A good suspense/mystery/thriller, but I felt like Finlay's first novel, "Every Last Fear," was a stronger novel.

An engrossing and suspenseful read that kept me glued to the book all night. A violent murder at a Blockbuster Video and now, 15 years later, a similar crime in the same town. One survivor each time.

Ella, the survivor of the Blockbuster murder is now a therapist and is called to the hospital to talk to the victim and survivor of the most recent murder. Is this the same murderer or a copycat killer? A must read!

Fast paced, thought provoking .I thoroughly enjoyed this, tho I would have appreciated more backstory, and the ending felt a bit rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This was a quick and easy read that had some juicy twists and turns. It was well written, but nothing special. Just a good, solid, fast paced thriller.

So it turns out I read this last fall, but forgot to review it. I downloaded it again this week, started reading it and realized it seemed familiar.

I liked the characters and the premise, but found the solution to fall a little flat. I just think that the killer didn't quite make sense. Why would he kill everyone in an ice cream shop just because he was obsessed with one girl? And then he did it again 13 years later.

I read Alex Finlay's first book and found it to be similarly far-fetched. This one was better. The writing in the previous book wasn't very good so this is an improvement. And in that book, every choice the characters made was the more sensational, less realistic one, but again this book suffers from a lack of sense.

I'd like to draw a comparison between this book and 2 Nights in Lisbon, which is also kind of far-fetched, but somehow works. I'm not quite sure why, but the characters seem more clever. The backstory is tragic, but makes sense and the twist is exciting. Plus, I still remember it months later.

Alex Finlay's The Night Shift is a worthy successor to his debut Every Last Fear, one of my favorites of 2021. Told over three action-packed days, from multiple perspectives, The Night Shift follows the follow out of a triple murder at an ice cream shop. The case has eerie similarities to a case from a decade earlier. I read a lot of mysteries and even I was shocked by the twists in The Night Shift.

The Night Shift is the first book I've read by Alex Finlay. I used to read mostly mystery and thrillers, and lately I've gotten back my taste for them. Books like this, with all sorts of twists, turns and red herrings are a big reason for my return to the genre. And authors like the talented Alex Finlay shall surely keep me there!

New Year's Eve 1999 was being looked at with dread. Would planes fall from the sky? Would the world's financial markets collapse? Y2K ended up being tame, just like any other new year. Tame, that is, except for the teenagers working at Blockbuster Video that night in Linden, New Jersey. Four teenaged girls and a young man worked the night shift. By the time it was over, all would be murdered except one girl. A young man is identified as a suspect, but he ran and was never seen again. Fifteen years pass by, and in the same town working the night shift at an ice cream store four teenaged employees are brutally attacked. Once again, only one girl survives the slaughter. Both surviving girls hear the killer whisper, "Goodnight, pretty girl". After that killing, the lives of three people become interconnected: the Blockbuster survivor who is still dealing with the fallout from that night; the brother of the initial suspect who believes his sibling is innocent; and a pregnant FBI agent working on both cases. As they get closer to solving the cases, things start to get really messy. Who will make it out alive?

This is one of those thrillers that is actually thrilling! I don't come across those as often as I'd like. The story started off just a bit slow; it took me awhile to get used to changing viewpoints and time changes. But once I got rolling, I didn't want to stop until I figured out whodunit. You should have seen me at work, reading then shoving my Kindle into my bookbag every time I heard my boss coming my way! I just had to find out who the killer was. Alas, I had to wait until I got home. I kind of figured out who the killer was, but certain events had me questioning my judgment. There were some great characters here. Atticus Singh, FBI agent Sarah Keller's temporary partner, was a delight every time he was present. He was a smart young man who wanted to be an FBI agent, and was eager to help Keller. He could be endearingly geeky at time. FBI agent Keller, who was very heavily pregnant, could be quite a badass. She was also extremely likeable; I loved her relationship with her husband, and their time together brightened up the mostly intense story. My favorite character, however, was Chris, the brother of the young man believed to have committed the first murders. He had an abusive father, a mother who disappeared and a brother whom he loved who hadn't been seen since he became a suspect. Chris was taken from his home, adopted by a loving couple and became a public defender. Yet he still felt the need to find his bother, and believed he was living as a travel blogger. Some of the action here could give you whiplash as things changed so suddenly and you would have no idea what would happen next. I totally enjoyed this thrilling story and am quite anxious to see what Alex Finlay comes up with next!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

4.5⭐ This book immediately hooked me and kept me hooked. I consistently found myself thinking "Okay, just one more chapter." The balance of POVs was superb. Sure, parts of it seemed a little predictable but overall, it was exactly what I had been craving and I devoured it.

The only thing keeping me from giving this book a 5⭐ rating is the ending. It felt very rushed and the epilogue kind of reached to wrap up all the lose ends. I would have been okay with a few more chapters to finish it up in a neater way but all in all, I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC.

New Year’s Eve 1999, and there is a violent murder of four teenage girls at a Blockbuster Video just after closing. One survivor. Cut to fifteen years later, and the same town experiences a parallel crime at ice cream shop-one survivor.
This book was unputdownable. I would have read it all in one sitting if I had started it over a weekend. The characters, the nineties nostalgia, the pacing-everything works. I really enjoyed the author’s debut, but this is the book that I would recommend between the two. A great mystery-thriller from start to finish.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC!

The Night Shift follows a few different people as they try and navigate their way to finding the killer. At first, the many POVs are confusing because you have absolutely no clue what these people bring to the story or why they are there. At the start of the novel, I got lost trying to remember all the different characters; they all had so many various stories and backgrounds. Slowly, throughout the novel, the author leaves these tiny details that just ended creating more and more questions. And there is nothing more satisfying than everything piecing together at the end. I will be patiently waiting for a paperback version of this to release so I can add it to my bookshelf.

A solid, addictive thriller about a mass murder at a Blockbuster with only one teenage survivor. A suspect was identified but fled and was never found. Now, fifteen years later in the same town, four teenagers working in an ice cream store are murdered and again only one teenager survives. Past and present collide. Highly recommend.

I wanted to love this, especially because it has a murder in the 90s and I loved his previous book. However, I felt like there wasn’t enough time spent in the 90s timeline. I also felt like there wasn’t enough going on. This one just wasn’t for me.

This was a nice surprise thanks to Minotaur Books. Full of suspense and entertaining. And takes place in the 90s, my favorite! I can't wait to see what Alex Finlay comes out with next!

I liked the book as a whole, and it kept my interest as I was reading, but I never felt super attached to the characters, and I picked out the main suspect (who ended up being the killer) within the first couple of chapters. I hoped I was wrong but I wasn't. Overall it felt like a really disappointing ending to me. I liked how some of the sub-plots were tied up but mostly it fell flat, felt rushed, and was disappointing.

I was very excited to get an advanced copy of this book! There has been a lot of hype about the story. I have not read any other works by this author. The premise of the story is about some murders that took place on New Year's Eve, 1999 at a Blockbuster. Four employees are killed and one lone girl, Ella survives. Flash forward fifteen years later and in the same town, a similar incident occurs and three are killed and again one girl, Jessica survives. Ella, is now a therapist and is called in to talk to Jess, the latest survivor. The commonality is Mr. Steadman who calls Ella in to talk to Jess. The whole basic storyline with a few zigs and zags is finding out if the two crimes related? A large part of the story is finding out if the man who was arrested for the earlier crime. He wa arrested , released, and then disappeared. We learn about the family life of the man who was arrested for the crime and follow his father and brother. We also find out about Ella and her family as well as Jess's background. This book isn't a show stopper, but it is good enough to keep your attention. It has some unique problems and solutions pop up which adds to the storyline. The characters were ok, but not brillant. Overall an entertaining B movie type read. Thank you net galley and the publisher for an advanced copy. 3.5 stars

I loved reading Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay and was so happy to see this book! This one did not disappoint either. I read the book in one sitting. I enjoyed learning about the different characters and seeing how their lives intertwined. I enjoyed trying to put the pieces together about how the two crimes, years apart could have been related. No I didn't get it all right but guess some of it. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Thanks to the publisher for an advanced ecopy of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay.

Last year I had read Finlay's first novel Every Last Fear, and was hooked on it from its first pages. Now, I am very used to authors having sophomore slumps so I never expect much with their second novels that almost always spun out a mere year (or less) later. However, Finlay did not experience any of that slump as it turns out. The Night Shift was equally as gripping right out of the gate as Every Last Fear was. Two mass-murders years apart with a lone survivor of each? It could have been over the top, but it was just thrilling.

I love that Finlay in both his books I have read has had a strong undercurrent of hopefulness through the terrifying and dark plots. Lots of characters to keep up with in The Night Shift, but for the most part, they all felt significant to the plot. I am not sure which of Finlay's two books I liked best, but I can say for certain I will be recommending them to all my thriller loving reading friends. What sets Finlay apart from many authors in this genre is that element of optimism that he brings. Many authors don't offer the balance of light and shade that he does.

The Night Shift by Alex Finlay follows two cases 15 years apart that have very similar characteristics. In both crimes, three teenage girls are murdered with only one survivor. This story follows the survivor of the first massacre; the brother of the original suspect, who’s convinced the police have it wrong; and the FBI agent, who’s determined to solve both cases,

I've really enjoyed both of Alex Finlay's mysteries I've read thus far. This book was a very fast-paced enjoyable read. I was invested in every single character and was constantly second-guessing everyone's motives. Highly recommend.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was at totally enjoyable thriller and one that had me turning the pages quickly seeing if I could figure out who was the killer. It was propulsive and the short chapters made it more so.

A terrible occurrence in Linden New Jersey, in 1999, begins our story and the author takes us into the killings of young girls working in a Blockbuster store. There was one survivor and with the suspect on the run, we have no conclusion to this heinous killing of three young girls.

We just to the present, fifteen years from the original killings. This time the murders take place in an ice cream store, with once again a lone survivor. The parallels are undeniable and the non-apprehended suspect of the first murders is once again a suspect as a repeat killer.

The author introduces the characters of the past as well as the intermingling of the characters of an FBI agent, the brother of the suspect, and the girl who survived the current murders. This was a very clever technique of joining the old with the new and created a wonderful game of clue that kept on changing the players.

There is a lot going on as the reader's eyes are focused on one person after another. Along with that, there is the meetings of the families, the people who lost children, the father of the suspect, and the lives that were tragically upended because of the craze of the killer.

I enjoyed this story read with my friend, Jan. We were looking for a well-done thriller and in this story our hopes were recognized. Definitely one I recommend and am glad Alex Finlay has written another book that maintained my interest from start to finish.

Thank you to Alex Findlay, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this riveting story, published on March 1, 2022

THE NIGHT SHIFT was one of my most highly anticipated reads of 2022 and it ended up being my favorite read of February. The story pulled me in from the very beginning and kept my interest throughout. This one definitely kept me guessing until the very end, although one of my initial suspicions was spot on. I found this to be a fast-paced read with some unexpected twists, which I always love. I’d absolutely recommend this one to thriller lovers.