Name: Final Girls
Author: Riley Sager

Publisher: Dutton

Published: 2018-01-23

THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER “If you liked Gone Girl, you’ll like this.”—Stephen King Ten years ago, six friends went on vacation. One made it out alive…. In that instant, college student Quincy Carpenter became a member of a very exclusive club—a group of survivors the press dubbed “The Final Girls”: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who endured the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape the massacre at Pine Cottage. Despite the media’s attempts, the three girls have never met. Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life. Her mind won’t let her recall the events of that night; the past is in the past…until the first Final Girl is found dead in her bathtub and the second Final Girl appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a hurricane, Sam seems intent on making her relive the trauma of her ordeal. When disturbing details about Lisa’s death emerge, Quincy desperately tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies while evading both the police and bloodthirsty reporters. Quincy knows that in order to survive she has to remember what really happened at Pine Cottage. Because the only thing worse than being a Final Girl is being a dead one. WINNER OF THE 2018 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FOR BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL

Attention, horror fans and slasher movie enthusiasts! Riley Sager’s “Final Girls” is the literary equivalent of a rollercoaster ride through your favorite scary movies, with an extra shot of adrenaline for good measure. If you’ve ever found yourself yelling at the screen during a horror flick, this book is your chance to dive headfirst into the world of those plucky survivors we all root for.

From the very first page, Sager hooks you with a premise that’s as irresistible as a masked killer’s ominous footsteps: three “Final Girls,” survivors of separate massacres, thrust together by a sinister turn of events. It’s like the ultimate horror movie crossover event, but with more psychological twists than you can shake a bloody knife at.

As a die-hard fan of the Scream series (high five, fellow Ghostface enthusiasts!), I felt right at home in Sager’s world. The book oozes with that same meta-awareness and genre-savvy vibe that made Scream such a game-changer. It’s like Sager took all our favorite slasher tropes, tossed them in a blender, and served up a deliciously twisted smoothie of suspense.

Now, I’ll admit, I fancied myself quite the sleuth and had the killer pegged early on. But let me tell you, Sager is a master of misdirection. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, he pulls the rug out from under you, leaving you scrambling to piece together the clues. It’s like playing a high-stakes game of Clue, but with more dead bodies and less Colonel Mustard.

What really sets “Final Girls” apart is its breakneck pacing. This book doesn’t just invite you to turn pages; it practically flips them for you. Before you know it, you’re halfway through, your heart’s racing, and you’re eyeing every shadow in your house with suspicion. It’s the kind of read that’ll have you up way past your bedtime, muttering “just one more chapter” until the sun comes up.

Sager’s characters are a treat too. Quincy, our protagonist, isn’t your typical scream queen. She’s complex, flawed, and utterly relatable. Watching her navigate her trauma, her relationships, and the ever-increasing danger around her is like watching a master class in character development.

While it might not reinvent the wheel, “Final Girls” takes everything we love about the horror genre and cranks it up to eleven. It’s a love letter to slasher films, a psychological thriller, and a mystery all rolled into one blood-soaked package.

So, whether you’re a hardcore horror fan or just someone who enjoys a good thrill, “Final Girls” is an absolute must-read. Just make sure to lock your doors, check under the bed, and maybe leave a light on. Because once you start this book, the only thing scarier than the story itself is the thought of putting it down before you reach the heart-stopping conclusion.

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