𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁 by Alex Finlay - 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ 4.5/5
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𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. That is how I will describe this thriller. On New Years Eve 1999, four teens were murdered at their job - and one survivor remained. Fifteen years later, an identical murder occurs. Is the killer back? Is there a new killer?
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This one has multiple POVs adding to the suspense. My theories continued to change throughout this ride. There was more than one twist, one I definitely didn’t see coming - one I did. 🔎 This book is incredibly fast-paced and will pull you in at the very beginning. Definitely recommend!
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Favorite Line ~ “The sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer.”

Wow okay, I REALLY enjoyed this one.

I’m not usually a huge fan of multiple POV’s because I think they tend to get confusing, but this one worked! We had three POV’s and two timelines and both of those things really helped keep my interest in this book.

I called the killer very early on, but this book still had enough shocking twists that the rest of the story stayed interesting and surprising.

THE NIGHT SHIFT (4⭐️)

my first thought while reading: this would make such a good movie! My second thought: holy crap there are so many characters in this book idk how I’m going to keep them all straight 😂

this was a fun one! That first chapter!! Oh man, it sucks you right in. It’s 1999 and three teens are murdered at a blockbuster. Fifteen years later, another three teens are killed at an ice cream shop. So obviously we’re trying to figure out if these two events are connected right?! This was a perfect fast paced thriller with multiple POV’s (my fave) and just the right amount of suspense.

every chapter ends on sort of a cliffhanger, but then it would switch to another POV the next chapter just to toy with my emotions!! This will be the reason you stay up til 1am reading this because you literally can’t put it down. The ending wasn’t a HUGE surprise, but there were a few other surprises along the way which made up for that.

also, unrelated to the plot, but the mention of blockbuster had me feeling a little nostalgic. I’d literally sell my soul to go back to those times 😭

I loved this one. The eerily similar murders 15 years apart were so intriguing and I loved the different perspectives the story was told from. I enjoyed the complexity of the characters and the different layers to the story; it was done in a way that moved the plot along quickly and didn’t get too jumbled. The series of bombshells throughout the latter half made me keep turning the pages. While I kinda had an idea of what direction the ending was going toward, I didn’t have the whole picture and was shocked at the end!

I am at a solid 4 ⭐ for this one. Although I did find most of it predictable it was still quite enjoyable.

I love, love, love when my books are told from multiple points of view and this time we get 3.
It takes place over 3 days with some flashbacks to 1999.
Ella is a therapist who was the sole survivor of a mass murder in 1999.
Chris is a public defender and the brother of the accused murderer.
Sarah is a FBI agent working a case 15 years later with similarities.

Like I said I did figure out most of the twists, however I did get blindsided with a couple of things. It was definitely an action packed, fast paced, suspenseful thriller that I would recommend.
I feel like Agent Keller could have been a little less pregnant for all the 'Badassness' she did though.

*Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Alex Finlay for the ARC. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Two horrendous murders take place in Linden, NJ years apart. The first occurs on New Year’s Eve, 1999 at the local Blockbuster Video store. The manager and three teenage girls working the late shift are stabbed to death. One teenager, Ella Monroe, survives. Vince Whitaker, another high school student is the prime suspect, yet he soon disappears. Fifteen years later, another brutal stabbing takes place during the night shift at a local ice cream shop. There are four young victims and one, high school student Jesse Duvall, survives. Ella, now a therapist, is asked to help Jesse get through this trauma. Ella is still trying to cope with her own trauma from the Blockbuster murders, masking her pain with pills and risky behavior.

A very pregnant FBI agent, Sarah Keller, is called in to help with the investigation. When Chris, a local public defender, gets involved in the case he needs to hide his connection to the still-missing Whitaker. There are a lot of moving pieces in this exciting thriller. Author Alex Finlay has created a large cast of characters whose lives slowly and effectively intertwine. The Night Shift is a highly suspenseful thriller that kept me glued. It’s fast-paced and fully engaging, similar to Finlay’s 2021 debut, Every Last Fear, which was a favorite. The author (who writes under a pseudonym) is now an auto-read for me. Don’t miss this one.

(4.5⭐️) Nostalgic, twisty, and clever!

They got it wrong. The fear at Y2K was misplaced. It wasn’t over a knife. And no one considered Blockbuster to be the main stage. Yet… out of four employees, only one survived. “Goodnight, pretty girl.”

Fast forward 15 years. No one ever expects bad things to happen when there’s ice cream involved. And yet… out of the 4 people at the creamery, only one survives. “Goodnight, pretty girl.”

A town panicked by a serial killer (Copycat?! Original?!). A very pregnant and determined (read: bad ass) FBI agent. And two unreliable survivors. This is the formula for one fast paced, wild ride.

The Night Shift is compulsively readable. The multiple pov and short chapters kept me hanging on, finishing it in mere hours. There’s a depth of character development and a side helping of police procedural, which made this thriller feel fresh and unique.

Let’s talk about those surprises I didn’t see coming… Some that made me mad. Some that let me exhale. Were there also a few implausible details? And did I suspect the culprit? Yes on both accounts. But overall, this is such a clever and unique thriller, any minor flaws were easily overlooked.

Many thanks to Alex Finlay, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Years before, as everyone wonders what will happen on the eve of 1999, a local movie store is broken into and all but one employee are murdered. The boyfriend of one of the victims disappears, making him the prime suspect. Fifteen years later, the crime is repeated-an ice cream parlor is broken in and all buy one are massacred. Has the murdered returned after all these years? This thriller moves between the view of three people as we move towards a solution to the crime. The FBI brings in one of their own, Sarah Keller, a very pregnant agent, Ella, the lone survivor from the first massacre, and Chris, a local attorney who is hiding his association with the first set of murders.

Sarah digs into the years-old case and the current case trying to determine how the two are connected and finding more and more information. After all of the investigation, Keller comes into a surprising ending to both crimes.

I read Alex Finlay's first novel when it was released and waited impatiently for his next thriller. The Night Shift was worth the wait! The characters were well-developed and I was involved with the correlations between the years-old murder and the current. There were twists and turns that had me surprised as I learned new information. And when the ending came, it was surprising and appreciated. I will be watching for Finlay's next novel.

One of my top reads so far this year. I was quickly drawn in and definitely did not want to put this book down. This is a well written thriller/mystery that kept me guessing. The characters are well developed, the story line is well put together and the ending blew me away!

4.5 stars

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is another terrific thriller by one of my new favorite authors!

Grabbing the reader from page one, the story begins on the evening of December 31, 1999—the cusp of Y2K—an emotional and fear-ridden date for many, as the world moves into a new century. The “night shift” employees of a video rental store are the victims of a terrible crime, and the suspected killer was never caught. Then, fifteen years later, a similar crime occurs to the “night shift” employees at an ice cream shop, which raises fears that the original killer has returned or a copycat murderer is involved.

The rest of the novel is a fast-paced police procedural—short chapters told from multiple points of view illuminate the methods of the investigators and the emotions of the relatives still aching for their families’ losses from the 15 year-old crime. The many characters were well-drawn and diverse, and gave a rich humanity to this crime story. I especially liked how the author embraced and explored the roles of strong women, notably protagonist FBI agent Sarah Keller, and survivor Ella. The two timelines were easy to follow and there were multiple plot threads that came together nicely, with terrific dramatic tension, at the riveting conclusion.

I highly recommend this exciting thriller—the pacing and character development are first-rate, and the storyline had me hooked from beginning to end!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my unbiased review.

I think maybe I was reading a different book from everyone else, because all I felt while reading this was <b>B O R E D.</b>
If I didn’t know better I would have thought this was a debut because the writing is clunky and basic, more like a tv script than a novel.
None of the characters were all that complex and I could barely tell them apart sometimes.
Overall a pretty big disappointment, but if you like super basic police procedurals like James Patterson stuff maybe you’ll enjoy it.

Genre: Thriller
Publication Date: 3/1/22
Synopsis: Swipe
Read if You Like:
- Authors Lisa Gardner, Ruth Ware or Lucy Foley

Likes:
- Fast paced.
- Dynamic and likable characters (i.e. you’re constantly rooting for someone here which makes you invested the story).
- Multiple narrators, but easy to track who was who (usually I have to look back a couple times to remind myself - I didn’t here).
- Multiple time lines - but not in a confusing way. Things flip between 1999 and the present day pretty clearly.
- Cop/Lawyer drama (on the ‘lighter’ side and just enough to keep the plot moving, not overly technical).
- Lots of plot twists.
- I loved the YouTube aspect of it with the travel Vlogger - sometimes writing about technology can take away from the story, but I think it really added to it here in a great way.
- Who did it??? I could not figure it out!

Other Thoughts:
- I really wanted more from Jesse’s POV at the end of the novel, I was really invested in her character.
- Keller running around 8+ months pregnant as a cop fully in action was a little unrealistic to me, *however*, I think the point here was to show that women can make their own decisions about what’s good for them and their health/bodies. You do you girl.

This was a fantastic thriller that just kept giving and giving! One surprising reveal after another had me on the edge of my seat the entire time!

On New Years Eve, 1999, the workers of a Blockbuster are brutally murdered at closing time. There is one survivor, Ella. In present day, Ella is a therapist working to help others when there’s another murder that is frighteningly close to the one she survived in 1999.

Told through a few different characters’ perspectives, the story is constantly propelled forward as new information is revealed by each person. There is Ella, the 1999 survivor, Chris, the brother of suspect in the 1999 murders, and finally, Keller, the FBI agent trying to connect all the dots.

I enjoyed the way the story was told. The three perspectives made the story feel fast-paced, and constantly gave me new details to try to solve the murders. I thought the story was pretty exciting, and the plot was fantastic. I felt that the middle slowed down just a little, but quickly picked back up. I enjoyed the ending, and I had NOT figured out what was happening until it was told to me, so I loved that!

I would recommend this one for readers that enjoy a mixture of police procedural and thriller!

The below trigger warnings may contain spoilers:
Trigger Warnings: Teen pregnancy, adoption, sexual relationship between an adult and a minor, drug deals, gun violence.

If you were alive in the 90’s, the start of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay will pour nostalgia over you that’s as strong as the smell of the popcorn waiting for you at Blockbuster cash register. I was immediately transported back to that time & I’m pretty sure my wardrobe even changed back to Limited Too. If you know, you know!
Then, cue the suspenseful music, it’s like someone put a horror movie into the VHS player & with a terrifying sucker-punch, this book begins.
Night Shift by Alex Finlay is the 5 out of 5 stars, perfect mixture of unsolved mystery, action-packed thriller & pulse-pounding horror. It felt like a 90’s slasher movie mixed with a popular true crime show of today with a cold case edition that immaculately & impressively gives you the nostalgic vibes without feeling dated. The story is expertly weaved together to constantly leave you guessing & an unputdownable feeling.
After the beginning, It switched points of view from an 8 months pregnant FBI agent working the case, the sole survivor from the Blockbuster massacre & the original suspect’s brother, which allows the story to unfold with the perfect amount of suspense & intrigue.
This book was so good that I got lost in the story & would forget I was supposed to be reviewing it, which I think is the highest compliment at being able to tell a story you forget where you’re at.
This book would make an epic movie & I hope I get to watch it one day. I also want to read more from this author.
The Night Shift comes out March 1, 2022 & I would recommend it to all!


Extra things I loved:
-“the newer section with the DVDs” (at 1.4% of the book) so much nostalgia in that sentence.
-The chapters were titled with the name of the person whose point of view it was. Two of the POV names were Chris & Keller. So on the chapter index it said Chris Keller & I had a nostalgia moment from One Tree Hill. That might be an obscure reference but I had to share.

I would like to give a massive thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press & Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an arc of this book in exchange for a honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I was a huge fan of Alex Finlay’s first book, EVERY LAST FEAR, and was excited to see what he wrote next. I think I’m in the unpopular opinion camp on this one, but unfortunately this book didn’t work as well for me. There were aspects that I enjoyed and I was hooked by the premise of the book, but overall I didn't find the story as engaging or thrilling.

Here's the premise:

We follow two horrific crimes - the murder of four teens working the night shift at a Blockbuster on New Year’s Eve 1999 and again, fifteen years later, another massacre taking the lives of four teens at an ice cream shop in the same town. Each attack leaves one lone survivor. While there was a suspect in the 1999 crime no one was charged sparking concern and speculation that there may be a copycat killer or perhaps the original murderer may be back.

But what are they after? And why would anyone commit either crime?

We follow three POVs - Ella, the lone survivor of the Blockbuster murders who is now a therapist and brought into the new case; Chris, a public defender who is working the current case and working to hide some secrets of his own; Sarah Keller, an Agent with the FBI who must look into the past case in order to solve the current crime. We also get to know supporting characters and will say I really enjoyed Atticus the most and would have loved more of him.

There were some twists that I enjoyed and some darkness that I always appreciate, but I felt like there was a bit of convenience in some of the reveals and some plot threads were more obvious to me. I also didn’t feel any tension in the book and the climax of the book was just okay. I also have a few unanswered questions which are all spoilers so I won't ask them here, but in short they left me confused on a few points.

My biggest issue was in the writing of the female characters as they didn’t feel authentic and some elements didn’t seem plausible. For example, we are consistently reminded that Agent Keller is 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. How on earth is she still on active duty and actively (literally) running around throughout the book? I’m a firm supporter of strong women but I felt like there was an effort to make her a cliche ‘badass woman’ but can’t believe she’d be out in the field at that stage of her pregnancy. Also, when Ella is all dressed up and out for the night she actually refers to her shoes as “f**k me” shoes. Just no. Elements of these characters felt more like how stereotypes are portrayed in TV or at the movies vs. real women. Or like someone's fantasy of how women might act. I just felt off to me. And a little cringy.

I also think part of my disappointment has to do with the marketing/early reviews which places a strong focus on the 1999 timeline and the nostalgia that time evokes which I was SO excited for. I also read some early reviews that said the book provided that same 90s nostalgia that we got in Riley Sager’s SURVIVE THE NIGHT, but we spent such a small amount of time in 1999 and minus a few token nods to the time (“Be Kind. Rewind.”) there was nothing much to scratch my nostalgia itch. We are mostly grounded in the present day with a few "memories of the past" but we don't get a real dual timeline in this book which is what I wanted.

I will still check out Alex Finlay’s next book and again appear to be in the minority with my review. It was entertaining but not game changing for me. EVERY LAST FEAR was much stronger, in my opinion.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. Right away you're pulled into the craziness of this mystery thriller. I couldn't put it down and devoured this in a single sitting. The author does an amazing job of dangling bits and pieces and makes you think you know what happened and then SUDDEN PLOT TWIST. Really loved this story and it definitely made me sit back a couple times and just have to take a breather. Highly recommend!!

✨ The Title/Cover Draw:
The synopsis for this book reminded me of other Final Girl books I have read recently. Thanks to @netgalley and @minotaur_books for the opportunity to read ahead of publication.

💜 What I liked:
This is a story of 2 different attacks in 2 different decades, where retail workers are killed. In each case there is a final girl. Do these incidents have anything in common? This story is told from multiple viewpoints. And the ending is intense and will keep you guessing.

😱 What I didn’t like:
There were a few points in the middle that I felt could have been faster paced. But most of the book is a fantastic ride.

🚦 My face at the end: 😳

💭 4 Reasons to Read:
1. Blockbuster
2. Multiple POV
3. Shocking ending
4. Goodnight, pretty girl



🕧 Mini-Summary:
2 separate mass killings, each with a final girl. Are they connected? Can they prove who did it?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Received from Netgalley.

💯 For more details on the books we read, be sure to follow me on TikTok (@zaineylaney) or check out our Podcast - Elated Geek!

This was a heck of a thriller and highly
recommended! I like that there were two murders with a 15 year gap and they are eerily similar. One at a video store and the other at an ice cream parlor. All female victims, each having one female survivor.

The characters? O-M-G!! The storyline? Double OO-MM-GG! I like the multiple character POV of then and now; also the twists and turns kept me guessing throughout.

Once I started this book, I could not put it down! Highly recommended and definitely will read more from this author in the future if it is as good as this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, Alex Finlay and St Martin’s Press Minotaur Books for an ARC in exchange for honest review.

Available: 3/1/22

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is a very highly recommended spellbinding thriller following two murder cases fifteen years apart.

On New Year's Eve evening in 1999 four teenage girls are working at Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey. All four are attacked, along with the manager, but only one girl survived. A boyfriend of one of the girl's is the main suspect, but he vanished and hasn't been found since. Fifteen years later, four teenage girls are attacked at the Linden ice cream parlor and, again, only one girl survives. Ella, a therapist, is called in to talk to the survivor of the ice cream shop attack, Jesse Duvall. Ella is the survivor of the Blockbuster attack and Jesse has a keen interest in that unsolved case. Called in to help police with the investigation is FBI agent Sarah Keller, who is 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. She is assisted by temporary partner Atticus Singh.

The engrossing, riveting narrative unfolds through the points-of-view of Ella, Sarah Keller, and Chris, an assistant prosecutor who actually has a hidden tie to the Blockbuster case. Surrounding their accounts are a host of supporting characters who have some association with the cases and add depth and intrigue to the plot. It becomes clear that solving the current murder investigation may require a closer look at the earlier case. The characters are wonderfully written and resemble real people with all their fears, failings, and foibles. Even the depictions of minor characters feel authentic.

The Night Shift is truly an unputdownable novel with fantastic writing. I was so looking forward to this novel and am so pleased that it met all my lofty expectations. The plot is gripping and compelling and held my rapt attention throughout. There are twists as new information is uncovered and the investigations follow logical developments. The suspense and tension continue to increase as more information is revealed until the explosive ending. This novel has it all, suspense, memorable characters, and a compelling story line.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

This is the second mystery/thriller I have read by Alex Finlay. Interestingly, I felt the same way about this one as I did about the other one (Every Last Fear). The ending was no surprise, but it was a fast, engrossing read with good character development and I enjoyed it.

Although I typically do not try to guess, “who done it”, I did know immediately, however, that didn’t spoil the story for me. There are some alternating timelines, as well as different POVs, but they were never confusing. There are a lot of characters here, as well as a lot of secrets to be discovered.

I don’t like it when smart people do dumb things like Chris not revealing something that could get him disbarred. And, Keller’s actions, at 8 ½ months pregnant with twins, stretched credulity a bit.