The Night Shift by Alex Finlay blew my expectations out of the water! Equal parts nostalgic teenage mystery and modern crime thriller, this book kept me on the edge of my seat!

Narrations from multiple points of view added engrossing layers to this story. Despite the many characters and povs from shifting timelines, I never found myself confused or let down by a subplot. Each point of action was as compelling as the next, and it was exciting to play detective as a reader.

Familiar yet refreshing, (and honestly genre-bending), The Night Shift takes on countless elements of a great thriller and makes them feel good as new. If you're looking for a legal thriller, family drama, academia, detective pov, cold case mystery, or a culmination of them all, Finlay has written the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. Five stars.

An unputdownable thriller! Since I've been consuming a ridiculous amount of thrillers for several years, they have started to feel like a dime a dozen. This is not one of those. I actually got chill bumps at one point!

I would rec this to anyone who even mildly likes thrillers. A huge thank-you to Alex Finlay, the publisher, and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where crime and thrillers are popular.

I think the first thing that caught my eye was the mention of Blockbuster video. IYKYK. Unfortunately, that's where my connection and interest ended. This one had some page turners, but then I'd get bored. It was a struggle for me to get through it. I just don't think I was the target audience. I urge you to try it yourself and not base your decision on my opinion. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

There is something about a thriller that feels like a real true crime story, with incredible twists and unpredictable turns, that just *gets me*. I couldn't put this book down and read it in one day.

New Year's Eve Y2k, aka 1999, four teenage girls are attacked at a Blockbuster Video and only one survives. The suspect is never seen again.

Fifteen years ago, four workers are attacked at an ice cream shop, and again... only one survives. Now the original survivor, the suspect's brother, and the FBI agent determined to solve it, are forced to interact and solve this case.

*Gifted by Netgalley and Minotaur Books - thank you! All opinions are my own.

This was a fun one to read! I love a good thriller, and Finlay didn’t disappoint. One of the twists was pretty obvious, but the other one was good!! I really enjoyed the switching of the narrators to get a fuller picture of what was going on.

Oh my....Alex Finlay has done it again! Every time Alex writes a book, I drop everything to read it. Lots of twists and turns that you don't see coming and always well-developed characters,

Omg!! Alex Finlay is simply one of those authors who every time I see their name, I am eager to grab the book and devour it's pages!

Such a fantastic book! Seriously Finlay nailed it with this one. Short but intense chapters, so many twists , great plot and well developed characters.... what more could a girl ask for??


As always thanks to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review

Alex Finlay is an auto read author for me, cemented all the way back in 2021 with Every Last Fear, which is one of my all-time favorite books. The Night Shift is a solid follow up novel. Though very different, it is tense, riveting, and unpredictable in the best way. Finlay should teach a class on how to write a perfect thriller. I’d be in the front row.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I read Every Last Fear a while ago and thought it was pretty good. Good enough to want to read more of Finlay. So, when I saw this one on NetGalley, I grabbed it, expecting another pretty good book. I was surprised because this one was even better. I loved this one and flew through it in a couple of days.

From Goodreads: It’s New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K is expected to end in chaos: planes falling from the sky, elevators plunging to earth, world markets collapsing. A digital apocalypse. None of that happens. But at a Blockbuster Video in New Jersey, four teenagers working late at the store are attacked. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again.

Fifteen years later, more teenage employees are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive.

In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who’s convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller who must delve into the secrets of both nights—stirring up memories of teen love and lies—to uncover the truth about murders on the night shift.

I loved that this book follows three different characters, Sarah Keller; Ella Monroe, the survivor of the original murders; and Chris Ford, the brother of the accused. Between those three, you get the full story. And there are some fun plot twists along the way. I did guess the big reveal at the end at the beginning of the book, but there were plenty of other surprises. I’m super critical of good writing, and Finlay wrote a beautifully tight story. I will definitely recommend this one.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay has so many elements that I love. A gripping thriller told with intriguing flashbacks and gripping characters that had me flipping through pages as fast as I could. The nostalgia factor was also high with this story as a child of the 90's who frequented Blockbuster and Hollywood Video. The book starts on New Year's Eve 1999 where all the employees of a Blockbuster are attacked with only one surviving. And then the story picks up fifteen years later when another group of employees at an ice cream parlor are attacked and there is again only one survivor.

We follow three different protagonists as the story unfolds. One of them is the survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, another is an FBI agent tasked with helping the local police, and the third is a public defender who has ties to the Blockbuster massacre. I think the choice of the three narrators was great because we got to see all sides of the mysteries unfold throughout all their separate storylines. And of course when the three storylines ultimately collided it led to an explosive final act.

I think the bulk of the mystery is easy to figure out but the wild ride we take to get there was very enjoyable. There was just enough doubt for me that I did find myself second guessing if I was right. The story also has the perfect amount of twists and reveals to keep my attention glued to the story. I honestly had a hard time putting this book down because I just had to know what was going to happen next. This was the first Finley book that I have read and I am definitely going to read his other, Every Last Fear, soon.

Second very good page-turner in a row from this author, I really enjoyed this one and it was great to see agent Keller again. It's a good story with quite a few twists however the main villain was so obvious I was hoping it would turn out to not go that way but alas.... however it was a book that was hard to put down so 4 stars for sure.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Thank you to @minotaurbooks for the #gifted copy of the book.

This book had me hook, line and sinker at the word Blockbuster. What can I say? Any chance at remembering the nineties and I am in. I was not disappointed. In 1999, 4 teens and their manager were attacked during the night shift with only one lone survivor - Ella. Fifteen years later, it happens again at an ice cream shop. 4 teens are attacked and there is one survivor- Jesse. Are these two crimes linked?

I listened to this one and enjoyed the narration. This book had plenty of suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat. I love Alex Finlay!,

This ticked so many boxes for me. I love a good thriller and the nostalgia throwback was exactly what I needed. I was invested in this story and stayed up way past my bedtime so I could finish this in one sitting. Alex Finlay nailed this one.

I got an arc of this from netgalley long ago and this book has stayed with me. I remember it all as if I just read it. It's one of those books I will reread over and over again. I love the 80s references, the characters are so realistic and you love them even if you don't like what they stand for. I felt like I was on that blockbuster, feeling that fear, even years later. It is very realistic. Love it

I don't know why I put off reading The Night Shift for so long. It is exactly the type of easy read thriller that I love to binge while doing other things. I didn't need to spend a whole lot of time focusing on it in order to follow the story.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of, but once I had a handle on who was who and how they fit together, the rest of the book was smooth sailing.

In the same vein as Final Girls by Riley Sager, Night Shift features a situation at a Blockbuster in 1999 where four kids are murdered but one survives. Fast forward 15 years later and a similar situation occurs at an ice cream place. The survivor of that attack wants to talk with Ella, the survivor of the Blockbuster attack. Ella is now a therapist, and she does talk with Jess, the survivor.

Told in alternating points of view from Ella, an FBI agent Keller and Chris, the accused murderer's brother, this book tries to piece together what happened in 1999 and what happened in 2014.

It was interesting and I wanted to keep reading... but I figured out the killer and there were a lot of things that either required you to suspend disbelief or just weren't answered or acknowledged (how are the police ok with saying that someone is the murderer because the weapon was found in their locker... did it not occur to them that it could have been planted?).

Overall, a solid thriller and I would read more from this author, but the end was not as crisp as it could have been.

Summary:

New Year’s Eve 1999: four girls are murdered at a Blockbuster and one survives

15 years later in the same town: four teenagers attacked at a local ice cream store and only one survives

Both victims remember the killer saying, “Goodnight Pretty Girl.”

Did the police get it wrong 15 years ago when someone was arrested for the first murder at Blockbuster?

Three perspectives narrate this thriller: Sarah, Chris, and Ella.

Sarah is the FBI agent from Finlay’s hit Every Last Fear. Chris Ford is a lawyer, and Ella is a therapist.

The captivating thriller unfolds throughout the three stories.

My Thoughts:

This was a great thriller just like Every Last Fear. Alex Finlay delivered two solid back to back thrillers.

I definitely recommend this book! It’s done so well and will keep you hooked until the end!

I loved the previous book featuring Agent Sarah Keller, but this one dragged for whatever reason. I was excited to read a story that involved being teens in the 90s, since that's when I was a teen, but ultimately this was more about police work and felt like a slog. I didn't find Ella, the survivor from the 90s murder, to be a very compelling character either. Ultimately, this was disappointing.