The Night Shift by Alex Finlay is a compulsively readable thriller loaded with Y2K nostalgia.
Synopsis
It’s New Year’s Eve 1999 when someone attacks four teenage girls at a Blockbuster in Linden, New Jersey. Only one girl escapes alive.
Fast forward fifteen years, someone attacks four teen girls at an ice cream shop, and again only one survives.
The suspect for the first murder disappeared not long after it happened.
Is it the same perpetrator for this second mass murder? Is it a copycat?
These are the questions that FBI Agent Sarah Keller has in mind when she gets called in to see if there is a possible link between the two cases.
Review of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
The chapters are short and alternate between Agent Keller, a therapist, and a young lawyer.
I would have enjoyed this novel more if there hadn’t been so many misogynistic hot takes sprinkled throughout the text. One of the characters believes that kids steal pain medication from their mothers specifically, and only aunts attend AA meetings. Umm, what? Oh, and apparently, it’s very faux pas to call a woman in her thirties “ma’am.”
Some of Agent Keller’s actions were unbelievable since she is nearly nine months pregnant.
Once I put those comments out of my mind and suspended my disbelief, I enjoyed the rest of the story. While the big reveal was predictable, finding out how everything tied together was super compelling.
While reading this thriller, I could easily envision it as a TV show or crime drama. Some of the dialogue was very reminiscent of those popular crime shows.
This was my first time reading Finlay. I believe a character from a previous book of the author’s features in this one; however, it didn’t impact my reading experience not having read that one.
I recommend this book to those looking for a fast-paced and compulsive thriller.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Expected Publication: 01 March 2022
Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing me with an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Will read this one!
It’s a solid read!