The Finalists

(Paperback)

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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.

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 plottedBell 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 Bells 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 allcharacter motivations, social issues, and the lock-room mysteryto the bursting point.The Criminal Element

Author Bio

David Bell is a USA Today bestselling, award-winning author whose work has been translated into multiple languages. He's currently a professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky.