E.xceeded my expectations! An absolute page turner.

Matt Pine is a promising filmmaking student whose brother is in jail- accused of killing his girlfriend. FBI agent Sarah Keller appears and informs him that the rest of his family has been found deceased while on a trip abroad. When Matt travels to Mexico to sign paperwork related to his next of kin, he finds that he is being watched and pursued; the FBI suspects foul play in the death of Matt's family. Soon a full blown cat and mouse chase ensues as Matt and the authorities work to pursue justice for his murdered family.
The characters in the story are well developed and the writing is intense- its a great rrad that you dont want to put down.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

I

This book was a slower read than I expected but because of that the characters were more deeply explored and I got to know them better than in most thrillers. The premise is intriguing: young man’s family killed in Mexico by an apparent gas leak, but because of the past, could it really be so simple? There were some draggy parts in the middle but it wrapped up well and I enjoyed this book overall. 3.5 stars.

Thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. Read it in two days. Not knowing what happened to this poor guy's family kept you turning the pages right until the end. Very well done.

Taut and hauntingly plotted...
Stunningly written..
Danny Pine's entire family except for his older brother Danny is murdered in a apparent accident. Danny is serving a life sentence for killing his girlfriend which puts him in the spot light of a true crime documentary suggesting he is innocent. Both cases soon collide into a riviting suspenseful ride that will keep you flipping pages until the very end. Thank you Net Galley for the pulsating read!

The description of this book intrigued me, even though I had never heard of the author before this book. It seemed right up my alley!

The story was engaging and easy to follow, while still creating twists and turns. The characters were also relatable within a somewhat=egregious storyline, which is somewhat hard to accomplish.

I will definitely recommend this book to my audience!

Every Last Fear

What a great book! A debut novel for Author Alex Finlay, a true psychological thriller.

With so many books to choose from in this venue, this one stands out. It is a “can not put down” thriller, with really great characters, plot and overall storyline

I read a fair amount of books in this category, and this one did not disappoint

Thank you to NetGalley, the Author and St. Martin's Press For my advanced copy to read.

This was a different type of thriller than I normally read; I usually stick to domestic thrillers, but this was a nice departure from my typical read. It hooked me within the first few chapters and definitely had a lot of twists. Normally, I can figure out the direction/ending of a book like this, but this one kept me guessing. I had some suspicions, and I was right, but I did not expect any of the final twists! I'm excited for everyone to read this once it comes out in 2021.

UMMM YEAH THAT WAS GOOD.

I really liked this like really really liked it. It played out exactly like a true crime podcast in a sense with the same ambience. We were able to connect to the entire cast with the several POVs especially Maggie, Liv and Evan. There were a lot of twists and turns and I appreciated how satisfying the ending was. I couldn’t put the book down and while it did take just a little bit to fully process once the book picked up I was HOOKED.

Wow I wish I could read this again for the first time.

A few chapters into Every Last Fear, I thought - I like the people in this book. And for the most part, I really liked the people in this book, flaws and all, and was rooting for them to get the answers and the justice they deserved.

Did they. No, not all of them, and the ones who did - at a terrible price.

We open on Matt Pine, an NYU film student whose whole world has been turned upside down more than once. His brother Danny Pine is in jail for killing his girlfriend Charlotte years ago - something Matt thinks may be warranted. The rest of his family disagrees, especially his father Evan and younger sister, Maggie, who keep chasing clues.

One of those clues sends them to Mexico, where the entire family - Evan, his wife Liv, Maggie and her brother Tommy - are found dead.

And that's just the beginning.

We follow Matt and Special Agent Keller as they unravel what happened in Mexico and years ago. Did Danny murder Charlotte or has a murderer been hiding in the Pines' small Nebraska town?

While I was not surprised as to who was involved in the events that led up to the murder, there were definitely some red herrings and surprises along the way. And the one thing that stood out as the characters raced for the truth - forgiveness, of each other and for themselves.

Wow! Long book but so so good! Crazy ending. Anyone who loves a great thriller should read this one. My first Alex Findlay book and not my last. I will be recommending this one to all my friends for sure. We are in a thriller book club and love ones like this which are hard to find. Much more than I expected in a thriller. Action packed!

I received a digital copy of Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay from #NetGalley and #stmartinspublishing for an honest review.

This book starts with a quote saying they found the bodies on a Tuesday. From then on it hooks you into an unsolved case of the pine family. When the only surviving family member Matt receives the news from agent Sarah Keller FBI his whole family has passed in what looks like a accidental gas leak. Agent Keller isn't so sure since the wildly contaversal documentary featuring the eldest son Danny has everyone in town on the defense. Each time I thought I knew more pieces of the story came together. Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for my ARC.

Hopping on the recent trend I love a good psychological thriller, so much that I feel like I've read them all. There are seemingly only so many motivations for murder! So even though at this point picking one up I feel like I can figure out what happened in the first third of the book I still can't help myself. So that's what made me request Every Last Fear hailed to be one of the most anticipated psychological thrillers of 2021.

So, I would actually say this was not a psychological thriller. I'm not sure what category I'd put it under maybe just murder mystery? But that doesn't matter because this book was excellent. It exceeded my expectations.

I was a little concerned when I saw the multiple POV, but this is what really made the book. There were two mysteries really what happened to the family and what happened the night Danny's was accused of murdering his girlfriend but I almost want to say that I didn't really care because this book was more about the people than the mysteries. Sure the mysteries drove the characters but I was so involved with knowing each one that I often would lose track of if we'd made any headway on the whodunnit. Many times as I was recounting what was happening to my husband, as I'm prone to do when I read books, I found myself saying well, I guess nothing has actually happened but I still couldn't put it down. So again I wouldn't call this a psychological thriller, it was more of a slow burn. But I really enjoyed it nonetheless.

Random thoughts: the before/after seemed a little cheap, unnecessary and distracting, and the title doesn't seem to fit very well. But I guess this was for marketing purposes?

At any rate, high recommend.

Every Last Fear is a riveting, well written and captivating read. If you try and put the book down, you will be compelled to reacquaint yourself quickly. I’m so grateful to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Every Last Fear is A heart pounding psychological thriller! This book is so well written and has many layers to the story, which keeps my interest.
The book starts with the deaths of four members of the Pine family on vacation in Tulum, Mexico. The story is written as Before and After segments told from multiple points of view. The family reached notoriety after a documentary about their oldest son’s murder conviction in their small Nebraska town. The family has been on a mission to clear Dan’s name since he confessed.
Is Dan guilty? Did the family really die of carbon monoxide-poisoning or is something more sinister going on? Don’t miss out on this page turner! It would make an excellent film! This book gets 5 stars from me.
A special thank you to the Author, NetGalley, and St. Marten’s Press for an early copy in exchange for my review.

If you're looking for an unputdownable thriller that offers up fully rounded characters with depth, then get yourself a copy of this one and enjoy the ride! I didn't know what to expect with this "new" author (Alex Finlay is a pseudonym), but the hype on this one is well-founded.

What I think I like best about this novel is that it does what my favorite books often do: it takes a unique perspective of an event. In this case, we follow a NYU college student, Matt, who is trying to balance his future with his past. His brother is in jail for the murder of his high school girlfriend; worse, his family and this case were thrust into the international spotlight when a true-crime Netflix documentary made them all infamous. Matt's brother says he's innocent--and the evidence does make the conviction look very spotty--but Matt harbors a secret: he thinks he saw his brother the night of the murder in a compromising position. And folks, this is just a little exposition. (The first lines of the book actually start with the suspicious deaths of the REST of Matt's family--his parents, teenage sister, and 6-year old brother--so it starts with a bang.) SO much more happens, and I don't want to ruin anything for anyone. The storyline is both suspenseful and heart-wrenching. At times, it might seem like almost too much is going on, especially as the narrative moves backwards and forwards in time; however, in the hands of this writer, the narrative never feels clumsy or scattered. The plotting is tight, complex, and compelling. This also is just clamoring for a film adaptation!

A close reader might catch on to the true culprits and motivations before the end of the novel, but the pacing is so good, it doesn't really take from the overall enjoyment. I usually don't go along with the pack when I see headlines that proclaim a book to be the "thriller of the year," but I think, in this case, that description is warranted. Buckle up and enjoy this one!

An excellent addition to the crowded thriller genre. A definite first purchase for general fiction collections.

The perfect quarantine read - fast-paced, intriguing story line, compulsively readable. Easy to overlook the at times clunky writing and over-the-top conclusion. A thrilling ride.

Thanks to NetGalley, publishers, and Alex Finlay for early access to this title!

I could not put this book down! I requested this from Netgalley based off a review from a fellow bookstagramer and I’m so glad I did!
This was a fast paced- emotionally charged thriller set like a true crime Netflix documentary!
Told through many POVs but not to the point of confusion! I loved every single character and what they brought to the story!
Sarah Keller I just love! Plus her last name is my maiden name so she felt like family!
This book had me on my toes and guessing until the very end! I recommend this one to anyone who enjoys true crime, mystery or thrillers!

This is out March 2021 so put it on your TBR. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher Minotaur/St. Martins Press for my advanced ebook copy.

I received an ARC of "Every Last Fear" by Alex Finlay from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for a honest review.

"Every Last Fear" by Alex Finlay is one of the best books I've read all year. "They found the bodies on a Tuesday." From the very first sentence, I was intrigued about the direction the story would go. Combining a dark thriller with twists and turns with complicated family dynamics is a book tailored to my interests. The story is kept fresh and interesting being told by multiple viewpoints and at a range of time periods. I thoroughly enjoyed following this story through different characters perspectives.

The crime element and trying to figure out what really happened to both Charlotte and the Pine Family was certainly engaging. Did Danny Pine really murder Charlotte? Was she actually dead or could she actually still be alive? Did the Pine family die in a tragic accident as is assumed or was it actually a murder? Personally, as much as I enjoyed deciphering through all the clues and crime details, I interestingly enough enjoyed learning about the family and how everything shifted after Danny's arrest even more so.

I will recommend this book to fellow readers and will certainly be looking to read more books from Finlay in the future.

This is my first Alex Finlay read, but it definitely won't be my last. I requested based on the interesting blurb and beautiful cover, and I'm so glad I did.

The Pine family is plagued by a crime: their son, Danny, was tried and convicted of murdering his girlfriend. A true crime documentary sheds light on the case and thrusts them in the spotlight. Ten years later, the family is found dead on a spring break trip to Mexico, leaving only Danny, still incarcerated, and his brother Matt. As FBI agent Sarah Keller begins her investigation, the case proves to be more complex than anyone could've guessed, and pulling at one mysterious knot leads to another.

I really enjoyed this read. Structurally, the multi-POV, alternating voices from the deceased family leading up to their deaths, to the Sarah Keller's investigation, to Matt navigating his old town and unfinished business--this worked really well. It kept the pace moving, added layers to the character development without getting bogged down in dense prose, and meticulously laid the mystery to unravel piece by piece. With so many moving parts, it was easy to get lost in the mystery and swept up in the chase.

Perhaps what I liked most about this was how normal everything felt. In a sea of conspiracy theories, homicide, reality stardom, and a one-armed man frame narrative is a family. A family struggling with average problems that give the appearance of nefarious intentions but really are just people trying to figure out a way to be happy. Marital problems. A whip-smart, clever teenage girl trying to navigate consent and assault. Money issues. None of their issues felt outlandish or fantastical; rather, the mystery comes from a place of familiarity, so it very much puts the audience in the seat of "this could be me." Finlay does an excellent job of constructing a believable family, a believable tragedy, and the sadness that comes when truths come to light.

While I had a good idea where the story was going around the halfway point, Finlay plants plenty of subtle clues and red herrings to keep suspicions cast elsewhere. I'd be curious to see if this will end up being a series, but it functions well as a stand-alone.

Overall, Every Last Fear is a fast-paced, thrilling adventure into old grudges, family dysfunction, and conspiracy theories. A well-written intrigue with lots of heart, this is one you won't want to miss in 2021.

Big thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.