The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

​     Well, this turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I didn’t especially care for Finlay’s last (and my first of his) book, Every Last Fear, it was fine, but thoroughly mediocre as far as these ubiquitous thrillers go. When I decided to give this one a go I more of less expected the same sort of serviceable mediocrity, but Finlay (whoever he or she is) has really upped their game with this book.
       It’s still very much what you’d expect from a thriller, from split perspectives, to cops and private persons involved in a tight three day race to solve a string of murders of teens, murders that somehow connect over 15 years. Is there a serial killer at play? Who can it be? Ooh aah…all sorts of suspense. And the best thing about it, is that Finlay leads you at this crazy dynamic pace to a genuinely unpredictable solution. It’s really one of the best things you can ask from a mystery thriller, a genre that, literally, lives and dies by its plot twists. 
     And then you throw in genuinely good writing and engaging characters, including teens (yes, Finlay managed to write a really fascinating teen character, whose level of involvement in the case is one of the main themes, kudos to the author and the adult players are pretty good too, especially Ella, the only survivor of the original crimes who grows up to be a pretty messed up individual and, oddly enough, a therapist, a woman determined to deny her family’s copious wealth and make her own way in the world. There are a lot of good characters here…or are they good? Finlay plays with potential amorality and ambiguity nicely throughout. It’s lovely. All these lives interconnect in such complex and interesting ways and it all balances out for a satisfying resolution.
     So overall, a very good read, sure to delight genre fans. Very nice to see the author stepping up their game so assuredly. This one shines as neon bright as the cover. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.