This was a fantastic thriller that just kept giving and giving! One surprising reveal after another had me on the edge of my seat the entire time!
On New Years Eve, 1999, the workers of a Blockbuster are brutally murdered at closing time. There is one survivor, Ella. In present day, Ella is a therapist working to help others when there’s another murder that is frighteningly close to the one she survived in 1999.
Told through a few different characters’ perspectives, the story is constantly propelled forward as new information is revealed by each person. There is Ella, the 1999 survivor, Chris, the brother of suspect in the 1999 murders, and finally, Keller, the FBI agent trying to connect all the dots.
I enjoyed the way the story was told. The three perspectives made the story feel fast-paced, and constantly gave me new details to try to solve the murders. I thought the story was pretty exciting, and the plot was fantastic. I felt that the middle slowed down just a little, but quickly picked back up. I enjoyed the ending, and I had NOT figured out what was happening until it was told to me, so I loved that!
I would recommend this one for readers that enjoy a mixture of police procedural and thriller!
The below trigger warnings may contain spoilers:
Trigger Warnings: Teen pregnancy, adoption, sexual relationship between an adult and a minor, drug deals, gun violence.
Where to Find This Book:
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 Linden, New Jersey, four teenage girls working the night shift are attacked. Only one survives. Police quickly identify a suspect who flees and is never seen again.
Fifteen years later, in the same town, four teenage employees working late at an ice cream store are attacked, and again only one makes it out alive.
Both surviving victims recall the killer speaking only a few final words… “Goodnight, pretty girl.”
In the aftermath, three lives intersect: the survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who’s forced to relive her tragedy; 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. On a collision course toward the truth, all three lives will forever be changed, and not everyone will make it out alive.
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 Alex Finlay as one of the new leading voices in the world of thrillers.
Just the Facts:
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Pub Date: March 1, 2022
I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
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