Final Girls by Riley Sager
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
If I am willing to stay awake until 2 a.m. on a Sunday night to finish a book, then you know I think it’s a good book. (Of course, the visit to the coffeehouse at 6:30 p.m. may have contributed to my ability to stay awake that long, but only slightly. ) Final Girls did not disappoint.
I tend to enjoy a good thriller, especially when a gruesome murder (or murders) form the core of the plot that ripples to the edges of the book from cover to cover. In this novel, the central character, Quincy, finds herself among a tiny group of individuals known as “final girls.” My viewing of horror films ended at junior high slumber parties ages ago, so I was not familiar with the term. But, I could easily name the character who fulfills the role of the last girl standing in any scary movie–the final girl.
The author spends a good deal of time early in the story building Quincy’s character in a solid way. While some readers may tire of the time spent, I found this important as the book progressed as I found myself frustrated with her behavior and, ultimately, surprised once the layers of her persona are peeled away and her repressed memories resurface for both her and the reader at the same time. By the end of the book, I found myself pushing my eyes to read faster and faster because I wanted to know who did what to whom and when.
This book had many of the tried and true conventions of a solid thriller–a traumatized survivor trying to recreate a sense of normalcy in her life; a love interest who is more for stability that romance; an equally scarred character who enters the fray to knock the traumatized survivor off the pedestal; and a handsome, trustworthy law enforcement officer who quietly supports the survivor after the initial trauma.
If you are looking for a book that can pull you in and quickly chalk up another finished book for your reading challenge stats, Final Girls should be on your list.
