by Alex Finlay
4/5 Stars
Yes, yes – two reviews back-to-back from the same author, but I had to read the next one on my to-read list by him after reading Every Last Fear!
Alex Finlay, once again, did not disappoint.
The story starts in a small town at Y2K in a Blockbuster. On this night, only one of the employees at Blockbuster will live to see the start of the year 2000. Ella wakes to find all of her coworkers murdered in the back room of the Blockbuster with spotty recollection of the events of New Year’s Eve. The town pins the blame on a boy around Ella’s age, Vince Whitaker, who is quickly apprehended, arrested, and released on bail. The night of his release, Vince disappears, and is never seen in the town again.
Flash forward 15 years. Everyone believes Whitaker has returned when all but one individual inside an ice cream shop is murdered, following the same MO as the Blockbuster murders. Ella is called in for her unique perspective coupled with her expertise as a trauma therapist to assist the lone survivor of the Ice Cream Shop Murders, Jesse. Unbeknownst to Ella, she’s in for the ride of a lifetime as she navigates the twists and turns of the parallels between the worst night of her life and the worst night of Jesse’s life.
Full of plot twists, this book kept me on my toes. Finlay continued rotating through and successfully casting suspicion on a long list of suspects…I couldn’t narrow down for certain who I thought the perpetrator was until about 90% of the way through, and by that point Finlay spelled it out for the reader about a page later. His writing style is intriguing and convincing in the sense that the characters are well-written and very human, and his choice of setting never makes you say “this could have happened anywhere and you just chose this for this one thing to make this story work” (we’ve all read that kind of book…). He details what he wants you to know and leaves the rest up to the reader’s imagination, which is also something I love – I never like to be treated like I’m stupid and unable to fill in the blanks.
I found myself getting chills throughout the story, which is a reaction that is not very common for me. Typically I’m not drawn to FBI-type stories, as I usually find them full of the behind-the-scenes politics and not a lot of action. That is not the case with Finlay’s FBI agent, Sarah Keller. She comes off the page and makes you feel like this is someone you’ve known forever. She’s a total badass but also has her limits. Keller is very smart and quick on her feet, but can slip up and make some errors in judgment. Finlay has her as a character in both of his books that I’ve read so far, and she’s a character I would love to see even more of!
All in all, if you haven’t picked up one of Alex Finlay’s books yet, I’d recommend starting with this one sooner rather than later!
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