The Finalists
The competitive selection process for a prized college scholarship turns deadly in the latest thriller from USA Today bestselling author David Bell.
On a beautiful spring day, six college students with nothing in common besides a desperate inability to pay for school gather to compete for the prestigious Hyde Fellowship.
Milo—The front-runner.
Natalia—The brain.
James—The rule follower.
Sydney—The athlete.
Duffy—The cowboy.
Emily—The social justice warrior.
The six of them must surrender their devices when they enter Hyde House, an aging Victorian structure that sits in a secluded part of campus.
Once inside, the doors lock behind them. The students are not allowed to leave until they spend eight hours with a college administrator who will do almost anything to keep the school afloat, and Nicholas Hyde, the privileged and notoriously irresponsible heir to the Hyde family fortune. If the
students leave before time is up, they’ll be immediately disqualified.
But when one of the six finalists drops dead, the other students fear they’re being picked off one by one. With a violent protest raging outside, and no way to escape, the survivors viciously turn on each other.
The Finalists is a chilling and profound look at the lengths both students and colleges will go to survive in a resource-starved academic world.
Praise for: The Finalists
“Bell has crafted a contemporary whodunit reminiscent of Agatha Christie that thriller fans will devour.”
—Library Journal
“And Then There Were None meets Knives Out in David Bell’s latest astonishing thriller. With Bell’s customary biting wit and razor-sharp social commentary, THE FINALISTS will have you cackling one minute while racing through its short, propulsive chapters the next, desperate to find out whodunit. Utterly riveting, with intricate plot twists; Bell has crafted the summer’s most entertaining and masterful locked-room mystery. I couldn’t put it down!”
—May Cobb, bestselling author of My Summer Darlings
“A compelling account of how far some people will go to achieve their dreams.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“When six students are trapped inside Hyde House, so, too, is the reader—helpless to escape until the final page is turned. THE FINALISTS is a smart and compelling look at the dark underbelly of academia.”
—Charlie Donlea, bestselling author of Twenty Years Later
“Edgar nominee David Bell shows just how nasty the well-educated can be in his expertly plotted The Finalists… Bell pays homage to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, skillfully transitioning into the locked-room mystery while simultaneously giving the novel his own spin.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Proof positive that David Bell is one of the best thriller writers working today.”
—Alma Katsu, bestselling author of The Fervor
“David Bell keeps readers up late with his spare, clear prose, deceptively simple sentences and character-driven novels. There are enough red herrings in THE FINALISTS to satisfy any Agatha Christie fan.”
—BookTrib
“A locked-room mystery—literally—with six students vying for the ultimate prize; but who wants it badly enough to kill for? THE FINALISTS by David Bell is a smart, highly entertaining mystery with red herrings galore and such perfect dialogue, you’ll feel like a fly on the wall in Hyde House. The characters will play tricks on your mind, the house will feel like it’s closing in, and the story will keep you guessing until the very end. Not to be missed!”
—Hannah Mary McKinnon, bestselling author of Never Coming Home
Domestic Publisher
https://booktrib.com/2022/07/05/academia-turns-dark-in-locked-room-thriller/?fbclid=IwAR3WhDXL7mau6waAqp2mslSo6REjk0K-Zj77eoJAodtEvoC4DYaPRswZb3EBerkley Publishing Group, Penguin Books USA 