For a breakdown of my rating criteria, check out My Review & Rating System

Premise

It’s been a year since Alice’s beloved sister, Claire, came to her bloody end in a corn maze. To make matters worse, Alice not only witnessed it… she’s the only witness. Which means when she approaches the stand today, her testimony will be the one thing that could put this real life Slasher behind bars, for good. But the universe has other plans for Alice.

When a Sidney Prescott lookalike knocks her out in the courthouse bathroom, Alice is sent hurtling back in time to that terrible day, with no explanation other than the strong insinuation that there might be much, much more to the story. But Alice knows what she saw. She saw Him, standing over her sister, delivering a fatal slash. It’s that simple.

Isn’t it?

Full Review (SPOILERS)

The Killer

You know what they say, “every villain is the hero of their own story.” And every hero is the villain of someone else’s. But let’s not play semantics, Claire Lawrence is no hero. She’s a remorseless, cold-hearted killer SLASHER.

Claire represents the twisted lengths people will go to to secure the American Dream, right down to the white picket fence; especially those who have historically and systemically been told they deserve it. Mom is secretly smoking cigarettes? Flush them down the toilet. Dad’s taking advantage of young, impressionable girls he coaches? Steal his burner phone, and come up with an elaborate and slashery murder spree plan. Worried your sister’s friends are holding her back? Take them all down while you’re at it… I mean, you already have the mask, right?

Claire being the killer was a twist I never saw coming, but it left me with a lot of questions. Given that her original attempt at slashing was a huge fail (she’s the only one who got killed, after all), I’m unsure how getting a second chance turned her into a pro, able to easily take out five teens, injure a couple others, and get away with it.

Which leads into my next question: how is Claire not a good enough actor to get into Julliard, or even get cast in a low-budget movie, but be good enough to fool everyone she knows into believing she’s so sweet and innocent??

I call plot-hole.

The Terrible Place

Let’s be real, a corn maze on Halloween night is a cliched as hell setting, but it really sets the tone. It let’s you know that you are here for a fun slasher, encroaching on the campy, with many twists and turns. And while that’s not particularly sophisticated, I’m not mad at it. It’s pretty much exactly what I signed up for when I picked up a slasher with a flash sideways gimmick.

That said, I do think it could have been used to greater effect. Alice running for her life, lost and bloody, every turn she takes leading to yet another wall of corn; would have helped build the tension better than her stuck in the closet of a random classmate’s house. But hey, I didn’t write the book, so I get no say.

The Weapons/Shock Value

A chainsaw is a classic Slasher weapon. So, while the homage cuts deep in the opening scene, I was disappointed to find it was not a consistent weapon. Although I don’t generally seek out gore, when you bring a chainsaw to the game, I expect buckets of blood, so I was also surprised to find the whole thing was relatively tame overall. This speaks to the fact that the book ended up being a little more teen drama and a little less horror than I anticipated. Warning to all the YA haters: this one probably isn’t for you.

Still, the whodunnit aspect was pretty well done. I never suspected Claire, and I liked that Wes was a Red Herring. I should have known he was too obvious, but I fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

The Victims

Originally, Claire’s victims were meant to be three young women who had been sleeping with (read: being taken advantage of by) Alice’s and Claire’s father, plus Owen, who was both framed and wounded by Claire.

I take huge issue with their father’s “affairs” being the motive to kill young women. He’s the sexual predator, here! I also would have liked to get more of the girls’ stories, in addition to some real justice for them–and some real (maybe even fatal) consequences for dad.

The girls survive the initial event because, despite being both vindictive and psychotic, Claire turns out to be pretty bad at Slashing. That is, until she gets a redo, and suddenly becomes VERY good at it. So good, in fact, that she adds a few names to her list for good measure, taking out some of her sister’s closest friends, too. And still, she gets away with it. How, you ask? Well, so do I.

I am especially curious how she convinced Alice to cover for her, seeing as how a return to the present has Owen still on trial. It probably has something to do with the fact that Alice is a frustratingly naïve and passive “Final Girl.”

The Final Girl

Okay, Alice, I’ll give you mousy and virginal–maybe even booksmart–but Final Girl material? Hard no. The thing about Final Girls is that, even the ones who start off naïve and passive, thy eventually reach a turning point that allows them to transform into the badasses they need to be to survive. But Alice never has this moment. She wastes time running around aimlessly, clinging to theory after theory, debilitated by fear and indecision.

Her one moment, the choice to leave an injured Wes behind, is proven to have been the wrong choice in the end, as he wasn’t even the killer. A scene that begins as an homage (or rip off) of Scream, turns out to be one more way that Alice fails the Final Girl test. Sidney was right to distrust Billy, and though Alice was suspicious of Wes, her instincts misled her. When it’s all said and done, she accomplishes nothing by going back in time, and actually makes things much, much worse for everyone.

Final Thoughts

Alice won’t be making any Best Of Final Girl lists… and this book won’t be making any of my Top Slashers lists. Still, it held my attention through to the end, and kept me guessing. Ultimately though, a disappointing Final Girl paired with a disappointing ending left me wishing I’d just rewatched Happy Death Day or Totally Killer instead.

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Read this one? Share your own thoughts in the comments!

And for more bloody good fun, join my Final Girl Bookclub on Fable to read along with me. See you in the threads!