survival made them famous.
a deranged killer wants to make them dead.
Maddie Shephard learned the hard way that true crime is no laughing matter. Not when she found herself the target of a madman. Plagued by nightmares and a worsening neurological condition, she is a far cry from the flippant podcast host she used to be.
Heather Gorney was one of the first to earn the title “Final Girl.” She had money, fame and respect. But new Final Girls have emerged. Girls who want to be like her without earning it. Girls who need to be taught a lesson. Because Heather doesn’t share the spotlight.
Nova Cabrera is a nobody. A poor Dominican girl from the inner city, a brutal assault left her broken and desperate. The legal system failed her. The media ignores her. Her suffering doesn’t matter to them. If they won’t notice, she’ll just have to make them.
Three very different woman bonded by trauma will find themselves on a collision course, not just with each other, but with a killer that has unfinished business.
James Kaine, bestselling author of The Dead Children’s Playground brings you a brutal slasher that will only end when one survivor is declared the FINAL Final Girl.
COMING SEPTEMBER 15, 2026
I will personally donate $1 for every eBook copy ordered to the Tourette Association of America up to $1,000. Additionally, I will personally donate 20% of the proceeds of all signed paperback pre-orders from this weekend. eBooks will be delivered to your Kindle at midnight on release date. I estimate signed paperbacks will be shipped late September 2026.
Audio version coming September 15, 2026 from Simon Maverick, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
Additionally, everyone that pre-orders will be eligible for SPECIAL PRE-ORDER BONUSES! (See below)
WHO IS MADDIE SHEPHARD?
Madeline "Maddie" Shephard is a twenty-three-year-old trying to put her life back together after surviving an encounter with serial killer Ray Curtis, better known to the press as NOBODY.
But before she was thrust into the spotlight, becoming the latest FINAL GIRL, she was a college student at Seneca Falls University in upstate New York. A psychology major, she found a particular interest in true crime, going so far as to start a podcast with her boyfriend, Owen Kramer. Together, the Killer Kouple examined famous murder cases over the years, including the stories of other Final Girls.
At nine years old, Maddie was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Though she had what would be considered a mild case, it did show from time to time in podcast episodes with squeaking sounds and throat clearing being the most frequent vocal tics.
Her life changed in December 2023 when she found herself the target of Nobody. Seeing Maddie as a kindred spirit after hearing her podcast, Ray Curtis tried to initiate her into his family. Ever resourceful, Maddie escaped by setting him on fire. She survived, but was left permanently scarred by the ordeal.
After that, her tics got worse.
She left Seneca Falls and returned home to New Jersey where she dropped Psychology in favor of pursuing a career in Special Education. She broke up with Owen and sees a therapist regularly. Life is hard, but Maddie manages with the support of her parents and her best friend, Lizzie.
But when news breaks that a Final Girl like her has been brutally murdered, Maddie will be forced to face her trauma and a killer that has unfinished business.
But how can she escape a killer when her body is working against her?
why did i write a character with tourette syndrome?
Because of this guy right here.
Like Maddie, my son James was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at nine years old. This was years of managing Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome which put him at an elevated risk for liver and kidney tumors. The monitoring protocol ends at eight years old when the risk drops to normal, but, within a year, our family was sent on our Tourette Syndrome journey.
James had been dealing with both motor and vocal tics for years, the most prominent being that he would pop his shoulder in and out of joint to the point where it was causing him physical pain. After getting the diagnosis from a local neurologist whose treatment protocol was simply prescribing medication (Guanfacine) and upping the dose when we told him it wasn't working. After a few months of this, we ditched the first doctor and went to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where we'd gone previously for his Beckwith-Wiedemann. Since then, we've supported him in managing his life without medication, focusing instead on CBT techniques. His tics are thankfully mostly mild, but they can really go off at times, especially under stress.
Despite that, he's doing very well. He started high school this year, is completely into Warhammer 40K and Invincible and found an outlet through acting. After a chance opportunity to start in a local sitcom, James started taking acting classes and was soon signed to a talent agency. Since then, he's had roles in Evil Lives Here on Investigation Discovery, Task on HBO (starring Mark Ruffalo), the short film Dead Birds, and the upcoming independent feature film Tiger. He's actually preparing for a major audition for Apple TV as I type this!
We're thankful James is doing well, but my family is always looking for ways we can show support and bring awareness, because too many people are ignorant of what Tourette Syndrome actually is (as evidenced by recent events). Too often in media, it's portrayed for laughs or shock value and it almost always focuses just on Coprolalia.
I couldn't tell you exactly why the idea hit me, but, as I was developing my upcoming novel The Final Final Girl, it occurred to me that I couldn't recall a protagonist in a horror novel, film or television show that had Tourette Syndrome, especially an accurate portrayal. I thought it would be interesting to make the main character a young woman with TS. Creatively, it gave me a lot to work with, both in terms of character and in developing the scares. How can you hide from a killer when you're not in total control of your body?
While I was excited at the prospect, I wasn't going to do it without getting the go-ahead from two very important people. The first was my wife, Jessica. She thought it was a great idea. With us on the same page, I just had to clear it with James. Being a horror fan, he was very excited at the prospect of seeing someone like him worked into a slasher story!
That's how Maddie Shephard was born.
I'm very proud of this book and early reviews have been excellent! But what's really important is that every single tic Maddie has in the book is one my son has experienced in the six years since his diagnosis. Being able to represent the struggle of my son and so many people with TS is so much bigger than sales and reviews.
I hope you give the book a chance and, hopefully, you will read it and come away feeling that I've done right by you or your loved one living with Tourette Syndrome.
SPECIAL PRE-ORDER BONUS!
If you pre-order THE FINAL FINAL GIRL and email proof of purchase to james@jameskaine.com, you will get the following:
A coupon code for $5 off a signed copy of THE FINAL FINAL GIRL! Because the pre-order is $4.99, you'll be getting TWO books for the price of ONE!
An entry to win signed copies of THE ENTIRE JAMES KAINE LIBRARY! That's ten signed paperbacks including THE FINAL FINAL GIRL and LIVING YOUR NIGHTMARES, an exclusive short-story collection that is NOT available anywhere else! Each book comes with a custom bookmark and stickers!
The winner will be chosen in a special drawing on September 14, 2026, the night before release! Don't miss out on the chance to own the entire collection valued at over $200!
James Kaine is opposed to the use of generative artificial intelligence in creative works. All images on this page are created using composite techniques in Adobe Photoshop utilizing stock images from human photographers and illustrators. All text is written by James himself.