I skipped ahead before reading the entire book as it allowed me to enjoy the journey just as much as the conclusion.

Being the huge fan of slasher films that I am, I was thrilled to see that this story stuck to the traditional formula that we find in movies such as Scream (my personal favorite) and Halloween. If there has ever been a book categorized as pure fun and entertainment, this is it! I found myself agreeing with most of the positive comments in friend’s reviews; I favored the flashback scenes and found myself completely lost in the story. If you are looking for a read to blow through in a weekend any time of the year, look no further. Here’s where I’ve seen people differing on their thoughts; some felt the characterization and present day scenes were slow going and not as gripping as the flashbacks. Here’s my take; the characterization, especially with Quincy, was my favorite part of the book! Call me weird, but I found myself lost in thought wondering what it would be like surviving something so horrifying and being left with the guilt of being the only one to live through it. Watching Quincy’s perfect facade slowly melt away once Sam enters her life again was quite literally breathtaking and the strongest story building pieces of the overall puzzle. This is what set apart Final Girls from similar horror stories that were B-rated at best.

If you’re on the fence about this one, just go ahead and read it. Everyone else is doing it-PEER PRESSURE!!! In all seriousness, you’ll have a hard time finding anything like it if you’re looking to be fully entertained. While this isn’t what true horror readers would classify as “horror”, it does contain aspects of the genre and would be a great bridge for those readers looking to dip their toes into darker waters. This will be especially appealing to readers who are fairly new to the thriller genre and looking for the next popular read to keep them guessing. I’m really excited to see what Riley Sager brings to the table next!

*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my copy; it was a pleasure to provide my honest thoughts here. ...more

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Feb 16, 2018 megs_bookrack rated it really liked it

Do you love Teen Scream, or Slasher films?

If you answered yes, I would highly recommend you pick up Final Girls by the always fantastic, Riley Sager.

I love some good ole' fashioned B-Horror and I REALLY enjoyed this book. Yes, I do believe there's a correlation.

Let me be clear, calling a movie B-Horror is not shade. It's a feeling.

You know the ones: attractive young people, usually high school or college age, getting together, drinking, flirting, making bad choices and before you know it, a bl ...more

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Jul 04, 2017 Melissa rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017, too-much-hype, suspense-mystery-thriller, horror

Reminiscent of a slasher flick, Final Girls sticks pretty close to the typical script. All of the required components are there—survivor of a murder spree that’s barely holding it together, dead space where there should be memories, a person or two casting doubt, the hair-raising feeling that things aren’t at all what they seem and most importantly, a leading lady that makes a ton of questionable choices.

It’s been ten years since Quincy and a group of friends were attacked in a remote cabin by Reminiscent of a slasher flick, Final Girls sticks pretty close to the typical script. All of the required components are there—survivor of a murder spree that’s barely holding it together, dead space where there should be memories, a person or two casting doubt, the hair-raising feeling that things aren’t at all what they seem and most importantly, a leading lady that makes a ton of questionable choices.

It’s been ten years since Quincy and a group of friends were attacked in a remote cabin by a knife-wielding psycho and she was the ‘Final Girl’ left standing. As Quincy recovers her lost memories and slowly unravels the truth of what really happened all those years ago at Pine Cottage, it becomes clear there was one major detail that everyone got wrong about that night.

Despite all outward appearances—her baking blog, swanky apartment and relationship with a successful guy—Quincy is a mess. Really though, after what she’s been through, who wouldn’t be? Still haunted by what happened, she's prone to popping Xanax and washing it down with a swig of grape soda. My initial thought was that Quincy was doing the best she could—faking it until she makes it. I would even go so far to say I liked her . . . in the beginning.

Quincy, along with two other women that survived their own separate nightmares, were dubbed ‘Final Girls’ by the media and garnered a ton of attention. Let’s be honest here for a minute though, shall we? With social media making news stories like this so readily available, these chicks would have had their fifteen-minutes of fame and the world would have moved on to the next crime. There wouldn’t be this huge media following 10-14 years later, despite one of the ‘Final Girls’ dying a suspicious death and the other arriving on Quincy’s doorstep. I’d expect some news coverage and maybe a Dateline special, but a front page spread and paparazzi . . . I’d say not. Have I mentioned, I struggle with suspending disbelief?

The author flips the timeline between the present—Quincy and Samantha on a downward spiral together—and Pine Cottage. For me, it was the teens in the woods that held the most interest. I found the present chapters to be a little repetitive and slow; I was constantly waiting for something exciting to happen. A large part of my disdain resided with how unlikable I found Samantha to be and the fact that those feelings started to stain Quincy as well. I didn’t expect her to fall apart quite so easily at the hands of this stranger, who was a complete wreck herself.

The story gained some much needed momentum in the last thirty pages or so, leaving me eager to confirm my suspicions. Despite all of the doubt the author had been casting, I was pretty confident I had in fact figured it all out. I'm happy to admit now, Riley Sager played me. I was completely wrong! Again, the author might have stuck to the proven slasher flick formula by pulling out a surprise ending, but it only helped to redeem the story in my eyes. Had it not been for that ending, my feelings and rating would have been drastically different. I have to disagree with the almighty Mr. Stephen King who declared this book to be the “first great thriller of 2017”. Marketing hype aside, I would say this mild thriller is enjoyable for the most part, but not memorable.

*My first Goodreads Giveaway win! Imagine my surprise when I opened the mailbox and discovered I was lucky enough to snag an advanced reading copy from Dutton. Yay me! ...more

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Jul 10, 2017 emma rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery-thriller-horror-etc, unpopular-opinion, couldn-t-wait-to-read, arc, reviewed, from-publisher-author, comments, non-ya, 2-stars, eh

first off: thanks much to Penguin First to Read for the ARC! i love that program.

i had a weird time reading this. it was unlike any thriller i've read, which at first seemed good and then turned out to definitively not be.

https://emmareadstoomuch.wordpress.co...

let's get into it. the title "Final Girls" is a reference to a group of 3 women who were the sole survivors of separate serial-killer massacres: Lisa, Samantha, and Quincy (our narrator). they're tabloid darlings each living separate live ...more

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May 24, 2017 Paromjit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley, mystery, crime-fiction, thriller

This is a dark and unsettling psychological thriller that made me uncomfortable but compelled to get the bottom of the various mysteries in the novel. A hungry media have dubbed Quinn Carpenter, Lisa Milner and Samantha Boyd, the infamous Final Girls, a term derived from horror movies for the last woman standing in a bloodbath where a serial killer has murdered everyone else. The women have never met but the suicide of Lisa is the catalyst for Quinn's carefully rebuilt world to begin to disinteg This is a dark and unsettling psychological thriller that made me uncomfortable but compelled to get the bottom of the various mysteries in the novel. A hungry media have dubbed Quinn Carpenter, Lisa Milner and Samantha Boyd, the infamous Final Girls, a term derived from horror movies for the last woman standing in a bloodbath where a serial killer has murdered everyone else. The women have never met but the suicide of Lisa is the catalyst for Quinn's carefully rebuilt world to begin to disintegrate. Quinn has a beautiful apartment in Manhattan, bought from the proceeds of legal settlements and media interviews. She has a fiance, Jeff, who makes her feel secure, and is planning to marry him. She is supported unwaveringly by Coop, the cop who shot the killer and saved her from the massacre at Pine Cottage where all her friends died. She writes a popular baking blog, which has helped her maintain her sanity through dark times and she relies on Xanax, to mentally cope with the world. She is scared by Lisa's death and the myriad of implications it might have for her.

Quinn receives a visit from Sam Boyd whom she invites to stay in her apartment. No-one else knows what it is like to be a Final Girl, and when the media prints a photograph of the two of them, she becomes closer to Sam seeking reassurance and support. However, Quinn's personality begins to markedly change as she begins to engage in risky and dangerous behaviours and actions that jeopardises the life she has so painstakingly built. She has no memory of the horror that occurred at Pine Cottage but details start to come back to her. She has never been able to call the killer by his name, this triggers an emotional panic attack and Sam is pushing her to remember. Can she trust Sam? In a story full of twists, we come to finally understand precisely what happened at Pine Cottage.

This is a atmospheric thriller I could not stop reading. It has a compelling narrative that grips, you get drawn into into the shaky and unreliable world of Quinn Carpenter. It is so well plotted to ramp up the suspense and the feeling of fear that pervades the book keeps you on tenterhooks. I was mesmerised by the character of Quinn, so stunningly developed and that of Sam, as I wondered who exactly she was and what did she want from Quinn? Sam insinuates herself into Quinn's life and apartment with no intention of leaving whatsoever. A brilliant and gripping read that I highly recommend. Thanks to Random House Ebury for an ARC. ...more

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Jul 03, 2017 destiny ♡⚔♡ [howling libraries] rated it did not like it

Shelves: owned-ebooks, adult, review-copies, mystery-thriller

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade."

Let me start this review by saying that I wanted to love this book. I honestly went into it expecting it to be amazing. Everyone I know who had read it gave it 4+ stars, so that must mean it's flawless, right? Sadly... I must have missed something, b ...more

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Jul 31, 2019 Emily (Books with Emily Fox) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks

I read and really like "The Last Time I Lied" so I picked this book while waiting for "Lock Every Door".

Final Girls ended up being okay. Not unputdownable, the twists were fine but I didn't care about the characters as much as I should have.

Reviews of all his books: https://youtu.be/SAd1t5LZqus ...more

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Nov 26, 2017 Emma Giordano rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this read. It was not flawless by any means, but addictive and thrilling. I would definitely still recommend.

CW: murder/gore, substance abuse/alcoholism, adultery

My favorite thing about this novel is the plot. I was completely captivated all throughout. The beginning was a bit slow and the ending was a little overstimulating, but nonetheless, I was engaged and interested the whole time. Some twists were surprising, others were anticipated but I still wanted the plot to keep deve I really enjoyed this read. It was not flawless by any means, but addictive and thrilling. I would definitely still recommend.

CW: murder/gore, substance abuse/alcoholism, adultery

My favorite thing about this novel is the plot. I was completely captivated all throughout. The beginning was a bit slow and the ending was a little overstimulating, but nonetheless, I was engaged and interested the whole time. Some twists were surprising, others were anticipated but I still wanted the plot to keep developing. It's a fast read - I devoured it in two days. This is just one of those books where I can't accurately express why I enjoyed it so much, but I did.

I'm not normally nit-picky when it comes to writing style, but this one just didn't do it for me. I can't help but feel frustrated, especially in mystery/thrillers, by lines similar "You trust me, don't you?" and "But how could they possibly know this unless..." I tend to use the word "obvious" to describe this type of writing as I feel too much of the story is being laid out for me. That being said, Final Girls is a debut, and I believe the personal issues I had with the writing are ones that can absolutely improve with time and experience.

Also, I feel the ending did get a bit muddled. There was a lot of information being released in a short span of pages, and I believe it needed to be a bit more fleshed out. The same goes for the characters. By the end, certain characters had changed so much that I can't understand how I'm meant to feel about them. I assume that's the intention, but it leaves me a bit perturbed. Additionally, I feel "repressed memory syndrome" is kind of a cop-out for thrillers to withhold information. I'm not trying to invalidate survivors of trauma because dissociative amnesia is a real thing, but it can only be done so many times in literature until it feels like the easy way out.

I would definitely recommend to readers new to the thriller genre like myself. It's a fast, chilling read that is easy to enjoy. I'm not sure if it's developed enough to satisfy "experts" in the genre, though I have seen many glowing reviews, so maybe my judgement isn't the strongest. Overall, I'm satisfied by Sager's first release and am eager to read more from him in the future. ...more

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Aug 18, 2017 j e w e l s rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-bejeweled

Go with me for a second. Are you under the impression that FINAL GIRLS is about a horror movie? Please tell me I'm not the only one that thought that!

That's a huge misconception....The blurb says something about a "horror-movie scale massacre" and that's all I remembered reading before thinking, "SKIP". Not interested in a horror movie remake.

Well, I'm proud to announce that FINAL GIRLS is not about a movie. And double proud to announce it is a fun, scary and highly entertaining book!

There has b Go with me for a second. Are you under the impression that FINAL GIRLS is about a horror movie? Please tell me I'm not the only one that thought that!

That's a huge misconception....The blurb says something about a "horror-movie scale massacre" and that's all I remembered reading before thinking, "SKIP". Not interested in a horror movie remake.

Well, I'm proud to announce that FINAL GIRLS is not about a movie. And double proud to announce it is a fun, scary and highly entertaining book!

There has been so much hype surrounding this current book of the month club that I was standoff-ish about rushing to it. I'm weird like that. Plus, like I said, I'm not much of a horror-movie-slasher fan. But then, Penguin Group Dutton publishers sent me an ARC and how could I not read it? I am so happy they did!

Do you know what a Final Girl is? A final girl is the sole survivor of a horrific murder scene. Movies like Halloween and Scream inevitably end with a final girl left standing. Yet another movie reference, sorry! Author Riley Sager has written a startling story about three final girls (all survivors of different gruesome scenes) who eventually have their separate lives intersect under troublesome circumstances.

Quincy Carpenter, aside from having a cute name, is a final girl. She lived through a mass murder scene ten years before and has tried her best to get on with a semi-normal life. A tad dependent on Xanax and dealing with a mild kleptomania problem, she has steadfastly stuck to her story that she didn't remember anything about the night of the killings. She has dealt with her survivor guilt by becoming a successful baking blogger and by refusing to talk about that grisly night.

That's really all you need to know about the set up of this addictive story. I was hesitant about the degree of slashi-ness, but it's actually not that bad (nowhere near a Patricia Cornwell book!) and the narrative switches just fast enough between the murders 10 years ago and the new mystery Quincy is currently caught up in. So you never really have time to get tired of the bloody stuff!

Despite the subject matter, I wouldn't call FINAL GIRLS a dark or disturbing horror novel. This was the biggest surprise to me! For one thing, author Riley Sager, is no Gillian Flynn. Sager's writing is lighter, an almost superficial style, never diving below the surface of words. No need to read between the lines, just read.

There are a couple of plot twists, the pages turn fast, it is a very quick, compelling mystery. I love the character of Quincy. She is an imperfect, somewhat unreliable narrator and an interesting protagonist.

I have no doubt, FINAL GIRLS, has all the elements in place to be THE beach read of 2017. And deservedly so.

THANK you to Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to give my honest opinion! ...more

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Sep 25, 2017 Erin rated it really liked it

Shelves: september-2017

As you should all know by now, nothing makes me happier than the brutal murders of teenagers So that means I love slasher films, especially those made in the 80's. The gorier the better.

Have I weirded you all out yet?

No.

Okay than on to the review.

I've been wanting to read Final Girls for awhile, I've also been putting off reading Final Girls. I wanted to love it but was afraid I would hate it. If you know me, than you know I mostly read the bad reviews for books I plan on reading. I like to ke ...more

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Jun 18, 2017 Larry H rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

I'd rate this between 4 and 4.5 stars.

This book kicked some serious ass!

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade."

Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter went to the woods with five of her friends to celebrate her best friend's birthday. But instead of the carefree celebration they planned, that nigh ...more

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Jan 15, 2017 Lala BooksandLala rated it really liked it

Shelves: thriller-mystery

Well that took me on quite the damn ride.

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Jun 06, 2017 Debra (having surgery will be back in a few days) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books, netgalley

This is how you do a psychological thriller!!!

Quincy Carpenter is the lone survivor of a grisly crime. Ten years ago she went away with a group of friends to a cabin in the woods (sounds like the setting for a horror movie) to celebrate the birthday of a friend. She is the only one who came home alive. Everyone that weekend was murdered, Quincy was attacked as well, but survived her ordeal only to not remember what happened. She remembers arriving at the cabin with her friends, she remembers eve This is how you do a psychological thriller!!!

Quincy Carpenter is the lone survivor of a grisly crime. Ten years ago she went away with a group of friends to a cabin in the woods (sounds like the setting for a horror movie) to celebrate the birthday of a friend. She is the only one who came home alive. Everyone that weekend was murdered, Quincy was attacked as well, but survived her ordeal only to not remember what happened. She remembers arriving at the cabin with her friends, she remembers events leading up to the night of the murders, and she remembers being saved by a police officer as she ran through the woods covered by blood. The police investigating the murders don't believe her when she does not recall the attack. How could everyone be murdered viciously and she survived with non-life threatening stab wounds?

Now the press has dubbed her a "final girl" She in not the only one with this title. Two other women who have survived vicious attacks have also been dubbed "final girls" by the media. The press and society are interested in how these women survived. The press wants to know everything about their attacks and what these "final girls" had to do in order to survive.

Quincy has made a life for herself since her ordeal. She lives with her boyfriend, she has a baking blog and gets through her day with the help of her Xanax prescription. She has also maintained a relationship with Coop, the police officer who saved her all those years ago. Even after ten years, she still can't remember the massacre that occurred at the cabin.

Then she receives word that one of the other "final girls", Lisa is dead, and the other final girl (Sam) shows up on her doorstep. Suddenly Quincy's life is turned upside down and she starts engaging in activities that are out of the norm for her. Sam wants Quincy to remember what happened the night she was attacked. She tells her that knowing will set her free....but will it? Do you really want to remember your worst nightmare? Will knowing set your free or will it make things worse?

Soon Quincy begins to have her doubts about her new "friend" Sam, about the night her friends were murdered. She learns more details about Lisa's death which make her even more concerned about Sam, her own recent behaviors and that horrible night all of those years ago. Suddenly the nice comfortable life she has built for herself begins to unravel.

Reading this book was like watching a really good horror film/psychological thriller and I do mean that as a compliment! This book had a lot of twists and turns. I like when a book can keep me guessing. There were so many ways this book could have ended and I think this book ended brilliantly. Quite a few times I thought I had this book figured out. I liked that it managed to shock me. I also loved how the Author wrote each character to be interesting - I didn't like all of the characters but they had depth and felt real.

Everything unravels at the perfect pace. I had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I also enjoyed the way the story is presented. The reader is given glimpses into what happened ten years ago at the cottage as Quincy ,in the present day, is going about her life. As Quincy begins to remember more, the reader is shown more of the past. This was a very nice touch! As that "AHA" moment comes to Quincy it is also revealed to the reader. I felt like I was on the road to discovery with the main character. The story-line told at the cabin was very atmospheric. It was actually quite perfect and gave the story that "horror film" type feel to it. The atmosphere is foreboding, creepy and dark - this setting the "mood" for the massacre.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I wish I had the time to go back and read this book all over again. It really is that good! I have a feeling this book is going to be on my top 10 favorite books of the year list! I highly recommend!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (I honestly LOVED it btw!)

See more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com ...more

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Nov 23, 2016 Emma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley

This is one of those thrillers that properly got me. I read a lot of these books, watch a lot of stories, and i’ve turned into one of those annoying people that guess the ending and accidentally ruin films/tv shows for other people by pointing out the probable culprit or plot direction early on. After correctly guessing the central twist of The Sixth Sense, and blithely commenting my thoughts to my then partner, he told me never to speak during cinema visits again. Apparently ‘but it’s so obviou ...more

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Jul 10, 2019 Barbie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

My thoughts in a nutshell
Riley Sager is one of my favorites thriller authors, but his first book was a massive disappointment for me. It is a very problematic novel; I explain why.

The story is about…
Skip over this point if you don't like the sneak peek.
Three girls experienced and survived some horrific events. They are called Final Girls. But the nightmarish situation continues...

What impressed me
I don't like too many things about this book. I adored the two timeline perspective. The final ...more

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Aug 16, 2017 Kaceey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive, traveling-sister-read

“Final girls is film-geek speak for the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie.”

Quincy was the one and only survivor of a horrible massacre that took the lives of her close friends. The media eats it up and gives her the nick-name “A final girl.” They follow up by aligning her with 2 other well-known F.G. survivors. Enter Samantha and Lisa, who each walked away from their own version of hell.

Ten years later, Quincy is trying to move on. She has a loving boyfriend and a successful bakin ...more

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Sep 30, 2020 Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill rated it really liked it

I am sooo late to the party on this one...but now I can officially say I have read every single Riley Sager book!

Sooo...I never knew what a "Final Girl" was until I read this book! I think the concept was fantastic for this book. Quincey is a final girl. You know that commercial where the girl has a choice between the running car and the shed of power saws with the murderer inside it...and she chooses the shed...yet she still lives to tell about it..that is Quincy.

This was a highly entertaining ...more

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Jul 17, 2017 Kathryn rated it it was ok

Shelves: horror, general-adult-fiction, mystery-suspense-thriller-non-uk

In a culture of bespoke…..well, everything, Riley Sager’s Final Girls seemed tailor-made for this horror fangirl. The phrase ‘Final Girl’ is a widely-used trope in horror films that describes the last person standing who confronts the killer and WINS. Think Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, Neve Campbell in SCREAM, or Heather Langenkamp in Nightmare on Elm Street. In Riley Sager’s book, she takes the Final Girls trope and translates it to a real-world setting. And while the book is undoubtedly comp ...more

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Aug 16, 2017 Brenda ~Traveling Sisters Book Reviews rated it really liked it

Final Girls was a Goodreads Giveaway win for me! Yay!

Final Girls is an entertaining, fast paced, and a suspenseful psychological thriller that played out like a slasher horror film in my head. Leading me down a cringe-worthy path of twists and turns that had me guessing right to the very end.

The story is mostly told from Final Girl Quincy who is the only survivor of a mass murder. The chapters alternate from her perspective and from scenes of the night of the murders allowing me to see the even ...more

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Aug 18, 2020 Charlotte May rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller

Holy shit!

What a book! I devoured this in 3 days. Absolutely addicting.

“Forged from blood and pain and the cold steel of a blade. I’m a fucking final girl.”

Quincy is what the newspapers are calling a Final Girl. The only survivor of a murderous rampage in which all her fellow camp mates were slaughtered.
Along with Sam - who survived a knife attack in a motel and Lisa the only survivor in her Sorority house, they are infamous.

Quincy has never met Sam or Lisa. She is determined to put everyth ...more

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Oct 13, 2017 Edward Lorn rated it did not like it

If you're looking for a terrific literary take on what happens after the credits roll on a slasher film, I highly recommend reading Kealan Patrick Burke's novel, KIN. That book is phenomenal. What I could never recommend is reading this beached, bloated, and rotten-through-and-through sperm whale of a book.

Riley Sager (aka Todd Ritter) isn't a very good author. He writes with the astoundingly banal personality of a professor who's mainlined a gallon of NyQuil before giving a lecture on the repr If you're looking for a terrific literary take on what happens after the credits roll on a slasher film, I highly recommend reading Kealan Patrick Burke's novel, KIN. That book is phenomenal. What I could never recommend is reading this beached, bloated, and rotten-through-and-through sperm whale of a book.

Riley Sager (aka Todd Ritter) isn't a very good author. He writes with the astoundingly banal personality of a professor who's mainlined a gallon of NyQuil before giving a lecture on the reproductive habits of dust motes. Cliche after cliche rolls out of Riley/Todd as if he's some kind of trope processing plant. His shit is so overdone there's actually a scene in this book wherein a security guard chases down someone who has just shoplifted, building a moment's tension, before the security guard asks the person for an autograph, you know, because the guard wasn't actually chasing them for shoplifting in the first place. GOTCHA! Or whatever. How many times have you seen that in movies and books? Someone breaks the law and is approached by the authorities, who say something silly like, Be careful out there, there's a killer on the loose! It's a generic bit of page-filler that drips basic-bitch status. The device lacks substance of any form and is only there to pad an already morbily obese book. And, yes, the book is overlong at a meager 342 pages. About 342 pages too long, if you ask me.

Other than the fact that nothing happens in this book (seriously, there's only two scenes of plot development in the entire book, while the rest of it details baking, characters getting drunk on Wild Turkey or high on Xanax, and a pointless love triangle no one asked for), the biggest issue you'll likely have with it is that the book constantly writes checks its ass cannot cash. How the fuck you gonna write a book called FINAL GIRLS without a single onscreen death? How the hell you gonna write a book about the aftermath of slasher-film situations and never give us a slasher? How you gonna eat that much ass and have the audacity to ask, How's my breath?

Ya got dumbfuck Riley Sager/Todd Ritter writing paragraphs where someone is walking away from the main character but some-fucking-how the main character can see that person's expression. You have a plot that requires everyone involved to be a fucking moron lest the entire house of cards come crashing down atop this mound of anal leavings. For example: there's a scene where someone beats up a dude in a park. Cops have witnesses putting the assailant in the park at the time of the beating. One witness even confesses to watching as the assailant washed blood from their hands in a fountain. All the cops have to do is check the assailant's hands for injuries and this book would've ended because the main character would be in fucking jail awaiting trial for assault, but no, no one ever checks the assailant's hands because fuck you that's why. There are over a dozen leaps of logic in the first hundred pages of this book alone. Suffice it to say, I'm really fucking glad this book is over.

Can't believe I paid full price for this barrel of donkey flop.

In summation: FINAL GIRLS and its author insults the reader's intelligence by simply existing. This jackass has to be one of the laziest storytellers in all of literary history. I've worked in publishing at every level, from indie to legacy presses, for almost a decade and I have no idea how books like this bucket of rank and rancid sea chum get published. There are much better novels out there that tackle this subject, books wherein stuff actually happens and the ending isn't phoned in near the first third of the book. I recommend any of them over this one. Shit, I'd recommend the grafitti in most men's rooms over this book, any day of the week.

Final Judgment: James Patterson has some new competition in the area of Worst Thriller Written by a Sentient Pudding. ...more

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Jul 28, 2017 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: thrillers, e-book, 2017, mystery-shelf

Final Girls by Riley Sager is a 2017 Dutton publication.

It’s dark- it’s twisted-… it’s predictable.

UGH!!

Quincy, along with two other girls, has survived separate mass killings, with the press dubbing them ‘The Final Girls.’

Ten years later, Quincy still has a gaping hole in her memory about the night in Pine Cottage, is living with her boyfriend, Jeff, and has a baking website.

But, her shaky handle on life is suddenly disrupted, when one of the other ‘Final Girls’, commits suicide, and the o ...more

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Sep 07, 2018 jessica rated it really liked it

i hate slasher flicks and i avoid horror movies like the plague. so why, do you ask, did i read a book where a girl practically lived in one? because ive lost my mind, thats why.

luckily, this wasnt scary. not in the least. which i honestly didnt mind but, having been marketed as horror and even endorsed by stephen king, i was expecting at least one bad dream afterwards. oh well. i will say that i am impressed that this was a debut. i thought it was well-written, the characters were decent, and t ...more

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Jun 02, 2020 karen rated it really liked it

LOOK AT ME! I’M THE FINAL GIRL OF READING THIS BOOK!!

oh, man—i’m so late to the riley sager party that he’s already written three other books, and i'm over here with my pantyhose drooping ‘round my ankles, muttering TO NO ONE about how i thought Final Girls was a pretty fun debut thriller, but i won’t tell you how it ends no matter how much you beg, because it gets right twisty thereabouts, and how in MY day, no one knew whether riley sager was a man or a woman, can you believe that? &why, back ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 BernLuvsBooks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019, adult-reads

4.5 Stars - A real pulse racing, page-turner

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade."

Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and ended up part of a small group of girls dubbed by the press as the Final Girls: the only ones left standing after a horrific horror-mov 4.5 Stars - A real pulse racing, page-turner

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, we were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade."

Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and ended up part of a small group of girls dubbed by the press as the Final Girls: the only ones left standing after a horrific horror-movie style massacre. ⁣
⁣
There are 3 Final Girls: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a deranged dropout with a knife; Sam, who survived an attack by the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and Quincy. ⁣ ⁣
Quincy can’t recall the events of that night, which is one of the main reasons she has been able to live a somewhat normal life. Until Lisa is found dead and Sam mysteriously appears in Quincy’s life full of dares and secrets. Sam is intent on making Quincy remember the details of that horrific night, the question is...𝘸𝘩𝘺?⁣
⁣
I’m so glad I finally made time for this book. It was such a twisty, keep your pulse racing page turner!!! You feel the same confusion and anxiety Quincy feels as her life unravels and she faces not knowing what happened that night at Pine Cottage. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥? 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘦? You have to read to find out!

𝐁𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 - 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐠𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 its 𝐣𝐚𝐰 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧!⁣
⁣ ...more

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Sep 24, 2017 Susanne Strong rated it liked it

Shelves: edelweiss

3.75 Stars* (rounded up)

“Final Girls” – that’s what they call girls who survive massacres. Quincy Carpenter is one of them. She lost all of her friends when they went vacationing for the weekend at Pine Cottage. Quincy hates being coined as one of them, the “Final Girls.” It’s a small club and of course, it’s not one anyone wants to become a member of. Lisa and Sam are the only other members. Lisa was in college when she lost members of sorority; Sam was working at an Inn when it was attacked.

S ...more

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Jul 09, 2018 Christina - Recipe & a Read rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library

Yet again I find myself really wishing Goodreads had .5 options. I'd probably put this at 4.5 versus 5 but I'm going to round up this time.

Final Girls is defined as "the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie" and this story follows three final girls: Quincy, Samantha (Sam) and Lisa. It's told for the most part solely from Quincy's POV and switches seamlessly between present day and the day of Quincy's friends massacre. I have a hard time with flash-backs because I often feel they're Yet again I find myself really wishing Goodreads had .5 options. I'd probably put this at 4.5 versus 5 but I'm going to round up this time.

Final Girls is defined as "the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie" and this story follows three final girls: Quincy, Samantha (Sam) and Lisa. It's told for the most part solely from Quincy's POV and switches seamlessly between present day and the day of Quincy's friends massacre. I have a hard time with flash-backs because I often feel they're jarring and I have to reset into a different state of mind to get into that section of the book / story. However, Sager did this flawlessly and I really enjoyed that the flash-backs were a countdown of the day of the massacre. It really created a lot of pulsing suspense and I couldn't decide if I wanted more present day or flash-back information.

Talk about a slow burn - the story grabs the readers attention right off the bat but the intensity of the story builds gradually throughout as you learn more about Quincy and Samatha. I really enjoyed the character development in this and I think Sager did an excellent job creating a story that not only makes us question the protagonist but makes us want to root for them whether or not they end up being the "good guy".

I did not see the ending coming from a mile away - despite the fact that the entire book throws everything that's been decided into question. I spent the entire time reading this trying to solve what was going to happen, figure out the next move but the ending took me totally by storm. I had a hard time deciding between 4 and 5 stars because while the ending was a surprise, I feel like the motive behind the culprit(s) wasn't as fully developed as the rest of the story. However, I ultimately decided on rating this 5 instead of 4 because the writing, character development and overall story was a slam dunk.

This is an excellent thriller / suspense with a mystery mixed it. There isn't too much attention to gore or painful detail - it's all in the pacing and the way information unfolds as you read. I'd definitely suggest anyone picking this one up! ...more

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About Riley Sager

Riley Sager

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Riley Sager is the award-winning 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.

Riley' ...more

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Quotes from Final Girls

“That’s not your choice. It’s already been decided for you. You can’t change what’s happened. The only thing you can control is how you deal with it.” — 32 likes

“I'm a fucking final girl” — 21 likes

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