This was super easy to read and I raced through it in a couple of sittings. Small town murder with anither one the same 15 years later....is it the same person?! It's perfecr for fans of Grady Hendrix so if you like theor books, pick this up!

I’ve been reading a lot of solid mystery thrillers lately, and was worried this would pale in comparison. I shouldn’t have!

It was New Year’s Eve in 1999, when Blockbuster was still a thing, internet was something new, and Y2K was something to fear about. Four teenagers working for a Blockbuster video store were attacked and only one person survived. Fifteen years later, a similar attack happened and again only one survivor was left. Was there any connection between the two?

The book introduced a decent amount of characters, but unlike many others, I wasn’t overwhelmed or bored by them. I genuinely was interested to see how they would be connected to each other.

I loved the fast pace, the banters between characters, and the storytelling. I got attached to the characters very quickly, especially Sarah the pregnant FBI agent (girlpower!) and Atticus the sweetheart tech guy. The main plot twist was unpredictable to me because I was so busy figuring out the sub-plot twists, I forgot about the big one!

I had an amazing time reading this. And given how many thrillers I read in a year, I was surprised that this one managed to sneak up on me in a good way. Now I need to read other Alex Finlay books!

The Night Shift is a gripping page-turning book with an amazing plot.

At first, I thought the multiple POVs were too confusing. But then I got into the story and I actually think they were necessary and added depth to the story. I loved the plot, the characters were nice and the twists were very good too. I just think there were a few loose ends to tie up. Nothing major, but there were red herrings through out the book (at least for me) that needed resolution.

Overall, 4.75/5 stars

When four teenage ice creamery employees are attacked with only one survivor, it seems there is a copycat killer on the loose, with the present attack mirroring one that happened to employees at a Blockbuster video store fifteen years earlier. The only thing tying the two cases together is the chilling line spoken by the killer to his victims. ⁣
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I'm pretty sure you've all seen the reviews for this book by now but I'm adding my two cents in to say you need to read this one!! I flew through this (the short chapters just make you want to keep reading) and was hooked from the start. With multiple POV's and an excellent twist at the end that I didn't see coming, I definitely recommend all thriller fans not miss reading this one.

The Night Shift was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it delivered 100%. With just two books, Mr Finlay sure knows how to keep readers engaged making them keep turning pages compulsively.

The story takes off during New Year’s Eve in 1999, on the eve of Y2K, when the world was waiting with bated breath the arrival of the 21st century. On that night, the night crew of a Blockbuster is savagely murdered and 15 years later a similar killing spree on an ice cream shop will confront those who survived or were affected by the old murders with their past.

The initial scene gave me all the nostalgic vibes of that time (how is the 90s already nostalgic?!). I still can see myself going to the Blockbuster to rent some movies, trying to decide which one to choose each week. From there, the story unfolds through several POVs: Ella, the only survivor from the Blockbuster murders; Chris, a public defender with ties to the suspected murderer, and Agent Keller, the FBI agent investigating the case. That many POVs, each of them following their own investigative line, didn’t allow for a single boring moment. There were a lot of minor characters, making it hard sometimes to keep track of who was who, but that also added a lot of misdirection and suspense to the story.

I really like the author’s style, going back and forth between the different characters and ending each chapter with a small cliffhanger that makes it nearly impossible to stop reading.

As the mystery uncoiled there were several surprises, some I saw coming, some I didn’t (I didn’t guess the killer this time), and one truly heartbreaking moment right at the end that was like a punch to my guts.

The Night Shift is a fantastic fast paced thriller that will keep you guessing right until the end, with a really gripping plot that will have you page flipping like crazy. Alex Finlay is, from now on, a definite must read author for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so hooked by the synopsis and decided to give it a try immediately.

I enjoyed the story, it has multiple POVs (what I like a lot in thrillers/mysteries) in addition it has kind of switch between time periods, since the story starts with the New Year's Eve of 1999, when teenagers were attacked in Blockbuster video store in New Jersey, and the modern times when 15 years later more teenagers are attacked in an ice cream shop.

The pace is really fast, mostly because of the short chapters, I think, and the story is getting its twists closer to the ending.

Overall, I would give it 4 stars.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

his is a perfectly fine crime drama but I'm definitely going to stop picking up books with 'final girls' as their hook now because honestly they just lead to disappointment! This is the best of the bunch for my money but considering my opinion of the others that's extremely faint praise!

I liked the three POV characters (and Jesse), I guessed some twists but not all, and it was gripping enough that I read it in a day, but I'm still slightly dissatisfied for some reason. Perhaps because in the end the motive is so very pedestrian? It was fun while I read it but I predict I will have forgotten it entirely in a week or two.

4.5 stars I found this a gripping easy to read thriller with nice short chapters that kept my attention. It had a good bunch of characters that I really liked. It kept my attention from start to finish and I really enjoyed it. I look forward to reading more by this author

The Night Shift is a riveting, slick and sharp thriller that will keep you constantly guessing.

I don’t think I ever completely thought I was right in trying to unpick the central mystery, as Finlay leads you down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. This is not a book that plays around. From the opening page, the mundanity of a late night retail shift spirals into a horrific massacre. Finlay only ever rampets the tension up from there, making for a breathless and entertaining thrill ride.

You never feel entirely comfortable with any of the characters, all of whom have plenty of secrets to hide. This, combined with the razor-sharp pacing, makes for a pretty tight read. I loved how complex and untrustworthy our entire cast of characters is, with entangled relationships and fractured presentations of the truth. This is exacerbated by the inclusion of past timelines intersecting with the present, with chapters feeling almost like they’re overflowing into one another. For me, this made for a twisty, maze-like reading experience. You become the detective, trying to put together every subtle clue.

On top of all this, Finlay has some pretty damn good twists and turns hidden up his sleeve. The entire third act is shocking revelation after shocking revelation, as finally all the puzzle pieces slot together. It always feels high stakes but here you genuinely do not know what to expect next. This all culminates in an action-packed final showdown, where I was racing through the pages.

The Night Shift is a shocking, thrill-packed and immaculately paced thriller reminiscent of the best true crime podcasts.

The killing of three teenagers, leaving a fourth as the lone survivor, at an ice cream store in New Jersey is eerily reminiscent of killings fifteen years earlier. In 1999, four teenagers were killed in a Blockbuster video store in the same town, with a fifth left injured but alive. The killer was assumed to be the boyfriend of one of the girls, with the rest as collateral damage, but the boyfriend went on the run & hasn't been seen since. The survivor of the first attacks, Elle, is now a therapist & is asked to talk to the survivor of the latest killings. Has the perpetrator returned to the town?

This is a gripping read which weaves a narrative from the aftermath of two brutal attacks on (mainly) young women fifteen years apart. I thought the three main characters that the narrative originates from - Elle, a survivor of the first attacks, Chris, brother of the man believed to have carried out the first attacks, & Sarah, an FBI agent who is 8 months pregnant with twins - are easy to empathise with, although everyone is carrying their own secrets. I was almost disappointed that it turned out to be the person I thought it was at the start - everything else was so well worked out, that it seemed a bit too easy. Overall though, it was a really great read.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Head of Zeus - Aries, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Such a blast from the past, and such a riveting read. Great characters, great setting, and great twists and turns. Loved this one! Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blockbusters were such a great thing in the 90s. And I remember how I was thinking about all those employees having to work night shifts and maybe spending all their time watching all those great movies for free.

The book starts with a tragic occurrence, and it slowly introduces many main characters and their lives .

Told in multiple pov, the survivor Ella, the public defender Chris and the detective Keller. Going back and forth between then, 15 years ago when a similar crime had happened, and now, when they have to find a copy-crime or even the same criminal.

The second part of the story is a non-stop adrenaline rush and I couldn’t stop reading till the last page.

A must read an addictive book.

In 1999 a manager and 4 young women are attacked whilst closing the store on New Years Eve which leaves only one survivor to the seemingly senseless crime; the only suspect disappears and is never seen again. Fifteen years later in the same town 4 young women are attacked again and again one survives. Is this history repeating itself or has the killer been hiding in plain sight all this time?

The dual story lines of the 1999 murders and today's events was really gripping; I liked that the characters seemed real and flawed such as Ella the survivor from the 1999 murders who is still dealing with the emotional damage from that night despite helping others. This was a gripping read for any fast paced thriller fans the characters were so complex and intriguing that I couldn't put this down.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I loved Every Last Fear and I think it’s one of the most original and gripping thriller I read in 2020.
The Night Shift is even better and it’s got a high rate in both “Sleep deprivation” and “Read it as fast as I could” scale, I started it yesterday afternoon and didn’t switch the light off till I turned the last pages.
It’s breathtaking reading experience: it’s one of those “Another chapter” type of book and this becomes a sort of mantra till you read the last chapter.
There a complex story and there’s multiple POVs: Ellie the survivor, Sarah the FBI investigator, Chris the brother of the main suspect.
Each of them is working to catch a multiple killer, each them is related to two massacre for differen reasons.
I loved all of them, was moved by their story and rooted for them hoping they could find peace or simply discover who did it.
It’s a complex thriller, I was surprised by the solution and couldn’t guess any twist.
I’m also starting to think that Alex Finlay can’t write a book that will surprise me and force me to read it in one setting.
Gripping, compelling, riveting: there’s a long list of adjectives that could be used for this book.
I will be short: read it!
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Aries and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Two brutal attacks, fifteen years apart. Only one surviving victim from each attack! The first attack was on the eve of Y2K at a Blockbuster video shop in Linden, New Jersey – Four teenage girls working the night shift, three of them and the manager massacred! The second attack takes place in the same New Jersey town but on the night shift at an ice cream shop – again, Four teenage girls – three of them massacred in a similar way. Both survivors remember the killer speaking the same final words … “Goodnight, pretty girl”

The only suspect in the Y2K massacre was arrested and disappeared after his release, never to be seen again – could he be back after all this time? Sarah Keller, a heavily pregnant FBI agent, is determined to find out.

The Night Shift is told from multiple POV’s: Ella – the sole survivor from the Blockbuster murders, FBI agent Keller and Chris, an assistant prosecutor, who happens to be the brother of the long vanished and only suspect in the original murders. It is told in two timelines – 1999 and present day. I really enjoyed this book and the short chapters helped to speed through it in a couple of days. It is a gripping, suspenseful thriller and after reading, I’ll be looking up Alex Finlay’s Every Last Fear that was published last year and I never got around to reading!

My thanks to the author and Head of Zeus for my gifted copy to review via NetGalley.


Five Blockbuster stars

EXCERPT: Ella's coming down. From the adrenaline rush. Or maybe it's a sugar crash from the candy. She stands, dusts off her jeans, signalling it's time to go.

Jesse glances up at her. She's cultivated a tough persona. But right now, she looks like a vulnerable little girl.

Ella is surprised when she sees a tear roll down Jesse's cheek.

'Are you okay?'

Jesse brushes the tear away. 'Last night . . .' She shudders.

Ella doesn't say anything. She wants her to finish.

'Last night,' she says again. 'About what happened.' She swallows hard. 'I lied.'

ABOUT 'THE NIGHT SHIFT': It's New Year's Eve of 1999 when four teenagers working late are attacked at a Blockbuster video store in New Jersey. 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, four more teenagers 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 is forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who is convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller, who must delve into the secrets of both nights to uncover the truth about the night shift murders.

MY THOUGHTS: The Night Shift is about two almost identical crimes, committed fifteen years apart. The suspect from the first crime disappeared. Has he returned to recreate his crime? Is it a copycat? Or has the killer been hiding in plain sight all this time?

This is a terrific crime thriller, tightly plotted with memorable characters. Not least Sarah Keller, FBI agent and eight months pregnant with twins. She doesn't let a little thing like pregnancy slow her down!

And Ella, survivor of the first massacre, now a therapist, and the only person Jesse, the lone survivor of the second massacre, will talk to.

The Night Shift is a gripping story of teenage friendships and love (and all the mistakes that entails), grooming, trauma and loyalty. Ditto for the adult relationships, except for that of Sarah and her husband - that is one extraordinary relationship.

This is a story that poses a lot of questions, which keeps the reader hooked as the answers are slowly revealed. Most often not the answers I was expecting.

Exciting and entertaining.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.4

#TheNightShift #NetGalley

I: @alexfinlayauthor @headofzeus

T: @HoZ_Books

#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #murdermystery #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Alex Finlay is the pseudonym of an author who lives in Washington, D.C. Born in Opelika, Alabama, Alex’s formative years were spent traversing the globe, from a tropical island in the Pacific to a small village in the UK to a remote region in the Far East.

By day, he races cars, day-trades stock, have four-martini lunches, and practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu. By night, he plays guitar in an Alice in Chains tribute band, moonlights as a sous-chef, binge watches The Bachelor, then taps on a computer in the dark and makes up stories. Okay, only that last thing is true. (The Nerd Daily)

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Head of Zeus via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Night Shift by Alex Finlay for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Thank you so much Netgalley and Head Of Zeus for the gifted digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Read this if you:

Want a fast paced read
Enjoy short chapters
Like a story with a lot of characters whose lives interject
Want a story where everyone seems a suspect but you'll still be surprised at the end

Thoughts:

This was my first Alex Finlay read and it was a great one!

It didn't seem like that at first because I had to keep up with a lot of characters and I got confused from time to time. Also, as I was approaching halfway there weren't major developments regarding the mysterious crimes so I thought "that can't be good".

But!!! The second half of the book was so engaging and full of twists that it actually made me love the book! Every time something was about to be revealed I thought I had it all figured out and every time there was a twist I didn't see coming.

Very well written, I loved the short chapters and fast paced vibe too! The characters were well developed with a solid background which again is a plus.

If it weren't for the slow first half it would have been a solid 5 stars.

The night when all of her co-workers are killed has left deep wounds on Ella, the only survivor, in 1999. When the same thing happens, 15 years later, she finds herself comforting the only survivor in that massacre.

Sarah Keller is an FBI agent who is heavily pregnant with twins. However, she isn't going to let that stop her trying to solve both of the above cases. She has her work cut out for her.

This was one twisty and turny case. I had no idea how those threads were going to come together, but come together they did, in a very smooth, interesting way. I didn't know who the "baddie" was until the author revealed him, so good job! :)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, there was a lot to commend it.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus.

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.

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!

Read this if:
*you remember the y2k bug that never happened,
*like me you spent most wkds in blockbuster arguing over what video to rent,
*you like final girl thrillers/mysteries,
*you want likeable characters to root for,
*you want short chapters, with addictive writing which reels you in,
*you're a fan of twists,
*you love some good old red herrings, and trying to be a detective whilst you read!

The only drawbacks for me, in this excellent follow up to Every Last Fear were the epilogue, which was slightly disappointing, and the idea of an almost 9 months pregnant fbi agent running around like a bad ass, when most of us can only waddle and pee 😂

I really enjoyed flying through this book and the nostalgia which it evoked! Highly recommend! 📼📼📼📼