I have been DYING for the next Alex Finlay since his last book, and I am happy to report I was not disappointed.

Finlay is a master of weaving multiple points of view and time frames in a way that you can't understand how these all come together... but somehow they just do. And he creates these characters that you can't help but fall for.

There are so many twists to this story that you really don't see them coming until they smack you in the face... and then you sit and wonder how it wasn't perfectly clear to you in the first place.

The ending is exactly what you want: you can't put the book down, you need to know more, and then suddenly it's all exploding and you're left heartbroken and hopeful and wondering how anyone could write such a riveting story.

This novel is an absolute MUST READ and you all need to get your hands on it ASAP.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for this ARC.

This was such a fun popcorn thriller! I loved all the 90's vibes - RIP friday nights at Blockbuster :(

Overall I think this was a great thriller. The story is told from three different perspectives and there was A LOT going on (which I personally loved). It was also just refreshing as hell to read a thriller that wasn't centered on a married couple - BRAVO!

My only gripe is that I guessed the twist VERY early on, like the moment that character was introduced, so I never got to have that shock factor I was really hoping for.

Definitely recommend for a fun read and I think this would make a fabulous movie or miniseries!

Thank you Minotaur and Netgalley for the advanced copy - all opinions are my own!

The Night Shift

by Alex Finlay
Pub Date: 01 Mar 2022
4.5/5 Stars

The Night Shift is my favorite kind of book. Great, suspenseful read, with twists I did not predict. Love the short chapters, the dual timeline. Characters were sharp, interesting and their side stories didn’t remove focus from the investigation. The book was just creepy enough for me. I’m sure readers will devour this one, I sure did!

Thanks to Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

On New Year's Eve 1999, five teenagers working the night shift at a Blockbuster in New Jersey are attacked, with only one survivor. Police quickly identify a local teenage boy as a suspect, but he disappears before they can arrest him. Fifteen years later, it happens again at an ice cream store. Now FBI Agent Sarah Keller must investigate both incidents, looking for a connection, while stirring up memories for the first survivor and the brother of the accused, who has always proclaimed his brother's innocence.

The Night Shift has a tightly woven plot so all the characters are heavily interwoven. This interconnection allowed for plenty of twists and red herrings, but also made it so I guessed the ending. Yet, the story was so fun to read, that I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good thriller to read this Spring.

Alex Finlay is becoming an instant buy author. I loved this thriller just as much as his first book, Every Last Fear. I had a nice long weekend and spent the whole weekend reading this ebook. It was so good and is written perfectly. It kept me engaged and curious and all the twists made sense. Absolutely recommend this to any thriller fan.

Picture this: It is NYE 1999, Y2K is rumored in end the world as we know it. At a Blockbuster on New Year’s Eve – four teenage girls are viscously attacked while working the night shift. Only one survives. The suspect is never found. Fast forward fifteen years, in the same town, a copycat attack occurs at a local ice cream shop. Once again, there is only ones survivor. Both surviving victims recall the killer saying “goodnight, pretty girl” In the aftermath, three lives intersect. The survivor of the Blockbuster tragedy must relive what happened fifteen years prior. The brother of the suspect, who is still convinced the police have it wrong, and the FBI agent who is hell bent on solving both crimes.

I went into this book with extremely high expectations. I LOVED Every Last Fear….but unfortunately this novel left me underwhelmed. It was way too predictable and I didn’t care for any of the characters. I really enjoyed the premise of this book and I was holding out for an amazing plot twist but it just didn’t do it for me.

The grisly murders of thee teenaged girls working in an ice cream shop has an eerie resemblance to the murders of three girls in Blockbuster video store fifteen years earlier. The suspect in the Blockbuster murders disappeared without a trace just after the original murders. Could he be back?

The story is told from multiple points of view. Ella is the lone survivor of the Blockbuster murders. She’s now a therapist and still trying to cope with her ordeal. Ella is asked to speak with the lone survivor of the ice cream shop killings. Ella feels an instant connection to the girl and wants to help her. FBI Agent Keller is brought in to help the local police department with the ice cream shop investigation. She’s smart, calm, fearless, and very pregnant. She was my favorite character. Chris is a young attorney working in the public defender’s office. He has a secret connection to the Blockbuster case that could ruin his life and career.

Finlay deftly weaves the past and present murder investigations and the multiple points of view together. He also provides lots of twists and red herrings along the way to create a riveting mystery. I hope this isn’t the last we see of Agent Keller.

I have so many memories of going to Blockbuster in the 90s and I love books set in the 90s, so I was really excited by the premise of this one. While the story was enjoyable, there were some things that could have made it a little better for me. I sometimes struggle reading books about detectives because my husband used to be one, so I’m always asking him “Is this true?” “Could this really happen?”, “Do detectives do this?”. I do think a lot of people will enjoy this one though, overall it was a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the sophomore book by Alex Finlay - 5 stars! This author is now a definite must read; Every Last Fear was wonderful as well!

In 1999, there was a brutal slaying of 3 young girls working at a Blockbuster Video with Elle being the lone survivor. A local boy, Vince Whitaker, was charged with the crime but escaped after being let out on bail. Fifteen years later, there is a similar killing at a local ice cream store, again with one survivor, teenager Jesse. Elle, now a therapist, is called in to talk to Jesse since they can relate to each other's experience. FBI Special Agent Keller is called in to help local authorities.

This story is told in short chapters from the perspectives of Elle, Keller and Chris, the younger brother of Vince, now a public defender. You may figure out the culprit but that doesn't take anything away from the twists and turns and tension of this wonderfully-written book. I loved these characters and hated to see this book come to an end. Pretty please can we have a follow up with more from Agent Keller? Don't miss this book or his first - definite must reads!

Solid thriller. I figured out the who done it pretty easily but it was an enjoyable read I liked the characters even with their flaws. There were 1 or 2 side twists that I really didn't see coming which made up for the other part. There was diversity which is always good and I liked the throwback late 90s nostalgia. I think overall I liked No Exit better but I would still recommend Night Shift almost 4 stars

The Night Shift is my first read from Alex Finlay but it definitely won't be my last.

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Four Blockbuster (aww the memories of renting a video) employees are murdered with one teenage survivor. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one makes it out alive.

I loved the mystery and suspense of this story. It is full of twists and turns, one more exciting than the last. The characters are well developed and complex. Told in multiple POVs, I was totally involved with each and every character.

I highly recommend this book, and am looking forward to the next book from this talented author.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Alex Finlay for a copy of "The Night Shift" in exchange of an honest review.

This is a solid thriller - more like 4.5 stars. I love strong female characters, and we got two really great ones in this book. I really enjoyed the POVs from very different, but unknowingly interconnected, people - the original survivor, an FBI agent, and a public defender. It was so fun to follow along as they navigated what was happening. Especially since we, as the reader, know about all these connections that none of them have made yet.

This book contained multiple twists. For the most part, I did not expect them and was very impressed with Finlay’s ability to conceal them. But I was fairly sure I knew who the killer was sooner than I would have liked (and I was correct). That said, Finlay does a good job of keeping the reader on their toes and constantly second guessing their conclusions.

Overall, I definitely recommend this one for thriller lovers - especially if serial killers are your thing.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy!

Thank you to #netgalley for giving me an ARC to give an honest review.
This novel started a bit slow but became better as the story progressed. A suspenseful, well-written thriller, Alex Finlay does it again. I look forward to his next novel.

Kept me on the edge of my seat and up at night! A murder masterpiece perfect for fans of Karen McManus

🚨Superb murder suspense novel: 2 out of 2!👍👍

My second time reading an Alex Finlay thriller and it's another Hello, yes! for an excellent, suspenseful read. The chapters are short which always seems to move the story faster for me; the writing is straightforward, simple, and provides just the right amount of description; there's a good amount of action; and, though there are a hefty number of characters and several teams of investigators (mostly law enforcement and FBI agent Sarah Keller versus the lawyers working the case), each character has an important role in piecing together the puzzle of two mass murders in New Jersey fifteen years apart and whether they are connected.

Excellent plot and the high-action, edge-of-your-seat climax does lead to justice and closure for the grieving families with an unfortunate bit of extra tragedy. I especially liked that Agent Keller and her wingman Atticus were well-adjusted people with normal lives that, apart from Keller's pregnancy, did not take any focus away from the investigation.

Thanks to Minotaur Books, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

The Night Shift is a book I've been looking forward to since I first learned of it. The story starts with an attack at a Blockbuster store and then 15 years later a very similar attack happens at an ice cream store. The story moves fast and is a it jagged going back and fore between the two incidents and many new characters abound. The characters are somewhat uninteresting as the story pursues. I did have high hopes, I was a bit disappointed, but was thankful to have read an ARC. Thanks @NewGalley@MinotaurBooks@TheNightShift

Strongly liked but there was a little pacing issue in the middle of the book for me - it felt like I was between 40-55% for five days.

Overall I liked the story but more movement in the middle instead of the end would have been good.

Thanks to Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review

I was excited to read this dual timeline/multiple point of view thriller beginning on the eve of Y2K. In a Blockbuster video store... I mean come on, talk about nostalgic! I enjoyed the short chapters and plenty of bait to keep you turning the pages. Two shop killings spread 15 yrs apart seem eerily familiar as police try to make connections and find the killer(s).
There were a few aspects that felt unbelievable but as thrillers go, this is expected. Agent Keller, the 8 month-Pregnant-with-twins FBI agent was extremely active for being THAT pregnant, but you know, the fear for her babies' safety added to the tension in the story.
Overall a great, fast paced thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder in parking lots at night.

If you're looking for a fast paced book that grabs you from the first chapter then this is it! I loved the characters and felt like the storyline really captivates you and gives you the urge to finish the entire book in one day just to get to the end. Highly recommend if you're looking for a great mystery.

Two crimes, 15 years apart. Although eerily similar, is it possible that they are connected?
New Years Eve, 1999 - 4 girls and their male supervisor are brutally attacked while closing up the Blockbuster store they work at. Fortunately there is one survivor, Ella.
15 years later, 4 girls are brutally attacked at an ice cream shop and again there is one survivor, Jesse. Ella, who is now a therapist is called in to help the young girl since she is the only one who could possibly relate to the situation.
Agent Sarah Keller of the FBI is brought in to help reopen the Blockbuster cold case and help figure out if the two crimes could really be committed by the same person or if it could be a copycat crime. With the help of her temporary partner, Atticus, they discover so much more to the case and so many things that were overlooked or hidden.
Chris Whitaker Ford is the brother of the man arrested for the Blockbuster case back in 1999. With the two of them growing up in an abusive home, Chris is eventually adopted by a foster family when his brother goes missing and police find out the abuse he's been suffering at his father's hand. Although Chris hasn't seen his brother Vince for 15 years, he believes he is innocent but on the run. In hopes to one day help him out, Chris becomes a lawyer.
This story is told from the alternating perspectives of Ella, Sarah and Chris. Every chapter is ended on somewhat of a cliffhanger so you cannot stop reading. There were so many twists and connections. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire ride. I also loved that the story took place in New Jersey. Being a New Jersey native, it was great to actually be able to picture all of the places mentioned throughout the book. I read Alex Finlay's previous novel and loved that one as well. I can definitely say that I am a fan and can't wait for any upcoming work. Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced eARC and letting me read this in exchange for my honest review.