ABOUT THE 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 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.
- Rating: ☆☆☆.5
- Genre: Thriller
- Length: 320 Pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books
- Release Date: March 1, 2022
You’ll find my review in the minority, which I’m happy to say is a great thing for the author. And I’m sorry to have to admit it, but I kinda struggled with this book.
Though references to the 90s quickly caught my attention in the prologue, the story didn’t really interest me until at least halfway through.
I nearly always struggle with slow-paced novels and though I wanted to declare this a thriller, it didn’t feel that way. It was characters being introduced through their own chapters. Somewhat interesting, but not in the thriller category.
I enjoyed that it bounced between the Blockbuster era of 1999 and approximately 15 years later. And I especially liked references to the things applicable to 1999 such as Y2K, since it brought back memories. It was an interesting start, but didn’t grip me and make me want to turn pages.
All that being said, I found the characters cast perfectly. They were all unique and carried their own baggage into the plot, which definitely picked up and started moving in the last of the book. Finlay let several of the characters even toss a red herring out occasionally which added to the fun.
To be honest, the book cover and title immediately won me over (yes, I judge a book by the title and cover), and the story was enjoyable but not one of my favorites.
Final Thoughts
Absolutely give this book a try. As we all know a book will work for some and not others. I look forward to more by Alex Finlay since his writing style is quite enjoyable.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a review copy and the ability to freely express my opinion.
Rating 3.5 Stars
About the Author
Alex Finlay is the author of the 2021 breakout novel, Every Last Fear, and one of 2022’s most-anticipated thrillers, The Night Shift. His work has been an Indie Next pick, a LibraryReads selection, an Amazon
Editor’s Best Thriller, as well as a CNN, Newsweek, E!, BuzzFeed, Business Week, Goodreads, Parade,PopSugar, Scribd, and Reader’s Digest best or most anticipated thrillers of the year. Alex’s novels have been translated into seventeen languages, and Every Last Fear is in development for a major television series.
