Alex Finlay where murders 15 years apart are only connected by one thing "Goodnight Pretty Girl":

New Years Eve 1999, the whole world is worried about whether computers will delete everything as the code 00 coming at midnight and there is a lot of chaos. But things seemed normal that night in a blockbuster just before closing up. It wasn't tell the next day where the murders discovered and a loan survivor. The killer was identified but somehow he evaded capture and there were no murders similar until 15 years later. This time a ice cream shop is targeted and there is only one girl left alive. Are these murders connected? Has the killer come back into town? The town police don't seem to think so, but Agent Sarah Keller is not so sure, all she know is that something about the original murder investigation seem off and she has to everything she can to find the killer before more people die.

I really enjoyed Finlay's debut novel and I had high hopes for this book as well. You never know if a debut author is going to be able to capture what you enjoyed in their first book but in a different way. I am happy to say that Finlay succeeded. I personally think that it is better than Every Last Fear, his debut novel. This book was interesting, suspenseful and kept me guessing till the end (and that does not happen very often) with all the twists and turns that Finlay employs along the way. Just when you think that you have figured it out, Finlay would prove you wrong.

There are three main POV in this book, each with a different perspective of the murders / investigation what is unfolding. We have the return of the amazing Agent Keller from Finlay's first book and I am very happy that she was back in this book as she was one of the standouts in the book. This investigation is much more what we would normally see from an FBI agent in a book (no economic crimes in this one.). Ella who is the first final girl who is introduced, is now a therapist who helps people who have had major traumas in their lives and Chris Ford, now a lawyer who's brother was arrested for the Blockbuster murders but he disappeared before his trial could take place. This is part of the reason Chris became a lawyer. You really feel for Chris in the book and how he longs to find his brother every day.

Final girl idea for books seems to be a thing these days. I think i have read around 3 or 4 in the past year. I'm not sure what started the trend, but I am enjoying it but at the same time the troupe is going to become a tired one soon I think.

People keep talking about all the 90s nostalgia in this book, but other really than the murders occurring in a Blockbuster I did not find that the nostalgia aspect was that high. I mean little tidbit here and there but not so much that these points overwhelm the story.

I really enjoyed this book, it is not often that a book keeps me guessing till the end and Finlay is able to achieve that here. Highly recommended book if you like mystery / suspense novels. I cannot wait to see what Finlay comes out with next and I hope he keeps Agent Keller around.

Enjoy!!!

The phrase "page-turner" is definitely appropriate for this book! The plot revolves around the 15 year old murder of four people at a Blockbuster that is brought back into focus by another recent murder of three at an ice cream shop. Enter a very pregnant FBI agent and a young detective on the local police force investigating everyone from the old case to find out whether the two crimes are related. The chapters are short and told from many different perspectives that keep the story moving. If you're a mystery fan, you'll see many of the twists coming but not exactly when. This is the perfect summer read; I could not put it down!

THE NIGHT SHIFT is the second book I've read by Alex Finlay and I really enjoyed it! As a native Washingtonian, I love supporting DC-based authors. My @thrillersbythebookclub.dc actually read the book this month and Alex was so kind to join our book club meeting this past Wednesday for an author chat! He spent an hour of his time answering all of our questions about his writing process, and of course, the book; and he told us about his new thriller that's due to come out in March 2023. Alex is so lovely! And super down to earth!

The book starts off with a massacre that occurs on NYE 1999 at a New Jersey Blockbuster Video. Four employees were attacked, but there was one sole survivor. The attacker is quickly identified by law enforcement but due to the lack of evidence in the trial, he goes free - only to disappear and is never seen again. Fast forward to 15 years later, a massacre occurs in a similar fashion at an ice cream store in the same exact town - and once again, only one person survives.

Now the past collides with the present as the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre, Ella (now a therapist), is called upon to talk to the lone survivor of the ice cream store massacre (Jesse). Ella and Jesse bond over their traumas while the brother of the fugitive accuses is determined to proof that his brother is innocent - in both cases. At the same time, the FBI is forced to dredge up the Blockbuster case in order to solve the new case. FBI agent, Sarah Keller, is convinced that both tragedies are connected and the perpetrator is the same person.

THE NIGHT SHIFT is what I call a "popcorn thriller" - it's entertaining and captivating as it grabs your attention. That and the short chapters will have you keep flipping the pages to see what happens next. Finlay does a great job with telling the story from many POVs. Even though there are a lot of characters in the book, Finlay does an excellent job with the character development with the MCs. The book is twisty and some red herrings are thrown in for good measure. The book will have [most] readers guessing till the very end. I was able to predict the murder from the very beginning, but had I not, I'm sure I would've had an even better experience. I love that Finlay referenced real true crime cases that happened in the DC area (like the Lululemon murder - if you're never heard of it, look it up! It's wild!) - this really made the story feel real.

I ended up reading the first 1/4 of the book and finished the last 3/4 via audiobook. Audiobooks can be a bit hard for me when it comes to thrillers or books where you have to pay attention. I think if I read the book in its entirety, I would've enjoyed the book more. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the book and so did the rest of the Thrillers DC book club! I can't wait to read his next book, WHAT HAVE WE DONE, when it's released next March!

Thanks so much, NetGalley and Minotaur Books, for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. I ended up buying the book when it came out!

It's been a while since I've had a (slightly) unpopular opinion with such a big a booksta favorite, but I think my expectations were just a little bit too high for Alex Finlay's The Night Shift.

I completely understand why there's so much hype - this was really fast-paced, it was twisty, & it felt very reminiscent of Riley Sager's Final Girls mixed with a police procedural. I absolutely loved Chris, he was my favorite character & the best parts of the story, in my opinion - I liked that Finlay showcased public defenders in such a positive light, especially given the charges these characters were dealing with. The other characters, however, were a little questionable - to be completely honest, I thought the way Finlay wrote women & POC characters was cringe-worthy at times, there was something about his writing that screamed "straight white man" & I couldn't get past it. The killer was glaringly obvious from the beginning, so much so that I got increasingly annoyed with the procedural-aspect of the story for not looking into this specific character. & the epilogue was just such a let down, especially after an incredible final showdown that took heavy inspiration from Silence of the Lambs. But was the book entertaining? Yes, it was, & I can't deny that by any means - I think this would make such a great movie, I'd definitely tune in!

All in all, however, I'm glad I gave this a read, I'd had the book sitting on my shelf for a while & I just needed to see what the hype was all about! & thank you so much Alex Finlay, NetGalley & St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

I really enjoyed The Night Shift by Alex Finlay. When I heard that part of the story takes place in a Blockbuster, I was sold! I mean who didn't spend time browsing the new release section of VHS tapes at a Blockbuster? Plus I always thought it would have been so cool to work there! lol But back to the book. I liked that the chapters were short and the story engaging. I like the unexpected twist in the story and thought this would make a great movie (too bad we can't go rent it at Blockbuster!). This was a quick read for me and a solid 4 stars!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this book!

After reading a ton of romance novels lately, it was time for me to read some murder books. The premise of <i>The Night Shift</i> intrigued me right off the bat because of the two timeline plot. The first timeline is a murder at a Blockbuster on New Year's Eve in 1999. One female survivor. The second timeline is a murder at an ice cream shop in the modern day -- again with a lone female survivor. You can just picture me wearing my villainous smile and cackling, "I just know these two murders are connected!" Because, of course they are. You don't know how at the beginning, but the story takes the reader on the journey of learning exactly what happened both nights, why, and how they are connected.

I enjoyed the ride of this story. I loved the nostalgia of the Blockbuster/Y2K murders and the thriller-y plotting to connect the dots. I'm a sucker for a mystery and this delivered exactly what I expected.

I would have given this 4 stars throughout most of the book, but the ending kind of punched hard and I was here for it. Like, I kind of gasped by how dramatic a few of the moments were in the final showdown scenes (especially with pregnant cop who did NOT care about putting herself in danger, clearly).

This was a good, fun, twisty story and I would recommend it! I will also be buying and recommending to my high school students, as this has great YA crossover appeal.

The book was nostalgic for me with the Blockbuster setting. Overall, it was a good story, but the excitement factor wasn't really there for me like Alex Finlay's previous book was.

Wow!! This book was amazing and not because I live in New Jersey and knew this town that was mentioned lol. It was a great mystery ride which is my favorite kind of book trope. Another book well done Alex Finlay!

This could have been so much better than it was. I wanted to it be better. I wanted it to take different turns. It ended up being predictable. The writing was predictable, too, unfortunately. This one sadly, fell flat for me despite having a promising (though shaky and confusing) start.

2/5 stars.

Fifteen years ago, four teenage girls were attacked while working at a Blockbuster, and only one survives. The suspected killer, Vince, was identified but flees before police can catch him. Now, four more girls are attacked in a local ice cream store, with inexplicable parallels between the two events. The Night Shift is told from 3 perspectives in the third person: Keller, the FBI agent brought in to find Vince, Chris, Vince’s brother who is now a public defender, and Ella, the only survivor of the Blockbuster murders. I liked how the different perspectives gave you different views on the case: police, legal, and public opinion. I predicted the twist from the beginning, but I was still surprised at the end! There were so many red herrings.

I loved FInlay's first book and was so excited to receive an ARC of "The Night Shift". I loved how this book followed two timelines and really made you wonder if the two horrific crimes were done by the same killer or is it a copycat. I never figured out the twist and loved how it ended! Highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for an advanced reader copy of this book.!

What a fun and suspenseful read! I loved the dual POVs, the fact the original murder took place in a Blockbuster (so much 90s nostalgia there!), and that we got more of Agent Sarah Keller. She was in his first book Every Last Fear and I just love her character so much. I couldn't put this one down and really enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout.

Did I have a blast reading this? YES! Did I also think this book was a bit of a mess? ALSO YES!

Alex Finlay really has a knack for writing propulsive page turners, but there is an element in both novels so far that have thrown me out of the groove of the story. This book's scratch has to do with a certain 8mos preg with twins FBI agent who was still somehow still working at full capacity? Girl is DUE my man! I laughed the first time it came up and assumed it was maybe an error, but it is a very heavily referenced plot point.

I loved the references to video rental stores and the actual murder plot was interesting and fun. I binged this because I was enjoying it so much.

While I guessed the killer pretty early on, the sinister reveal at the end was jawdropping-ly hilarious.

I'd say go into this one with a grain of salt as far as believability goes, and just enjoy the absolutely bonkers ride.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur for an ARC of this title.
3.5 Stars rounded down.

Personally, I love multiple points of view in a novel and this one had plenty. Once you get over the confusion of who's who, this book delivered on suspense, drama, and nostalgia. I didn't figure out the killer at all so the ending blew me away. If you're a fan of suspense and thrillers, read this one!

This was the second Alex Finlay book I have read and was eagerly looking forward to it after enjoying the first book. Although sometimes I feel like the second book of authors I enjoy leaves a lot to be desired, this was the opposite for Alex Finlay. I actually enjoyed this book more than the first one! I really liked the FBI detective and seeing the story unfold through multiple points of view plus having little flashbacks to what happened 15 years ago. I'm really looking forward to Alex Finlay's next book!

as always I had a difficult time getting through this on my phone, but once it was available on audio i FLEW through it!!! I really liked how all the storylines were interconnected and the twists and turns i didn’t see coming. I really recommend to anyone who’s a fan of Lisa Jewell or thriller/mystery’s!

New Year’s Eve 1999. Four teenagers attacked at a Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey.

A sole survivor.

The suspect—another teenager—is captured then released.

Then vanishes.

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

So is the construct of Alex Finlay’s latest—a propulsive, unputdownable thriller rife with surprises.

In this tangled tale of trauma and secrets aplenty, we meet the FBI agents who pull together threads from the past, the surviving women, the local police, and those who continue to reel in the aftermath of the murders.

Finlay thrusts us into a nightmare, atmosphere heavy with suspicion and distrust, as truths emerge which tangle the mystery even tighter.

This is the kind of book you can’t help but binge. Told from multiple, alternating points of views, this intricately knotted thriller probes the ties that bind, the many crimes of its characters, and the secrets they hide.

It’s wildly entertaining and immersive with breakneck pacing—a ‘whodunit’ procedural with nostalgic underpinnings perfect for those of us who relish the 90s.

I grew up in the 80s and graduated in 1995. This book has some fun nostalgia with VHS and video stores. It wasn't quite as gripping as the last novel by Alex Finlay,"Every Last Fear."

This copy was kindly given to me by the publisher and Netgalley for review. All opinions are my own.

I flew through this book in probably two days. It was fast paced and had my attention the whole time but I just wish it had been a little more... I don't know, scary? Thrilling? Spooky? I saw the real murderer from a million miles away, though the build up to the reveal was good. The murders were dark and savage. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs. The only one that ever annoyed me or I found myself trying to flip through faster was the brother of the boy suspected of being the murderer of the original crimes that disappeared after.

Overall, I'd say pick it up and give it a shot. It was not a bad book, I just wanted more from it.

Where were you on the eve of the new millennium? Taking Prince’s words to heart, out partying like it was 1999 (for one final, crazy night)? Perched nervously in front of your computer, which was—if a host of doomsayers were actually onto something with their wild theories—about to trigger a meltdown of epic proportions, due to some numerical programming snafu that would kick in as the internal clock and calendar ticked over to 2000? Or, maybe you feared [hoped?] the biblical apocalypse was nigh, and you were doing… well, whatever one does to prepare for all of that?

No matter where you were or what you were doing on Y2K, though, it was infinitely better than what happens in Alex Finlay’s chilling thriller The Night Shift, wherein that fateful night sees four teenage girls brutally attacked at the Blockbuster where they all work… three of whom are killed, and a fourth, injured. [See? Things could always be worse.]

The police quickly come up with and subsequently arrest a suspect—a young man who was sweet on one of the girls—but once he’s out on bail, he does a runner… virtually disappearing into thin air. He’s just… gone.

But here’s where things get really interesting, because Finlay changes things up by taking the reader straight from the year 2000, to a point some fifteen years later… a night on which the lone survivor of the Y2K attack—Ella, now a therapist—gets a phone call from an old acquaintance—Mr. Steadman, the principal from her high school, whom she hasn’t talked to in years—making a desperate plea for her help.

It’s happened again; four teens were attacked at an ice cream shop, in the same New Jersey town that’s still reeling from the atrocity a decade-and-a-half earlier, and—as in Ella’s case—only one of the four survived, a girl named Jesse. And Ella, being in the unique position to completely grok all the things Jesse feels, is the best possible person to get anything out of the non-communicative girl.

But, as Ella begins working with Jesse—trying to help her piece together her fragmented memories of the horrifying experience, along with two other people close to the case (FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, and Jesse’s lawyer, Chris)—it becomes less and less clear what part Jesse really played in the shocking tragedy… or precisely how the two glaringly-similar cases might be connected.
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I love books in which nothing is clear-cut, because the uncertainty aligns with how I view life: as a winding road with a thousand little by-ways, which we travel down with only the vaguest idea of where we’re going… interacting with many people often, some, just once over the course of a lifetime, and still others, very randomly, but on multiple occasions.

The Night Shift is very much like that, and just when you think you understand how one thing (event or person) relates—or doesn’t—to another, Finlay turns everything you thought you knew on its head, and surprises you again.

Something else I really appreciation is a story told from multiple perspectives, because it shows how very differently each of us can view the same things… due to what we actually know (see, take part in), of course, but also owing to our unique experiences, which create the personal biases (propensities, beliefs) and fall-back reactions or behaviors from which we operate. The Night Shift is told from three different perspectives, shifting back and forth between them, as well as shifting in time, between NYE of 1999 and 2015. [If all of that sounds confusing, never fear... it really isn’t; we’re always aware who we’re following, and where along the timeline they are.]

Oh, and then there’s a nod to my still-to-this-day GOAT movie, Fargo. [Yes, really. There is no limit to my love for that 1996 film.] Special Agent Sarah Keller—smart, determined, hardworking, and long-suffering Feebie that she is—also happens to be… pregnant. Very, very pregnant, a la Fargo’s Marge Gunderson (that brilliantly-written Everywoman role so memorably and perfectly portrayed by Frances McDormand). There’s much to be said about the amazing dedication to her job that a third-trimester woman shows, when focussed with laser-like intensity on not only keeping herself and her unborn child safe, but on trying to keep others safe by catching the bad guy.

The Night Shift is one of those books I really hated to put down--to refill my glass, go to the bathroom, or (I hate to say it) go to sleep--and I hated even more to reach the last page, because the journey getting there was such a fantastic ride.

If you love smart, engrossing thrillers (suspense, crime, mystery, what have you), then this one should absolutely go to the top of your list.

Trust me; it’s really that good.
~GlamKitty