savvyrosereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Quincy was the sole survivor of a massacre at Pine Cottage, placing her in the ranks of the “Final Girls”—women who lived through mass murder attempts—but she has no memory of the events of that night. When the first Final Girl, Lisa, is found dead, Quincy is pushed into a journey that will ultimately lead her to the truth, but may just put her in a murderer’s crosshairs once again.
I’m a big Riley Sager fan and I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, so I was super excited to get started—especially as the synopsis seemed to promise a great slasher/horror movie vibe. But, as much as I enjoyed the writing, the first 2/3 of the book wasn’t really what I expected, and I felt like the plot dragged a bit. I wasn’t quite bored, but I wasn’t quite as entertained as I wanted to be, either.
That said, the book shifted into an entirely different tone for the final 1/3, and I flew through the ending, which I really enjoyed! Overall, if you want a unique, well-written thriller that is a fairly quick read, this is a good choice! Just make sure you hang in until the end to get the full pay-off of the plot and reveals.
Recommended for anyone, but especially if you like: slasher thriller but make it a slow burn; women finding their power; unlikable/morally gray characters.
CW: Blood/death/murder; mentions of sexual assault/child sexual abuse; mental illness/trauma/self-medication; discussion of suicide.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
elliez's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I'm a fucking Final Girl."
Damn this was a great book! I did NOT want to put this one down!
This was the third book by Riley Sager that I have read (the others were Home Before Dark and Survive the Night) and this one has become my favorite of his. Great pacing, great storytelling, great misdirection. I kept shifting on who I thought the killer was. Kudos to the author! Amazing work!
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Vomit, Drug abuse, and Addiction
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
bastieboi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Infidelity, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
sylvestra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Vomit
davidrb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
No spoilers, but this is a tedious mess. For a thriller (and make no mistake: this is a thriller and not a horror), the pace is unbearably slow. The characters are beyond flat and contrived. The writing style gives absolutely nothing. Most damningly, the author takes a very dismissive approach towards more "traditional" trauma victims (i.e. survivors of rape and assault) in favor of his prototypical final girl, which is both uncomfortable to read and doesn't at all serve the story, considering it's a narrative about how trauma shapes people. Ostensibly.
Horror satire can still be suspenseful and scary (think Scream), but this forgoes any meaningful commentary in favor of cheap twists, and, in fact, has very little to say about the genre at all. I only gave it 1 star because I gave The Maidens 1 star, and I wouldn't say I hated it more. (I'm really striking out with thrillers lately.)
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Violence
hilarylouise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Vomit, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Death, Infidelity, and Mental illness
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
ging090803's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Murder, Drug use, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Addiction
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Rape, and Mental illness
lou_o_donnell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Violence
rachaelbeau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was pitched to me from seemingly every booktuber and bookstagramer as "the final girls get hunted down one by one" but that's not what this story is about and not at all what happens so ???? Because of that, I avoided it for a while because it felt so cliched. Turns out the story was way more nuanced and interesting than that, so disregard that description altogether. I didn't love the ending, as I always prefer an ending that they give you the clues to solve yourself if you're keen to do so, but it's unlikely the reader will figure it out without a wild guess. There aren't really any clues leading the way to the conclusion. I also didn't really like the picture perfect ending, it felt wrong to me.
Overall though, it was almost unputdownable and that counts for a lot.
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Mental illness, and Forced institutionalization
elizabethg's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse and Mental illness