Member Reviews
Excellent book! A few small details were very predictable, but did not ruin the book for for me. All in all great read, I couldn't put it down.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
"In one of the year's most anticipated debut psychological thrillers, a family made infamous by a true crime documentary is found dead, leaving their surviving son to uncover the truth about their final days."
Did you say true crime documentary? I'm there. And this is like a true crime documentary within a true crime documentary.🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️🙋🏼♀️ Yes, please!
Matt's family has already been devastated. His older brother is in prison for murder- enter true crime documentary A. No, literally, a true crime documentary was produced about Matt's brother's innocence- but what is the truth?
The book opens with these events in the past. Now Matt is notifed the entire rest of his family- mom, dad and younger brother and sister- have been found dead while on family trip to Mexico (ahem... true crime story #2). No foul play is suspected- but how can this be a coincidence?
What follows is a thriller that keeps you hanging on. It jumps around in time and between the two mysteries, and I really felt like I was right there with Matt and his family. (Seriously, I can SEE the scenes in Mexico- and I've never been.) The twists and turns seem to spiral together and kept me hooked right through to the end.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who loves thrillers, mysteries and/or true crime!
Remember this name-Alex Finlay is going to be your next Auto-Request author after you read his debut!!
Opening Paragraph:
“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.
Two days after the family had missed their flight home.
Six days after all the texts and social media had gone dark.”
The Pine family was one made infamous by the true crime documentary
“A Violent Nature”, which chronicled the story of the conviction of Danny Pine for the murder of his girlfriend, Charlotte.
And, now, Danny’s Dad and Mom, Evan and Olivia, and his younger siblings, Maggie (aged 17) and Tommy (aged 6) are dead, the Victims of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, in their vacation rental in Tulum, Mexico.
But, is that what happened?
The family has NEVER given up hope that they could exonerate, Danny, with Evan bankrupting the family in the process, and younger sister, Maggie, leading the way by handling all of the Social Media aspects of the case.
In fact, they were following a lead in Mexico.
That leaves Danny’s college aged brother Matt..to pick up the pieces because FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, and the State Department are questioning whether the deaths in Mexico were really an accident.
This book has EVERYTHING I require in a thriller to award 5⭐️s!
A complex plot-with all the plot points tied together at the conclusion.
Red Herrings
Misdirection
In addition, there was the bonus of well developed characters.
Despite the fact that you are told in the opening paragraph that the Pine family is dead-you will get to know Evan, Olivia, Maggie and Tommy, and you will GRIEVE the loss of them.
You will get to know and love Matt, and the friends who support him through this horrific time.
And, you will even get to know Sarah Keller, the Kick Ass FBI agent, who is determined to get justice for all!
This was a fun buddy read with Michael David, and we enjoyed sharing our theories along the way! We got close on some things, and were way off on others, but if we could be trained by Sarah, or Maggie, we may be able to develop our potential! 🕵🏻🕵🏼♂️
Publishing March, 2, 2021
Pre-order Now!
Thank You to Alex Finlay and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for a candid review!
5 stars to one of my favorite thrillers of the year!
Matt Pine, a college student at NYU, returns from a night of partying...only to find out that his mom, dad, younger brother and sister died while vacationing in Mexico. The cause of death was apparently a gas leak. This makes headlines for multiple reasons, but mainly because the Pine Family is famous after a Netflix documentary was released regarding Danny Pine, Matt’s older brother, who is serving life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend...which he may or may not have committed. A series of events prove that the deaths in Mexico may not have been accidental, and may have to do with Danny and the murder of his girlfriend.
Fasten your seatbelt, because this twisted ride of suspense will take you from New York to Mexico to Illinois to Nebraska...and won’t let up until the very last page.
This book has it all: impeccable character development, twists, surprises, multiple suspects, red herrings, and increasing suspense. I’m astounded that this is author Alex Finlay’s debut. He gets everything right, and through an abundance of twists, he manages to wrap everything up with no loose ends. I found myself really caring about the characters as well, which doesn’t always happen in these fast-paced thrill rides. This is one of the most perfectly written thrillers of the year. No complaints from me, and I highly recommend. Also, as others have mentioned, this would make a fantastic film!
This was a buddy read with Jayme. I had such a great time discussing our theories throughout. There were times we were able to pat ourselves on the backs due to our detective skills, and other times where we just missed the target.
Thank you to Alex Finlay, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: March 2, 2021
NYU student Matt Pine receives a phone call after a long night of partying- his family, vacationing in Mexico, has been murdered. His mother, young sister and brother were all found dead, all from a supposed gas leak. Yet his father was found in the backyard, away from the family, bloody and quite obviously the victim of an attack. Could Matt’s father have been the actual target, or was it really all an accident like the Mexican authorities are claiming? Matt’s family made international news when they were the focus of a crime documentary after his eldest brother, Danny, was sent to jail for a crime not everyone is certain he committed. When Matt begins investigating, with the help of FBI Agent Keller, he realizes that his entire family may have been a target, and that he may be next.
“Every Last Fear” is the debut novel by author Alex Finlay, although you’d never know it. Finlay writes with a fiery passion, full of creativity and suspense, making “Every Last Fear” impossible to put down. In a genre that is typically predictable, Finlay has a way of creeping under your skin, pulling you into the drama, and keeping you on the edge of your seat for the long haul.
The novel is told from Matt’s present-day perspective, and alternates back to before the family was killed, that part of the story being narrated by various members of the Pine family. Through this method, Finlay allows the reader to learn more about the Pine family (who were dead before the novel even started), while still giving the plot great flow and connectivity.
Although I am definitely not the first to say this, Alex Finlay is the “one to watch”. Hands down, “Every Last Fear” should be the Corona Summer of 2020’s “Must Read”!
A near perfect psychological thriller. The plot had so many interesting storylines and the convergence of the same created quite the ending. Don’t miss out on this read..
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53138046
⭐4 Making a Murderer+Taken Hybrid Stars ⭐
I have a name for books like this. I call them 'surface stories'. Kinda the opposite of a book that's character driven.
We don't get a lot of depth with the Pine family members, or atmosphere with the locations. Instead the plot moves fast, strong and straightforward.
It's a book that reads like a movie, and I was hooked from, like, the first page!
A huge THANK YOU to Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC!
Not a bad read, but there were parts that could be better. Early on, Matt is delivered the news that his mother, father, younger sister and brother were murdered while on vacation in Mexico. Matt also has a brother named Danny who is in prison for killing his girlfriend, and is now the subject of a Netflix documentary. College student Matt accompanies FBI agent Keller to Mexico and there the adventure starts. Finding out that nothing is as it appears, Matt digs deeper into his family’s murder and his brothers imprisonment.
Matt seemed very one dimensional and there were several characters, past and present to keep up with. I enjoyed this book, but it fell a little short of the mark.
I believe this book is the author's first. There were some great ideas, but I felt that the story was disjointed. The beginning of the book grabbed my attention, however there were too many separate plot points going on at once. It made it tough for me to stay involved and lose myself in the story.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book will keep you in it's grip from beginning to end! If you enjoy reading thrillers, this is the book for you!
The story revolves around the Pine family. Matt is in prison. He is thought to be wrongfully convicted of killing his girlfriend. Matt attends NYU. The rest of Matt's family, younger brother, sister, Mom & Dad were murdered while vacationing in Tulum, Mexico. The family murders are found fairly early in the story.
What happens next is the telling of what lead the family to be in Tulum. Told entirely through flashbacks and what is occurring in real time, the reader is able to follow the story. There are many facets to this story. However, it is not difficult to follow all the details.
Skillfully told this is one book to read!
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Best Mystery/Thriller of 2021?...
I will definitely have to reread Every Last Fear, solely because there is so much to unpack and I will never have the same amount of enjoyment I have reading a physical copy than I will reading it on my Kindle. Also, a mysterious new author on the horizon writing under a pseudonym?
Anyways, Every Last Fear is a very crazy book. For a more emotional take on the characters and a lot of information you need to take in, it seemed like this book was biting off a little more than it could chew. But, I guess I was dead wrong. None of the perspectives ever left me wanting more, and each was very distinguishable from the other.
The description doesn't give you a lot of what Every Last Fear has to offer, but you really need to risk diving into this one blind. Or, nearly blind; because you'll be hearing about this book a ton when 2021 comes around the corner. So, keep it on your radar! You really don't want to miss out on a great new addition to crime literature.
There were times reading this book that I truly thought I was reading a true crime novel. It’s excellent.
The Pine family has been disjointed and singularly-focused since the oldest son, Danny, was arrested and convicted of murdering his high school girlfriend 7 years ago. The father and youngest daughter devote endless hours to prove his innocence, the mother suffers from guilt, and middle son Matt struggles with the knowledge of what happened that night. A documentary camera crew follows Danny’s case, and gets the wheels of justice moving once again.
Will Danny’s conviction be upheld? What are all the mysteries swirling around the family and events?
Wonderfully written, and excellently plotted.
A fantastic debut novel by Alex Finlay! Every Last Fear is well written with characters you pull for and I highly recommend it!
Poor Matt has just lost everything, his entire family has just died while on vacation in Mexico...well the entire family except for his brother who has been in jail for murder and has brought infamy to the family.
Now Matt has to deal with the FBI, go to Mexico to claim the bodies and that's just the beginning of action packed story. The story is told both in the present by Matt & FBI agent Keller and in the past by Matt's family.
I did find the villain to be slightly predictable, but not until the second half of the book and it definitely didn't change my opinion of the book.
Thank you to #Netgalley and @Minotaur for an advanced copy. 4 stars.
This was a page turner for me, I just loved everything about this psychological domestic thriller. I was so absorbed in the storyline, it was quirky, dark and suspenseful.
This is a thoughtful and well written suspense novel. I was really impressed and it’s hard to choose between 4 vs 5 stars, honestly. I read this over a couple days of “mental health day” off-time and this was just the ticket to suspend reality for a bit. Stoked for this author to write more, because it’s great stuff!
I received this book from Netgally as an eARC in exchange for a review.
This suspense book follow multiple characters perspectives before and after the murder of an entire family, whose life has been documented in following the conviction of the eldest brother. This book was like ‘Making a Murder’ but with a twist.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a native Nebraskan, I really appreciate the amount of care that went into describing what life in Nebraska is like. I actually had to go look and see if the author was from here because of how convincing the narration about Nebraska was.
I enjoyed the multiple character perspectives and felt like they each had their own unique voice.
At times I found the plot a bit dull and the twist was pretty predictable, but overall it still left a really enjoyable suspense book behind.
I would highly recommend this book to all my friends who are looking for a good murder mystery.
This book grips you right in the very first chapter and doesn’t let go till the very last page. This is one of those books that I stayed up way past bedtime to finish as I could not put it down.
Matt’s brother is In jail for a murder his family is desperate to prove he didn’t commit.
While following a lead his whole family is suddenly found dead in Mexico. Was it an accident or murder and what does it have to do with Matt’s brothers case.
Told by several main characters that take you on a rollercoaster of momentum! Non stop suspense and just wait till the whole story comes out at the end. Twists and turns galore and such richly created characters. A must read for sure!
Matt Pine, an NYU student, is unfortunately surprised that his whole family, minus his older brother, has died while on vacation in Mexico. Mexican authorities rule it an accident, but not everyone is so sure. This thrusts Matt and his family in the media spotlight - yet again. A true crime documentary about Matt’s older brother has been a sensation. Danny was accused of killing his girlfriend 7 years earlier and has gained national interest. So, are these two things events related? Was the family’s death accidental, or something more sinister? Did Danny kill his girlfriend?
This was such an interesting and fast past thriller by debut author, Alex Finley. I will definitely be on the lookout for his future books. Put this on your to-read list.. it comes out March of 2021. Definitely a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers.
Emotional, suspenseful, fast-paced - this book has all the components of a great mystery!
"They found the bodies on a Tuesday" - and so begins yet another upending of Matt Pine's life. Matt's brother, Danny, made headlines after he was convicted of killing his girlfriend, Charlotte,. The story was picked up by a true crime documentary, thrusting all the Pines into the spotlight. The rest of the family has always maintained Danny's innocence, and when they're found dead in Mexico, it's unclear if and how their deaths are connected to the case. Is Matt a target? Is Danny really innocent, and if so, who killed Charlotte?
I really enjoyed this fast-paced, nail-biting mystery. Matt is thrust into difficult and dangerous situations, making the reader feel on the edge of their seat. Finlay does a great job rounding out the story with perspectives from the rest of the Pines, dropping breadcrumbs of clues that settle into the unexpected, twisty, but very satisfying conclusion. We also get a lot more information about the Pines than you might expect from a mystery - it's heartbreaking to see how this family was devastated by both Charlotte's killing and the documentary that followed.
If you love a good mystery or thriller, I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow! Loved this book. Very well written, kept me on the edge of my seat. I had a hard time putting it down at night. A great read