A small town rocked by murder and one family nearly destroyed. Matt Pine is struggling to stay out of the spotlight shining on his family. Matt wants to be left alone but Fate has other plans. The Pine Family is dead and Matt's reeling. Who could be responsible? Is anyone innocent? Your answers await you in Every Last Fear.

I received Alex Finlay's Every Last Fear from Macmillan Publishing for an honest review.

A super solid thriller. Kept me guessing and was quick paced! Definitely recommend for any thriller fans.

This was one of the best thrillers I've read in a while! I loved the twist at the end, and I didn't see it coming. I was hooked from page one, I could not stop reading. I could have done without the romance subplot, but it wasn't a main point so I got over that. I really enjoyed reading the story from different POV of each family member. In thrillers we usually don't get to know the victims that well, so it was refreshing. I'm surprised this is a debut! I'm excited to see more work by this author in the future.

Great synopsis but pretty easy to guess the plot. I didn’t hate it, but definitely wasn’t a fan. I’ve seen some other BIPOC reviewers mentioning some problematic issues in the book; I can see them as well.

All in all - if a somewhat predictable thriller is what you crave for a quick read (I understand, I promise) then maybe this one. With the obvious racial issues though, perhaps give it a pass.

This story grabbed my attention from the beginning, and that hasn't been happening a lot with thrillers recently. I was really invested, and couldn't put it down. It ended up being on the predictable side, but it's a good read overall. I recommend this for fans of the Unsub series.

CW - suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, sexual assault, victim blaming, dementia, harassment by police, cheating, false confession

This book was gripping from the start with an intriguing and horrifying first line: “They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” An entire family is accidentally killed by a gas leak while on vacation in Mexico. Or was it an accident? The only family members left are a son in prison and a son in college. We are left with Matt, the son in college, putting pieces together from a murder that happened 7 years previously which incarcerated the other son, Danny. Add in a Netflix documentary attempting to prove Danny's innocence and you are in for a wild ride. I can honestly say I didn't know who the BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy/Girl) was. I was guessing, and guessing wrong, until the unraveling at the end. Which for me happened a bit too quickly and a little unbelievably. But still a great, suspenseful thriller that keeps you on your toes and I'm dying to know who Alex Finlay really is!!

A debut novel? Are you kidding me? I devoured Every Last Fear from cover to cover in one sitting. There is no stopping once you read the first line: "They found the bodies on a Tuesday." From that point on, I burned through pages seeking answers and the truth - just like film student Matt Pines after learning his vacationing family has been found dead in their motel room in Mexico. Matt's last words with his father were spoken in anger and now he and his incarcerated brother Danny are the lone survivors of a family made famous via a true crime documentary that questions Danny's guilt in the murder of his girlfriend. Now Matt must visit his estranged brother in prison to deliver the news of their parents and siblings deaths and make a trip to Mexico to sign papers to have the bodies released and flown home for burial. What happened to the Pine family? Was it an accidental death from a gas leak as Mexican authorities state . . . or is something more sinister happening?

The story that ensues is smart, twisted and highly compelling. Through multiple points of view and past/present chapters, Finlay delivers an edge-of-your-seat thriller that captures your attention and holds it throughout. Every character is well-fleshed out and necessary to the brilliant rendering of this story. There are no wasted words or passages - just a highly entertaining thriller with hidden clues that kept me questioning who and what to believe until the final shocking reveal. The family aspects of this story play out through past chapters delivered through the voices of the dead family members as they unknowingly live out their last hours. It adds an element of sympathy, anguish and intrigue to Every Last Fear - revealing a family both held together and torn apart by tragedy and fate. Beyond that, this is a story of a family fighting for a loved one - fighting to prove what they believe to be a truth . . . and doing it in the lime-life of unwanted fame. A killer pace carries readers through all the twists and turns to deliver an ending many won't see coming. I highly recommend Every Last Fear to fans of intelligent, highly addictive suspense thrillers.

Matt's tragic loss: its genesis kept me guessing🤔

4.5🌟 stars
I found Finlay's thriller captivating and the use of alternating time periods and perspective to link the family's past to their present day slaughter really worked for me. There's never a dull moment in this search for two truths: if not Matt's brother, who really killed Charlotte and why was the family lured to Mexico and eliminated?

With a number of probable reasons for his family's tragic demise while on vacation in the Yucatan, clueless college student Matt is thrown into the thick of it, with FBI, consular and foreign officials, contract killers, a hostile hometown crowd and a brother languishing in prison for a murder he holds he did not commit. Matt's got a posse of college friends and an overwhelmed aunt to support him but he's bewildered, grief-stricken and shocked by public opinion suspecting he's involved in the murders.

I particularly liked the way Finlay slowly revealed more about Matt's family and the secrets they were hiding from each other. They seemed real, flawed but likable and that made the tragedy of their murders all the more poignant: especially for promising teen sleuth Maggie.

Thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for providing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

This was such a good suspenseful thriller! HOLY. MOLY. Once you start, be sure to clear your evening, this book is IMPOSSIBLE to put down.

I loved the POV - they are slowly introduced and play very well in to the story. I liked the pacing and how information was slowly detailed out - not info dumped. The Netflix series that they keep referencing in the story was just such a great addition and lent so much believability to it.

And Matt was a great character - even if he's scattered and a bit confused about it all. I hope [author:Alex Finlay|19976903] gives us many many more stories! I'll be looking for them!

I have not been this sucked into a thriller book in a LONG time... but oh my gosh! I could NOT put this down and quite easily tore through it in one sitting. Now, that sitting had breaks for coffee refills and some snacks, but I still consider it one long and great reading session! This is the first Alex Finlay story I have read, and it will not be the last. The storytelling skills and the edge-of-your-seat excitement in this are just too much! And throw in the true crime documentary aspect of this book and you already have even more points from me! This might be the best mystery/thriller of 2021... we will see!

The book opened up strongly “They found the bodies on a Tuesday”. It is a slow burn which I normally don’t like but I found that it worked well in this book. It does take awhile to get going but it becomes quite fast paced towards the end. The last 20-30% is when I actually wanted to keep reading.

The two different mysteries came together seamlessly but I thought it was fairly obvious who the bad person was.. Even though there are multiple POVs I thought each character was developed pretty well. I love the Pine family and I’m still sad what happened to them. I also really loved Matt’s whole friend group and how they were there for him. I liked this but at the same time I thought it was okay.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay is a crazy thriller that will have you at the edge of your seat.

Danny Pine is in prison for killing his girlfriend, even though he claims he didn’t. Evan and Maggie try to figure out who actually killed Charlotte. Evan, Olivia, Maggie and Tommy Pine go to Mexico for Spring Break to try to find a lead in the Charlotte case. They are found dead in the house they are renting. Their deaths are called an accident but people are questioning if they were actually murdered. Matt goes to Mexico to fill out paperwork and collect his family. What actually happened to the Pine family? Is this related to Danny?

Every Last Fear is a crazy thriller with a lot going on. The book is told from multiple perspectives, some in the present and others in the past. Maggie was my favorite character. She is hardworking and will do anything to figure out what happened to Charlotte. She wants to save her brother that she hardly knows. Evan is determined to get his son Danny released from prison, so focuses on him more than the rest of his family. There is so much action this book is a quick read. I was constantly wondering what would happen next and could not figure out what actually happened to the Pines. Matt has distanced himself from his family but now is working with the FBI to find out what happened to his family. Matt also questions if what he thought he knew about Danny is true. There are twists and turns throughout Every Last Fear. The ending is crazy, and I didn’t see it coming.

I received a free ARC of Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay from Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say I really enjoyed this. It's no secret how popular true crime documentary series are insanely popular right now so I loved how this book played into that.
It was compelling and twisty and honestly so sad. It made me feel so much for the characters and invested in their story.

I received a free ARC of Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.

Every Last Fear
Alex Finlay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date 3/2/21

“You have two choices when you’re confronted with your every last fear: Give up or fight like hell.”

The year 2020 I barely read any thrillers, I was occupied with mostly fantasy and romance. Then Macmillan sent me Every Last Fear and I thought to myself, “Michelle, let’s close out 2020 with this book.”

Best decision ever!

Every Last Fear is about the Pine family. The Pine family has had a tough time as of late. Danny, the oldest son, is in jail for murder. A murder everyone in the family thinks he didn’t commit. Matt, the second oldest Pine, doesn’t think Danny is innocent. He saw something that night that convinced him Danny did it.

Now Matt is at NYU going to college and the rest of the Pines (Danny obviously excluded) take a spring break trip to Mexico. Matt’s spring break with school didn’t line up so he is still at NYU when everything goes wrong.

His family is found dead in Mexico. Evan, Olivia, Maggie and Tommy… DEAD. Freak accident. Gas leak they said. But was it?

This story was a wild ride. It follows Matt, the second oldest Pine child and FBI Agent Keller as they try to figure out what happened to Matt’s family. In between the Matt and Keller chapters we have snippets of the other Pines from BEFORE they died. The story unfolds in this way that just keeps you gripped. I literally didn’t want to stop reading because I needed to know what was connected and how and why. I also really didn’t see the end coming.

When reading the before from the other Pine family members’ perspectives, you just get to learn about them and see the things they were each going through after Danny got arrested for murder. Maggie and Evan constantly trying to prove Danny’s innocence. Tommy too young that he never met Danny. Olivia loving Evan but feeling them falling apart.

Reading Maggie’s perspective hurt the most. She was this incredible high school senior. So smart and just good and the things that happened to her… The hardest chapters were towards the end. The chapters from their perspectives as they died. I cried (no one is surprised I am sure).

My ONLY complaint is that I wish the two afters be switched. I think it would have made the end a little more impactful. Besides that, I absolutely loved this book.

This book hits shelves on March 2, 2021 and I really and truly recommend you read it.

Book review

Every last fear
Alex Finlay

Thank you for this ARC of Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.

Every last Fear, is a suspenseful thriller that follows The Pine Family before and after their suspicious death in Mexico.

Years ago Danny Pine was convicted of killing his girlfriend while in a drunken state during a high school House party. His family believes he was wrongly convicted and has been maintaining his innocence. A crime documentary sends his case into a media frenzy making the pine family and Danny’s case well known.

The story is told from Each Family members point of views before the Murder in Mexico and right after the Conviction of Danny several years earlier.

I normally like the multiple perspectives but I think this had one to many, and it made the book kind of slow. There was a lot of jumping back and forth, which made the book feel
Like it was dragging on for a few minor details.

The plot itself was solid. I liked the Pine family as characters. Maggie was kick Ass young woman, with so much potential. Her Dad was
The type of father you would want on your side, if you ever we’re wrongly convicted.

I felt bad for Matt. He was lonely, and bearing a secret that most of us wouldn’t be able to keep.

The most important thing that this book touched upon was the wrongful conviction of innocent people, and how easily it can happen. It’s a reminder that our system is not always perfect, it has its flaws.

If you’re crime documentaries fan, this is the perfect book you you!