A propulsive, quick read - fun and perfect for a beach or a flight. While not my typical genre, it’s a fun novel with colorful characters and lots of action. I guessed the “who dunnit” quite quickly and felt pretty smug and self-satisfied when I was proved right. You can’t go wrong with this one. Heartfelt thanks to Minotaur for the advanced copy!

Sharp and engaging with the added bonus of some Y2K nostalgia, The Night Shift centers on two similar gruesome crimes committed 15 years apart, each with a lone survivor. I really appreciate how Finlay takes the time to give his characters depth and human complexities rather than simply relying on the fast paced “whodunit” trajectory to engage the reader. The cracks, flaws, and internal battles of Finlay’s characters elevate this thriller from others in the genre and also serve to confuse the reader and keep us guessing. Can we really trust these characters’ memories, theories, words, and emotions or are we being played? There are several twists, some of which are surprising while others I predicted early on. The “confrontation” scene was maybe a little over the top, but it’s on par with other popular thrillers so I guess that’s to be expected. A quick, fast paced, and well developed thriller that’s definitely worth a read!

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

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the digital ARC in return for my honest review.

A killer murders a group of teens after the night shift at a Blockbuster, fast-forward 15 years and there's been another murder that closely resembles it. This was an engaging, fast-paced, and entertaining read.

I could NOT put this book down!! From the first page, I was completely hooked! Reading this book gave me such nostalgia vibes!

At the Blockbuster video store in their neighborhood, three teenagers and their manager are brutally murdered on New Year's Eve 1999. One teenage girl survives the attack. An arrest is made, but the suspect escapes while free on bail. In the same town, fifteen years later, the brutal killing of two teenage girls and their manager occurs at the local ice cream shop, with a third girl, Jesse, surviving. Do the two vicious attacks have any connection? It takes the combined efforts of Ella, the lone survivor of the first murders, Chris, the brother of Blockbuster's killings fugitive, and FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller to uncover the connection between the two cases and catch the killer.

The Night Shift is told through a dual timeline and multiple points of view. With the masterful storytelling, all of these perspectives make for a rich and suspenseful story, especially when combined with these well-developed characters.

Alex Finlay once again includes bada$$ women as the main characters in his stories. The FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller from Every Last Fear returns. She's eight months pregnant with twins, but it doesn't slow her down! Even though the traumatic events are still impacting survivors Ella and Jesse, they are determined to figure out what happened. I think Jesse is my favorite character; she's complex, insightful, and wise beyond her years. Together, these women are the driving force behind solving these crimes. Each of them is a strong, intelligent, independent woman.

Alex Finlay's first book, Every Last Fear, was my favorite thriller of 2021. I had high expectations for The Night Shift, and it exceeded them. An engrossing, twisty, page-turning story, The Night Shift kept me guessing until the very end about what exactly happened. There's no question that The Night Shift will be one of my top 2022 thrillers, and Alex Finlay is now an auto-buy author for me!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the digital ARC. This voluntary review reflects my honest, unbiased opinion.

I enjoyed this thriller, though not as much as Finlay's debut novel Every Last Fear. The pace got much faster in the last half of the book, and the author was great at weaving the story in a way that made you keep changing your opinion of "whodunnit." The chapters from Keller's POV were my least favorite, as I much preferred the stories/characters of Ella and Chris. I appreciated the throwback 90s/blockbuster scenes, and wish there had been more of that. I also found the "vlogger" parts confusing to read with the jargon/formatting.

Alex Finlay did not disappoint with The Night Shift.
Fast paced full of suspense. This was hard to put down. The characters and the story meshed so well and had me guessing until the end.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My biggest issue with The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is that a woman who is eight and a half months pregnant, with twins no less, is not running around trying to solve a cold case, heck she wouldn’t even be on desk duty at that point. Otherwise this was a fast paced thriller that really kept me on my toes. I did figure out who the killer was, but Finlay does a good job at pointing you in a bunch of directions!
Ella and Chris had clearly suffered some trauma over the years so it was really interesting to see how it affected them years later. Sarah Keller was a badass, even if she was a little reckless at that stage of pregnancy, and her husband was so supportive of her! Finally, Jesse was also quite the little badass, she had been through a lot over the years but all in all she was a strong young woman!
The similarities between the two cases was startling, and this definitely read like an episode of dateline!
This was my first time reading Alex Finlay but will definitely be reading more!

All I can say is WOW! I loved Alex Finlay's latest thriller novel. Having parts of the book set in the 90's brought on the full nostalgia vibes. There were plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing throughout the book.

On New Years Eve 1999, 4 girls are attacked at a Blockbuster Video in the small town of Linden, New Jersey. Three of the girls and one manager are killed, leaving 1 surviving girl. Linden is the type of town where everyone knows each other and most people stay in the town their entire lives. Fast forward to today, where 4 girls are attacked at an ice cream shop, in an eerily similar manner. Again, there is one lone survivor of the attack.

The surviving girl in both instances recalls the killer saying "goodnight, pretty girl...", leaving detectives to wonder if it is copycat, or if the same killer is at it again.

The story is told from several points of view: the female detective in present day trying to solve the crimes, the survivor from the 1999 attack and Chris, the criminal defense attorney assigned to the present day murder case.

The story weaves together flawlessly, in an unputdownable, suspenseful tale that keeps the reader engaged to the very end. The characters are great - I hope that Finlay writes another book about Detective Keller. There are just enough clues and red herrings that you aren't entirely sure who the killer(s) are/is til the very end. In a jaw-dropping finale, the conclusion is fantastic. I highly recommend this book to thriller lovers!

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The plot : A killer murders a group of teens after the night shift at a Blockbuster, fast-forward 15 years and there's been another murder that closely resembles it.

I can see why a lot of people will really enjoy The Night Shift by Alex Finlay. For me, one thing I hate in any type of book is cheating and this literally begins with Ella, one of the main POVs, nonchalantly cheating on her fiancé not for the first time. Therefore, that left me with one out of three POVs that I had absolutely no interest in reading even if she was the sole survivor of the original Blockbuster crime. However, I did very much enjoy the other two point of views, which were the younger brother of the man convicted of the Blockbuster crime and an FBI agent. Both of their characters kept my attention and I generally cared about their outcomes.

The mystery itself was decent, with quality twists and turns, even a few I didn't see coming. I also really appreciated that it had a very satisfying epilogue. In the end, I think that The Night Shift will be a new favorite for many mystery thriller readers.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the eArc in return for an honest review.
The Night Shift is a story of 2 mass murders that take place several years apart but have similarities. Both have final girls. Ella's story is from 1999 at a Blockbuster Video and Jessica's story is present day and it takes place at an ice cream shop. Told in past and present timelines and multiple povs this book is fast paced and full of twists as we uncover the killer.
I enjoyed this book and it kept me guessing.

Alex Finlay is a master with opening lines that grab your attention and won't let you go; " The night was expected to bring tragedy." How can you not keep reading after that?? I devoured it! All in one day. FInlay is also a master at creating characters with so much depth you'll be left clinging to their stories as if you actually knew these people. So many unexpected twist, so much suspense. I did not see the ending until it was right in my face! And for someone how reads thrillers by the ton, it takes a lot to do that for me. BRAVO!!!

This was so fun. Finlayś last book wasn´t my favorite but this felt like a campy Scream novel. I enjoyed this book. The prose was well-written, and the characters were dynamic and jumped off the page. I thought the story was interesting and the plot kept me guessing.

Absolutely loved this twisty new thriller. It had lots of small surprises throughout the book but I didn’t know the big reveal until it happened. There are three equally interesting POV which totally made me buy in and not be able to stop reading. This is one I’ll definitely be recommending. I’m very lucky to have received this as an ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I devoured this book! I loved it. Read it in two days. There was a lot going on, but, somehow it all seemed to work together to keep me so very engrossed!

I really really really enjoyed this book! This was the most intriguing and well-thought murder thriller I’ve read in a long time (or perhaps ever). At first, it was very confusing following 3 separate characters and all their side characters but it clicked eventually and that’s when I started to enjoy the story more. already planning for a re-read later on in the year bc it was that good and I want to know if I’ll be able to pick up on anything the second time around.

Lots of possible culprits in this thriller. It was a fast-paced read with an interesting plot. My only down side was everyone’s life was entwined with everyone else’s by the end of the novel…a little too convenient, even for fiction!

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC to read and review.

I blame my pain meds for not binging this one. This is sure to satisfy the masses. It’s not slow in the beginning per say but I will say I read the second half in one sitting.

Likable characters, twists and turns (I predicted some) and even a bit emotional this is most definitely worth your reading time. I’d be surprised if it’s not optioned for a movie or tv series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Finlay and St Martin's Press for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Right away this novel was interesting and I knew right from that first chapter that I would love this one. First off, I miss Blockbuster and I loved it, so having that in the beginning was awesome. I loved the characters and the storyline was unique and fast paced. There was a ton of action and the story moved so fast that you just want to binge read the entire thing. I flew through it and there wasn't a page I didn't enjoy. I definitely recommend reading this one!

So good! Page turning, edge of my seat, and stay up late to finish kind of book. Loved how fast paced it was and I was trying to guess who did it throughout the entire book which kept me hooked. There were a lot of characters which made it hard to keep track of initially but as it progressed I became really invested and it was easier to navigate. Would absolutely recommend!

Staying up late to finish a book is something that I seldom do. But that’s exactly what I did with The Night Shift! Alex Finlay has woven a terrific story, centered in Linden, New Jersey, starting with a multiple murder at a Blockbuster video store on New Year’s Eve, 1999. Is there a link between those murders and another multiple murder in the same town in 2015, which bears some eerie similarities? We get to follow three different people along the way: a heavily pregnant FBI agent, a public defender with a hidden link to the first case, and the long survivor of the Blockbuster murders who is now a therapist. The characters are realistically drawn and have distinct personalities, foibles and “baggage.” The chapters are short and to the point. I found myself saying “just one more chapter” over and over again! Expect lots of twists and turns and some red herrings. And if you’re “of a certain age” you’ll love some of the 90’s nostalgia/trivia. (Another plus for me is that I’m familiar with this general area.) I suspect that, like me, you won’t be able to put it down.

One tiny thing - I couldn’t imagine doing some of the things Agent Keller did while 8 1/2 months pregnant with twins. Nope.

This is my first book by Alex Finlay and I will definitely turn to him when I’m in the mood for an exciting thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books / St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.