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Riley Sager

Final Girls Hardcover – 14 June 2017

by Riley Sager (Author)

2,724 ratings

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Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror moviescale massacre. Now Quincys life becomes a race against time as she tries to remember what really happened that night at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

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Product details

Publisher : Thorndike Pr; Lrg edition (14 June 2017)
Language : English
Hardcover : 557 pages
ISBN-10 : 1432839470
ISBN-13 : 978-1432839475
Dimensions : 14.61 x 2.54 x 22.23 cm

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Riveting

Reviewed in Australia on 16 June 2019

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I like the way the story unfolds, and the character develops as she remembers more about her past. The characters were very well written, particularly Quincy. I didn't see the ending coming, and while I wasn't sure at first if it worked, I think it was a complex and interesting idea. A riveting story that I couldn't put down.

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SMNZ

For lovers of crime & horror films!

Reviewed in Australia on 21 December 2017

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A great crime read with heavy psycholigical thriller.
Anyone who loves horror films will be familiar with the "Final Girl" trope; this both acknowledges it while not relying soley on it.
Also great to see the author taking the concept and fleshing out the character to be more than just the girl in the final scene.
Some decent thought has been given to the psychological & physiological aftermath of trauma.

Looking forward to her next novel!

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lori sa

Ripper!

Reviewed in Australia on 21 September 2017

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The story is enthralling with the final twist punctuating the reader's thoughts as sharply as one of the knife attacks in the book. It is a real "didn't-see-that coming" endingthe . I shall be looking for more Riley Sager novels!

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Sarah J

Give it a go.

Reviewed in Australia on 21 January 2018

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I read this for a book club and wasn’t sure how it’d go given I wouldn’t have picked it up myself. I didn’t mind it at all. The author leads you along multiple who-dunnit paths so when you think you have the answer something else drops into the mix. All in all, a good book and worth the read.

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Emily

Edge of your seat!

Reviewed in Australia on 22 September 2018

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This book is not for the faint hearted given the theme, but it’s well written, thrilling and edgy.

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Bridget Powell

A solid read

Reviewed in Australia on 25 October 2019

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Great storyline with an unexpected twist at the end

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Three girls survive separate serial killers - and now they are connected by a new murderous threat.

Reviewed in Australia on 11 January 2021

Actual rating 3.75 stars.

This was a thrilling and interesting read. I wasn’t quite sold on ‘Final Girls’ because I had difficulty relating to the protagonist, and she was always doing irrational things – stupid behaviour typical of pulp horror movie classics. In that way, ‘Final Girls’ is an entertaining homage to the genre; but for me, it was simply frustrating. I like my heroines intelligent, aware, and proactive. Quincy came across as volatile, reactive, and whiny.

It was on the cusp of being predictable – maybe because I’d already heard there was a twist, so I was really paying attention to the narrative. I wouldn’t say I predicted the ending, but I definitely pegged the murderer in my top two suspects… though the backstory to how this came about was a complete surprise. So Riley Sager definitely got me a good one. I have to admit his writing skills are right up there with the best. He can craft tension, suspense, and a reveal with expertise.

I already mentioned that Qunicy was not my favourite protagonist. It was like if she had just taken a step back and followed some common sense, most of this book would not have happened – which feels like a flimsy plot device for ‘Final Girls.’ It feels like this did a disservice to Sager’s writing, because he clearly has the chops to construct engaging prose.

Jeff, Quincy’s husband, really felt superfluous to the plot, I even found myself questioning why he was in the book in the first place. He did not feel like her husband, but merely a plot device.
Sam was wrong from the start – again a lot of frustration blossomed because of her character, and on the surface, she did not match the profile of a final girl... and this was dragged through the entirety of the novel. We do get some development of her character through conversations and Quincy’s research, but I feel like we should have gotten a more realised character in the beginning. It would have provided much more impact when sequential reveals happen later.

Coop was a really interesting character and I liked the tension built between him and the other characters.

There was a lot of jumping around the timeline through repressed memories resurfacing and flashbacks in conjunction with the current timeline, I’m not usually a fan of this storytelling device, amnesia is such a tired device, but it framed the plot really well. Though there was a bit too much compartmentalisation going on for me. Quincy intentionally kept her memories, and the people in her life, apart… which was another source of my frustration.

This many-times-mentioned frustration was good and bad. Good, in that is kept me interested and eager to uncover the truths behind my suspicions; and bad in that some plausibility was on flimsy ground.

I loved the concept of ‘Final Girls’ it had me enrapt from the first page and I am keen to read more from Riley Sager, he really knows how to exude atmosphere from the page. There was a reveal in every chapter, so the pacing was set at a cracking pace from start to finish.

Compelling read I recommend to all. On a side not, with Universal Studios having optioned this title for a film. I’m looking forward to how this story translates to the big screen.

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*3.5-4 Stars*

Reviewed in Australia on 19 August 2018

Final Girls was an interesting take on a crime/thriller novel. The interesting concept of being a "final girl" takes on a whole new turn when one of them winds up dead, and another appears out of nowhere.

Of course the whole time I was thinking it was one particular person, the way the author has written the story to make you think you're onto them. But then by the end, everything I thought I knew, was totally wrong and I got the shock of my life.

This is an interesting take on dealing with the aftermath of being the sole survivor of a heinous crime, and how one proceeds with their life.

I enjoyed reading this and would probably try more books by this author in the future.

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Alyssia Cooke

Unbelievable and forced

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 February 2020

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This is a bit of an odd one to rate and I'm toying between two and three stars. It's slow and superficial, with few characters who really stand out from the crowd. Even Quincey, our key Final Girl, is rather wet in reality and somewhere between her obsession with home baking and the sappy relationship, I got bored. Cooper was the only character I actually connected with and he's a satellite character for much of the novel.

Quincey's degradation with the arrival of Sam Boyd was overdone, rushed and unbelievable. As indeed was the entire character of Sam Boyd in general. Undoubtedly messed up beyond belief, but aggravating so rather than believably or empathisably so. The author also seems to have a band-aid view of virtually irrevocably damaged relationships seems naive to the point of cringe-worthy so what could have been touching aspects... aren't. Even the moments in the past just before the massacre are somehow angst ridden and tedious.

And the ending. Dear God, the ending. It's as though the author couldn't quite figure out what to do with it and so just pulled a name out of a hat and ran with it, little caring how unbelievable or forced it would seem. The fact that he forces an entirely new character in within the last fifth of the novel is a desperate attempt to shoehorn the forced solution even though it really doesn't fit. That is just desperation.

Hell, I've nearly convinced myself to downgrade the rating to a single star...

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Tracey Madeley

A clever thriller

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 April 2018

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Anyone who liked Gone Girl will love this book. Three victims all connected by the fact that they survived horrendous massacres.

Quincy or Quinn is the protagonist who survived the slaughter at Pine Cottage. The book starts with her escaping the carnage and running to the safety of a police officer who was at the scene. It is the Pine Cottage chapters which form the basis of her memories. After the incident she has total amnesia about what had happened at the cottage and it is as her memory gradually returns that our views shift one way and the other. All these chapters are in the third person which allows the author to be more objective and explain what happened with the other characters, even though these are Quincy’s memories, so there are some restrictions on what is revealed. For example we do not know exactly what happened to Janelle, but as she stumbles out of the wood into Quincy’s arms we know her throat was cut. The interspersing of the Pine Cottage chapters throughout the book form the basis of the tension and the intrigue, although circumstances in Quincy’s life do act as trigger points for her memories.

Quincy has two men in her life, Jeff her partner and Coop the officer who was at the scene of the murder at Pine Cottage. Both are involved with law enforcement, Coop as a police officer and Jeff as a public defender. The author does not make it clear if this is a need to feel protected following her experience, certainly her use of Xanax would suggest she is suffering the after affects. Her choice of profession, a cake blogger and baker, also suggests a withdrawal from society. Into this sedate world comes Sam/Tina another final girl, a survivor of another massacre. She enters the story just after we find out the first final girl Lisa Milner is dead, presumed suicide. Introducing herself as Sam she explains she changed her name in order to avoid the press and publicity. Her role in the story is to provoke, to make Quincy angry, to disturb her neatly ordered life, to shock her into remembering what happened. This she does very effectively and makes us question deep down what Quincy is really capable of? Perhaps what we are all capable of, deep down?

Lisa’s death provides the suspicion needed to prompt Quincy into looking at Sam/Tina’s background and provides another strand of intrigue and tension in the book. We also learn about Joe’s background, the man accused and convicted of the Pine Cottage murders and how he had spent time in a mental institute. This reinforces the guilt of the criminally insane and plays into the hands of readers assumptions of what must be true. Yet at the end of the book Joe’s name is cleared.

My main criticism is the ending. From chapter 38 onwards where the memories start flooding back things get messy and confusing. This may be deliberate on the part of the author who wants to show Quincy’s distress and confusion as she tries to put the remaining pieces into place. In terms of the reader I found it difficult to follow. I am not sure the perpetrator of the crime was exactly logical either. I’m not convinced we needed to know the background of Tina’s story either. The chapters detailing the time after Pine Cottage seemed to slow the pace. Her role was one of provocateur and I’m not convinced readers would necessarily be emotionally invested in her character.

Overall I thought this book was really good and will definitely go on my favourite shelf, despite the ending.

3 people found this helpful

Caz

Good but didn't quit hit

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 March 2021

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This book is not what I expected at all. The first maybe half of the book it feels like not a lot is happening, it's a good thing small snippets of what happened (to our main character Quincy on the night all her friends were murdered and she survived) are sprinkled throughout, otherwise it would have been a rather boring, non eventful reading experience. It felt like the same things over and over - we get it, Quincy takes Xanax with grape soda as a chaser, you don't have to remind us every three pages - surrounded by mundane day to day things.

But, when the story finally starts getting interesting, it goes in a really strange direction that I never would have imagined (maybe that's a good thing? It's not predictable. But it isn't compelling either) Yeah, I get it. The author wanted to do the whole 'is this an unreliable narrator' shtick, but it just seemed like a weird choice.

There are quite a few twists in here, some I enjoyed more than others. The first 'big reveal' I thought was a great explanation of why Quincy acted the way she did. Guilt, disgust, shame - I totally get it. Another important one was 'who is Sam?' Again, I really liked how this one played out.

The twist I wished was the main one - brilliant! love that! Leave it there! Imagine an open ending...but this is a thriller, and thrillers need to wrap up...
But the last twist. That's the one I didn't like. It felt so cheap. I know thrillers are meant to set you up with all the main players, then you find out who is who etc etc. But...I just didn't like it. It felt both left field and obvious at the same time somehow. Slightly eye roll. It could have been so clever, but it didn't quit hit for me.

All in all, it was a decent read. I am slightly disappointed though, the synopsis and idea of the final girls and them mysteriously dying is such a great concept, that could have been explored in so many other, more interesting ways. Instead we got half a book of not much, and half a book of slightly lack lustre suspense.

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Implausibilities and poor characterisation aside, Final Girls is also a wickedly funny yarn and a cracking bit of escapism!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 February 2018

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Implausibilities and poor characterisation aside, Final Girls is a grippingly twisted thriller and an utter blast of a page turner. This fun and wickedly humorous yarn will have readers turning the pages frenetically in an effort to see where debut author Riley Sager is taking a refreshingly original premise and is best enjoyed as pure escapism. Resist from over-analysing as some of the more questionable elements of the plot arguably make every part of this story a struggle to add up and simply roll with the action for a deliciously addictive and very rocky ride!

Dubbed by the press as the ‘Final Girls’ and evoking a macabre teen horror movie memory of the last girl standing are the young and pretty all American girls who are the sole survivors of noted massacres over the years. Three women who are bound together by their tragedies a decade after the atrocities and the shock news of the suspected suicide of the most vocal and positive of the trio, Lisa Milner, leaves just two standing; baking blogger, Quincy “Quinn” Carpenter and Samantha Boyd whose whereabouts is unknown. Lead character and narrator is Manhattan dwelling Quinn who ten years on from the massacre that left her companions at Pine Cottage dead is still piecing together the fallout and diligently working on her baking blog and living a settled domestic life with caring fiancé and public defender, Jeff. Quinn refuses to kowtow to the victim persona that the media demands and is doing her best impression of conducting a normal, functioning adult life, aside from the odd Xanax and five-finger discount slipped in as necessary coping mechanisms!

Quinns’s sole contact from the Pine Cottage trauma is the Pennsylvania state trooper who rescued her, attentive and dependable Franklin “Coop” Cooper. When Coop reports that Lisa’s suicide was staged and is now considered a homicide, Quinn is understandably rattled and with the press keen to moot the suggestion that someone might be intent on finishing what the massacres failed to do and slaying the remaining Final Girls, her anxiety escalates. Already feeling vulnerable the arrival of the other Final Girl in the form of hard drinking and confrontational wild child, Sam Boyd threatens to destabilise Quinn’s ordered life still further. Seeking to befriend Quinn, much of the psychological suspense of the middle part of this book is primarily concerned with the fluctuating emotions of Quinn who questions whether she can afford to trust Sam. More worryingly, could there be an alternative agenda behind Sam’s fascination in urging Quincy to confront her own memories of Pine Cottage? Regardless of these concerns Quinn needs little persuasion to be hijacked into a darker and riskier underworld where getting angry and living dangerously rules. Her gullibility and swift descent into senseless violence in late night Central Park stretches credibility and aside from the obvious action element, this diversion adds nothing to the greater plot.

Admittedly Quinn is a fairly superficial character with little evidence of real depth and the story that unfolds lives and dies on her supposed psychological repression of the events of the massacre of Pine Cottage, which she claims to have no memory of. Author Riley Sager cleverly uses flashback sequences to suggest that there might be more to the exact nature of the events at Pine Cottage, thereby raising the question of Quincy’s reliability and the prospect of her memories being somewhat selective. The jaunty narrative is no frills straightforward and undoubtedly works well as the voice of a twenty-eight-year-old Quincy in turmoil. In the final third of the novel the flashbacks comes with increasing frequency and the tension ratchets monumentally higher with the details of Sam’s past and whereabouts becoming clearer and Quinn belatedly starting to sense the greater danger. As the denouement reveals exactly what went on at Pine Cottage and makes apparent Sam’s true motivations for tracking Quinn down readers are advised to fasten their seatbelts and hold on tight. Littered with twists and underpinned by a brisk pace, Final Girls is a tongue in cheek look at the outrageously far-fetched storylines of horror movies as opposed to a depraved tale that is likely to trigger nightmares, however some of the violence midway might put off readers who shy away from gratuitous violence.

In short, Final Girls is an uneven debut with a bizarre volte-face change in the personality of lead character, Quincy “Quinn” Carpenter and a pointless diversion into violence (female vigilantism and then some).. but gosh, more importantly it is also insidiously good fun and I enjoyed every minute of a tale which had me fooled! Four stars for sheer page-turning entertainment and some very wry humour!

Review written by Rachel Hall (@hallrachel)

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last year's girl

Strong Female Characters TM

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2018

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Until a friend asked how I was getting on with this book, I had no idea that Riley Sager was actually some dude named Todd – but it’s amazing how much more sense the first two thirds of this book, in which two ‘Final Girl’ survivors of various massacres do little more than bake cupcakes, braid each other’s hair and call each other “babe”, makes when you realise that these Strong Female Characters TM were not written by a woman. Final Girls goes above average on the number of out-of-left-field twists and turns – it just so happens they’re all squeezed into the last 50 pages of an otherwise incredibly dull book.

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