Final Girls
Page turning
Suspenseful
Surprising

Final Girls A novel

Riley Sager2017
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 Final Girl, 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.
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Reviews

Photo of Rebecca Hurd
Rebecca Hurd@becca2bz
5 stars
Jul 16, 2024

5 Stars!! This book was full of twists and turns, every time I thought I figured it out...another plot twist!!

Photo of yousr abu sboulah
yousr abu sboulah@yousr
3 stars
Jul 9, 2024

dnf at 68%. i really enjoyed the story when i started reading it but as i kept reading i got bored.. and i don’t want to force myself to read a book.

Photo of Kellie Davis
Kellie Davis@kelliedavis
4 stars
Jul 8, 2024

What a ride! Riley Sager is a new to me author that I’ve quickly become obsessed with! This book kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I love when thrillers keep me guessing especially when they have multiple twists. 4.5 stars!

Photo of Kaiya
Kaiya@bone__decay
1 star
Jul 4, 2024

☹️

Photo of Brian Wikene
Brian Wikene@bjwikene
5 stars
Mar 11, 2024

Here is the debut psychological thriller by Riley Sager. (not a new author - just a new nom de plume) I have read a few of Riley Sager's books this year - and this one is my favorite so far. In this book, We meet Quincy Carpenter, a woman who was the sole survivor of a mass murder ten years ago. The title "Final Girls" is a new phrase to me - but not a new concept. A common trope is the "last woman standing" in horror movies... the the Final Girl. This book has interesting characters and a few twists (expected and unexpected). I find it suspenseful throughout. If suspenseful psychological thrillers is your thing - this is a great book.

Photo of melanie
melanie@melanieslibrary
2 stars
Feb 5, 2024

Honestly the concept of this book was interesting but the execution was horrible, definitely should’ve gone through some more editing before publishing cause a lot of scenes felt unneeded like as if they were to give the characters more of a personality but nothing came out of them. I feel like if the effort taken for the scenes that could’ve (and should’ve) been cut was redirected to the ending the book could’ve been really good. Also i felt like the use of final girl as a term was really cringey in this context, but i think the author knew that while writing.

Also: why were the conflicts between characters so under developed when 3/4s of this book focused on the people instead of the thriller sector of the story?? like if your going to have them argue atleast finish the argument don’t leave it halfway

Photo of Ryan
Ryan @ryandoesread
2 stars
Jan 19, 2024

2.5 stars after a couple of weeks of a huge reading slump that was caused by college apps, finals, and stress from all of that, i read a book that has became the most underwhelming book of 2017. more to come

Photo of trixie
trixie@celestialtrios
3 stars
Jan 10, 2024

all this mess and my people weren’t even endgame er…

Photo of Julie Failde
Julie Failde@jmfailde
3 stars
Jan 9, 2024

For a lack of better words: Too much girls, not enough final.

Photo of Lili
Lili@lilibs
5 stars
Nov 17, 2023

this literally kept me hooked until the last page!! so clever

+2
Photo of Melissa Palmer
Melissa Palmer@melissapalmer404
5 stars
Nov 5, 2023

Book #65 Read in 2017 Final Girls by Riley Sager This is my pick for best thriller so far this year. Quincy is a "final girl", the lone survivor of a killing spree at a cottage. Her college friends were butchered. She is not the lone final girl though...there are Lisa and Sam....both lone survivors of a similar horrific event. Quincy has tried to move on with her life but then Lisa commits suicide and Sam comes to visit Quincy. Will her life be turned upside down more than it already is? This book has great twists and turns which will keep readers guessing until the end. I borrowed this book from the public library.

Photo of Denaiir
Denaiir@denaiir
5 stars
Oct 3, 2023

It was fun, it was frustrating at times, it was gripping. I liked the pace, I didn't guess any of the twists, I fell into all the traps the author layed before me, and I couldn't sleep the night I finished it. I really enjoyed it!

Photo of Lara Engle
Lara Engle@bzzlarabzz
3 stars
Aug 23, 2023

I didn't like this one as well as Riley Sager's other books. It was still an okay thriller, but the pace was not as compelling and some of the twists seemed like a stretch. His characters are never super complex, but in this one they're cardboard and inconsistent to boot. If you want to give Riley Sager a try, don't start with this one.

Photo of Alexis Donahue
Alexis Donahue@donahuealexis
4 stars
Jul 20, 2023

Ummm... plot twists! Engaging read that had me pointing the finger at more than one character! I would have never guessed who was responsible at the end!

Photo of Jillian Roberts
Jillian Roberts@jillianroberts
4 stars
Jul 11, 2023

I thought I had it all figured out halfway through. I didn’t. Scary!!

Photo of Megan Christensen
Megan Christensen@megan_ani_reads
4 stars
Jul 2, 2023

I guessed about half of the plot twist, and it started out a little slow, but otherwise I enjoyed it

Photo of Joelina Schlabbach
Joelina Schlabbach@joethebibliophile
5 stars
Jun 30, 2023

This book had an amazing Plottwist at the and and left me to stunned to speak. Definitely one of the best Thrillers I‘ve read in 2023

+3
Photo of Alison Rebovich
Alison Rebovich@arebo18
5 stars
Jun 23, 2023

** spoiler alert ** So I picked this up on a whim, being a huge fan of slasher films the title is what drew me in. What was interesting to me was that it had less of a Scream tone, and reminded me more of Chiller's Slasher series. The fact that Coop was Him and Quincy was the one to kill Him. Most times the Final Girl doesn't take out the killer, but that scene at the end between Coop and Quincy almost mirror images Katie McGrath's character's Final Girl scene where she similarly kills her tormentor. Really a fantastic read!

Photo of Ipshita Kanungo
Ipshita Kanungo@ipshita
3.5 stars
May 17, 2023

Woah woah woah. This was a whole damn loop! Idk y people don't like this or talk about this enough. I really REALLY enjoyed it. Yes, it doesn't leave that lasting effect or influence but during the course of reading it's INCREDIBLY engaging and suspenful. Riley sager's books r def climbing up the ladder for me. It keeps u on its toes, the plot & the characters r intriguing, u have guessed some things but there is still a lot to figure out so u keep reading, he sets a pace & almost always successfully keeps up with it. It's only after the book ends that u realise it didn't hit u the way u were expecting it to coz it did def entertain u but still something in the end feels flat. Not complaining tho coz i was hooked during the reading so even tho it's not that impactful, it has its way to making up for it.


+2
Photo of Wynter
Wynter@wynter
3 stars
May 4, 2023

So my theory was not confirmed. The identity of the killer turned out to be a bit more ordinary than I hoped it would be, but it wrapped things nicely in a logical manner. The mystery itself was riveting, making the pages fly by in a flurry of excitement and nail-biting suspense. I got a bit bored with the repetitive scenes between Quinsy and Sam when the two were getting to know each other, but I guess it was detrimental to one part of the plot. Solid thriller to spend an evening with, but overall not something that would stay with me for a long time.

Photo of Autumn
Autumn@500daysofautumn
4 stars
Feb 6, 2023

3.75** This book had a lot of potential! I loved the ‘scary movie’ type theme with the cabin in the woods and the ‘final girl’ aspect, however the first 60% of the book is painfully boring and lacks plot twists. All of the plot twists start happening in the end and it felt really sped up like it should have been spread out more throughout. The Ending was a little random, I know he was going for a plot twist but something just didn’t seem to quite fit…

Photo of Jacqueline Englund
Jacqueline Englund@jackiereads
3 stars
Feb 6, 2023

I really loved “The Last Time I Lied” and “Lock every door”, unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this one as mich. The first half felt very slow and even as it picked up, it never really drew me in. Overall a little too predictable and average.

Photo of Alexa M
Alexa M@alexasversion
3 stars
Feb 6, 2023

I really wanted to like this but it was seriously so boring until like the last 50 pages. And also for some reason Riley’s writing style bothers me? Maybe cause I read this on audio? I still plan to try out their other book though.

Photo of Alex Rine
Alex Rine@alexrine
3 stars
Feb 6, 2023

My true rating of this would be a 3.5/5. The ending saved the entire book from being a 3/5 but not enough substance throughout the book for me to give it a solid 4/5.

Highlights

Photo of Tatum Miller
Tatum Miller@tatum

I'm possibly harboring Lisa's murderer in an apartment I could only afford because my friends were butchered. I'm addicted to Xanax. And wine. I pretend I'm not depressed. And angry. And alone. Even when I'm with Jeff, I sometimes feel so unbearably alone.

This highlight contains a spoiler
Photo of Tatum Miller
Tatum Miller@tatum

Murder is a stranger beast than suicide, although the end result of both is the same. Even the words themselves differ. "Suicide" hisses like a snake-a sickness of the mind and soul. "Murder" though, makes me think of sludge, dark and thick and filled with pain. Lisa's death was easier to deal with when I thought it was suicide. It meant that ending her life was her decision. That, right or not, it had been her choice. There is no choice in murder.

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This highlight contains a spoiler