This was one of the most fascinating novels I’ve read in a long time. It takes place both in the present and the past. The Pine family is deeply damaged when their oldest son, Danny, is convicted of the brutal murder of a high school girlfriend after a party and sent to prison. His family doesn’t believe in his guilt even though he confessed to the murder. Matt, some years later, is attending NYU, when he is contacted by the FBI and told his parents, younger brother and sister had mysteriously died while vacationing in Mexico and that the local Mexican government would not release their remains to anyone other than a family member. Matt goes down to Mexico and there discovers his father was still tracking information about the murder in an attempt to exonerate his son. Different chapters deal with different characters’ actions before the family’s death and following Matt’s return from Mexico. It is very well written and filled with twists. Did I guess who the perpetrator was? Yes, but not until the very end did I learn why and I wanted to know why. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur for an ARC for an honest review.

I saw this title and was first drawn to the cover art. It caught my eye, which doesn't happen often. But it was the intriguing plot description that really sold me, so I was thrilled when St. Martins selected me to read a galley proof of this unique and riveting novel. And what a ride it was!

I won't rehash the plot since many reviewers already have, but suffice it to say it really holds true to the description. I'm a huge crime drama and true crime fan, both in book form and in film, and have often wondered what would happen if the subjects of a murder documentary were similarly victimized. This story didn't disappoint.

The writing is taut, the dialogue flows, and the heartbreakingly human characters display believability in the gamut of convoluted actions and emotions that run rampant throughout the various crises they encounter. I stayed up way too late and blinked way to little tearing through this read; my Kindle barely kept up with the page flips. Highly recommended.

Wow, get ready for the twists and turns in this fast-paced thriller!

I want to sincerely thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advance copy of Every Last Fear for an honest review.

Innocence and guilt are not always easily deciphered, and sometimes a clear picture can begin to blur.

Just when you think the Pine family has experienced the ultimate of injuries or grave injustice, here comes another whiplash of heartache.

Agent Keller’s new investigation will lead her and reopen a closed case, a heroic and collaborative effort to dig up the past and get down to the truth.

Sacred familial love, loyal friendships, secrets, betrayals, old flames, self-preservation, power, and corruption . . . this book has it all!

Every Last Fear is a novel that will hook you with the very first paragraph, and keep you flipping pages until the very last. Matt Pine is a student at NYU, and he is severely hungover when an FBI agent finds him to notify him that his parents, sister, and one brother have all been killed in a freak accident while on vacation in Mexico. His other brother (Danny) happens to be in prison for the murder of his high school girlfriend. Matt believes Danny is guilty, but his father and sister are absolutely convinced of his innocence. So convinced that the reason they were in Mexico was to follow a new lead.

This is a plot-driven novel as opposed to character-driven. The only character we really get to know is Matt, who is a sweetheart. I especially loved his group of friends at NYU, the self-named "Misfit Toys." They were a real delight. The novel alternates between Matt's POV and the POV of FBI agent, Sara Keller. There's a tertiary POV that is excerpts from a Netflix documentary made about Danny's case. I honestly thought this was an unnecessary distraction but didn't detract too much from the action.

Every Last Fear is a page-turner even though I thought the real murderer was fairly obvious, though the motive was not. The author did a skilled job of keeping the action moving and sticking the ending. I enjoyed it a lot, and thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I quite enjoyed this mystery/thriller; it was not a super obvious whodunit which kept me engaged through to the end. The netflix documentary was an interesting angle to include. I recommend!

Fabulous novel full of twists, turns, and surprises. The Pines eldest son has gone to prison for murdering his pregnant girlfriend. His father and sister won’t let it go, even traveling to Mexico to turn to exonerate Danny. This is a wonderful debut. I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five stars for me!

A family battling the aftermath of a Netflix documentary featuring them and a horrible tragedy they endured...and that’s only the very beginning.

Now this is my genre, I have to admit. I love, love, love a twisty and suspenseful thriller. But I’m telling you, this was a really good one! The characters had depth and were likable. The story was unique and original with the documentary aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.

I thought the story line involving a family made famous by a reality, true crime, documentary was original and relevant in today's world. The story moved along well and the characters were fleshed out. The jumping back and forth in time was not my favorite device but I didn't find it confusing. The culprit was pretty obvious but didn't detract from the reading experience. Too bad some of the characters will not be available to star in future books.

Give me more! I was so ecstatic to receive an ARC of Every Last Fear after reading a sample of it in the Minotaur Books Sampler. In this fast paced unputdownable thriller several members of a family are found dead, leaving two sons alive, one of whom was serving a life sentence in prison for killing his girlfriend. The novel is told from multiple points of view and alternates between the present and the past. Why was this family killed? Were the killings connected to their son being in jail? There are so many moving parts to the novel but not to the point that it was confusing. I really enjoyed the Pine family and hearing from all of them as well as hearing from the FBI agent. I did not want this book to end! I highly recommend this novel and can't wait to see what the author writes next! Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a great mystery thriller. I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the book that lasted through the end. I did find it a bit predictable but this thriller kept you on the edge of you seat the entire time.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review!

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay is a twisty, multi-faceted read that kept me fully engaged with the narrative throughout. Building upon a unique and compelling premise, the author creates a riveting tale that will keep you guessing until the very end.

Matt Pine is a college student who is blindsided by the news that his family has been found dead in Mexico, where they had been vacationing. Matt's only surviving immediate family member is his older brother, Danny, who is serving time for the murder of his girlfriend. Mexican authorities are attributing the multiple deaths to a gas leak, but the FBI believes that there is more to this tragedy than would meet the eye. Travelling to Mexico to claim the bodies, Matt finds that his family is once again at the centre of an investigation that may or may not be connected to his brother's conviction.

This is a tangled tale that is effectively and efficiently told from the alternating perspectives of various family members, and covering not only the present events, but the past state of mind of each character leading up to the horrific tragedy. This is an impressive debut, and I will be looking to read more from Alex Finlay in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Thank you to both NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of Alex Finlay’s novel, Every Last Fear, in exchange for an honest review.

I am truly disappointed that Every Last Fear did not grab me the way that it seemed to catch the attention of both critics and other readers. Even though chapters were generally short, I didn’t feel compelled to read the story. I felt disconnected from the characters and kept wondering why there was so much unnecessary detail in such a quick passage.

Regardless, this story seemed to work for a lot of people. It still made for an intriguing idea and was well written in terms of syntax and structure. There was just something about it that fell flat for me.

The husband, wife, and 2 children are found dead in Mexico. One of the older brothers is in jail on a murder charge; the other is in college and is now pulled into the mystery of why his family died under mysterious circumstances. There are so many layers to this novel and so much deception. Told from different perspectives, the book addresses many issues: deception, political intrigue, secrets kept from spouses, loyalty, and it will definitely keep you guessing until the end!

This was a very engaging, fast-paced thriller.
The Pine family was the subject of a true-crime documentary when the eldest son was convicted of murder. The family never lost hope that the conviction would be overturned and has continued investigating on their own. During a family vacation planned to follow a possible lead, 4 members of the family die in their vacation rental. It is up to Matt to lay his family to rest and decide if he wants to know the truth about the past.
I was in the middle of another book when I got Every Last Fear, and I immediately dove in. This was a great story!! It is told from multiple POVs and different times, but it never got confusing or difficult to follow. I empathized a lot with the Pine family, which I feel is all due to Alex Finlay’s gift of description. Fans of thrillers, this is a must read!

5 stars

This is one of the best plausible thrillers/mysteries I have read in a long time.

The novel begins with an overview of the deaths of four family members, and the rest of the work is broken up into before and after chapters from the deceased family members, the surviving family members, and a FANTASTIC FBI agent. This structure is brilliant as it enables the reader to connect more deeply with the deceased characters, and to put themselves in the place - confused, invested, frustrated - of the living characters. I'm not sure it's possible to write a GOOD thriller or mystery that doesn't include some predictability, but this one has some great clues, missing chunks, possibilities, and resolutions.

I immediately went looking for other books by Finlay and was shocked to find that this was the first (at least according to Goodreads). Already, I am eagerly awaiting more.

An interesting story about a man who is wrongly accused of murder of his girlfriend and his family’s crusade to absolve him. This search has ominous consequences. You don’t find out who the antagonist is until the end of the novel which makes for good suspense.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to enjoy this ARC. This novel was everything I hoped it would be. Told from alternating points of view, the reader is taken on a journey to find answers about the incarceration of a teenager. Was he falsely imprisoned? Is he guilty? The chapters are short enough that it makes you want to keep reading "just one more", until you've finished the book. This novel reminds you that the bonds of family are strong. If you enjoy thrillers/suspense, you will not be disappointed! #NetGalley#EveryLastFear#AlexFinlay#thriller#suspense

Very good

I have had trouble getting into the books I have tried starting recently. i thought it was me, but this one caught me from the start and I looked forward to reading it every chance I got. The plot was good, the characters were well written, and I ultimately was unhappy when I finished it because it was over. I immediately went online to see if the author had any other books. Sadly, no, at least under this pseudonym, I will be keeping an eye out for more.

Matt Pine is a film student at NYU. His life is turned upside down for the second time when his entire family is found dead while on vacation at their Mexican hotel from an apparent gas leak. Devastated and left reeling from their deaths, he is the sole survivor, apart from his older brother, Danny, who was convicted of a terrible crime in their small town, a crime his family never thought he committed. The story is told in alternating POVs; Danny, members of his family before their deaths, and the female federal agent tasked with the investigation who suspects something isn’t right. Matt is left trying to figure out what happened to his family and if it’s somehow connected to the crime his brother was convicted of. Using multiple POVs, readers are given insight into the events that led to the deaths of the Pine family and are able to figure out that not everything is what it seems to be.

This was a spectacular debut read by Alex Finlay. The start of the story grabs you from the very first line and from there I couldn’t put the book down. I finished the book in a day and didn’t want it to end. There was so many twists and turns that kept me guessing. Finlay fleshes out each character, whether they’re a major or minor one regardless of the role they play in the story.  I truly enjoyed this one and I think all thriller and suspense fans should definitely pick this one up.  I will be recommending this for people to read and I can’t wait to see what the next book holds and there should DEFINITELY be a next book.

I started to give this book 4 stars, because I really liked it, but then... it is one of the best books of this genre I have read in a long time. Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's press and Minotaur books for the preview copy.

I read a lot of thrillers, a lot of police procedurals, mysteries, etc. I can usually guess who dunit in pretty short order and then I am looking at the prose, the way the author sets up the storyline, the characters and how he or she uses language.

This book was full of surprises, not always what one would predict. The characters are well developed and it delved deep into what it means to be a family. I liked the way the author depicted the relationship between father and daughter. The way the female FBI agent was portrayed, strong, but likeable, smart and willing to learn, made the novel better than most. We don't need a silly heroine, random sex scenes, but characters who reflect the reality of the job.

Hoping to see more of her in the future.