As of recently I have been trying to open myself up to genres or subgenres that I have been avoiding. One of the main ones is the crime and mystery thrillers that are extremely prevalent in the book world. There are many talented authors writing some of these and after reading The Night Shift by Alex Finlay, I will be reading more.

Finlay starts off a dynamic story of who, what, where, when and WOW. After a gruesome set of murders at a movie rental store in Linden, New Jersey, the suspect is unfortunately released prior to crucial evidence coming to light. The years have somewhat softened the terror and fear that have plagued Ella Monroe, the lone survivor of that tragic New Year’s Eve from years ago. Fast forward to where Ella is now a productive therapist helping others when a nearly imperceptible copycat set of murders occurs at a local ice cream shop. In eerie similarity, there is one survivor, Jesse Duvall. And as the story continues, you will learn that there is more to those murders that she is connected too.

Covering the recent case as a local public defender, we get to learn a little about Chris Ford, who also has a very haunting and connected past. Teaming up with Julia, another up and coming lawyer at the Union County Public Defender’s office, they are about to tackle this case head on. While leading the public defense for an unlikely suspect, the team learns quickly that everyone has dark secrets, and they could be a conflict of interest. The local police force teams with a FBI field office where we meet Special Agent Sarah Keller, a veteran agent who is super pregnant. While Keller and Atticus Singh, another Union County investigator, attempt to link the two cases, the nasty reality of life comes to a head and shows that not all skeletons in your closet are gone forever.

The buildup to the finale is frightening and everyone has problems that they must battle while trying to fight for others. The imperfect characters in this twist filled debacle of a case only ass to the fascination that bleeds from every page. Finlay effortlessly blends the best and worst of humanity in one of the best stories I’ve ever read. If you haven’t given this one a thought, then check it out and you’ll be pleased.

Warning: Make sure you reserve a weekend or a block of time to read Alex Findlay’s new thriller, The Night Shift! After loving his debut novel, Every Last Fear, I wondered if I would love The Night Shift as much as his first book! While a little slow at first and many characters to remember including the return of FBI Agent Sarah Keller, The Night Shift far exceeded my expectations. I could not turn the pages fast enough during the last 50% of the story. SO MANY TWISTS AND TURNS!

The story opens with the mass killing of three teenagers and the store manager of Blockbuster on New Year’s Eve 1999 (Y2K). There is one survivor, Ella. Fifteen years later, four high school girls are attacked at the local ice cream store and only Jesse Survives. FBI Agent Sara Keller (The Night Shift) who is 8 1/2 months pregnant is called in to look for links between the two shooting events to see if they are connected.

There are three narrators. Ella, the survivor of the Blockbuster shootings is now a therapist and is asked to talk with Jesse the survivor of the ice cream shootings. Chris Ford from the public defender’s office is the second narrator and he has some secrets he is hiding. The third narrator is Sara Keller.

Be prepared for lots of secrets. I can’t wait for Findlay’s next book! My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is a new super fun thriller that comes out March 1st (Tuesday). I’ve never read this author before and was excited to get an advanced copy. The book alternates between NYE in the Y2K era and present day. Four teens are murdered while working the night shift at the local blockbuster. The perp was released from jail and never found again. When four teens are murdered in an ice cream parlor, the crimes are eerily similar. Told from three different points of view (brother of accused crimes, FBI agent and sole survivor of the Blockbuster murders) this book was highly entertaining! A great read for the thriller junkies like me!

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is a thriller novel. The story in The Night Shift is one that is told by changing the point of view between the characters with three central voices to the story, a survivor to a past event, the brother of the suspect of the past event and an FBI agent.

On the night of Y2K, New Year’s Eve 1999, the Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey was just about to close up when the manager and four teenage girls working that night shift were attacked. There was only one survivor that night, Ella, who goes onto become a therapist.

Fifteen years after that horrific night another attack takes place at a local ice cream shop. Again there is only one survivor after the attack, a teenager named Jessica. Ella is called in to connect to the surviving victim having a perspective no one else would understand and FBI Agent Keller begins to investigate any connection to the previous crime.

After reading Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay and really enjoying it I was excited to pick up The Night Shift and thankfully it did not disappoint at all. It may have helped the story to being with a night that many who were alive during Y2K can distinctly remember as that pulled me right into the book and didn’t let go centering around those events. The characters were great with all having their own flaws but distinct personalities that I enjoyed and boy the twists and turns just kept a coming all along the way. Definitely an author that I will come back to time and again after thouroughly enjoying both novels I’ve read.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Ella is in the bathroom after working The Night Shift at a New Jersey Blockbuster Video store. When she comes out, the rest of the staff is dead. She is left for dead but recovers.

Fifteen years later, a similar event occurs as an ice cream shop is closing for the night. Another girl, Jesse, leaves the bathroom during the killing but somehow survives. Jesse won’t talk to the police. Ella, now a therapist, is called in. The pair have a lot in common and bond. Jesse, a senior in high school, is an inspiring journalist. The two survivors try to figure out if their crimes are connected.

In the meantime, both the local police and the FBI are investigating. FBI Agent Sarah Keller is two weeks from her due date with twins. She is committed to solving the older crime. The suspect, Vince, was arrested but then released. He was never seen again.

Vince’s father, Rusty, beats up both Vince and his younger brother, Chris, nightly. When Vince runs off, Chris is placed in foster care. He is adopted by his foster parents, changes his name, and graduates from law school. However, he is still looking for his brother. He works for the public defender’s office in the county where both crimes occurred.

As you can see, there are a whole lot of different plot lines. Luckily, they all work seamlessly together. The three narrators; Ella, Chris, and Agent Keller; each tell their own tale. The characters are so well-written and realistic it was easy to keep them, and the people they meet, straight. The multiple plot twists are unveiled at the perfect times to keep the reader reading well into the night.

Unfortunately, the clues to the killer or killers were too obvious. After guessing the answer early on, I was waiting for a Christie-type twist revealing why it couldn’t be that easy. That twist never arrived. However, there were several other surprising twists in the last half of the book.

If you like twisty tales of violent murders, The Night Shift will keep you reading way past your bedtime. 4 stars!

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this one pretty much blind and that first chapter had me HOOKED.

QUICK TAKE: A brutal murder takes place during a closing shift at Blockbuster on NYE 1999 leaving one survivor and a suspect fled into the wind. Fifteen years later a similar murder takes place and begs the question: is this the original killer, a copy cat, or a complete coincidence?

I loved the whole slasher/final girl aspect of this book and trying to determine the connection between the two murders so many years apart. It was told from multiple perspectives, which at times seemed to blend together and got a little confusing.

There were a lot of side stories that didn't seem all that important to the overall story but all the twists and turns definitely made up for it. I predicted the end pretty early on but there were a lot of other revelations that I was not expecting. The story eventually all came together but felt a bit rushed and while I liked the epilogue it was also totally unnecessary.

I think I'm kind of burnt out on thrillers right now and have been overly critical of most of them I've read recently, so take the above criticisms with a grain of salt. My only major complaint with this one was that the motive for the second round of murders was never really explained.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and if you're looking for a fast paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, and are a fan of slashers and final girls, I'd recommend this one.

🚨CW: adult/minor relationship

Fast-paced and addictive - come along for the ride! I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller! The characters, dual timelines, tension, twists. Quick and satisfying! Will read more from Alex Finlay for sure.

4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5

A brutal murder of employees working the late shift at Blockbuster video on New Year's Eve, 1999. A lone survivor. A fugitive on the run.

Fast-forward fifteen years, and final girl Ella is forced to relive that horrific night when there's another mass slaying with uncanny similarities to the Blockbuster massacre. This time, it's the employees at a local ice cream shop. Once again, there's a sole survivor . . . .

In the aftermath of the slayings, Ella's path collides with FBI Agent Sarah Keller and the brother of the prime suspect for the Blockbuster slayings. Something doesn't add up. And the stakes are higher than ever, as secrets come to light that call into question whether the police have been looking at the wrong suspect all these years.

This was SUCH a satisfying thriller. It kept me on the edge of my seat, kept me guessing, and kept me turning the pages. The perspective shifted between three protagonists--Ella, FBI Agent Keller, and the brother of the accused killer. Each was so well-developed. When I reached the end of the book, I didn't want to let any of them go.

Finlay kept me guessing until the reveal at the very end (I REALLY thought I knew). Highly recommend to anyone who enjoys what I like to call "Slashers with heart." There's no cardboard characters here. Just smart, multi-dimensional protagonists with a monster among them.

Half a star deducted because there were a few points I found myself thinking, "Hmm ... this is a woman being written by a man." In general, I was impressed by Finlay's nuanced and realistic characterization of the women in the book, but it did creep up a few times.

Overall, INCREDIBLE read. I loved it so much, and I'm diving into Finlay's debut novel now!

Alex Finlay's sophomore thriller clearly proves that this author is most certainly not a one hit wonder. The Night Shift keeps you guessing until the very end -- and everyone is a suspect with a plausible motive. Great pacing and character development keeps you engaged throughout the twists and turns. I highly recommend this read.

This was a very good book! I didn't love it entirely but I did like it a lot. It's set in New Jersey, my stomping grounds until age 22 (and yes, Robert Wood Johnson hospitals are a real thing). It followed a therapist/final girl, an FBI agent who was pregnant, and a lawyer whose brother was missing and presumed alive. They all interact very well and once you learn who everyone is, it's very easy to follow along. I had no idea who the killer was so I was shocked when it got revealed. Just so you know, there is some violence at the end, but not a huge or gruesome amount. All in all 4 stars and I will definitely read the author's next book!

New Year's Eve 1999 and the world is waiting to see what happens at midnight. Inside a Blockbuster at closing time three girls and the manager are stabbed leaving one survivor, Ella. Go forward 15 years and Ella is called to talk to another survivor where three girls are stabbed at a Dairy Creamer at closing time.

I felt the beginning was a bit slow and I was trying to keep all the characters straight. There were little twists and turns along the way that kept it exciting. My only complaint was the ending. While it was a page turner it just happened so fast and boom done.

I liked the characters. Chris's brother was the presumed murderer at the Blockbuster but he was adopted by a loving couple and became a lawyer. Ella became a therapist which was kind of strange considering her life was a mess but I liked her and her spunk and wished her character was more developed because she seemed very complex.


I enjoyed the author's previous book and look forward to reading more of his work.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy.

Thanks to Minotaur Books, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is an exciting thriller that sucked me right in as soon as I started to read it. The evening of New Years Eve 1999 (remember Y2K?), four people are murdered at a New Jersey Blockbuster Video. One person, Ella, survives the attack. Fifteen years later, three people are murdered at an ice cream store in the same town. Again, there is one survivor. Ella, now a therapist, is brought in to help the sole survivor, Jesse. The police, FBI, public defenders, and even Secret Service get involved along the way. I had an idea where this one was going (and turned out to be right) which made me feel successful 🤣 but it was a great story that was hard to put down.
This one comes out on Tuesday, 3/1. I can definitely see it as a movie 🎥 I also highly recommend the author’s previous thriller, Every Last Fear, which published last year!

🔪The Night Shift 🍦🎬

I think this is going to be a top thriller this year! Loved it 🤩Perfect for my interest in serial killers!

The FBI is trying to solve 2 mass murders of teenage girls and looking to figure out if they are connected.

This is my first Alex Findlay novel and I love his writing style! The multiple points of view were great! And I loved the twists and ending!!! One of my favorite thrillers so far this year ⭐️

Big thanks to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the ARC! Out 3/1!!!

I enjoyed the characters in this book. The pacing was a bit slow for me at the beginning but it picked up about 60% of the way. Ultimately, I enjoyed this thriller novel.

Thank you to the publishers at St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this e-ARC of The Night Shift.

This was my first Alex Finlay book, but it surely won’t be my last!

The Night Shift is told in alternating POVs, revolving around a 15 year old murder. On New Year’s Eve in 1999, 3 female employees at the Blockbuster were brutally murdered, with only one lone survivor. 15 years later, at the Dairy Creamery, 3 female employees are attacked and killed again, with only one survivor. Both were told the same thing by the killer, something sinister whispered in their ear. The suspect from 15 years earlier disappeared into the void, but has he come back to finish what he started?

This is such a great, twisty novel! I loved the short chapters and the multiple POVs. Eventually all 3 characters meet together as they get closer and closer to finding the killer. I honestly can’t say I was shocked by who it was as I had them pegged early on, mainly just on a hunch. I was shocked to discover everything else though, so in that regard, this is an absolutely stunning novel! I highly recommend The Night Shift if you love loads of twists, stunning revelations, and short chapters!

Whoa--I seriously could not put this one down. There have been two terrible group murders in the same NJ town fifteen years apart with one survivor in each case. Are they connected? The story is well told through several different points of view and delivers several nice twists near the end. I'll definitely look forward to more from this author--in fact, I have his first book on my shelf which I can't wait to get to now!

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to them for the opportunity. I had the Commodores singing The Night Shift in my head every time I saw the title of this book.

The premise of this sounded nostalgic and full of questions and I was interested in what happened but my interest waned once I realized the book mostly takes place in the present. Finlay writes female characters in a clumsy and awkward way and it’s clear that a man is writing a pregnant female character and does not know what he’s talking about. For example, an 81/2 month pregnant women who is pregnant with twins would not be out in the field or on a case.

It’s more procedural than I like my thrillers and there are a lot of moving parts that at times, made this hard to follow. I love the premise but for me, it didn’t deliver.

Alex Finlay does it again! I loved his debut novel, Every Last Fear, and he keeps up the thrills and masterful story-telling in The Night Shift. The prologue takes us back in time to New Year's Eve 1999. While the world was celebrating and waiting to see what would befall us when the clock switched over to midnight and a new century, a group of four teenager girls and their young manager are working the closing shift at Blockbuster. By the end of their shift, four of them are dead. Only seventeen-year-old Ella survives what was a bloody knife rampage.

The book then quickly moves forward to 2015. Emma is now a therapist, making a mere $30K a year. She's engaged, but still hooking up with strange men at hotels. That's where she is, in fact, when a call in the middle of the night from her old high school principal takes her back in time to 1999. He's calling because four teen-aged girls were attacked earlier in the night at an ice cream shop. Once again, only one girl has survived, and her principal thinks Ella may be the only one who can get through to the now non-responsive survivor (Jesse) to find out what happened. Also interested in discovering what happened at that ice cream shop is FBI Agent Sarah Keller, who happens to be 8 1/2 months pregnant!

Rounding out the cast of characters is Chris Ford, a young public defender. Chris's interest in the ice cream murders is very personal. Although he was raised in foster care and adopted by two loving parents, Chris grew up in the same town as the Blockbuster murder case. His given name was Chris Whitaker, and his older brother, Vince, was a suspect in the Blockbuster case. Vince escaped and has been a fugitive for the past 15 years. Chris loved his older brother and wants to believe he's out there somewhere living a good life. Lately he's been following a vlogger who travels the world in anonymity reporting on the adventures he's having. Although he knows it's a crazy longshot, Chris allows a small piece of his heart to believe that the anonymous vlogger is his brother Vince. Now with the new ice cream shop murders, the local police have called in Agent Keller (who we first met in Every Last Fear) because they want her to rule out Vince Whitaker as the murderer in this new case while he keeps his own detectives focused on the present.

The novel is told through the POVs of Ella, Keller, and Chris, and each page and chapter manages to ratchet up the tension and suspense. There is no shortage of twists and turns in The Night Shift. Even though I thought the killer was easily identified as a reader, I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter. All of the characters were fully developed, and the pacing of the book was right on point. I loved it.

My thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me an eGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is sure to be a big hit.

I really enjoyed this. Twisty. Lots of twists that I didn’t see coming. Super fast-paced. I devoured most of this while in a plane. Hard to put down.

I’d definitely recommend this to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book was PHENOMENAL! I loved how the two crimes ended up being interconnected in the most random of ways, and really liked all the characters. I was heartbroken towards the end when the truth came out about Vince and wished his story had a happier ending. I was also sad that another character I loved seems to have been killed towards the end. I was happy to see that I accurately figured out who the real killer was at about the halfway point of the book, and also correctly suspected what really happened to Chris and Vince’s mom. Overall this book was amazing and I couldn’t put it down!