Always the First to Die
A Novel
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- $24.99
Publisher Description
"R. J. Jacobs is a masterful storyteller. A must read." —Alex Finlay, author of The Night Shift and Every Last Fear
For fans of Riley Sager with a classic slasher twist comes a chilling thriller following a former horror movie actress who returns to the set of her most famous film…and is soon entangled in a series of terrifying events that resemble the plot of that one cursed movie.
For Lexi, the Pinecrest Estate has become a place of horror. The dilapidated manor house in the Florida Keys, once the site of her teenage movie debut, is now haunted by memories. Memories of working on a legendary horror director's most famous film and of the terrible death that propelled them all to infamy. And ever since Lexi fled the Keys, she has vowed to never return.
Until, years later, her daughter escapes to the Pinecrest in search of answers. Right when a Category 4 hurricane hits the southern coast.
Now, Lexi is back on the ravaged island with only a few remaining behind, and soon enough, her life begins to resemble the plot of her most famous film. And this time, she's not sure who will make it out alive.
"An utterly unique thriller that combines horror movies, hurricanes, and deadly secrets from the past...definitely not to be missed"—David Bell, USA Today bestselling author of The Finalists
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As a teenager more than 25 years ago, widowed librarian Lexi Kennedy, the narrator of this solid mystery from Jacobs (And Then You Were Gone), had a bit part in Breathless, an iconic horror film directed by Rick Plummer at his Pinecrest Estate in Key West, Fla. Lexi met her future husband, Cam, who was Rick's son, on the set. The reputation that Breathless gained of being cursed after several people died during filming only added to the movie's popularity. Now estranged from Rick, whom she blames for Cam's death, Lexi is appalled because Rick is filming a sequel. Despite Lexi forbidding it, her 17-year-old daughter, Quinn, sneaks away to be in the movie being shot at Rick's estate. Lexi tears out in the middle of the night to go to Quinn's rescue. Jacobs makes good use of traditional horror tropes—things that go bump in the night, dark rooms, a creepy mansion, and no phone service—while convincingly showing Florida before and after a category-four hurricane. Horror film buffs will want to check this one out.
