First off, loved the nostalgic Blockbuster video as the scene of the first crime! Ella is a Rich girl determined to make her own way with help from no one including her fiancé, who she just can’t seem to stay faithful to and finally has enough and leaves her. She is a therapist, the sole survivor of a gruesome unsolved murder from her teens. on the eve of Y2K. She is brought in to help Jesse who is the sole survivor of the current Ice Cream Shop murder which has multiple similarities to the one Ella survived and begs the question, is it the same person or a copycat.
Let’s look at some other main characters: Jesse is a teen in foster-care and is constantly getting into trouble and doesn’t really have any friends. Chris is a public defendant who was adopted at a young age and changed his name to escape his identity as the brother of the original suspect. Sarah Keller is the FBI agent brought in to review the Blockbuster Case but who can’t help ingratiating herself into the Ice Cream Shop case! She is a badass and does what she wants even 8 months pregnant with twins. This crazy cast of characters makes for a great story.
I did not figure out the killer until the end and I throughly enjoyed the story!
Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

The Night Shift was the perfect nostalgia thriller. It was a highly entertaining plot with great, over the top characters. Alex Finlay is a stand out thriller author.

I read a lot of thrillers, and in the last year, this has definitely been one of my favorites! I really enjoyed learning all of the intricacies of these characters, as well as each of their secrets. I loved the change in POV that the story was told from, and the characters that the author picked to tell the story were very intriguing. I was shocked by some of the discoveries near the end of the book, and thought the ending was just perfect. This is a page-turner and one I will continue to think about in weeks to come. If you are looking for your next great thriller, choose this one!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I loved this one! It gave me Survive the Night and No Exit vibes in that it it’s got 90s nostalgia and is very fast paced. It’s definitely a bingeable thriller! I loved the multiple POVs. It kind of took on a crime procedural since many of the characters were part of the justice system. Every character held my interest. I was shocked repeatedly by the twists. Loved the back story and the current day plots.

Only downfalls we’re that I did predict the killer, but in this case it didn’t lessen my enjoyment. The ending wrapped up rather quickly which was cool from an action aspect, but wouldn’t have minded that part being drawn out a little more. Also an 8 month pregnant with twins FBI agent felt a little unrealistic and unnecessary- there was no way she was still doing all that 2 weeks till her due date!

Overall, a fast paced book with interesting characters and twists. Would definitely recommend!!

This is such a fun, fast read. I loved the Y2K vibe of the beginning, it made for a very believable crime setup. Sometimes it felt like there was a lotttt going on but I think the story ties itself up nicely and I enjoyed Emma and Chris's point of views the most!

"The sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer". Easily one of my favourite lines from this well written thriller!

I really enjoyed Every Last Fear from Alex Finlay, so I was really hoping to enjoy this one too and I definitely did! I am a big fan of a good thriller and this book gave me everything I wanted. Unreliable and shady characters, multiple perspectives, dual timelines, crazy twists and super short chapters that made for a very quick read that I couldn't put down!

And if this synopsis doesn't grab your attention, I don't know what will. It's New Years Eve, 1999, and four young girls and their manager are working at the local Blockbuster video store. Out of nowhere, they are brutally attacked and only one girl survives. Fast forward fifteen years and change the scene to a local ice cream shop. Again, another brutal attack with only one survivor. And it seems quite possible that, despite the years gone by, these attacks are related. It's up to an FBI agent and a few other people to figure out the connections.

I remember going to Blockbuster as a kid, so that part of the story really took me back. The characters were all great, in their own ways. I loved how creepy this story was and it flowed perfectly, with each chapter ending in a way that made me want to keep reading. So well written and I love how everything came together!

Such a great read! Fast paced, original and well written. A second novel that is just as good as the first: highly recommend.

➸ 3/5 stars
➸ Thank you to the publisher for giving this to me as an ARC via NetGalley.

★ I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. The style structure of going back and forth between the two timelines was something I loved but at the same time, I felt as though the author really underutilized the theme of the millennium as promised in the novel description which could have been really fun if utilized correctly. I enjoyed the length and style of the chapters but with the constant switching between characters, it was way too far into the novel before I actually began to care about any of them. Some of Finlay's descriptions and writings of women felt slightly misogynistic to me and perhaps I was overthinking it, but it rubbed me the wrong way. However, as a thriller, the novel worked in its main goal of being bingeable and interesting as I did find myself wanting to know exactly what happened and that pushed me to finish it.

This is the definition of a page turner. New Years Eve 1999 the night staff at a local Blockbusters is brutally murdered. There is one lone survivor. The murder suspect escapes and is never found. Then 15 years later the same type of murder happens again. Sarah Keller (Every Last Fear) is back, this time heavily pregnant with twins. She partners up with a brand new FBI agent and they try to put the puzzle together. The novel jumps back and forth between different perspectives and although there were some plot holes, altogether the story kept me riveted until the last page. Thank you #NetGalley for my copy.

This was my first book by Alex Finlay and I have to say that I was very impressed. Two horrific events that are years apart and yet have several things in common: an unknown intruder with a knife and several dead employees of a local store and one sole survivor of each attack.

This was such a fast-paced mystery with several different POVs. My favorite was the nine months pregnant Detective Kellar who didn't let a little thing like a pregnancy keep her from trying to find out the truth of what happened. There were twists and turns with this mystery and chapters that seemed to always end in cliffhangers that made it impossible to stop reading! I loved this book from beginning to end. Fantastic read.

I really enjoyed the chase of two seemingly unrelated murderers, from two totally different times. The switching of character points of view really gave you a chance to see the story from all sides. It was dark, twisty, and left me guessing right up until the end.

Alex Finlay is just *chef’s kiss* when it comes to thrillers and this one was no different! Plot: yes! Twists:yes! Character development: yes! Prose: yes! Will I read more: oh yes!

This is a fast-paced thriller that I enjoyed a lot. Two similar crimes are committed 18 years apart. Could the murderer be the same person that is currently on the run or is there a copy-cat? I was surprised by the conclusion which is always a good thing, right? I would definitely read more from this author.

Alex Finlay writes with unapologetic subterfuge and skill. This novel will not hand the reader a tidy plot line with 'who-dun-it' trope that checks all applicable boxes. Put on your thinking caps, settle in, and enjoy the ride. Finlay offers a mutilayered, complex plot with varying time lines and diverse points of view. The unique format of the short chapters adds tension to an already compelling storyline and Finlay's outstanding scene setting easily transports readers back to y2K. Loved it. Highly recommended.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Minotaur_Books for the ARC of #TheNightShift, which was read and reviewed voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#bookfluence #thrillerreads #alexfinlaybooks

I enjoyed The Night Shift, though not as much as I’d hoped.

The synopsis leads us to believe that Blockbuster, along with the threat of Y2K and all that drama, was to be a big part of this story. It’s really not, but the Blockbuster scenes are a fun blast from the past.

The present-day setting, with the new murders and the survivor from the past murders working as a therapist, is the main storyline.

The lead FBI agent on this case is a woman who is 8-½ months pregnant with twins. Sure, she’s badass. But, please. Any woman who has been pregnant, much less carrying twins, knows it’s highly unlikely you’ll be chasing down killers two weeks before your due date. I struggled with plausibility here.

The big reveal didn’t wow me. We’re left with several loose, dangling threads that you might or might not notice.

Still, this is a quick read that will likely keep you guessing through to the end.

This is a no from me. I was just so bored, I couldn't finish it. Maybe I wasn't in the right headspace for a murder mystery but I also think there were way too many POVs to keep track off and that also made things worse.

4.5 stars rounded up!!

**Thank you so much to @minotaur_books, @alexfinlayauthor, and @netgalley for my eARC!**

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🔴 A FLICKER IN THE DARK
🔴 Serial killer / mass murder plot lines
🔴 Multiple POVs and dual timelines
🔴 Thrillers that truly keep you guessing throughout
🔴 Fast-paced books that you cannot put down

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
15 years ago, 4 teenage girls and their young (male) manager were attacked at a Blockbuster; only 1 survived. Fast-forward to present day, and the same thing has happened again, in the same town- this time at an ice cream shop. The lone survivor from the Blockbuster murders, Ella, is now a counselor and is called to the scene to speak with the lone survivor in the ice cream store case. Could the killer be the same person who attacked her all those years ago?

MY THOUGHTS:
I LOVED this thriller!!!! Part of me wants to go ahead and give it 5 stars, buttttt I am a thriller junkie and typically only give 5 stars to the ones who leave me absolutely STUNNED and in awe.

One of my good friends (IRL), @lacyloveslit, loved this one, so I went in with high expectations. I definitely was not disappointed! Although I read this during a busy work week, I could not stop thinking about it; I was so excited to get home each night to read more! This is my first Alex Finlay novel, and definitely will not be my last.

This novel sucked me in from the very first page, and was enticing, suspenseful, and truly thrilling throughout. I was a tad suspicious of the character who was revealed to ultimately be behind the murders- BUT, with all of the twists and turns, I kind of forgot about this person, and ended up being pretty shocked!

I do wish there would have been more atmospheric vibes regarding the Blockbuster setting- I was so intrigued by that! The majority of the book focuses on the second case/mass murder.

Overall, this thriller was extremely well-done and I couldn’t “flip” my kindle pages fast enough. Def recommend to thriller lovers 👏🏼

🚨 **PETITIONING THAT THIS ONE BE ADAPTED TO THE BIG SCREEN!!!** 🚨

After LOVING Every Last Fear, I expected to absolutely love this one too. While I did very much enjoy it, I didn't love it quite as much. I found it hard to imagine an 8-month pregnant FBI agent being able to participate in the investigation as much as she did. Additionally, there were SO many character POVs and multiple timelines. I was a little overwhelmed keeping everything straight. I did like the process of the investigation and the elements of nostalgia interwoven with the plot. I'm definitely still an Alex Finlay fan even if this one wasn't quite as amazing as I was hoping for it to be.

I love this author! The twisty, complex plots are satisfying, but it's the characters and the exploration of trauma and redemption that elevates these books beyond straight genre fiction. Sarah Keller is a complete badass, and I love her charmingly stable home life and ridiculously wholesome husband - how nice to have an FBI agent character who isn't a self-destructive alcoholic, and a woman no less. Her struggle to balance work and family and her juxtaposition with the devastated crime victims and their family members is employed to good effect. I loved Every Last Fear slightly more, but this was very good and I will read anything Finlay puts out.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay.

This is a THRILLER. Two women come together after being survivors of a similar crime, fifteen years apart, to find the killer who keeps haunting this poor town. But even with the help of a very determined FBI agent, these three women might find themselves in way more danger then they ever could have bargained for.

This has so many things that I love. Girl power, an intricate plot, a solid mystery, lots of twists and turns, complex characters. It's no wonder there is so much buzz around this book. I highly recommend! Be sure to pack this one on your next vacation.