Rating: 4/5

Review:
This was my third Riley Sager novel and it did not disappoint! This story follows Quincy Carpenter who, ten years ago, was the sole-survivor of a brutal massacre during a trip with friends. In the middle of the woods, at Pine Cottage, all of Quincy’s best friends were brutally murdered and somehow she escaped. This horrible incident made her part of a group called “The Final Girls”, whether she wanted to be part of it or not. Two other women had lived after similar massacres. The three of them made headlines across the country. Quincy has tried her best to move on with her life, to not let Pine Cottage define her. In fact, she can’t remember most of that night. She thinks she has done a pretty good job moving forward. She has a baking blog, a serious boyfriend, a great apartment, and help from a Xanax prescription. She’s moving on with her life. That is until the first of the Final Girls, Lisa, ends up dying by suicide and the second Final Girl, Sam, shows up at Quincy’s doorstep. As soon as Sam enters her life, things become much more complicated and nothing is quite as it seems. Did Lisa take her own life or was someone else involved? What is Sam up to? And why can’t Quincy remember the events of that horrific night?

This story takes many twists and turns and kept me guessing until the very end. It is very much a “slasher film” type story and unlike many thrillers I’ve read before.

Synopsis:
“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.
 
That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.”
goodreads.com

Rating: 5/5

Review:
Wow. I sped through this one! I finished a book Saturday morning, started Pretty Little Wife, and finished it by Sunday evening. There are only about 4 other books I’ve been able to read in two days. This story follows Lila, whose husband Aaron has gone missing shortly after three young women have gone missing in the area as well. At first, the disappearances don’t seem to be connected. But as Lila, the investigators on Aaron’s disappearance, and a local true-crime podcast begin to delve into the intricacies of these cases, some horrible and devastating details begin to emerge. Oh and… shouldn’t a dead husband stay that way?

I loved that each chapter was a total cliffhanger and just made me want to keep reading and reading. This story was truly crazy and reminded me quite a bit of Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter: missing/dead husband and missing young women, gritty details developing throughout the story. So if you enjoyed Pretty Girls, I highly encourage you to pick this one up.

Synopsis:
“Debut author Darby Kane thrills with this twisty domestic suspense novel that asks one central question: shouldn’t a dead husband stay dead?

Lila Ridgefield lives in an idyllic college town, but not everything is what it seems. Lila isn’t what she seems. A student vanished months ago. Now, Lila’s husband, Aaron, is also missing. At first these cases are treated as horrible coincidences until it’s discovered the student is really the third of three unexplained disappearances over the last few years. The police are desperate to find the connection, if there even is one. Little do they know they might be stumbling over only part of the truth….

With the small town in an uproar, everyone is worried about the whereabouts of their beloved high school teacher. Everyone except Lila, his wife. She’s definitely confused about her missing husband but only because she was the last person to see his body, and now it’s gone.”
goodreads.com

Rating: 4/5

Review:
After the month of December spent reading Christmas-y & romance books, a fast-paced thriller was just what I needed to start 2021. This story follows Claire Cook, the wife of a prominent political figure, who seems to have it all. But underneath the shiny veneer of her “perfect” life, Claire is suffering. Her husband is angry, violent, and controlling. Claire has tried, unsuccessfully, to leave. So this time, she has carefully orchestrated her escape. A year of slow, meticulous plans are in place and she feels almost free. But everything changes when her husband sends her on a business trip to Puerto Rico instead of her planned trip to Detroit. While at the airport, before her flight, she has a chance encounter with another woman, Eva, looking to escape her life. They swap tickets in hopes of starting over somewhere new. But when Claire lands in Oakland, she finds out that the flight to Puerto Rico crashed. Her new start is now in jeopardy and she is left with no money, no connections, no plan. Without any other options, Claire assumes Eva’s identity, but soon finds out that might just complicate matters even more.

I definitely enjoyed this read and hope you do too!

Synopsis:
“Two women. Two Flights. One last chance to disappear.

Claire Cook has a perfect life. Married to the scion of a political dynasty, with a Manhattan townhouse and a staff of ten, her surroundings are elegant, her days flawlessly choreographed, and her future auspicious. But behind closed doors, nothing is quite as it seems. That perfect husband has a temper that burns as bright as his promising political career, and he’s not above using his staff to track Claire’s every move, making sure she’s living up to his impossible standards. But what he doesn’t know is that Claire has worked for months on a plan to vanish.

A chance meeting in an airport bar brings her together with a woman whose circumstances seem equally dire. Together they make a last-minute decision to switch tickets ― Claire taking Eva’s flight to Oakland, and Eva traveling to Puerto Rico as Claire. They believe the swap will give each of them the head start they need to begin again somewhere far away. But when the flight to Puerto Rico goes down, Claire realizes it’s no longer a head start but a new life. Cut off, out of options, with the news of her death about to explode in the media, Claire will assume Eva’s identity, and along with it, the secrets Eva fought so hard to keep hidden.

The Last Flight is the story of two women―both alone, both scared―and one agonizing decision that will change the trajectory of both of their lives“
goodreads.com