Final Cut by S J Watson @SJ_Watson @alisonbarrow @DoubledayUk #FinalCut #SJWatson #TheClqrt #BookReview #BookBlog #RecommendedReads

Doubleday Books 2020

Book Description

Blackwood Bay.  An ordinary place, home to ordinary people.

It used to be a buzzing seaside destination.  But now, ravaged by the effects of dwindling tourism and economic downturn, it’s a ghost town – and the perfect place for film – maker Alex to shoot her new documentary.

But the community is deeply suspicious of her intentions.  After all, nothing exciting ever happens in Blackwood Bay – or does it?

Blackwood Bay.  An ordinary place, home to an extraordinary secret.

My Thoughts

Having been hugely impressed with Before I Go to Sleep, I was delighted to win this hardback copy of Final Cut in a giveaway hosted by Alison Barrow.  As with the aforementioned book, I liked this one a lot.  A tense and gripping plot, shrined in secrecy, an unreliable narrator and a bleak, desolate setting all combined to make a compelling read.

Alex is making a film, coincidentally (or not) she finds herself back in her home town, a place with a troubled history; a couple of missing girls, the locals are closed and defensive.  Alex is unwelcome, but she quickly becomes enmeshed in the troubles, concerned about what she is seeing and uncertain about the details of her own past.

As well as writing addictive thrillers, I particularly like the author’s ability to create authentic, damaged characters.  The novel is mostly written in, ‘the now’ but we do dip back into Alex’s past and the use of articles and letters added another layer to the novel.  Alex’s own difficulties were written in a comprehensive and accessible way and I was impressed with the author’s knowledge in this area and others in this book

The direction the book was taking was clear to me quite early on but the detail remained a mystery until the reveal and a couple of giant twists kept me engrossed until the final pages.  As a psychological thriller this book was excellent, tense and sinister, not always a comfortable read but then truthfully, whoever wanted a comfortable read in the thriller genre? A book I would definitely recommend – have you read this one yet?

Thanks as always for reading.

About the Author

S J Watson’s first novel, Before I Go To Sleep, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6,000,000 copies worldwide.  It won the Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Debut novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year.  The film of the book, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth and Mark Strong, and directed by Rowan Joffe, was released in September 2014.  S J Watson’s second thriller was published to acclaim in 2015.

S J Watson was born in the Midlands and now lives in London.