From the author of the breakout thriller Every Last Fear, comes Alex Finlay's electrifying next novel The Night Shift, about a pair of small-town murders fifteen years apart - and the ties that bind them.
"The night was expected to bring tragedy." So begins one of the most highly-anticipated thrillers in recent years.
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.
ALEX FINLAY is the pseudonym of an author who lives in Washington, D.C. His 2021 breakout thriller, Every Last Fear, was 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, and Reader's Digest best or most anticipated thriller of the year. Alex's work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and optioned for film and television.
"A suspenseful tale of vengeance, brotherly love, teenage romance, and the perils of jumping to conclusions. Finlay spins it at a rapid pace, his characters well-drawn and his tangled plot expertly developed. The twists arrive at a dizzying pace, and when the killer is finally revealed, few readers are likely to see it coming." - Associated Press
"[Finlay] has outdone himself with this latest... [He] grabs readers from the very first line and keeps them propulsively turning pages with absolutely thrilling cliffhangers." - Newsweek
"Fans of dual-timeline thrillers with intricately connected characters will love Finlay's fast-paced tale that delivers one stunning surprise after another." - Library Journal
"Every Last Fear became one of our favorite thrillers of 2021 and Finlay's new release about a pair of small-town murders 15 years apart that may be connected is every bit as electrifying. Add in some Y2K nostalgia--R.I.P. Blockbuster!-- an exploration of lasting trauma and a final twist you won't see coming, and it's safe to say Finlay is one of the genre's most exciting voices." - E! News
"Alex Finlay returns with the tense, edge-of-your seat thriller The Night Shift . . . . Finlay does a masterful job of diving deep into each character's thoughts and emotions in tight, fast-paced chapters. . . . Fans of Grady Hendrix and Riley Sager will tear into this sophomore-slump-defying thriller." - BookPage
"Every line counts in this cunning cat's cradle of a thriller. Alex Finlay has the knack of combining forward motion with powerful emotion." - Sunday Times (London)
"Finlay does a fine job weaving the tangled lives and crimes together in a suspenseful tale... Thriller fans will eagerly await Finlay's next." - Publishers Weekly
"Finlay's newest thriller delivers a one-two punch of 90's nostalgia and gripping, genuinely unputdownable plotting, and ties it all together with characters whose intertwining fates--and secrets--will keep you hooked from the book's first page to its very last." - Crime by the Book
"Instead of succumbing to the pressure that comes with a sophomore release (following last year's highly anticipated Every Last Fear), Finlay embraces that buzz and tension with his latest release The Night Shift, and transfers all that potential angst onto his characters. From the book's opening scene, the tension never lets up." - The Big Thrill
"A terrific thriller, tautly written with compelling characters. I was totally hooked." - Peter James, New York Times Bestselling Author
"In his second novel, The Night Shift, Alex Finlay takes his place in the upper ranks of thriller writers. From the very first chapter, Finlay expertly grabs the reader's attention with a horrific mass murder at a Blockbuster store in 1999. Flash forward fifteen years later, the events of that dreadful night echo in a small New Jersey town, with lots of unanswered questions and theories of what happened. Then, a similar mass murder takes place at an ice cream shop, and the lives of several people--from investigators to survivors--interact in dramatic fashion. Filled with crisp dialogue, incredible suspense and memorable characters, The Night Shift is one not to miss. Highly recommended." - Brendan DuBois, award-winning and New York Times bestselling author
