The Finalists

By: David Bell

Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins

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.

Critic reviews

Praise for The Finalists

"I raced through The Finalists, which is not only a first-rate thriller but an insightful commentary on the challenges facing higher education. The Finalists is proof positive that David Bell is one of the best thriller writers working today."—Alma Katsu, author of Red Widow

“Expertly plotted…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. The Finalists makes the grade with solid suspense.”—Shelf Awareness

"There are enough red herrings in The Finalists to satisfy any Agatha Christie fan."—BookTrib

“David Bell’s The Finalists’ unique premise and engaging execution is sure to grip the reader from the first chapter.”—Deep South Magazine

“The Finalists shows the cut-throat world of higher education in a microcosm. Issues such as racism, agism, sexism all roil among the six students, the administrator, and the founders. No one is truly innocent, even the victims. Bell manages to push it all—character motivations, social issues, and the lock-room mystery—to the bursting point.”—The Criminal Element

This book went absolutely nowhere.

The narration was well done but the story was so boring and the end was even less thrilling. No major twists turns in the entire thing.

This really was a waste

It had potential but really just wanted to be like One of us is lying. And not in a good way. I had to see it through to the end hoping it would get better and it didn’t. The whole story felt very meh and that’s the best way I can describe it

Awful Awful

This was the biggest waste of time. Honestly I can’t even think of 15 words to say.

Not good

I did not like this. Almost did not finish it. Dragged. I feel like I just wasted eight hours of my life.