Title: THE NIGHT SHIFT
Author: Alex Finlay
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Read: February 2022
Expected publication: out today!
My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟1/2
Book Description:
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.
What attracted me to this book:
I’ve always found it difficult to
find pulse-pounding, adrenaline filled, fast paced thrillers that also touch
your heart with empathetic characters and emotional depth, but this is exactly
what I got with Alex Finlay’s last book EVERY LAST FEAR. I was therefore thrilled
to get the opportunity to read his latest book, THE NIGHT SHIFT, especially
since it sees the return of FBI agent Sarah Keller to solve another case.
My musings:
If you were around in 1999, you may remember the
panic as the media storm erupted forecasting the end of the world as all our
computer systems would surely crash, launching missiles, making the stock
market collapse and generally causing death and destruction. I was working in a video store in real life in
1999, so Finlay’s Blockbuster store setting brought back some memories! Luckily
not as traumatic as for Ella, who is the only survivor of the four teenage girls
who were attacked by an unknown assailant in the video store in 1999. Fifteen
years later, the scenario repeats itself when three teenage girls are killed in
an icecream parlour, again with one girl surviving the attack but unable to
remember the event. Ella, whose earlier trauma has motivated her to become a
therapist specialising in counselling victims of similar tragedies, is the only
person the girl will talk to. It’s not long until Ella finds some similarities
between her and the new victim’s account. Could the same killer be back?
Enter FBI agent Sarah Keller, who is
now heavily pregnant with twins but still as determined as ever to fight crime
and solve this new case. Told through several POVs and featuring a large cast
of interesting characters, THE NIGHT SHIFT plays out in Finlay’s action-packed
style as the hunt for the killer begins. And it’s not just the law enforcement
agents who have the motive and the means to chase leads. I did guess the
culprit very early on, but this didn’t mar my reading pleasure as this
fast-paced tale rolled out.
I admit that I enjoyed the later
part of the book more than its beginning, which seemed to introduce a lot of
characters and took some time to get going. I also found the title and the
synopsis a bit misleading, as the events set in 1999 feature only very briefly,
as does any mention of the “night shift” – if you are looking for a nostalgic
read set in the 90’s you may get disappointed. However, I thoroughly enjoyed
the more action packed later part of the book, especially Chris’ POV, with some
surprises and heartbreak along the way. Keller was almost a peripheral
character in this one, as we have some much more interesting cast members with
various agendas also giving chase, whose stories I found more compelling and
intriguing than Keller’s.
Summary:
THE NIGHT SHIFT was the type of action packed book
that makes for a great escape and some entertaining weekend or holiday reading.
Finlay writes in a way that made the scenes roll out vividly and almost
movie-like in my mind (I wouldn’t be surprised if someone snaps this one up for
film). Fast paced and entertaining!
Thank
you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the free electronic copy of this novel and
for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
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