Final Girls by Riley Sager

Author: Riley Sager
Publisher: Dutton
Date of publication:  July 2017

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. 

In Final Girls, Quincy, the soul survivor of a brutal killing spree is considered a "final girl".  It's been ten years since she went through her ordeal and seems to have moved on with her life. But, has she really? Another final girl, Lisa, has reached out to her only to die a few days later.  Once her death is ruled a homicide, Quincy's memories about that night at the cabin begin to emerge.  

I thought this was an OK mystery.  I'll admit to not really liking the main character, Quincy.  I know she was still dealing with her trauma, but she just didn't sit right with me.  She was kind of horrible to everyone, including her boyfriend.  The story contains flashbacks to what happened that night, so the reader slowly gets the truth as Quincy's memories slowly come back.  And I do mean slow.  This story did drag a bit at times.  There are a couple of twists and the ending was a surprise.  However, that was only because it was a little out of left field.    It's not a bad story.  Yet, it's not ultra exciting or fast paced either.  I think it will be a matter of seeing for yourself.