NetGalley ARC | Final Cut

 

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating | ⭐⭐⭐1/2

Hazel loves slasher movies and has recently earned a part in a low-budget feature film; her dreams might be coming true. She wants to show her mom she can do this, and turn it into a career.

The teeny tiny issue is that the film is set in middle-of-no-where Pine Springs, Louisiana; the town's only claim to fame being the brutal murders of five teenagers fifteen years ago - committed by Hazel's father.

Soon accidenta begin happening on set, one of which leads to a brutal murder. And then another, and another, and another. Clearly someone on set is not who they claim to be - or they are hiding in plain sight. So, is it a copy cat, or was Hazel's father innocent after all?

For the majority of the book, this was easily into 4 or 5 star territory for me. I absolutely loved Worley's novel, The Debutantes, and this was moving along just as nicely. The pace was frantic as people kept dying and it became clear that it had to be someone connected to the movie or the original murders.

The biggest issue came when we started finding out everyone's identities toward the end and it was just a lot thrown at the reader at once. At first, there were no clear suspects. Then when we found out who so-and-so and so-and-so actually were, we suddenly had suspects and motives, when there were not really any hints dropped along the way.

I was also underwhelmed by the reveal of the mastermind. Again, there was lack of build-up and I think only one or two real hints that this person might be involved. I thought the accomplice was good, I did not suspect that one at all.

The body count was absurdly high and I love it for a slasher, but realisticaly...

Then I remember it is YA and doesn't have to make sense.

It felt a lot like Scream, which I think was the intent. Not just the first one, but also the fifth and sixth ones, specifically because of characters' behaviors.

Overall this was still a fun, absurdly over-the-top B-movie type book and I really loved most of it. My issue is solely with the last part and how we went from kind of suspecting everyone because there were no clear obvious suspects, to HERE ARE THE SUSPECTS NOW IT HAS TO BE ONE OF THEM.

Recommended.