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The Night Shift

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Member Reviews

THE NIGHT SHIFT was an action packed, small town mystery/thriller where nothing (and no one) is what it seems.

The use of multiple POVs kept me turning the pages to find out what each character would reveal next. The best part? I had absolutely no idea how this one would turn out and was very satisfied with how it all came together in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley for my #arc

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Great, fast-paced thriller with a triple POV! This book also had short chapters, which made it so easy to fly through! I loved the layout of the book & kept telling myself “just one more chapter”, which is the telltale sign of a good thriller! The book starts out with a heavy dose of nostalgia with the setting of a blockbuster movie rental. I was immediately hooked. I felt the middle got a tiny bit off track with a specific storyline (don’t know if I should post the spoiler), but it was still interesting. Overall, a very solid book & will recommend to friends. Thank you NetGalley for the eARC.

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This book is completely captivating. It is a perfectly constructed story and mystery with a excellent attention to every character.

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I loved Every Last Feat by Alex Finley and couldn't wait to read The Night Shift.

I freaking loved this book. It sucked me in from the main beginning. I felt like I was watching an intense crime movie. If you loved His & Hers by Alice Feeney, you will love The Night Shift.

What I loved:
-triple narrative
-suspenseful
-whodunit?
-flashbacks
-how everyone was connected

Thank you NetGalley for me eARC!

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In Linden New Jersey on Dec 31, 1999, everyone is anxiously awaiting to see if the things predicted for Y2K will come true. None of that happens, but instead five people are attacked and only one survives, her name is Ella.

15 years later there is another attack in the same town. This time at an ice cream shop. Once again, there is one survivor, Jesse. Are they connected? Was it the same suspected killer who fled after the first attack? FBI Agent Sarah Keller, local investigator Atticus Singh, and Blockbuster Massacre survivor turned trauma therapist Ella Monroe all intend to find out.

This is a fast paced thriller that kept me turning the pages. Our main character, Sarah Keller is more developed in this one and she's a likable character. There is suspension of belief though as no woman who is two weeks from her due date would do a lot of the things she did. The plot and pacing were good. Short chapters kept me saying "just one more chapter." If you can suspend belief, then this is a great, quick read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, author Alex Finlay, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

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The Night Shift is a face paced novel that takes place over the course of three days, with some flashbacks to similar events from fifteen years ago. The book will keep you guessing all the way up until the very end. You will fly through this book thanks to the great chapter design. Each chapter is from a different character’s perspective making it very hard to put down, you always wanted to know where it was going next and from whose point of view. This was a great thriller with well developed characters, and some of the character’s actions stuck with me long after I closed the book.
**A big thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ebook copy in exchange for my honest review**

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The Night Shift
By Alex Finley

An Absorbing and Cleverly Layered Thriller

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
New Years' Eve 1999. Four teenagers working late at a Blockbuster Video store are murdered in New Jersey. One of the employees survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, three teenage employees are attacked on a night shift at an ice cream store in the same town, and again a fourth victim makes it out alive.

Ella Monroe, who had survived the Blockbuster murder, is now a counselor and is called to the hospital to meet Jesse Duvall, the survivor of this latest case. Chris Ford, a public defender, was assigned to this new case. And he is also the brother of the fugitive in the Blockbuster murders. FBI agent Sarah Keller, who is eight-and-a-half months pregnant with twins, investigates the similarities between the two crimes. She bravely delves into the secrets from both nights to uncover the truth about the murders on the night shift.

REVIEW
The Night Shift is an absorbing thriller that will have you racing through the pages. The pacing is quick, the writing is solid, and the twists will bring you to your knees.

The characters are plentiful, and it may take a few brain cells to keep everyone straight. The one character you will have no problem remembering is Sarah Keller. Despite her pregnancy, she is relentless and courageous. In addition to Sarah, the story alternates points of view between Ella and Chris, a public defender and the suspect's brother in the Blockbuster case. All the characters were unique and well-developed.

Author Alex Finlay is a pen name for an author who lives in Washington, D.C. His first novel, Every Last Fear, was published in 2021 to tremendous acclaim and is being developed for a major television series. The Night Shift made several most-anticipated book lists. You should read it!

Publisher St. Martin’s Press
Published March 1, 2022
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

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I loved the initial premise of murders taking place at Blockbuster and the throwback aspect of nostalgia with the setting and details, I was confused at times by having an 8 month pregnant woman with twins as the detective because it came across as very unrealistic. The pace was good, the characters fairly well developed. My major problem came with the ending which was so disappointing and didn't make much sense

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this book was fun, cinematic and super interesting, weaving multiple storylines together for a thrilling climax. did I figure out who the killer was early on? yes. were there some surprises that i enjoyed? yes. did I love the ending? admittedly no. I felt that the insertion of the epilogue was too abrupt and could have done well to have had at least one more chapter to wrap things up, without feeling kind of bombarded with the epilogue trying to cover all their bases without really explaining and elaborating on everything. honestly, it was a good time overall but that ending was a bit too rushed and I felt kind of gipped for an ending I think we deserved.

thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

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Thank Netgalley, Minotaur Books and the author Alex Finlay.
I totally enjoyed this thriller, lots of twists and turns.
Loved the characters especially FBI agent Keller and Ella. Two strong women depicted in this novel.
Quick read.
Highly recommend

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Alex Finlay (pseudonym), the author of last year’s popular Every Last Fear has produced another suspense thriller- one that may leave a reader truly scratching their head. That is usually a good quality in this genre, but here it has more to do with the challenges it presents. The Night Shift contains two timelines, New Year’s Eve 1999 and 2014, both dates that the residents of Linden, NJ will never forget. After a tragic murder takes place in a Blockbuster Rental Outlet, everyone is convinced that the initial suspect is obviously guilty. When the defendant is released due to insufficient evidence, his disappearance upon release acts as further proof of guilt. Only one person survived the 1999 attack, and she feels justice was not served. Ella parlays her traumatic experience into a career in counseling as the narrative transitions to 2014. Ella is asked to help a young woman who survives a massacre that bears a striking resemblance to her own. The novel then unspools a surplus of characters with concurrent plot lines that distract from the story and make it difficult to follow. That, combined with its shifting timelines, leads to a tangled, interconnected puzzle that the reader is tasked to pull apart. The Night Shift strikes the right tone, has some witty banter and the characters are well-constructed. Still, despite its fast pace and interesting premise, Finlay’s latest seems more like a maze than a mystery.
Thanks to the author, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

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Thank you so much @NetGalley and @minotaurbooks for gifting me a copy of The Night Shift in exchange for an honest review.

📼 Mini Review🍦
For the last like 6 months I’ve seen The Night Shift by @alex all over bookstagram. All the reviews were amazing and I was so intrigued by it, plus I loved blockbuster in the day so I had to read it.

I want to start out by saying I loved this book sooo much! I couldn’t put it down. Any time I had free time to read the kindle was in my hand. This book was a wild ride for sure.

In the small town of Linden, New Jersey, there is a murder at an ice cream store. 3 victims are dead an done is left alive. And this is not the first murder like it. 15 years before, in the same town, there was a murder exactly like this one at the Blockbuster. 4 murdered and 1 left alive. The detectives and the different family members involved want to get to the bottom of this murder once and for all.

We have 3 different POVs. An FBI agent, the survivor of the Blockbuster murders 15 years ago, and the brother of the suspected killer in the Blockbuster murders. I loved all of these POVs. You get to see a different side of the murders, which also makes it hard to pinpoint what is really going on.

I honestly don’t want to stay too much more because I don’t want to give anything away. Just know that this book is probably my favorite thriller ever. 😍 The writing was addicting, the characters were so relatable and interesting, and the plot just doesn’t stop. It keeps growing and changing and will take you all over the place!!! It honestly has everything you need in a great thriller.

There was one thing that frustrated me at first but once I got into the story it didn’t bother me as much 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you love thrillers of any kind, I recommend this one to you! I gave it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ My DMs are always open, so when you read this book message me so we can talk!!!

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This book was totally going to be 5 stars. Until something happened (not going to mention what…read the book to find out) that upset me. I could have done without that. 😑. Actually, 2 things. 2 things that I could have done without.
Anyway, the REST of the book, was amazing. Loved it! So many things I didn’t see coming! This was definitely a roller coaster. I didn’t want it to end but I needed to know what happened.
Most of the characters in this book are likable. I don’t think there was any characters I just down right hated. Which is refreshing. Not everyone has to be bad/hateful all the time. Maybe that’s why the reveal was such a holy shit! moment. I don’t think I could pick a favorite. I liked Ella, Keller, Bob, Atticus. Jesse….. was a hard person to figure out. I liked her at times and other time I wanted to shake her. There were several different points of view, both past and present. That was well done.
This was most definitely a fast read. I didn’t want to put it down. I would listen to the audiobook during my commute and read the book when I was at home. The audiobook had a few different people in the cast. I enjoyed that as well.

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my first book by this author and I thank Net Galley for the copy. This about 2 attacks set 15 years apart. Each of the attacks leaves a single survivor. according to the chapters, this whole book takes place in only 3 day. so it moves rather quickly. I liked Sarah Keller, but didn't care for he risks she too while being 8 months pregnant with twins! I really didn't care for the ending, but for the most part it was pretty good

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I'm torn between giving this a 3.5 or a 4 star. The 4-star rating would be because there are a lot of fun twists and turns and a super quick pace (I read it in two sittings). The 3.5 would be because I guessed the killer within about 15 pages. This hardly ever happens to me, so I'm shocked that more reviews on Goodreads don't reflect how easy it was to figure out who it was.

The premise is gruesome but intriguing. The story starts out on New Year's Eve 1999, when four employees at a Blockbuster (fun nostalgia) are murdered during their night shift (get it?). 15 years later, an eerily similar crime occurs at a local ice cream shop. What is the connection between the two crimes and how can Agent Keller (seen also in Finlay's "Every Last Fear") solve the case?

I loved the short chapters and the different POVs - Finlay is skilled at getting the reader to care about a multitude of characters. However, the women characters aren't written as effectively in my opinion (there's a tad bit of misogyny). Overall, I really loved all of the red herrings and twists that I didn't see coming (well, except for that main one).

If I hadn't guessed the killer so early on, I would have been completely blown away by this thriller. Now, I'm torn about giving Finlay's books another chance in the future. I enjoyed the reading experience but would have preferred being more surprised by how things played out.

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Two eerily similar killings, 15 years apart. I loved this book. I loved the mystery, the multiple views from various characters, the switching timelines, the retro throwback to Blockbuster, everything. This was such an entertaining read and I know that it’s going to be another hit for Alex Finlay!

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(Spoiler alert)

I am pretty much always in the mood to read a thriller of some kind, and I went into this looking for a fast-paced, exciting read. While I was initially intrigued by the murders, I predicted the culprit’s identity and motive so early on that it was frustrating and almost painful waiting for the characters in the story to catch up and put the pieces together.

I also didn’t think this was as twisty, suspenseful, or thrilling as the synopsis would have me believe, and in fact I thought some of the story was so similar to other, average books like this I’ve read (SPOILER ALERT:) such as the culprit being an older man involved with younger girls who kills them when they do something he doesn't like.(END OF SPOILER)

As someone who reads a bunch of mysteries and thrillers, it didn’t feel like there was anything new or different here.

However, it was a somewhat entertaining read, and if you don’t read a ton of thrillers, this might be a good one to check out!

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The Night Shift is another fast paced thriller from Alex Finlay. I devoured this one just as fast as Every Last Fear.

Ella is the only survivor of the 1999 Blockbuster killings. Now, 15 years later, working as a therapist she is brought to the only survivor of another massacre, Jesse. Ella is able to talk to Jesse, and be on her level having had a similar traumatic experience in her youth, which allows Jesse to start to open up to her. As the few detailed of the ice cream murder are shared, Ella is shocked by how similar these two crimes are. Is it possible that after all of this time the same person has come back to make their mark again? Or are these details just hidden deception, trying to lure Ella to resist her haunted past?

What I love about Alex Finlay's novels is the weaving of the story lines and characters. The amount of details that unfold throughout the story and come together so fittingly in the end! Its a true, keep you guessing novel. Especially in a time when domestic thrillers are all the rage, this is just what I needed right now!

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Do you remember where you where on Y2K? That New Year was very memorable and Blockbuster was the place to go to get your movies for the night and stay hunkered down and hope the world didn’t crash as technology crossed a barrier like one never seen before.
The blockbuster killings also took place with a lone survivor and fast forward 20 years later we have a similar killing in a ice cream store. Both leaving a lone survivor. The FBI agent on the case is 8 months pregnant with twins 🤔 and she suspects a possible serial killer.
This was a truly wild ride and I didn’t expect that terrific harrowing ending. Full of twists that involves deep family secrets.

All in all it would have been a 4.5-5 star book for me; however, I have to knock a star off due to the sheer fallacy of including an active duty FBI agent who is 36-38 weeks pregnant with twins on a case driving around looking for a killer?? EVERY SINGLE AGENCY in the US, either local police to FBI/CIA, will immediately place a woman on desk duty as soon as she reveals her pregnancy!
ALSO, the full term pregnancy for carrying twins is 37 weeks! She would have 95% already had her babies before she was even put on this case. This was a MAJOR oversight that could have been left out all together.

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I liked the short bingable chapters and the 90s nostalgia in flashback chapters. However, didn't really like the ending and wasn't convinced about the final motive of the killer in the end.

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