Kristin's Bookshelf

The Final Girl Theory
By Rosalie Johnston

The opening to “The Final Girl Theory” was strong and gave major classic slasher-movie energy: a college party, a creepy killer leaving behind an insignia, and a dead body discovered in the bathroom. It immediately pulled me in and felt very cinematic.

At the party, Elliot meets Lena, and the story follows their slow-burning romance as the danger around them escalates. The killer, who had apparently only attacked once a year (they discover this in the library), is suddenly focused on one of them specifically. There are threatening text messages, lurking outside windows, power outages, and the repeated appearance of the killer’s insignia throughout the story.

About midway through, a time-loop element is introduced. Since some deaths from previous loops still carried over, it didn’t really create the tension or strategic “reset” feeling I expected.

At first, I thought the killer was leaning more toward the supernatural or monster-like, giving Jason Voorhees vibes, but later the story reveals more personal history between the killer and the person being hunted.

It was still an entertaining read overall, especially for readers who enjoy indie horror and slasher-style thrillers with romance mixed in. I’ll always root for indie authors, and the slasher atmosphere here definitely had some tense/panicked moments that worked really well.