Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay was a thriller that drew me in right away, and it didn't let me go until its very last pages. Matt, a college student, finds out his whole family has been murdered in Mexico as this story begins. This is now the second time his family has made headlines. His brother Danny was the subject of a true crime podcast focused on his brother's murder conviction. While Danny confessed to murdering his girlfriend, the podcast was about a potential wrongful conviction. With this new tragedy, Matt is thrown into figuring out what actually happened to his family and who is responsible. There seems to be more to the tragedy, and Matt also wonders if this connects to his brother Danny. The story focuses on the present day crime (and investigation) that has happened, but also looks back at Danny's story. The past and present weave together to help the reader figure out what might have really happened in both instances. This kept me reading as clues were revealed along the way. Multiple family members served as narrators, so it was especially captivating to piece together what happened (with both crimes) through their eyes. This one was so well done, and it is a literal page turner that I devoured. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this March 2021 release!

This book was just so good! What a twisty tale of murder, deception, and lies that come back to haunt. This poor college student was just put through so much. The characters were believable and the plot was quite original. I didn't guess the ending either. I will surely be looking for this author's next book.

After learning that is entire family has been killed, except for one brother that is in prison, Matt’s world has been imploded. He’s about to learn in more ways than one, too. This had several POV as each person has a different story to tell. Fast paced, you, as a reader, will learn that everyone has a secret. I enjoyed this mystery & look forward to more of Alex’s books.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun read! The most unique thriller I’ve read in awhile - it broke the mold. It was sad, but I liked the feeling of closure at the end. Such a treat!

Every Last Fear is one of the best mystery thrillers I have read in the last couple of years. And I stand by that statement because I double checked by looking at my list of completed books on Goodreads. Sure enough, after comparing it to the many books I have read in the mystery and thriller genres, this book is what I consider a top tier read. An interesting premise that hooked me early on.

NYU student Matt Pine receives devastating news that his parents and younger siblings have been found dead in Mexico with local authorities claiming it was due to an accidental gas leak in their vacation home. The tragedy makes national news because the family was featured in a crime documentary not too long ago. Matt's older brother, Danny, was convicted and is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend. Many people believe Danny is innocent of the crime which is one of the things that was explored in the documentary. The FBI has their suspicions about the deaths of Matt's family members and Matt wonders if there is some connection between the deaths and Danny's case.

I love how the author told the story with the present day chapters featuring Matt and the FBI agent, and the chapters featuring the family members and everything going on in their lives before their deaths. Essentially it's like I was getting two mysteries and so as the chapters alternated between the past and present, my interest level was quite high in both and seeing if everything would tie in together somehow. The chapters featuring the parents and sister were haunting knowing I was witnessing some of the last moments of their lives. It is a compelling story and you can't help but wonder the lengths you might go to if you believed a loved one was innocent of a crime.

The ending is complex enough that I don't think any reader can predict how everything plays out exactly. I was left feeling like I was in the dark for much of the story although I did pick up one piece of puzzle. But it was one of those things in which I still wasn't confident it even fit in the story and certainly didn't have a working theory for it. So for the most part I was clueless until the author finally laid everything out on the table. Not quite a grand slam ending, but definitely a solid home run.

Highly recommend picking this one up if you enjoy reading books in this genre.

CW: The book (not this review) mentions suicide

From the moment I read the synopsis of this book I was intrigued - as True Crime documentaries become more popular in mainstream media, I think it's easy to think of the storylines as pure stories without regarding the effects of the events and (perhaps even more so) the effects of the documentary "fame" on the families who are involved, so I was interested to see this unique POV.

This book centers around a family whose experiences were chronicled in a True Crime Documentary following what they believed to be a wrongful conviction of their eldest son in a small town murder trial (think Making a Murderer) and the subsequent mysterious deaths of 4 immediate family members.

The timeline of this book switches between "before" the family's mysterious deaths and "after" while shifting perspective and focus between each of the family members which helped with character development. Due to this format (and the connections I felt to the characters), I found myself having "Romeo & Juliet syndrome" here where I read the book knowing that the 4 family members would die, but hoping that they somehow wouldn't.

Finlay did a great job at keeping me engaged in the book's mysteries throughout, but I did find that a few times I had to reread paragraphs to give myself a better idea of the setting.

This book has: mystery, true crime drama, familial relationships, and more! I highly recommend this to fans of thriller/mystery books and anyone who indulges in True Crime!y

I really like this one it read like a true crime podcast but in book form . It was engaging and fast paced and reminded me a lot of Coben writing .
Truly a good one!

When I first read the description of Every Last Fear, I was hooked, so when I received an ARC, I was absolutely thrilled. We first meet Matt Pine after a night of drinking as he trudges back to his dorm room at NYU. Unfortunately, when he returns to his dorm, he learns that nearly his entire family has died on a vacation to Mexico. While the Mexican government tries to tell the FBI that it was a gas leak, the US authorities believe it may have been foul play. Not only foul play, but it may be tied to his older brother Danny's murder conviction -- a conviction that the family has always vehemently denied.

Matt returns to his small hometown in the Midwest to bury his family and also to see if he can figure out what happened in Mexico. Told from the alternating perspectives of the Pine family and an FBI agent, Every Last Fear was an excellent read. It had the perfect amount of family drama, mystery and suspense. A great read!

Okay! This is soooo much more than I expected! Action packed, riveting, dazzling, twisty and absolutely unputdownable!

For the attention of movie producers: this secret gem could be adapted into an amazing action/ thriller/ drama movie or extremely binge watch worthy limited series. It captivates you from the beginning, hurling so many whirlwind twists at you and picking your interest, focus, entire energy.

You just have to cancel your entire schedule. Pull the plug off your loved ones not to disturb you, locking yourself in a safe, silent, peaceful room with lots of refreshments and munchies unless you want to start stress eating your own fingers. Just cancel your responsibilities, unnecessary work loads, tasteless binge watch experience or any other thing you do at the night time. So you can enjoy your fantastic reading experience!

A thrilling page-turner that had me hooked from the very first line! Matt Pine’s life is rocked when he learns his parents and younger siblings have died under mysterious circumstances while vacationing in Tulum, Mexico. At the encouragement of FBI agent Sarah Keller, Matt, a film student living in New York, flies to Mexico to retrieve the bodies. As he begins to uncover the truth, he is quickly confronted by events of the past. His family was once the topic of a famous documentary after his older teenage brother falsely confessed to killing his high school girlfriend in their rural Nebraska hometown. Matt’s father and younger sister never gave up on learning the truth about what happened that night but it’s possible that the answers died with them. The story is told from the perspectives of different members of the Pine family (past and present) as well as FBI Agent Sarah Keller. The characters are highly likable and relatable, particularly the character of Maggie, Matt’s younger sister. Although I pegged the guilty party early on in the story, I still had fun unraveling the whys and hows. Overall, Every Last Fear is an excellent debut novel that successfully weaves together two riveting mysteries and covers a variety of timely topics, including false confessions and corruption. This is sure to be a hit for any mystery lover!

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday. Two days after the family had missed their flight home. Six days after all texts and social media had gone dark.”

Are you interested now? Yeah, this was one heck of an opening line for a book. And this had me hooked from the beginning. This was a “whodunit” but not your typical “whodunit”. I thought the story line was original for a book, but it reminded me of an episode of criminal minds! It’s told from multiple POVs, which was done very well! There was misdirection, several twists, and the ending left you shook because you may not see it coming. Each chapter and character gave away a little more information which left you questioning who and what to believe. While some chapters were a little slow and repetitive, I still think this story was pretty fast paced and easy to read!

“You have two choices when you’re confronted with your every last fear: Give up or fight like hell.”

This one comes out March 2021! Thank you netgalley and St Martins press for this eARC!

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday. Two days after the family had missed their flight home. Six days after all texts and social media had gone dark.”

This is one heck of an opening paragraph and it hooked me on the very first page! Putting down this book was a Herculean task, and to be honest this debut novel impressed me and exceeded my expectations!

The Story: This mystery thriller begins with the discovery of four bodies (Evan, Olivia, Maggie, Tommy) who apparently died from a gas leak incident in their rental home while vacationing in Tulum, Mexico. While the local police claim this to be an accident, the FBI thinks otherwise.

This tragedy thrust the Pines into the limelight once again, since this is not the first tragedy that befell this family. Their oldest son, Danny Pine, who is now incarcerated for the murder of his girlfriend, Charlotte, became the subject of a true crime documentary called “A Violent Nature” that believes in his innocence.

Now, these unfortunate events, left their college-age son, Matt, to pick up the pieces and as he is trying to sort out his family’s affair, he begins to realize that they may be connected somehow. But why and how?

My thoughts: This is certainly one of the BEST thrillers I’ve read so far this year! A solid and original plot told at a breakneck pace with multiple POVs, I could definitely see a movie adaptation coming!

Full of twists and turns, and misdirection, the ending was unexpected, and my jaw dropped! Yes, it was so dang good!

Although it is a very plot driven story, the characters are not lacking in depth, as we learn about them from these multiple POVs. I could connect with them and the dialogues are so realistic.

In a nutshell, if you’re looking for a fast-paced, convoluted plot with great characters, please READ this book! I’ve read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, and I can honestly say that this is one of the best! The engaging writing and suspenseful plot will keep you at the edge of your seat!

“You have two choices when you’re confronted with your every last fear: Give up or fight like hell.”

Pub. Date: Mar 2, 2021

*** Thank you St. Martin’s Press, author Alex Finlay and NetGalley for this gifted review copy in exchange for an honest review. ***

This was a really good debut, very engaging and suspenseful. The writing style reminded me a lot of Harlan Coben. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

College student Matt Pine’s older brother is in jail for a murder most of his family doesn’t believe he committed. On a family trip to Mexico, Matt’s parents and two younger siblings are found dead in their vacation rental. At first it seems like carbon monoxide poisoning but the FBI gets involved making it seem like there is more to the story.

This book was fantastic. It is totally my kind of book, lots of twists and turns with new revelations coming up all the time. I found it to be very well written, alternating between the current day and the time before the family died, with multiple POV’s. It was fast paced and held my attention throughout, even having an element of travel that made it even more enjoyable. I loved it and can’t wait for more from this author.

Really enjoyed this way more than I anticipated to! Even though I guessed all the twists I enjoyed the plot and writing that lead to the twists! Also I found Maggie to be a surprisingly amazing character (would 100% have read a whole book in her perspective). I found the examination of the media’s impact on both the family and the “villains” in the documentary to be a relevant aspect as true crime documentaries and podcasts explore and to some extent exploit the stories and hopes of their subjects without a lot of justice to always show from it. Definitely worth a read for both the fun thriller aspect, funny and smart characters, and for an important take on media’a role in justice.

Thank you to Netgalley and Alex Finlay for the advanced copy of Every Last Fear in exchange for an honest review.

Every Last Fear starts off on a sad note then gets right to the point. Written like a crime drama to get you hooked from the start.

Matt Pine comes back to his dorm after a night of partying to find out his family vacationing in Mexico has ended up dead by a gas leak. Could this relate to the murder that put Danny Pine, Matt’s older brother, behind bars? The Pine family was made famous by a true crime documentary and the confession of murder from Danny, and their small town is not happy with how the documentary made their police look. Was it an accident or murder? The FBI is now involved to find out what exactly happened in Mexico.

Can you say plot twists and misdirection? Each chapter reveals more plot twists to keep you guessing. I really enjoy multiple POV’s and Alex Finlay captured each characters emotions and feelings so well I got the sense of who they were and was easy to distinguish one from the other. I was a little confused on the time line at one part but was able to figure it out quickly. There’s a lot to unpack!

I found the little pop culture references made me more connected with the characters. Also the Making a Murderer vibe was fun. I could see this being made into a movie. I’ve never read a book like this and excited to read more from Finlay.

Thank you Alex Finlay, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A real page turner. I just wanted to keep reading. The characters felt realistic and the plot was good. I'm looking forward to read more books by this author.

I really enjoyed this one! I wouldn’t say it was a quick read, it was definitely a bit slow going at times, but I could picture it being a really good Netflix mini series.

I will say I found the storyline with the Governor kind of unnecessary. The story of the would-be Governor killing the Pine family for his reasons works by itself without the added half chapter here and there about the governor and his weird ring of woman who chase people around Mexico. That whole plot line could have been left out and it wouldn’t have effected the story.

This book was good, but I don’t really understand all the hype around it. I figured out the twist very early on, so that was underwhelming.it was very thrilling. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

Told from multiple POVs , past and present, A true crime documentary script. Leaves you on the edge of your seat.
Recommend to anyone who loves true crime!!