This book came with so many glowing reviews, I couldn't help but be excited to read it, I really wanted to like this more than I did, but it just fell short for me.

"They found the bodies on a Tuesday." What a great opening line! And the story itself was interesting, but soon the faults really started overwhelming any good points. I really didn't like the way the book was structured. The chunks of documentary script interrupted the story and didn't add much to the plot for me. There were major sections of story that just didn't seem realistic at all. I didn't really connect with any of the characters, and for the most part, they just fell flat for me. The one exception to that rule was Agent Keller. She and her family were really a small bright spot in this book. But worst of all, in my opinion, was the not so subtle stereotypes and racism. Finlay's portrayal of Mexicans was particularly problematic.

I'm grateful to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of Every Last Fear in return for my honest opinion.

EVERY LAST FEAR
Alex Finlay
Minotaur Books
ISBN 9781250268822
Hardcover
Mystery/Thriller

It is always enjoyable to discover a new kid on the reading block, so to speak, and to pass the word on to your friends. May I accordingly introduce Alex Finlay, whose debut novel EVERY LAST FEAR has folks discussing it in the best of terms? EVERY LAST FEAR straddles a number of subgenres in the mystery and thriller categories while providing a number of puzzles that will keep you reading all night to untangle.

EVERY LAST FEAR begins with four members of a family being discovered in Mexico at a vacation rental. The stark opening sentence of the book --- I’m not going to give it away --- sinks the reader hook in seven words. We learn quickly enough that the deceased are Olivia --- “Liv” --- the mother, Evan the father, Maggie the high school senior, and Tommy, the young post-toddler surprise. They are survived by Matt, who is attending college in New York, and Danny who is doing hard time in prison for a young woman’s murder which he insists he did not commit. It does not appear that Danny is going to be released anytime soon, given that the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected his final appeal, notwithstanding support for his case from everyone from an Innocents-type organization to the daughter of the President of the United States. Matt, who is estranged from Danny, has the task of informing his brother of their family’s death before being traveling down to Mexico to reclaim the bodies of his family members, where he encounters a bit of resistance that he does not understand. There is also a wrinkle in the matter, being that what initially was considered to be a tragic accident that claimed his family members is beginning to look as if it might be a deliberate homicide. The question becomes as much why someone would do this --- setting it up to look like an accident --- as well as who might have done it. An extremely tenacious FBI agent is wondering if someone from the accounting firm which used to employ Evan (before summarily firing him) might have something to do with it, particularly because she is currently investigating the same firm for its possible connections to a Mexican drug cartel. In the meantime the narrative ping-pongs back and forth in time from the period leading up to the deaths of the Pine family to the book’s present. Some information is revealed to the reader before Matt and his bureau agent learn of it, but for the most part everyone is in the dark until the very end, when a series of explosive revelations change everything, for better or worse.

EVERY LAST FEAR, despite its grim subject matter (or maybe because of it), is a fun book to read with a propelling story that surrounds a compelling mystery or two. Some readers may have a bit of trouble with the almost constant churn between the past and present and character point of view, although Finlay clearly marks off the when and who in the narrative. It certainly works as a tool to build suspense in the story while demonstrating that Finlay should have a bright future in the thriller world. I’ll look forward to his next book. Recommended.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2021, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

Matt Pine, a student at NYU, returns from a night of partying to the news that this parents and little brother and sister were found dead while vacationing in Mexico. The official word is that it was a gas leak, but the FBI and State Department seem to have other ideas.
The Pine family has seen its share of the spotlight because the oldest son, Danny, is serving a life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend, so the true crime shows were all over it.
Folks in the Pines’ hometown were not happy at the attention that came with Danny’s trial, and they aren’t happy about it as Matt comes back to bury his family.
Matt knows that he must confront everything he has tried to avoid in order to find out who really killed his family and if Danny is really guilty.

Thank you for this ARC! I think this was a pretty solid thriller and I enjoyed it! I think that so many of these books in this genre these days are making this such a fun category, and I hope this trend continues!

Matt Pine is shocked, numbed and devastated when FBI Agent Sarah Keller broke the news about the unfathomable death of his whole family in Mexico.
The tragedy then triggers a series of misfortunes and nightmares that catapult Matt into a grave situation where he is forced to challenge his every last fear.
What Matt doesn’t know is that destiny has everything (in his life) lined up to serve its own purpose in the universe.
EVERY LAST FEAR is heart-pounding, haunting and harrowing. It grips one from the first page, then, plunges one into the tangled web of suspenseful twists and turns until the end.
Alex Finlay is undeniable a master of spinning enthralling and spine-chilling psychological thrillers. I am looking forward to reading his future novels.
I would like to thank Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to know Alex Finlay and his spellbinding thriller.
#EveryLastFear
#NetGalley

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay is a well-crafted, perfectly plotted entertaining entry in the mystery/thriller genre. The story revolves around one family involved in two murder mysteries 7 years apart. There is a lot going on, multiple timelines, multiple narrators, and several storylines. Despite the many balls being juggled, the storyline is cohesive and tightly plotted. The characters have depth and agency and I loved getting to know the Pine family. Every Last Fear is an action-packed, satisfying mystery where all of the mysteries are resolved, feel organic, and are unexpected. I listened to the audiobook, which was well narrated and kept me riveted.

Thank you St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I really enjoyed this one. The way it was told from multiple point of views and through flashbacks, really made the book flow and fast paced and kept the story interesting. The mystery was pretty good but was a little obvious.

I absolutely loved reading this book and felt like I could not put it down until I found out exactly what happened, and this book definitely leaves you guessing until the very end. Fantastic writing and not a single thing I did not enjoy about this one.

One minute Matt Pine is playing chess in the park as a student at NYU, just getting used to his new life out of the spotlight, after a Netflix documentary resurfaces interest in his brother Danny's possible wrongful conviction for a crime that most believe he did not commit, when he finds out that his parents and two younger siblings were killed in a freak accident in Mexico. Suddenly Matt is thrust back into the public eye, this time without the support of his family. Matt no longer knows who can he trust, if this truly was a freak accident, or if the Pine family's death is related to Danny's case.

Every Last Fear is a solid thriller. It catches the reader's attention early on and never really let's it go. You grew attached to Matt, the main protagonist, as he coped with the loss of his family. In addition to Matt's point of view, the reader was treated to the povs of Matt's family and a FBI agent as they tried to piece the case together in different timeline. At first I intrigued reading about the Pine's family last days on Earth, as they literally tried to solve Danny's case until their last breath, but for me towards the end it got a bit muddled and I would have preferred less of their point of view. The denouement was a tad bit lackluster and I am still a bit perturbed as to why writers keep using not be out of the closet as a plot twist, I understand it was small town Nebraska, but it is 2021. I think readers who want to get into the thriller genre will enjoy this one, it is fast paced and for the most part the plot is well executed. I rate it 3.85 stars.

This book was definitely a rollercoaster of a ride. It starts off with a bang and ends the same. I did have a little trouble at about 50% through. I felt that it got very slow when we where visiting the hometown with Matt's mom and also as he returns for the funeral. It seemed that the pace just came to a sudden halt at that part and I had to force myself through it. However, once the smoke began to clear the pace picked back up and I really enjoyed the rest of the story.
One aspect that I really liked and also found super creepy was the introduction of using CGI to manipulate peoples faces and make them appear that they are there, alive and talking even if they are dead. I see that becoming a big problem in the world and either way it's a super creepy prospect.
I have to say I really enjoyed the book and the different ideas and avenues it took me down. I will definitely read more by Alex Finlay and am looking forward to it.

Fantastic debut thriller. I loved the way this felt like a Netflix true crime documentary in novel form, and was gripped throughout. It felt long, but I enjoyed the ride.

A solid thriller that has deep emotional plotting. While I felt the overall 'baddie' was fairly clear, figuring out the why and going on the journey with the Pines was still enjoyable. A solid effort to be sure!

I have heard that this book has a lot of problematic and racist instances, so I will not be reading and reviewing this title.

I hope the author learns from the mistakes made and makes changes in the future.

This book started off very strong, with tension, a shocking loss and a race to find out whodunnit. The story itself was good and held may attention, unfortunately, this really needed several more sensitivity edits due to the problematic language toward Mexican people and homeless individuals.

I was really excited to read this book. It started off so strongly, but at every turn, the author had a choice and he chose the drama every time. And that makes for a ridiculous book. There need to be a couple of quieter moments so you can surprise the reader, but an incident or traumatic event occurs after every action.

For example, every time a character goes somewhere, there shouldn't be an accident or some other trauma.

Also, characters in this book never just walk. They stalk or saunter or swagger or strut. In one particularly jarring case, the old man in the nursing home sauntered. Old men don't saunter. They shuffle!

Every Last Fear is an action packed thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat till the very last page.

This book has everything I like in a thriller. All of the twist and turns had be guessing who the killer was till the very end. I felt so connected to some of the characters throughout this book. Maggie in particular. She was such a well written character and pulled at my heart strings many times throughout the book. I also really enjoyed how the story was told in dual timelines.

The man issue I have with this book is how the Mexican culture and people are described throughout the book. After talking to other people on Instagram I was made aware of how hurtful some of things in this book really are. This book would have been a five star for me. But I can’t put aside how hurtful aspects of this book are to the Mexican community. For this reason I gave Every Last Fear 2.5/5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me a copy of Every Last Fear in exchange for my honest review.

Masterful!
Simply put you will not be able to put this book down. From page one you are pulled into a story so intriguing and twisted it could easily be real life. It's told in 3rd person but you follow multiple characters and timelines. It is action packed and will keep you on the edge of your seat as you explore multiple crimes. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys crime fiction.

"Every Last Fear" by Alex Finlay is about a family that is torn apart by a tragedy that occurred seven years ago. A brutal murder sent the Pines' eldest son to jail for murder. While his family has always believed in his innocence, the town of Adair, Nebraska did not. Years later, the Pines ended up dead, the eldest in prison, and their other son in NYU, left to deal with the brutal murder of his whole family. What Matt Pine wants to know is what really happened and is it connected in any shape or form to Danny Pine's conviction.

WOAH, talk about a twist you did NOT see coming! Finlay's writing style was immaculate. There were many red herrings, enough to have a list of possible suspects, and yet, I never saw the reveal coming. This was a fantastic book. I loved how Finlay tied in murder, mystery, and intrigue in his book. The representations in this book was phenomenal. I love how Matt's NYU friends were of different backgrounds, very on point for New York. I loved how every detail he put in had context.

TW/CW: Murder, attempted suicide, mentions of sexual assault, attempted assault, cyberbullying, and infidelity.

Thanks to Netgalley, Minotaur publishing and Alex Findlay for this ARC. This is my first book by this author, and I was pleasantly surprised of how much I liked it. I liked the characters, especially Maggie, a force of nature, and FBI agent Keller, a protagonist woman but still down to earth person. Once I started, I kept reading this story every spare minute to see where it all would tie in. Loved it !
While I don’t read many male writers, mainly because I like a good story, and male authors seem to put to much unneeded explicit sex in their stories, thereby bringing their books my negative review, I found Alex Findlay to be an exception and thank him for that. I will add this author to the few male writers I do enjoy reading.

WOW!!! What a book! Now if this book doesn't knock your socks off...I don't know what will! Although I think I am most intrigued by who in the world this author is!

Every Last Fear was full of mystery at every turn. And you have one mystery that turns into another that turns into another, with them all being solved at the end! WHAT IS THERE NOT TO LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK???? This has got to be one of the most well-constructed mysteries that I've ever read! On top of many different stories woven into one, you get many character point-of-views that allows you to grasp that much more depth and understanding!

I did slightly struggle keeping the characters straight, especially with the brothers with similar names, however, that's small stuff!! I truthfully think this is going to be one of the best reads of 2021!

Overall, seriously, the best book I've read yet this year! This one will be hard to top! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Treat yourself...because that's what this gem is!

I would like to offer a HUGE THANK YOU to Alex Finlay, Minotaur Books, and Netgally for providing me with a copy of Every Last Fear, which has allowed me to contribute this unbiased review.

I certainly hope that Alex Finlay, whoever they are, has plenty more in the works, because I WANT MORE!!!!