The Night Shift: A Novel
From the author of the breakout thriller Every Last Fear, comes Alex Finlay's electrifying next novel The Night Shift, about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart—and the ties that bind them.
One of the Most Anticipated Books of 2022: • PopSugar • Goodreads • Book Riot • BookBub • The Nerd Daily • SheReads • Crime by the Book
“The night was expected to bring tragedy.” So begins one of the most highly-anticipated thrillers in recent years.
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.
Twisty, poignant, and redemptive, The Night Shift is a story about the legacy of trauma and how the broken can come out on the other side, and it solidifies Finlay as one of the new leading voices in the world of thrillers.
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Readers say *The Night Shift* is a gripping, well-researched police procedural from Alex Finlay, blending intense suspense with strong character work ...
This is another one that has been on my to-read list for a long time (Dec2022). I like Alex Finlay, and this is the fourth book of his that I have read. He’s a good writer and storyteller. I was surprised to see that FBI agent Sarah Keller is back in yet another one of Finlay’s stories. She was also in Every Last Fear and Parent’s Weekend and seems to be some kind of recurring character without a series. In this one, Keller is 8mon pregnant with twins! So, in other words, huge and ready to drop.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline. What the book summary doesn’t reveal is that Ella, the sole survivor from the 1999 Blockbuster massacre, is now a psychologist working with Jessie, the sole survivor of the ice cream shop massacre. However, Ella has never healed from her own survival of a mass murder. Ella often takes a bunch of narcotics just to get through the day as well as her unhealthy night life. There is also another storyline of Vincent, the suspected killer for the Blockbuster case, who disappeared the day his public defender got him off for lack of evidence. Vincent’s little brother, Chris, who is now a public defender, hasn’t seen or heard from his brother in 15yrs and suspects that an anonymous traveling action vlogger is actually Vincent.
Most of the story flips back and forth between Ella, Keller and Chris. Keller is paired with a young, new DA, Atticus, who is excited about working with Keller. Keller and Atticus are hindered in their investigation with jurisdiction issues with the local police department as well as a video that went viral of Keller making the local police look like idiots. It in the second half, a twist is revealed that I’m not surprised by; I was already suspecting it. However, it’s the finale the comes in a flurry of revelations and craziness that I never saw coming!
The character development of the MC’s was well done, and the pacing was steady to fast. The storyline was very interesting and Finlay’s phenomenal plotting and writing skills had me clueless throughout the story. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.4 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I’m conflicted on whether or not the Night Shift or Every Last Fear is my fave Finlay book. Both of them exhibit Finlay’s writing and storytelling talent and skills. However, I’m thinking this is my fave Finlay book.
The book summary introduces the primary storyline. What the book summary doesn’t reveal is that Ella, the sole survivor from the 1999 Blockbuster massacre, is now a psychologist working with Jessie, the sole survivor of the ice cream shop massacre. However, Ella has never healed from her own survival of a mass murder. Ella often takes a bunch of narcotics just to get through the day as well as her unhealthy night life. There is also another storyline of Vincent, the suspected killer for the Blockbuster case, who disappeared the day his public defender got him off for lack of evidence. Vincent’s little brother, Chris, who is now a public defender, hasn’t seen or heard from his brother in 15yrs and suspects that an anonymous traveling action vlogger is actually Vincent.
Most of the story flips back and forth between Ella, Keller and Chris. Keller is paired with a young, new DA, Atticus, who is excited about working with Keller. Keller and Atticus are hindered in their investigation with jurisdiction issues with the local police department as well as a video that went viral of Keller making the local police look like idiots. It in the second half, a twist is revealed that I’m not surprised by; I was already suspecting it. However, it’s the finale the comes in a flurry of revelations and craziness that I never saw coming!
The character development of the MC’s was well done, and the pacing was steady to fast. The storyline was very interesting and Finlay’s phenomenal plotting and writing skills had me clueless throughout the story. I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.4 that I will be rounding down to a 4star review. I’m conflicted on whether or not the Night Shift or Every Last Fear is my fave Finlay book. Both of them exhibit Finlay’s writing and storytelling talent and skills. However, I’m thinking this is my fave Finlay book.
While the premise of the book captivated my attention right away, the story line fell short. I think it was the over abundance of information in such a somewhat short novel. Told from different points of view, the story line jumped back and forth so often I had a hard time keeping up with plot lines a,b,c,d, and e, how they fit together and about the random plot hole and their meaning within the book. I will say that the book is full of red herrings, and I didn't expect the ending.
It’s been a long time since I’ve stopped while reading a book, put the book to my face, and literally couldn’t believe the plot and asked the universe for some things to not be true because the truth was so hard to take from the twist in the story. This was definitely one of them. At the end of the book, I also had to ruminate on the story for a few minutes before I could write this review. What an amazing read and such a well-researched and fascinating story. I’ll certainly be looking into more of Alex Finlay’s books!