Final Girls by Riley Sager-- What happened at Pine Cottage gets COMPLICATED

Final Girls

Quincy Carpenter is part of an exclusive club-- only this one involves murder and she'd do anything to NOT be in it.  She's a Final Girl.  She went on a weekend get away with college friends and ended up being the only survivor.  Now, she's forever linked to the other Final Girls-- Lisa and Sam, both sole survivors of their own nightmare.

Quincy has been trying to move on, but suddenly Lisa kills herself and Sam shows up at her doorstep.  The media gets stirred and FEELINGS and memories resurface.

When the truth of Lisa's death comes to light, Sam is looking shadier than ever.  Quincy knows she's gotta figure out what happened to Lisa AND what happened to her 10 years ago.

It's been a WHILE since I read an Adult Thriller, but from the moment I heard about this book, I knew it was going to be pushed to the top of my pile.  I love movies like Scream and Halloween and such-- plus mystery/thrillers are my jam.

So, we start off this book with Quincy, who is dubbed one of 3 Final Girls by the media.  She cringes at the nickname and infamy and just wants to "move on".  She's now a dessert blogger who mostly stays in her apartment and takes mood stabilizers.  So when fellow Final Girl, Lisa, is found dead in a bathtub and the reclusive 3rd Final Girl shows up at her door, her life is shook.

Quincy was a cool main character because she was SO unreliable.  She tells us that she can't remember the events at Pine Cottage (and OMG how perfect is that name for a murderous setting??), but I didn't know if she was playing us or if she was legit.  Because a lot of things about the Pine Cottage incident were shady.  She was kind of frustrating in a lot of ways though-- but what Final Girl isn't?

Sam was also an immediate suspect because she was MIA for so long, and then shows up and is pushing for Quincy to remember things.  Like, why does she care if Quincy remembers traumatic details of an event that has nothing to do with Sam??

This is really the tale of 2 books for me.  The beginning part was slow and Sam was SO annoying-- but then after about halfway it got GOOD.  It was all the thrilling and intenseness that I wanted it to be.

The last part of the book heated up so much.  I super liked the twists and turns this book took.  Just as soon as it seemed like it was going to be predictable, it flipped that on it's head and shocked the hell out of me.  No spoilers here, but I did NOT figure out the ending of this one.

I totally recommend this book to thriller/horror/mystery lovers.  The title of the book gave it some high expectations, and I think it lived up.

OVERALL: A thriller that THRILLED.  After a slow start, this book took off and left me page-turning like crazy.  Addicting and intense--- with a super twisty ending.

Date Published: 7/11/2017
Publisher: Ebury Press
How I got this book: Thanks to Penguin Random House for providing me with a copy to read and honestly review

Add it to your To-Read List!!

My Rating: 4.5/5

Character: Quincy Carpenter
Book: Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler

• Quincy could use some non-life threatening entertainment, so this cute romance would be good for her.  Also, there's baking which she likes (CUPCAKE recipes galore), and there's a not so good mother relationship which Quincy can certainly relate to.