What an exciting read.
Multiple murders, long kept secrets, connections between all the characters that come to fruition at the end, child abuse, dysfunctional families………the list goes on.
All the characters were described with such detail both physically and mentally that it was like watching a movie appear on the pages. The cast of characters evoked an emotion, good or bad, as I followed them, either rooting for them or yelling at them.
The author's ability to conceive such an intricate plot line and still keep driving the momentum of the storyline makes it impossible to read this in short spurts……..be prepared to sit and read for a while………you won’t want to put this down.

They say: two thousand zero, zero party over, oops, out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999 (1999 – Prince)

New Year’s Eve, 1999. Four teenage girls were working the night shift at a Blockbuster Video store. (Remember those?) “Working” as little as they could get by with, really, because their boss, Steve, was not much older than they were, and despite his threats of disciplinary action, he didn’t have much control over them. But there would be no party for those girls when their shift was over. Someone saw to that. Y2K was a memorable time, mostly because the world didn’t stop. Except that for some, it did. The four girls were brutally attacked. Only one survived. This is how Alex Finley’s new thriller, The Night Shift, begins.

Fifteen years later, it’s like “déjà vu all over again.” This time, it’s an ice cream shop. Once again, four teenagers are attacked; three of them die, and one girl, Jesse Duvall survives. There are some bizarre similarities. Immediately, the high school principal contacts Ella, the lone survivor of the first massacre, who is now a counselor. This was a déjà vu experience for me, as the book I just finished had a therapist who was a trauma survivor as well. As in my previous reading, Ella deals with her experience by displaying potentially self-destructive behaviors and getting involved in dysfunctional relationships. The similarities, not to mention coincidences, between the two mass murders keep popping up.

A young man, Vincent Whitaker was arrested after the 1999 murders but released soon afterward. Almost everyone presumes he is guilty. His younger brother Christopher is one who does not. Because their mother disappeared before the killings, and their father is a mean, violent alcoholic, Chris was placed in the care of a kind, loving couple, who adopted him. He now works as an attorney for the public defender’s office. He’s a major character. “Watch this space.”

Enter FBI agent Sarah Keller. Keller is very, very pregnant with twins, but that doesn’t stop her from earning the moniker of “Badass” because she’s thorough, determined, and very smart. She also takes too many chances than are realistically likely or possible for a woman in her physical condition. She’s assigned to work with a local cop, Atticus – yes, “Atticus” – Singh, an eager, bright young guy who’d love to join the Bureau someday. He proves to be a quick study.

Chapters alternate between Keller, Chris, and Ella. Keller and Singh seem to be getting shut out of the main investigation by the locals, so they keep digging into the past. Chris is tracking a vlogger, whom he believes to be his long-lost brother. He hopes that Vince will return home so that he can help prove his innocence. Ella tries to help Jesse, but it’s hard to know what to believe. Is Jesse telling her everything? She seems to be holding something back. And what do we really know about Ella?

There are so many twists in this story. I imagine the author needed a flow chart to diagram this plot! My oh my oh my! What happened to Vince? Is he the mysterious vlogger? Is he truly guilty of the 1999 murders? What about the similarities between that and the ice cream shop killings? I had my suspicions early on, but as the story grew more and more complex, I wasn’t sure what to think!

The characters are fabulous. The plot starts out slowly and builds and builds to a frenzy. If anything, the wrap-up happens a bit too quickly. But it’s nothing at all like that Y2K experience – that was a humongous hype with fizzle at the end. This. This is what I call a thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and the author for providing me with an ARC copy of The Night Shift in exchange for my unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars

THE NIGHT SHIFT by Alex Finlay follows three characters 15 years after a killing spree in a Blockbuster when, under eerily similar circumstances, an ice cream shop becomes under attack.

Well, well, well, I quite enjoyed this one. If you’re willing to suspend your disbelief about our main FBI agent being 8 months pregnant (need I say more??), and can look past the whodunnit being a bit predictable, then this one was extremely fun!

I’m a sucker for a Blockbuster-based thriller, so that captured my attention immediately. There was plenty of suspense, emotion, and mystery. This book also features three main POVs that Finlay alternates among and I loved it so much.

While this book isn’t as chaotic and all over the place as EVERY LAST FEAR, there are A LOT of characters, and, while I kept them straight for the most part, there was a bit of mental gymnastics involved.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: March 01, 2022

It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey, four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked. Only one survives. 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.

It took some time to get used to the chapter layout because each one is told from a different character's POV. Some of which were too short for me! But this was a great thriller. Lots of twists and turns. I knew who the killer was pretty early on but Finaly made me doubt myself until the reveal.

First off, all my thanks for this one go out to, as usual, @netgalley and @stmartinspress. I would like to add a special thanks to @alexfinlayauthor for this complete mindf*ck. Dude, I've gotta say with the twists you threw at me in #EveryLastFear and now here in #TheNightShift, I sure don't want to be inside your head but thank you for the brief field trip!

I'm always amazed when I read a book full of such twists and turns and have to wonder how the writing process actually works. I don't even know where the starting point would have to be for everything to turn out the way it did but it was absolutely genius! As I just referred to in my shoutout to Alex, if you haven't read his #EveryLastFear, go and do yourself that favor. If you have, well, buckle up and enjoy another complete mind mess, in the best way possible. I was all romcoms all summer long but am definitely feeling the turn back to thrillers as the weather gets colder. I did take a couple days during the reading of this one to read a romcom that had come in to the library. I wish I hadn't though as it did detract from quite where this book could've taken me. As I mentioned in my review for #InMyDreamsIHoldAKnife, I prefer thrillers with solid endings and this one definitely had that as well so I can get back to homework tonight. Y'all, go and read this one. I know my very disjointed review right here doesn't really help convince you but, I promise, it's worth it!

#bookstagram #thriller #scaryseason

Boy did this book bring back memories since video stores are a thing of the past. This book had everything in the books I read. The storyline had intrigue and murder got me hooked by the 5th page read it in a few days since I couldn't put it down.

Wow! I loved this book! The two different slayings were connected and overlapped with ease. Great storyline expertly woven and delivered. Characters were superb! I really felt like I was a part of the story. Great suspense, tension and ending. The perfect storm.
Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

This is my first Alex Finlay book, but it won’t be my last! A great thrill ride of a “who dunnit”! Rich, well developed characters drive a tale of two curiously similar mass homicides that take place over 18 years apart. Atmospheric and moody.

The Night shift is yet another solid thriller from Alex Finlay

Year 1999, on the new year's eve, Four people are brutally attacked on a blockbuster video store. Only one of them survives the night. Ella, the sole survivor from that attack is trying to cope up with her life. Now, 15 years after, a similar attack happens in an ice cream store where three teenage girls were killed with Just one survivor. Ella, now a therapist is called to the hospital to help with the victim. Are these crimes connected?

Vince Whittaker, the original suspect from the 1999 crime, has fled and never to be seen again. His Brother, Chris, now a public defender, has always believed that his bother was innocent.

Told from the perspectives of Ella, Chris and FBI Agent Sarah, The Night shift is fast paced and is definitely a page turner. I liked Sarah from Every last fear and I was glad to see her back in this novel. This happens when she is pregnant with the twins and as usual she is a " badass". As an Indian myself, It was nice to see Indian characters in Alex Finlay's novels. Ganesh in Every last fear and Atticus in this one.

Though I liked the novel and its pace, I felt the last few pages and the reveal was rushed. Alex could have taken a few more pages to wrap up the novel and to tie up all the loose ends. After laying out such a complicated plot, the ending sort of fell flat. I was not able to guess the ending, but the ending did not feel convincing to me. Even with that, I loved the characters, the way the book was structured and how captivating it was.

Alex Finlay has become the author whose books I will always look out for !.

I am always super stoked for anything set in the 1990s. Bonus points if it's set somewhere that no longer exists like a Blockbuster Video. Good times. This was alright but I think I had to suspend a little too much disbelief in the end, the way it all came together. A good ride but I'm just meh at the end.

I loved Alex Finlay's thriller The Night Shift, a twisty book about terrifyingly similar murders that take place years apart. The first event is the murder of the night staff of a local Blockbuster in 1999, leaving only one survivor. Fast forward to present, when the staff of an ice cream shop in the same town are murdered, leaving just one survivor. Is there a connection, or is it a coincidence? Is the original killer back, or could this be a copycat?

The lone survivor from the Blockbuster murders is called in to counsel the one survivor of the ice cream shop murders, and she's not the only one on the case with secrets and conflicts. The younger brother of the suspect in the original murders is now working for the public defender's office, but no one knows of his connection to the original case thanks to an adoption and a name change when he was young. The sole survivor at the ice cream shop is new to town and has lied to the police. How many of these secrets will intersect, and what will happen as the truths are revealed?

FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, from Finlay's debut thriller Every Last Fear, joins the investigation to see if there might be a connection between the Blockbuster case and the ice cream murders. Special Agent Keller is my favorite character in this book, as she was in Every Last Fear, because she is clever, compassionate, and strong. (The plots of the two novels are not connected at all, and there is no reference in The Night Shift to the previous book, so these two books can be read independently from one another.)

The Night Shift is not to be missed. Between the non-stop action, a few awesome twists and reveals, and the sharp mind of Special Agent Keller, I couldn't put this book down, while at the same time I found myself hoping it wouldn't end. I now know that I will always need to get my hands on any new book by Alex Finlay.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Alex Finlay, and publisher Minotaur Books at St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! It kept a me guessing and turning the page without pause. The changing perspectives and points of view were enough to keep you guess but not so much that you were confused. Highly recommend.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I read Finlay’s last book, Every Last Fear, and it was a great thriller. Expect more of the same with The Night Shift.

Everyone’s partying on New Year’s Eve 1999. All the havoc everyone predicted for Y2K never materialized, and life resumed as normal. Except for the families of the victims working at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey. A deadly attack leaves the manager and three teenage girls dead, with one survivor, Ella. A suspect, Vince Whittaker, is identified, but Vince promptly flees to avoid prosecution and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, Linden again experiences the same horror as four teenage girls working late at the Dairy Creamery are attacked, leaving one lone survivor, Jesse. Could Vince be back in town? Are the murders connected? What is Jesse’s fascination with the Blockbuster Video killings? Does Vince’s brother, Chris, know where Vince is? How will Ella react when she finds out Chris is certain his brother wasn’t the murderer? What secrets did the police hide from the first murders? Well, badass FBI Agent Sarah Keller is going to sort it all out.

Totally recommend this as a page-turning, twisty thrill ride.

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

A remarkable thriller, with some very interesting twists!

I was very excited when granted an ARC of “Night Shift” as the cover and description peaked my interest right away. The cover is phenomenal, with A. Finley delivering a steady-paced thriller, which I did not want to put down. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed “Night Shift’ and would recommend to others.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for providing me an advance copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

Wow! Another amazing one by Alex Finlay! The Night Shift had me hooked from the very beginning. Overall loved this one! Can't wait for more from Finlay!

I had previously read and loved Every Last Fear, so the bar was set high for this one. Very worthy successor. The characterization was well done, especially after reading several books in a row with mostly unlikeable characters. It was treat to realize that I loved each main character and the supporting ones. The interaction of Ella and Atticus made me smile more than once. The Y2K aspect was cool, as I was in my early 30's back then and remember it well.. Also, I have so many good Friday night with Blockbuster memories. I soaked up every detail from the video store scenes. Really, the only negative I have is that the culprit was pretty obvious, but there was so much else going on and the pace was so fast, that this was just a small blip. Definitely looking to the next one and Alex Finlay has just been added to my Must Read author list!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Alex Finlay and St. Martin's Press for this much appreciated ARC!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end. The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of The Night Shift.

I had high hopes for this, but I found this novel to be boring with a lot of police procedural talk and also was confusing with the many alternating characters. I did enjoy the timeline of 1999/Y2K and the nostalgic from that time. Sad to say I was very disappointed.

I was slightly underwhelmed by this book. This was my first time reading Alex Finlay, and I’d heard such good things, I thought this would be a five star book for sure. It was a good book, but nothing I’d call especially memorable or brilliant.

The night of Y2K (oh the nostalgia!), a group of kids working at Blockbuster end up getting killed, but there was one survivor: Ella. Fifteen years later, Ella is a therapist, and one night she gets a horrible phone call. Some kids working at the Dairy Creamery (I think that’s supposed to be Dairy Queen but maybe they didn’t want their chain used) have been killed, just like her friends at Blockbuster.

There is one survivor in this attack too: Jesse. At the hospital, she refuses to talk to the doctors or nurses about what happened, so Ella is called in. Having been the lone survivor of a similar situation, Jesse feels like she can trust Ella, so the story begins to come out. As Jesse talks, Ella is brought back to the night she almost died, and wonders if there is a connection.

The book goes through solving these crimes and bringing justice to all the families affected. There were almost too many characters, which made it a little convoluted at times, but it was a pretty good read anyway. There were plenty of twists, but none that really blew my mind. The ending was neatly done, and overall I enjoyed this one, just not as much as I was expecting to. I’m giving this a 3.5, rounded up because the writing was good and it kept me interested the whole time.

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, Alex Finlay and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)

#FirstLine - The night was expected to bring tragedy.

I think that Alex Lake is becoming a new favorite writer of mine. This story is outstanding. I was gripped from the start and could not figure out the ending. I was blown away by how the story slowly unraveled. I also was fascinated by the way Lake developed the characters and laid out their Individual stories. It was brilliance. I adored this book and I loved being taken into this thrilling suspenseful mystery. It is an absolute must read!!! Loved it!