This was a wonderful debut! I loved reading about NYU student Matt Pine and the family he lost. It's hard to talk about this plot without giving away the twists and thrills but readers will be surprised. I was not able to predict the story line as I am with so many thrillers. The only reason I give it 4 stars is that it was a little bit slower for me to get into than a perfect 5.

This book had an amazing start. The plot reminded me a lot of Netflix's "Making A Murderer" and I loved the documentary sub-plot. There were a lot of moving parts to the story and many characters coming and going throughout the story. I began to lose track of who was who, possibly because none of the characters felt very developed to me. Unfortunately, I was spoiled about the murderer by another reviewer who named the percentage where she figured out who it was (don't do that!) so knowing could have greatly reduced my enjoyment of the story.

Overall, this was a decent story that moved at a good pace but I was a bit underwhelmed.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Pine family became the center of a true crime documentary after the eldest son, Danny, was convicted of murdering a teenage girl while he was in high school. Several years later, parents Evan & Olivia, and youngest children Maggie and Tommy die in a "freak accident" while vacationing in Mexico.

The fourth Pine child, Matt, is left to deal with his family's death amongst and uncover the truth about what really happened with his family.

I enjoyed all of the characters and the different POVs. Sometimes I find the POVs can be a little lackluster, but in this novel, Finlay really executed it brilliantly. The characters were all developed so deeply that I felt connected to them.

The mystery kept me reading, as I was anxious to discover the truth. Although I did find the ending slightly predictable, I was very pleased with how it ended and with the reveal.

I recommend Finlay's debut novel, and rate it 4/5 stars. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for the galley in exchange for an honest review.

Matt Pine and his family have been through a lot over the past few years. His brother, Danny was arrested for murdering his high school girlfriend. Matt’s family cannot seem to accept the fact and they start to spiral under the pressure of trying to exonerate their son.

Matt, however, keeps his distance from it all because he has a little secret of his own.. he saw his brother the night of the murder and he is 100% convinced his brother is guilty.

A few years later, Matt’s family takes a trip to Mexico without him. The trip is thought to be a vacation of sorts, but when his whole family is found dead in their rental house (it’s said to have been a gas leak), the FBI start to question if it was accidental or if something more sinister is at play. Matt must come to terms with what he thought he knew to solve the mystery once and for all.

The multiple points of view and the multiple timelines made this a cumbersome read. There were too many side plots with everything but the kitchen sink thrown into the book. It was difficult to maintain interest. Less is more!

I love true crime podcasts and documentaries so had high hopes but it wasn't for me. It needed fewer points of view and the story tightened up with no more than two timelines.

Rating: 3 - 3.5

I was so excited to get my hands on this ARC as the description sounded fantastic, and who doesn't love a good psychological thriller.

I think the author forgot the psychological thriller part of the story. There was a definite "whodunit" aspect to the book, but I did not feel the thriller part. A Mystery, I think, fits the genre for this book better.

About the book, it starts with the first line, "They found the bodies on a Tuesday." FANTASTIC opening. Then it just followed a typical true-crime plot. It surrounds NYU student Matt Pine, who finds that his entire family has been found dead in Mexico on their family vacation. The FBI gets involved as the Pine's are "famous." Matt's brother was the subject of a true-crime documentary for murdering his girlfriend. Their family struggled with the brother's (Danny) arrest and subsequent conviction, especially the father. He had worked tirelessly to prove his son's innocence.

The FBI Agent, Keller, is concerned that this was not an accident and could be far more sinister. The rest of the book flows in two timelines, before and after. I always like it when books do that, as I think it keeps the reader (i.e., me) engaged. You get to see perspectives from the rest of the family, Matt, and Special Agent Keller. It helps build the story and share what they remember from the night Danny allegedly murdered his girlfriend and what investigation they have been doing since. The book included twists throughout the plot, but unfortunately, I could see the result from five miles away.

It is a quick read and good mystery book, but I am hard-pressed to claim this was a thriller by any sense of the word.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A twisty and compulsive page-turner about family tragedy that plays out from multiple perspectives and alternating timelines.

Eldest child, Danny Pine is serving life in prison for a 7-year old murder, the focus of a Netflix true-crime documentary ‘A Violent Nature’ that thrust his family into the spotlight.

Fast forward to present day when Matt Pine, student at NYU receives devastating news that his parents and remaining siblings have died in a freak accident while vacationing in Mexico. He flies to Mexico to claim the bodies and has strange and unsettling encounters while there. Matt returns home to a media that has stirred the pot. The State Department and FBI are now deeply involved in the case but won’t tell Matt why. I am generally turned off by FBI characters who always seem to grab the spotlight after someone else’s hard work, but no-nonsense FBI agent Sarah Keller is a star! I would want someone like her in my corner any day.

Was there a connection between current and past events? Finlay kept me guessing. A great debut by a mysterious author who chose to write via pen name, Alex Finlay.

4.5 stars

This is my favorite genre to read, and Alex Finlay will be on my list of go-to authors in the future!

I love stories with multiple points of view, and this book has that (including the FBI agent's POV, which is a nice addition). It is also packed with multiple twists, red herrings, and well-developed characters. It was fun to try and figure things out with the characters. This is a fast-paced, page-turning thriller. The storyline is realistic and unlike anything I've read recently. It's hard to believe this is Finlay's debut novel!

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

The story is a psychological thriller filled with emotional attachment to the characters. The story is told from several different points of view, which allows the reader to really get to know each player. "They found the bodies on a Tuesday" were the opening words. As the narrative alternates between "before" and "after" the fateful day, several possible scenarios are advanced. We really don't know what transpired until the end of the book.

I really enjoyed "Every Last Fear" and will look for other books by Alex Finlay.

4.5 ⭐️‘s
This gripping novel will keep you on edge until the very last word. A family torn apart by tragedy, a son left alone to try to piece it all together, and an FBI Agent willing to go the distance. Will Matt and Agent Keller be able to put all the pieces together in time or will Matt be the next victim? An explosive debut thriller that will have you turning pages well into the night. Can’t wait for more from Alex Finlay!

Every Last Fear was a fairly enjoyable read. It follows the story of Matt Pine, an NYU student whose whole family (minus a brother in prison who was the star of a true crime documentary) is found dead in Mexico. The book flashes back between present day and a couple of different "before" time periods. It is told from multiple viewpoints- Matt, his sister, his dad, and the FBI agent assigned to the case. I think his brother may have a chapter as well. I mostly have critiques and not praise, so let me start out by saying that this is a decent thriller with a good flow, I thought parts of it were excellent, and I think a lot of readers will enjoy it. But personally I found this book very... putdownable. It had so much potential! Every Last Fear suffered from both too much and not enough. Too many narrators, too many timelines, and not enough depth. Matt's story was so compelling. And with each new narrator and timeline jump, I found myself caring less and less about what really happened. Once you finally get to the resolution, a ton of revelations happen in a couple of pages and they don't really delve into the emotional impact of the situation. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review.

Just finished reading EVERY LAST FEAR by Alex Finlay. I received this ARC from St. Martins Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Official publication date is March 2nd, 2021.

A fast paced thriller, that you might read on vacation...

EVERY LAST FEAR is a debut novel revolving around Matt Pine. Matt's older brother Danny is in prison for a crime he didn't commit and the rest of his family (Mom, Dad, Sister and baby Brother), may have just been murdered on their spring break trip to Mexico.

Matt is now the only one left to figure out how to get Danny out and what really happened to his family. Are these two connected? You bet!

This book had vibes of Making a Murderer, as Matt's family were part of a true crime documentary to free Danny. I think this one needed a bit more character development and less points of views. Also to be frank there were some moments that didn't make sense and that left me with more questions than answers. Like a Ben Afleck reference that is still bothering me 😅

But overall a quick read, but not one that I am gonna run out and buy, as to be honest a bit forgettable. There wasn't an 🤯🤯🤯 moment for me.

It seems to be a cliche to say a thriller is a page turner but sometimes cliches are cliches because they are the best way to describe something succinctly. This book hooked me from the first depressing report of a family--mother, father, teenage daughter and six-year-old son--mysteriously dying while vacationing in Mexico. That was the hook; the <i>why</i> is what kept me turning pages.

The two surviving members of the family are Matt, a college student in New York and his older brother Danny, unjustly incarcerated for a killing that drew national attention because of a documentary. The story then goes back and forth between the present and the actions of the mother, father and daughter before they died. The reader quickly comes to the conclusion that the family was murdered for their actions in trying to exonerate Danny. Matt must deal with getting his family home for burial, his grief at losing them and questions that keep popping up about their deaths. Add an FBI Agent to the mix who believes the father worked for an accounting firm that is suspected of laundering money for a cartel and you have even more possible motives for the killings. That they were murdered quickly become clear. What isn't clear is who killed them and why and who actually committed the crime for which Danny is serving time.

This is a terrific psychological thriller that doesn't so much have stunning twists but rather unfolds to reveal secrets. It keeps one guessing about who killed the family and who framed Danny. Even though I know the family has died, as I read each of their stories before their deaths I kept wishing that somehow the author would pull a J. R. Ewing and have the deaths only be a dream! Oh yes, I forgot to mention that there are cultural references to movies, books and TV shows scattered throughout the book that I found enjoyable. All in all, it was one heck of a page turner.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing Group for this ARC. The publication date is March 2, 2021.

This is going to be a book I recommend when people ask. The book follows several different POV's in two different timelines. Matt Pine's family is found dead in Mexico. All except for his older brother who is in prison for killing his girlfriend when he was a senior in high school. The story had me hooked from the very first page, following Matt as he deals with the aftermath of their deaths as well as following his mother, father and teenaged sister until their untimely deaths. It kept me guessing as to what really happened to them and if his brother actually did commit the crime he was serving time for. I recommend to anyone who likes a great hard to put down thriller.

This review will be posted to Goodreads as well as retail sites such as Amazon and Barnes and Nobel.

This had everything i want in a thriller. A compelling story with well developed characters and a fast paced intriguing plot. The tension built and built and i was gripped right until the end.

So, this thriller is problematic. It has a good fast pace, I like that. It has a true crime element rooted in fiction, which is fun too.

However, it also has way too many characters to the point that the connections weren’t quite getting there and I wasn’t appreciating the stereotyping of Mexicans. It did nothing to serve the plot and just was wrong, in my opinion.

I think if the author had streamlined the story a bit and taken better care when writing his characters and describing the people in Mexico, it would have been a better read.

EVERY LAST FEAR by Alex Finlay follows the Pine family after they’re made infamous by a true crime documentary. After tragedy strikes the family, Matt Pine goes on a search for the truth.

I had extremely high hopes for this one and it has received a lot of rave reviews. While I was impressed by the overall plot and the arc that ensued, I had an abundance of issues with this book as well.

Alex Finlay uses racial stereotypes when Mexico becomes a plot point (spoiler alert, there was no actual need for Mexico to be a location in this to begin with, and secondly, the characters stereotyped in that setting, ultimately served no real purpose for the plot, so what’s up, Finlay??) I feel like I could go on about his stereotyping in general, because it happens o f t e n, but I’ll save you the burden by just making you aware that it’s there.

As I mentioned above, the plot held a lot of promise, but, overall, it just held A LOT. We alternate among 6 different POVS, across 3 different timelines (4 if you count the Epilogue), are introduced to at least 20 different side characters, there’s a mugging, a sexual assault, an attempted suicide, a tornado warning, an affair, political drama, a true crime documentary, an elderly man with dementia, a middle-aged man impregnating a teenager, and queer love that is ultimately written off as shameful - just to name a few of the plot points.

I want to have hope that I can look forward to Finlay’s next book because he’s more than capable of mapping out an intricate story, but I’m going to need to see something a bit more pared down and without the racial remarks.

*** special thanks to NetGalley & Minotaur Books for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review ***

Easily the best thriller I have read in a long time. From the start to the finish, I was hooked. Great plot, wonderful character development, and blievable.

Every Last Fear is the story of a family torn apart by a crime. It follows Matt, a college student, who found out that his entire family was found dead in Mexico, except for himself and his brother Danny, who is in jail. For a crime the rest of the family thinks he didn't commit.
The book follows Matt as he travels to Mexico to claim the bodies, and almost finds himself in some trouble. It follows Agent Keller, the FBI agent who is trying to determine if their was foul play in presumed gas leak that killed the family. And it follows the rest of the family, in the weeks leading up the deaths, showing the reader the evidence they were collecting to try to get Danny released.
Every Last Fear was very well written and had me hooked from the first page. I got about a quarter of the way through it before not being able to put it down until I finished it. Anyone who enjoys thrillers or true crime documentaries (which really - who doesn't?) would enjoy this book.
I am so thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of the book.

A thriller about a family murdered in Mexico while chasing a lead in their son’s murder case. The son that is left tries to piece together why his family was in Mexico and the leads they were investigating. A smarty written, intriguing mystery with lots of twists and layers to the story, I can’t do an adequate job of explaining it without revealing many details. Highly recommend for mystery and thriller fans.