Title: The Final Final Girl

Author: James Kaine

Link: https://www. amazon.com/Final-Girl-Horror-Novel-ebook/dp/B0D3B4Z9VC/

Release Date: September 15, 2026

Summary

Maddie Shephard learned the hard way that true crime is no laughing matter. Not when she found herself the target of a madman. Plagued by nightmares and a worsening neurological condition, she is a far cry from the flippant podcast host she used to be.

Heather Gorney was one of the first to earn the title “Final Girl.” She had money, fame and respect. But new Final Girls have emerged. Girls who want to be like her without earning it. Girls who need to be taught a lesson. Because Heather doesn’t share the spotlight.

Nova Cabrera is a nobody. A poor Dominican girl from the inner city, a brutal assault left her broken and desperate. The legal system failed her. The media ignores her. Her suffering doesn’t matter to them. If they won’t notice, she’ll just have to make them.

Three very different woman bonded by trauma will find themselves on a collision course, not just with each other, but with a killer that has unfinished business.

James Kaine, bestselling author of The Dead Children’s Playground brings you a brutal slasher that will only end when one survivor is declared the FINAL Final Girl.

My Review

5/5 Stars

I always eagerly devour James Kaine’s books so when I heard he had one coming out about slashers and final girls (my fav trope!) and it was compared to Heathers (my fav movie) I leapt at the opportunity to read it early.

And it’s just as intense and bloody as I hoped it would be.

Final girls are a movie concept where one lone surviving girl beats the psycho who put her in that situation. Except final girls exist in the real world too like Melissa, Heather, Rose, and Maddie. They’ve all suffered horrible things. But when one of their own is murdered, they come to the horrific realization that there’s a new enemy at fault, and they’re hunting final girls.

There were so many things I loved about this book that I don’t know where to begin.

The inclusivity was fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that had Tourette’s syndrome so well represented. It really made Maddie feel like a real person to me. But honestly all the characters were written in ways that brought them to life. Even the ones I hated. Understanding their choices made the book so much more tense because I genuinely couldn’t tell if the bad guys would win this time or not.

And that ending? Chills!

If you’re a fan of slashers and want to see a new twist on the trope, don’t miss this one!