Every Last Fear

Every last fear is going to be the best book of 2021. A college student whose family already has a troubled past shocked to learn they have been murdered on vacation. I highly recommend this read.

Okay! This is soooo much more than I expected! Action packed, riveting, dazzling, twisty and absolutely unputdownable!

For the attention of movie producers: this secret gem could be adapted into an amazing action/ thriller/ drama movie or extremely binge watch worthy limited series. It captivates you from the beginning, hurling so many whirlwind twists at you and picking your interest, focus, entire energy.

You just have to cancel your entire schedule. Pull the plug off your loved ones not to disturb you, locking yourself in a safe, silent, peaceful room with lots of refreshments and munchies unless you want to start stress eating your own fingers. Just cancel your responsibilities, unnecessary work loads, tasteless binge watch experience or any other thing you do at the night time. So you can enjoy your fantastic reading experience!

So here’s quick summary of our story: imagine to be in Matt Pine’s shoes: a promising NYU filmmaking student whose brother is in jail because of killing his girlfriend. He recently had a falling out with his father because he and his 17 years old sister Maggie focused their own energies to prove his brother’s innocence ( which he doesn’t believe in them)by using entire financial resources of their family.

And now FBI agent Sarah Keller appears in his campus and tells him an unfortunate incident happened at Tulsa/ Mexico where his last four members of family was on a trip. Both parents and two siblings are dead because of gas leak poisoning. And Mexican authorities need a next of kin to sign the papers which means Matt has to fly over there and before that he has to face with his brother Danny to share those heart wrenching news.

Matt is devastated and his family’s death was not to only worse things he has to deal. The very same night of their death, he goes outside to get fresh air and a suspicious man with a scar on his face, wearing baseball cap, pushing him into moving cars.

Throughout his trip of Mexico, he needs to look behind his shoulders became somebody is watching him. And Sarah Keller also finds out there is a foul play about his parents’ murder.

Could the death of his family members related with Danny’s murder case? Did his father’s determination to find the real killer of Danny’s girlfriend drag him to the dangerous places and put his family on the radar of powerful people? And could his brother be really innocent?

A Netflix documentary has been released and now filmmakers of documentary insist they have new evidences to help him find out the truth.

Matt has to find a way to bring out justice for his family without getting killed. This is a real cat-mouse chase!

Overall: Characters are adorable and ultra smart Maggie who is brave, brilliant and mature girl who tries to hold her family together and badass, cool, adorable agent Sarah Keller ( if this book will be a movie, Charlize Theron is best casting option to play her!) are my favorites. Even the characters have small parts like Matt’s friends Ganesh, Kala and homeless chess player Reggie were brilliant.

I loved the intriguing, intense writing style and brilliant outcome of the story which deserved my full, shiny five stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur Books for sharing this incredible ARC with me in exchange my honest opinions.

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.“

That’s one hell of an intriguing, opening line for one hell of a story.

If that doesn’t immediately stop you in your tracks and capture your attention as soon as you embark upon this story (and I mean, how could it not?) then everything else that ensues sure as heck will!

In a genre that it currently vastly overcrowded nowadays, it takes a certain kind of story and a certain kind of writer to really stand out, and readers, this book is one of them!

This is not just your typical, run of the mill thriller. Sure, it is certainly thrilling. It will have you on the edge of your seat, flipping through the pages at a frantic pace, eager to delve through the conspiracies and lies and dark depths of it all. But along with all of that, it will also tug at your emotions and fill your heart with grief for the characters.

This is a thriller with heart.

This is both a mystery, as well an emotional journey that will at times punch you in the face with the feels, because you come to care about these characters, and are wrecked knowing the fate that lies in store for them.

This story, after initially learning about the “dead bodies being found on a Tuesday” first revolves around a character named Matt Pine who is having a bad day from the get go. He’s hungover, has just been dumped by his girlfriend, and has lost some of his belongings. But that all becomes mundane in comparasion when an FBI agent shows up and informs him that his entire family (with the exception of one of his brothers) has passed away in Mexico.

Matt is no stranger to grief and hardship, as his older brother, the one who is still alive, is currently incarcerated for the murder of his girlfriend. The murder captured wide media attention and was turned into a Netflix documentary, which cast major scrutiny on Matt’s family, and caused their small town to turn against them. Despite Matt’s family’s proclamation’s of his brother’s innocence, he was still imprisoned.

Even with Matt’s dark family background, nothing prepares him for the news of his family’ death, and he’s further grief stricken and shocked when it appears that their deaths, once thought accidental, were actually murder. Even more shocking and sinister, the deeper the FBI looks into it, the more it appears that their deaths may have something to do with the murder of his brother’s girlfriend.

Soon the entire investigation unveils a tangled, complicated web of deceit, lies, conspiracy theories, and other sinister happenings the more the layers are unraveled and the deeper Matt and the FBI dig.

This book was so good! Even better than I expected it to be! It was told from multiple POV’s, in alternating timelines between the past and present, giving it that much more depth into both the characters, the mysteries and the plot.

I love how we got POV’s from all of the Pine family members, so that you are able to gain insight to each of them individually and get background knowledge on all of them. That made it that much more gut wrenching knowing what lay in store for them, but at least you come to know the characters that you grow to care for throughout the story.

It was also nice to even get a POV from the FBI agent, as I found her to be an interesting, well fleshed out character as well.

Alex Finlay is a fresh, talented writer who contructed an excellently executed plot that was richly detailed, captivating, and complex without being too much.

A majority of the books that I have read in 2020 (and I have read a lot of books so far this year) have been thrillers, and this is hands down one of my favorites!

I would definitely read another book by Alex Finlay, and I urge you all to preorder this book/add it to your TBR shelves ASAP.

Absolutely amazing!

What a brilliant psychological thriller!! Alex Finlay has completely knocked off my sock with Every Last Fear! This fast paced novel pulls you in from the beginning and wraps you up until the very end! The storyline was completely original and so darn realistic! I was stumped at every turn and just when I would formulate a new conspiracy theory, Alex Finlay would demolish it with a perfectly timed twist! Every Last Fear is a 5++++ star book that had me forgetting real life and escaping into this epic thriller! This thriller will have you on the edge of your seat and staying up way past your bedtime because it’s that unputdownable—a true must read!

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay is a suspense filled, fast paced psychological thriller, a definite page turner. Told from multiple POVs , past and present, and integrating a true crime documentary script. Characters are well defined and reliable. Matt's frustration and helplessness in his attempts to find the answers to his family's killings are palpable. Keller's love of family and dedication to her job and her quest for justice are undeniable. A very noteworthy read by a debut author. Cannot wait to read Mr. Finley next thriller.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Remember this name-Alex Finlay is going to be your next Auto-Request author after you read his debut!!

Opening Paragraph:
“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.
Two days after the family had missed their flight home.
Six days after all the texts and social media had gone dark.”

The Pine family was one made infamous by the true crime documentary
“A Violent Nature”, which chronicled the story of the conviction of Danny Pine for the murder of his girlfriend, Charlotte.

And, now, Danny’s Dad and Mom, Evan and Olivia, and his younger siblings, Maggie (aged 17) and Tommy (aged 6) are dead, the Victims of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, in their vacation rental in Tulum, Mexico.

But, is that what happened?

The family has NEVER given up hope that they could exonerate, Danny, with Evan bankrupting the family in the process, and younger sister, Maggie, leading the way by handling all of the Social Media aspects of the case.

In fact, they were following a lead in Mexico.

That leaves Danny’s college aged brother Matt..to pick up the pieces because FBI Special Agent Sarah Keller, and the State Department are questioning whether the deaths in Mexico were really an accident.

This book has EVERYTHING I require in a thriller to award 5⭐️s!
A complex plot-with all the plot points tied together at the conclusion.
Red Herrings
Misdirection

In addition, there was the bonus of well developed characters.

Despite the fact that you are told in the opening paragraph that the Pine family is dead-you will get to know Evan, Olivia, Maggie and Tommy, and you will GRIEVE the loss of them.

You will get to know and love Matt, and the friends who support him through this horrific time.

And, you will even get to know Sarah Keller, the Kick Ass FBI agent, who is determined to get justice for all!

This was a fun buddy read with Michael David, and we enjoyed sharing our theories along the way! We got close on some things, and were way off on others, but if we could be trained by Sarah, or Maggie, we may be able to develop our potential! 🕵🏻🕵🏼‍♂️

Publishing March, 2, 2021
Pre-order Now!

Thank You to Alex Finlay and St. Martin’s Press, for the digital ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for a candid review!