Alex Finlay's The Night Shift is one of those hold your breath, try to guess who's guilty, stay up all night to finish thrillers. I was invested from chapter one...

Fifteen years ago, a brutal murder at the local Blockbuster left three innocent teenagers dead. Ella is the only survivor. She became a therapist to help those in need but hasn't quite come to terms with her own issues... until she starts working with Jesse.

Flash forward to the present day, when an eerily similar murder is committed at an ice cream shop. Again, the victims are teenage girls. Again, there is only one survivor. Jesse is lucky to be alive but quickly becomes a suspect and will only talk to Ella.

Could it have been the same suspect who was released on a technicality fifteen years ago and disappeared without a trace? Is this the work of a copycat who wanted to recreate the most brutal crime that this New Jersey town has ever seen? Or is the killer living among them in plain sight?

The team tasked with solving this gut-wrenching crime includes some of the most likable characters I've ever met. Agent Keller is pregnant with twins, ready to pop, and so fearless that she earns- and despises- the nickname "Agent Badass". She takes newbie agent Atticus under her wing and together they race to uncover the truths and secrets behind the murders. Ella is working through her own demons and is determined to help Jesse, who has secrets of her own that can break this case wide open. And then there's Chris, one of the public defenders who has tried to keep his connection to the missing suspect from the Blockbuster case a secret until now...

This is a 5 star read... be ready to stay up all night, fall in love with some unforgettable characters, and never guess the ending until the very last chapter.

Holy bananas what an awesome suspense novel this was! I was pleased to see Agent Keller make her return from the previous book, Every Last Fear. You don't need to have read that one to enjoy this one but you'll definitely want to read it because it was great.

Agent Keller, now 8.5 months pregnant with twins, is assigned to a multi-homicide case in New Jersey that is eerily similar to a crime committed 15 years before. While the only doubt this is the same killer is the time gap, since the original suspect disappeared, it is possible he could be loose again. What follows is a twisty, turning, white knuckle paced novel that unfolds with such alarming detail you won't want to put the book down until the end.

Alex Finlay is a definite force to be reckoned with in the suspense genre. The plots of his books are extremely well thought out and put together. I was delighted to receive this ARC copy and have the pleasure of reading it early. This guy is definitely going places. Would give 50 stars if I could.

Alex Finlay’s The Night Shift is the personification of “all thriller and no filler “. I started the first chapter in the afternoon and before I knew it, it was midnight and I was flipping the last page.

The narrative opens up with the grisly murders of Blockbuster store employees on New Year’s Eve 1999. Only one girl survives the massacre. 10 years later, young girls working at an ice cream store are brutally murdered and yet again only one girl survives. The crime scene details are eerily identical, begging the question if it’s the same murderer as the one from 10 years ago. The mystique runs high throughout the narrative with awe-striking plot twists hurdling at you like meteoroids that keep you hooked on to watch the disturbing secrets unearthed in most spectacular fashion through good old sleuthing and killer instincts of the characters.

What makes The Night Shift such a unique experience is the brilliant development of characters coupled with a pedal to the metal plot. There are no grand action sequences as befitting the grounded murder investigation situation, putting the entire weight of keeping the story gripping and exciting on its believable characters and a breakneck pace. Luckily, Alex Finlay excels at mastering both in The Night Shift.

The Night Shift is a perfect crime-mystery thriller for fans of Meg Gardiner’s UNSUB series, reminiscent but adding its own flair to the sub-genre of thriller.

This review is posted with a blurb image at https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain/the-night-shift-by-alex-finlay

This compulsively unputdownable thriller follows two crimes that take place fifteen years apart. Told from multiple POVs and shifting between past and present, The Night Shift held my attention from the first word to the last page and kept me guessing the whole way through. Alex Finlay is a master in this genre and an automatic entry on my TBR list. Highly recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this is a quick and suspenseful psychological thriller! In 1999, final girl Ella Monroe survived a brutal mass murder at Blockbuster Video in Linden, NJ. Her boss, Steve, and friend/coworker Katie, and two other coworkers were stabbed multiple times with a knife. The knife was discovered in Vince Whitaker’s high school locker. Vince was arrested, but escaped. Fifteen years later, another mass murder killing takes place in Linden at an ice cream store. Three high school students are killed, but final girl Jesse survives. I’ve read a few “final girl” trope this year and this is the best one! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

New Year's Eve 1999 and there is a brutal killing at a Blockbuster video store with only one survivor. Fast forward to 15 years later and there is another brutal killing at an ice cream shop in the same small town again with only one survivor. That is how Alex Finlay's new novel begins.
I was sucked in immediately with this story. It has multiple time lines and multiple points of view. It's full of twists and turns and I loved it.
This is my second 5 star read from this author. I cannot wait to read the next one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay. The author ties together the past and present shooting methodically. Slowly but ultimately the details of victims background come to light and to an unexpected conclusion. Atticus' enthusiasm was refreshing and he was a unique character. How Sarah Keller managed at eight month pregnant (with twins no less) to engage in the action packed take down of the suspect is beyond me (having had trouble walking from one end of a room to another while pregnant) One tough lady.
Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I think we fell into a sophomore slump here.

First, clearly Finlay has never been an eight-month pregnant woman. No pregnant woman about to give birth to twins is “darting” around doing anything. I was at odds with the Keller character because, as a parent, the themes of nurture and parenting were slightly off to me. Almost caricatures. He almost gets there but they feel a little hollow so that it didn’t all quite mesh.

I know it’s a thriller, but it just seemed like a lot of gratuitous violence on this one. Every Last Fear had a lot more character development which is what really pulled you in, not the mystery although that ended up being a good one too. The Night Shift struggles, there wasn’t enough character development or commitment to the mystery either. It all felt a little abrupt and then tinged with, again, gratuitous twists that leave you feeling empty and squirmy. What I loved about Every Last Fear didn’t work here for me – the different POV, I just don’t know that the characters were nuanced enough to really care about them. The character I did really like had a disservice done to them which was too bad. Also I felt that we never really good full closure or insight into the motivations for characters’ actions, it all felt very superficial.

Also, the title, like with Every Last Fear, didn’t fit to me.

First, I want to express my sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this well-written and complex mystery in return for an honest review.
Alex Finlay's debut book, 'Every Last Fear,' was an accomplished thriller with emotional drama and one of my favourites. 'The Night Shift,' his second book, takes the 'final girl' premise to new heights. The plot focuses on mass murder at a Blockbuster Video on the evening of December 31, 1999. There was one survivor, Ella, a teenaged girl.

In 2015, Ella, the 'last girl', is a therapist but her emotional scars remain. She is on a path of self-destruction with drugs, drink, and one-night stands. There has been another killing of young people working in an ice cream parlour. Ella has been asked to connect with the only survivor, Jess, who will not talk to the police or their counsellors. The two become friends because of their connection as 'last girls'.

At the time of the Blockbuster murders, two boys were living with a frightening, physically abusive father. Their mother had long ago deserted them. Vince, the older brother, was the prime suspect. He vanished and has not been apprehended by the police for the last 15 years. The younger brother, Chris, was placed with a loving, supportive family and given their last name. He is now a public defender. He has never stopped believing that Vince is innocent or revealed the horrible upbringing in his early years.

Chris has discovered a series of Vlogs by an adventurer who travels worldwide to dangerous and exciting places while filming and commenting on his adventures. His face is never shown, but Chris believes there are similarities to his long-lost and sadly missed brother.

Trying to connect the two crimes are FBI agent 'badass' Keller, heavily pregnant with twins and young officer Atticus Singh. Ella and Jess also suspect both crimes are related. They both have memories and secrets they have never revealed to the investigators. Could Vince be back in the country and be responsible for both crimes? Could Vince be entirely innocent? Have a different perpetrator and a copycat killer committed the crimes? Maybe both slaughters was committed by one person, and the blame was placed unjustly on the missing Vince Whitaker?

At first, I was not feeling the suspense nor engaged in the complicated, well-plotted puzzle. It took me some time to connect with its flawed characters. Later I became gripped by the storyline that contained many twists and revelations. There was much action, tragedy, violence and increasing dread, thrills, and suspense, and I became emotionally involved in the outcome. FBI agent Keller is a bold, amazing character.

This was a riveting, intelligent thriller and would read anything Alex Finlay writes next!

I'm not awarding full stars because of editorial issues which I assume will be resolved pre-publication, but, even still, this one is a solid 4.5.

I loved the book Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay so I was hoping I would like Night Shift just as much. I was not disappointed, Alex Finlay is one of my new favorite authors!!
Night shift is about two different multiple murders 15 years apart. The suspect in the first murder went on the run so you're not sure if he is come back to murder again or was he wrongfully blamed? And if he was wrongfully blamed who was the murderer? All these questions will be answered in the book but not before the author takes you through some twists and turns I did not see coming!
It's a fast-paced thriller that kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning. The story is told from multiple povs and that really adds dimension to the storyline. My only criticism is I guess the ending pretty early on, but that's okay the book was still excellent!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Finally read something entertaining!

Well, now I will have to go and read his other books because I absolutely enjoyed this one! I read it in one day! Yeah, I couldn’t put it down.

I definitely like the author’s nonsense writing and lack of useless details.

Enjoyable characters, right pace, good plot…

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this title.

The Night Shift was like coming home and realizing it smells just as good as you remember— in this case home is Alex Finlay’s writing.

FBI Agent Sarah Keller is back, investigating what could be two connected crimes fifteen years apart. In 1999 four teenaged girls working at a Blockbuster were attacked, and only one survived. History repeats itself all these years later in an ice cream shop.

Alex Finlay is a master of keeping you on the edge of your seat, suspicious of everyone. He creates real, flawed, well-rounded characters, lays out a phenomenal and complex plot, and is well practiced at writing alternating perspectives without a single one being boring. I read this all in one sitting and I kept jotting down theories for each thing said, heard, or realized throughout the story and one of them panned out!

The one thing I do not forgive Alex Finlay for: just like after reading Every Last Fear I feel genuine heartbreak for some of these characters and I now need to decompress once again.

This was an amazing read, thank you to Alex Finlay, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this incredible ARC.

Oh my! May I have your attention please? I think after devouring one of the best thing I’ve read lately, I can honestly say: I want to create a fan club of Alex Finlay. I want to print and sell embroidered T-shirts with his book covers! I have to discuss his books on book forums and chant for his works!

I enjoyed Every Last Fear as a debut and I was so curious what he would write after that great book. Could he write something even better than his debut? And he actually did. I wrote a five star review for Every Last Fear so to be fair I have to write seven stars review for Night Shift. Can I write it? Well, if the author exceeded my expectations with his great performance, I think it’s worth to try!

Night Shift has everything for geeky mystery/ serial killer story fans like me. It has deeply layered, complex, honest, absolutely well-developed characterization. Writing style with short and intense chapters ending with cliffhangers hook you up, forcing you to devour pages a little faster than you planned and eventually you find yourself cancel everything in your life to give full attention to this riveting, addictive mystery.

There are so many twists that we mostly don’t see them coming and they hit us hard. I honestly guessed the culprit easily but there are so many surprising and juicy revelations about the characters and their connections to the murder cases which pull the rug out from under you!

FBI Agent Keller was my favorite character as bold, witty, badass inspector reminds you of a sweet combination of Fargo’s Frances McDormand -X Files’ Dana Scully- Mare of Easttown’s Kate Winslet! ( coolest fiction character I’d like to hang out and share bottles of Chardonnay)

And heart wrenching, emotional, fear ending is absolutely the best possible way to finalize this impactful and remarkable story!

Let’s take a look at the plot:
The story opens up 1999’s New Year’s Eve: thankfully no planes crushed, the elevator didn’t plunge to earth or the world market didn’t collapse as it was expected! But another local tragedy hit Linden, New Jersey: the four teenager girls working at Blockbuster Video store, were brutally attacked! Three of them are killed and only one of them survived.

After fifteen years later another brutal attack occur at the same town. This time the killer hunts the victims at ice cream store and only a young girl named Jessica Duvall survived from the massacre. But she rejects to talk with the officers. She needs someone who truly understands the tragic situation she’s been endured. That’s how Ella who is the lone survivor of the Blockbuster video store murders finds herself to talk with the victim.

Ella is a therapist whose brain is foggy with drugs, suffering from self destruction, sabotaging her own relationship with her fiancée, having random one night stands. She’s still stuck at the day the murders have been occurred. Her connection with Jesse push her to dig more to find out more clues about two murders. Could they be connected? Could both murders have been committed by the same person?

Ella is not the only one to connect the dots to solve whose behind the great scheme. FBI Agent badass Keller who is expecting twins team up with young officer Atticus investigate the past and present crimes’ connection and Chris: baby brother of Vince Whitaker who was presumed to be responsible for killings at Blockbuster video store, working as public defender, chasing a V-logger because there are so many similarities between the guy and his brother who has run away after being accused of killing the girls!

Could Vince Whitaker be innocent? Could somebody put the blame on him to resume his/ her deadly massacres?

Keller-Ella-Jesse and Nick’s paths are intercepted. Their connection and determination to find out the truth will also open so many can of warms. Nothing as it seems and as the revelations come out none of them’s life will be the same!

I truly deeply highly recommend this mind blowing page- turner! And as probable founder of fan club, I’m looking forward to read Alex Finlay’s future works

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Remember the nerves and uncertainty in the air on the eve of Y2K?

That’s exactly where this book starts off, on December 31st, 1999 at a Blockbuster Video Store (oh, how I love the nostalgia). Four teenage girls are working with their young manager, and all but one of the workers are brutally murdered. A suspect is quickly arrested and released...never to be seen again.

15 years later, some teenage girls are working at an ice cream parlor in the same neighborhood. There is only one survivor.

Are the two crimes connected? Is the original suspect from 1999 back from wherever he went?

Told from the perspectives of Ella, the lone survivor of the Blockbuster murders, FBI Agent Keller, and Public Defender Chris, I immediately became immersed in the story, waiting to see how everything would intersect.

For the most part, The Night Shift is a gripping thriller with interesting characters, an intriguing and dark plot that sprinkles “a-ha” moments throughout, and enough tension to push through to the ending.

It’s not perfect, though. I found the way the characters received pertinent information to be a bit coincidental. One source of knowledge was pretty unbelievable, and I’m not sure how this particular individual would uncover so much information that has eluded the FBI, police, reporters, and the like. Additionally, the epilogue was way too HALLMARK-esque for my liking.

Author Alex Finlay has a surefire talent with his words. This is the second novel of his that I have read and truly enjoyed. While I didn’t quite love it as much as his previous offering, Every Last Fear, it’s still a worthy addition to my “read” shelf. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 3/1/22.

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

What a thrilling thriller. It starts durong a shift in an old school Blockbuster and one of the oyees is murdered. Fifteen years later, a similar murder occurs in a different shop. The plot was fast paced and the character development was phenomenal. I loved it.

*4.5 stars

I liked this more than Alex’s first book. Right from the beginning it starts with a bang….well, more like a murder. With only one survivor, who 15 years later will help another lone survivor in an eerily similar murder scene. The chapters go from three pov’s, so you never get bored. Every chapter will have you questioning: who did it? Fast paced, clever, & surprising. I highly recommend this if you enjoyed his other book.

This was my first book to read by this author and I can’t wait to read more!! The characters are so well written and really stick with you long after you finish this unique story. Do yourself a favor and read this now!!

This book didn't work for me because it was too procedural for my liking. If the story had more about the 1999 crime and the present day crime, the story would be more action packed. I enjoyed Alex Finlay's last book, so I will not be providing a negative review on social media regarding my opinion of THE NIGHT SHIFT. I wish this book success and will continue to read the author's works.

A captivating mystery. This book has many twists and turns that make it impossible to put down. I was never bored and finished this book really quickly.