Lisa Milner, Samantha Boyd and Quincy Carpenter have never met but are bound by an invisible thread. They are each known by the American media as a ‘Final Girl’ - someone who is the only survivor of a vicious massacre.
Quincy is the youngest and most recent Final Girl and although she cannot escape from the tag as she is trying to lead as normal an existence as is possible. Living in New York with her boyfriend Jeff, who is a defence attorney, she runs a baking website whose first commandment is "Baking Is Better Than Therapy". This baking therapy is enhanced by the use of Xanax and by the knowledge that she can always call Officer Franklin Cooper, always known as Coop when she struggles.
Quincy became a Final Girl when a friend's birthday party at the remote Pine Cottage went horribly wrong. Seven hours later Quincy was the only one left alive. Running for her life as she heard the violent attack taking place, Quincy saw a light and fell into the arms of a cop - Coop. Throughout all the years and the questioning that follow the event Quincy maintains that she cannot remember what happened.
Quincy's relative peace is shattered when Coop calls her to ask for an important meeting and she discovers that he has already made the three-hour drive and is waiting for her. Coop has to tell her of the suicide of Lisa Milner. As word of Lisa's death spreads, Quincy faces a barrage of emails from the Press but way down the list is one from Lisa, written just before her death. The shock of this is compounded by Samantha Boyd (now known as Tina Stone) turning up on her doorstep, and from this point Quincy's life seems to spiral almost out of control. Jeff is instantly suspicious of Samantha but is unable to prevent the events that unfold as Quincy becomes more involved with her and as the truth starts to become apparent.
Quincy's trauma has affected her relationships, especially with her mother who thought that the Xanax had solved her problems because she looked "fine". She seems to have few friends apart from Jeff and the dependable Coop. Quincy is always defensive, especially when it comes to journalists, but does manage to strike up a strained working relationship with the persistent Jonah Thompson, which turns out to be beneficial for both of them.
The back story is revealed slowly through separate interludes (written in italics and interleaved with the present day story) without too much being given away at any one time. The reader is drawn along with Quincy as memories start to emerge through the fog until the whole picture emerges.
It is an engaging, refreshing and a well plotted story.
