Book Review - Riley Sager's Final Girls
Final Girls by Riley Sager
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: July 11th, 2017
Format: Kindle, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)
Quincy Carpenter is a final girl. Not just because she survived a massacre in the Poconos which left all of her friends dead, but because the press has elevated her to that status officially. She, along with two other women, are THE final girls. The first was Lisa, she survived a knife wielding maniac who attacked her sorority and killed all nine of her fellow sisters. Then there was Sam, she survived the Sack Man who showed up at the Nightlight Inn and killed everyone on site until Sam killed him. Then there was Quincy, she survived Pine Cottage and ran into the arms of her savior, the cop Coop, who gunned down her assailant. Coop's been keeping a protective eye on Quincy for ten years now. He's glad she's leading a normal life. She has a baking blog and is deep in the stages of baking season, that stretch from October to December when baked goods are a must. She has a solid almost-finance in prosecutor Jeff. In fact, from the outside her life looks perfect, and that's what she wants everyone to think. She's not a final girl, she is normal. But below the surface is rage. She pops Xanax with grape soda any time she feels. She is a mess, and events are about to rock her carefully controlled world. Because Coop brings her news that Lisa has killed herself. It's not just that this will bring the reporters out of the woodwork yet again, it's the fact that Lisa had survived so much and to take her own life goes against everything it means to be a final girl. What's more, Lisa tried to reach out to Quincy moments before her death. What did Lisa need to tell her? And if that isn't strange enough Sam shows up on Quincy's doorstep. After the public scrutiny Sam went off grid. She successfully disappeared. She was the mysterious one of the three final girls and here she is wanting to bond with Quincy, claiming that it's what Lisa would have wanted. Only Sam has many secrets and many demons following her. But Quincy wants to do what is best, and she invites her in. Then Sam gets arrested and Quincy realizes that the reason Sam so successfully disappeared is because she changed her name to Tina Stone. Well, whomever Sam/Tina is, she's pushing all Quincy's buttons, trying to get her to open up, to lash out, to embrace what it means to be a final girl. But is this because Sam has another motive? Soon they're on the cover of every newspaper, Quincy is under suspicion for battery of a junkie, and Lisa, well, Lisa didn't kill herself. Which means, is one of them next?
As the forth of July holiday approached I was longing to read Riley Sager's newest book, Survive the Night. He was my author of last summer and I was determined he'd be my author of this summer as well. But I was still waiting on my signed copy from Murder By The Book so I decided to delve into the only other book written under the Riley Sager nom de plume I hadn't gotten around to, Final Girls. Sadly it didn't scratch my itch. This is my least favorite of Riley Sager's books so far. And the truth is, I don't think it was a flaw in the book that made me dissatisfied, because it had so many things going for it, a relevant baking blog, true crime websites, though I disagree that the preponderance of them are run by men, and glorious Twin Peaks references that if you have obsessively watched the show for years like I have will clue you into the twist at the end. No, the problem was with me and my hatred of the "single white female" trope. I was all in for the slasher/cabin vibe, but sadly despite being the event that made Quincy a "final girl" it's more a subplot. Nothing more than background for where she is now, a decade later. And that is dealing with Sam/Tina and her moving in on Quincy's life. So you might be wondering, why do I hate the "single white female" trope so much, because I really can't stand it, so I will try to explain. So the trope is all about a woman coming into your life and incrementally taking it over. For me, the reason I hate this is that if someone tried to do this to me they'd be gone before they knew what hit them. If someone is problematic, if someone gives off a stalker vibe, WHY ARE YOU LETTING THEM IN!?! Admittedly, here Riley Sager is giving us a set of circumstances where it would be wrong to turn that woman away, so points for that, but for me, I can't see opening up my home to anyone who would basically end up being a hurricane. I like my nice, neat, controlled life. I would not tolerate it to ever go "single white female" and so I am annoyed when others let it happen to them. The ONLY time I've enjoyed this trope was in season four of Buffy the Vampires Slayer when Buffy's roommate Kathy is trying to single white female Buffy but Kathy turns out to be a demon and is vanquished. Rightly so if just for her music taste!
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