This book opens up on the year of that great big Prince party, the year that had people in a panic that everything would just stop working and reset itself, the big Y2K eve ( that’d be 1999 for those who are too young to know what I’m going on about). This is the year that people were all in a panic that planes would drop from the sky, elevators would plummet, the stock market would collapse, just about everything digital and otherwise would come to an end. Of course, as you well know now none of that happened. However, at a particular Blockbuster Video store (Be Kind…) in New Jersey, four teens working the late shift were attacked and only one would live to see the year 2000 roll in. The police are quick to find a suspect, a boyfriend of one of the deceased, but he winds up fleeing and he’s not seen again.
Fifteen years later, another vicious crime occurs. More teens are attacked, this time in an ice cream store and there are some eerie similarities, the most obvious being that one victim is once again left alive.
Now, lives will intersect, stories will mesh together. A lone Blockbuster survivor will be forced to relive a massacre that left her with scars that impede her life to this day. The brother of the man who was accused in the last slaying who believes with all his heart his brother didn’t do it will use this to try to find and clear his brother from the crimes. And an FBI agent, Sarah Keller, who will dig deeper than anyone else into this case and the last to try and find the killer and bring him or her to justice and give peace to those left behind.
There are many other characters in this book and not a single one is minor. Every character is used perfectly to build this story and give it the life it has. Every interview, chance encounter, and so on is excellent. The characters in this book are just perfectly built up and used. It’s a character driven story. Not that the storyline or plot is lacking in any way, shape, or form at all. It’s just that the characters are so well written it stands out.
It does take, or did for me at least, a little while to get used to the style of the writing since a good majority of books aren’t written as if everything is happening right now as you read it (ex. “Chris gets up and gets his coffee. He sits down and drinks it”). It’s a good break from the norm but for me it was daunting at first simply because I was just so used to just about every other form or writing for some reason. So that took a tad bit of time but once adjusted it was excellent.
It might be obvious by now but I’d definitely recommend giving this one a chance. The reveal is great and it’s a fun book to throw around ideas about whodunit as you read. It’s funny at times, happy, sad, you name it. I really enjoyed it.

This was a great thriller! I love when a story is full of connections and this book certainly has that. The story starts with a terrible murder on New Years Eve 1999 and then picks up 15 years later with an eerily similar murder. Filled with great, flawed, characters, I really enjoyed this new book by Finlay. Every Last Fear was my first Finlay at the start of the year and it seems fitting to end the year with another. Great mystery and read! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

A crime scene looks eerily similar to one that happened 20 years prior- is it a copy cat or has the original killer resurfaced? This book takes some interesting twists and turns as the characters slowly reveal how they are connected to the original crime. A fast and fun read with some unexpected reveals.

Also, I kinda miss Blockbuster...

A town is shocked by the overnight murders of three young girls working at an ice cream store. Not only is the town shocked by this tragedy, it brings up the terrifying memories of a night fifteen years ago when three young girls and the manager of a Blockbuster store were murdered in the same way. Each murder had a lone young survivor. Can both survivors aid the police and the FBI in solving the current case, and will solving it also help solve the earlier unsolved case after all these years.

This book has to be one of the easiest ones to figure out. I was only 10% in and I confidently knew the killer. It started off really interesting though and knowing the twists didn't take too much away from the reading experience.

I absolutely devoured Alex Finlay’s last novel Every Last Fear, and what stuck with me the most was the character of Sarah Keller. In fact, a quick glance at my review for that book shows: “I love love love Sarah Keller. The world needs more Sarah.  Please @alexfinlayauthor ?!”

Imagine my delight when I turned the page to see that Sarah makes a comeback here. She doesn’t just make a comeback though – she steps in this time as the solidly tenacious late-term pregnant with twins FBI agent out to defeat the bad guys and protect the good. I just love everything about her, so I will repeat my request to the author: Please bring Sarah back yet again. The world needs more!

What I Loved🌿

✨The 90’s nostalgia – complete with Blockbuster Video. We begin page one on New Year’s Eve 1999. Y2K anyone?

✨The unbelievably outstanding character development. These characters are genuine, well-rounded, flawed, and masterfully written.

✨The plot construction. It’s intricate, complex, well-paced, and the flow between perspectives is crafted perfectly.

I was on the edge of my seat and trusted no one (except Sarah Keller, of course!). This is an absolute nail-biter with an intense build up to a bombshell of an ending.

Alex Finlay is now an auto-buy author for me. I’m hooked!

Be ready in March because this one is an absolute must read.
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My thanks to Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this book before its March 1 publication date.

I couldn’t put this book down! The pacing of this story was great. Starts off fast and never slows down. The story never lulls and made sense throughout. I had a felling who the serial killer was, but finding out how this person was connected to the survivors and the ones this person killed was mind blowing. I love this book and can’t wait to read more from Alex Finlay.

The Night Shift starts with a massacre at a Blockbuster on 12/31/99. While the rest of the world waits to see what Y2K would bring, 4 young employees are slain and one is left for dead.
Now, 15 years later there is a similar massacre at a local ice cream store. Again, there is a single survivor.
The story is told from the perspective of three different characters. Ella is the survivor from the first incident and she’s now a therapist. But she’s a wounded soul who never quite recovered. Chris is the brother of the man suspected of the first murders who went missing. He’s also a public defender. And Sarah Keller is the pregnant FBI agent helping with the current murders. Keller was my favorite and well named as a “badass” in the book. But all the characters were well developed and interesting in their own way.
This is a great story. Finley keeps the reader off balance by switching perspectives. It’s a fast paced book with some good twists. I had my suspicions early on about the killer. While sometimes that annoys me, here it just made me more anxious to get to the end and see if I was right (which I was). It wasn’t so much the who as the how that mattered here.
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Wow. This was an awesome read. Fast paced action right from the start. The characters were likeable and engaging and I was rooting for the good guys to catch the bad guy that turned out to be someone completely different. Loved the plot twists!

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

This book was completely captivating!! Alex Finlay’s writing is masterful, his plotting is perfectly constructed, and his characterization is real and heartfelt. I loved how each of the characters had their own stories that gradually came together piece by piece. I’ve been burned out on thrillers lately but this one really brought back my excitement. It’s a truly fun read that anyone is likely to enjoy. Plus, Blockbuster makes a brief appearance, which is sure to evoke feelings of nostalgia for all of us 90s kids.

This was my second book by the author, but the first one I actually finished. The premise was the main thing that intrigued me: a massacre occurs in 1999 at a Blockbuster video, but the suspect is on the run and hasn’t been found. 15 years later, another massacre happens at an ice cream shop, with lots of similarities to the Blockbuster killings. Is this a copycat killing or could the runaway suspect be back and striking again?

The story was very fast paced, but I found myself not as engaged during certain chapters. The characters were the strongest point of the story; I think they were all well fleshed out and their motivations/actions made a lot of sense. My main downside was that the big reveal was something I predicted from the first 20% of the book, so it wasn’t very surprising when I read through it. Overall, it was a really solid story & I’m looking forward to more from this author!

The Night Shift is a gripping, fast-paced read that I couldn't put down and finished in a day. I loved the alternating views between characters and snippets of the past that the author gave out as clues for the reader to put together. There have been quite a few "final girls" novels released recently, Finlay breaks the mold by including this type of character without making them the center of the storyline. Great writing, compelling whodunnit, that I would recommend to fans of crime thrillers. Solid 4 1/2 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC.

1999- New Year's Eve at a Blockbuster in New Jersey four teenagers are attacked...only one of them survives. One of the girls boyfriends is charged with the crime but while out on bail he flees...never to be seen again.
Fifteen years later, in an eerily similar event, teenagers working an ice cream store are attacked...only one of them survives. FBI agent Sarah Keller is assigned to look into both attacks to determine if the killer has struck again. She will have to uncover secrets from both nights to find the truth. The past and present collides for the lone survivor of the Blockbuster murder who can't escape the horrors of the attack; the brother of the fugitive who is convinced they have the wrong person; and the young girl recently attacked who may hold the key to solving both crimes.

The Night Shift is a thrilling new mystery by author Alex Finlay. I have to say this author has quickly become one of my must read novelists. I have noticed that "final girl" novels appear to be a theme lately but what I enjoyed about this one is that it focused more on the mystery aspect of the crimes, the interrelationships of the characters, and the events surrounding the crimes. There is a lot going on in this one as it involves two separate murders spread fifteen years apart as well as the lives those events touched. A very well written novel that I didn't want to put down. This is a must read for 2022!

Just finished reading “The Night Shift” by Alex Findlay.

This is the second book I have read by him and like the first “Every Last Fear”, he keeps you guessing the whole way through!

The book opens on New Year’s Eve 1999 at a Blockbuster Video store. The staff are all murdered, fast forward 15 years and we come upon a murder scene at a local ice cream store. The connections between the two scenes are interesting.

The story is told from multiple points of view, which helps the reader see how the characters are intertwined.

As the story unfolds you get caught up in the mystery and try to figure out who the murder is? Is it the same murderer?

I found myself trying to solve the mystery along with the characters with the tidbits of information given. One minute I was leaning one way then it would change. I enjoyed this part of the story as it wasn’t a straight forward who dun it. I also enjoyed the character development, I thought it was done well.

I found it was an easy read and very interesting and intriguing.

Wow! This was a terrific read. A big thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy. I was a fan of Every Last Fear, Mr. Finlay’s breakout novel. The Night Shift is at the same high level. Small town, two workplace mass murders 15 years apart, each having a survivor. With suspense, and twists and turns, the story is relentless as it reveals more and more about the characters. The Police Department and FBI are on the case. As one says, “The sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer.” Indeed. Due out March 1, 2022, mark your calendars if you are a fan of well written thrillers.

Another compulsive and readable thriller from Alex Finlay! This one rolls between New Years Eve 1999 where a brutal killer slain 4 teenagers in a Blockbuster Video and current times where a similar killing has just occurred at an ice cream shop. It is told among a few different characters and we find out a lot about the past and the present.

A 5 star read!

This was a fun read. If you enjoy books by Riley Sager, you would most likely enjoy this one too!

I live in NJ, so I enjoyed the nostalgia of being able to recognize the places mentioned in the book. Alex Finlay has an easy-to-read writing style. The storyline was interesting. The book changes character POVs and timelines, and it was really well-done. I did guess early on who the killer was, but I read way too many detective stories. Despite knowing who the killer was, I was still intrigued and invested in the story. All the characters are interesting. Overall, I enjoyed this book very much and enjoyed it more than Every Last Fear (though that was a good book too).

4.5 star rating rounded up
This book had me gripped from the first page! I love the alternating POV’s
And they mystery of a good who-done-it
The writing style made it easy to read, and the story itself is gripping. I look forward to more books by this author.

I suspect for anyone that is familiar with true crime, that you can see the influence of such cases as the Austin yogurt shop murders and the lululemon murders, in this book!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I plan to pickup the author's other book, Every Last Fear. I was intrigued by the premise and I enjoyed reading from multiple perspectives, especially those that gave more insight to the investigation from different POVs (investigator, lawyer, therapist/survivor). I was a little disappointed in the epilogue as I didn't get some answers to how some characters turned out or why some things happened.

Wow wow wow, I loved this book!! I loved the characters so much. I loved the story. I loved the style of writing. I loved the 90’s nostalgia. I could not recommend this book more, can’t wait to read more by the author! i think this is one of my favorite books I’ve read all year. Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for the pre-release in exchange for my honest review.