The Night Shift
The Night Shift
By: Alex Finlay
[This was on my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2022]
“There’s only one thing sneakier than criminals.”
”What’s that?”
”Teenage girls.”
From a multiple homicide in a Blockbuster store on New Year’s Eve in 1999, to another multiple homicide in an ice cream shop present day, this book is a complex thrill ride!
Each murder scene left one teenage girl alive, a lone survivor.
FBI Agent Sarah Keller, reminiscent of Robert Dugoni’s strong female lead, Traci Crosswhite, is tasked with determining whether the 1999 alleged murderer who disappeared after getting off on a technicality is back or if this is a copycat.
Our cast of main characters also includes:
- Ella: the now-grown survivor from 1999 turned therapist who is still fighting her demons (and would not be a therapist I’d send my daughter to…); she still holds an important piece of the puzzle from 1999
- Jesse: the survivor from the ice cream shop crime scene who becomes a suspect; her research abilities are impeccable and her past is a little murky
- Chris: his brother was the alleged murderer who disappeared; Chris believes him to be innocent and suspects he’s been traveling the world and lawyer Chris is determined to find him
With two similar crime scenes years apart there are a lot of leads and people to chase down. The plot is complex and the suspense is high. I read this book pretty quickly.
The plot is really intriguing and brings some nostalgia from the 90s- Be Kind Rewind! And the title is perfect!
I have four beefs with this book.
First, there is quite a bit of swearing (29 f-words, 25 s-words) and some promiscuous behavior on the part of our struggling therapist, plus a typical strip-club investigation scene.
Second, Agent Keller is 8 and 1/2 months pregnant with twins. I was pregnant with twins for 30 weeks (they were born premature) but I can tell you from personal experience that even at 30 weeks I would not have been doing most of the things Keller was doing. Also, I was told they wouldn’t let me go past 38 weeks with twins so Keller would have been mere days from delivering. In one scene she ducks under a closing garage door. Nope. Not without a major grunting noise at the very least. No running. No fast movements of any kind. Standing, sitting, and walking would all be highly uncomfortable. And definitely wouldn’t have been putting herself in such dangerous situations.
Third, Y2K is mentioned in the book summary on Goodreads but is completely irrelevant to the entire book. Seems odd that the author intentionally set the scene on that particular and significant night without incorporating it at all. Unless I missed something?
Fourth, they keep calling them a mass killing, but mass killings are 4 or more deaths. I looked it up.
But the first is more significant to my opinion than the other three. The Y2K and mass murder things are nitpicky. And I can usually suspend some reality for the sake of a story. Plus seeing her strength in the workplace but also her motherly side and her relationship with her husband made her a really likable character.
I didn’t like Ella.
Chris and Jesse were alright.
At 12% into the book I predicted the main part of the plot but that didn’t take away from the story. I didn’t have any real proof til the end. I just had my suspicions and have read a lot of these kinds of books.
Would I recommend you read this book? If you like suspense novels and don’t mind swearing then yeah I think you’ll definitely like this! If swearing bothers you like it did me, I’m not sure if this is worth reading.
It was a really compelling plot and well-written story, but I’m not sure I’ll read more of Finlay’s books primarily for the swearing.
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
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