Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
// Content Warnings: murder, violence, teen pregnancy, sexual relationship between an adult and a minor, drug deals, gun violence // – Please educate yourself on the content warnings for this book before reading, as I may have missed some here.
// Quick Review // Fast-paced and thought-inducing, The Night Shift features a spectacular mystery that keeps one yearning for answers. Filled with fascinating twists and turns, Finlay’s latest thriller presents a vast cast of characters that will connect you to an outstanding whodunit.
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// Other Information // Publisher: Minotaur Books Page Count: 368 pages Release Date: March 1, 2022 Series: None Tags: Adult, Contemporary, Crime, Fiction, Horror, Murder mystery, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
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// Characters // Though filled with a plethora of magnificent characters, the novel is split between three main characters with various circumstances and backgrounds. The way this story unfolded between its characters reminded me of Stranger Things (I’ve been rewatching the series in preparation for Season 4, of course); how all the characters deal with different pieces of the puzzle but eventually come together to form the whole picture.
Ella is the sole survivor of the New Years’ Eve 1999 attack on the Blockbuster Video in Linden, New Jersey. It was hard to understand Ella’s character at first. It is not until later in the novel that the book begins to unveil the reality behind Ella’s character and I began to understand her better. Ella is very obviously traumatized from the attack on her and her friends in 1999. She carries the survivor’s guilt from that night and finds it difficult to navigate adult life in 2015. Agent Keller is helping to investigate the murders of workers in an ice cream shop; a murder eerily similar to that of the Blockbuster murders. Chris is a lawyer with deep connections to the Blockbuster murder. Back in the day, his brother was the prime suspect in the Blockbuster murders. Chris now lives under a different name but becomes entangled in defending the suspect of the ice cream shop murders.
All three of these characters eventually cross paths, but their journey to their meeting is what really makes the book interesting. It took me a while to become truly interested in this novel and its characters, but after reading half of the novel I began to care for Ella, Chris, Keller, and others.
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// Writing and Setting // I love media of the mystery genre that starts off with a bunch of little mysteries that need to be untangled in order to see the entire truth of the story. They typically keep my interest, just as this book did.
The secrets contained in this novel span from 1999 to 2015. The past never seems far from the present, as murders similar to that of the ones on New Years’ Eve 1999 continue to occur as the characters race against the clock to find the culprit.
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// Plot // The plot, since this is a thriller/mystery, was my favorite part of The Night Shift. Though I’ve seen many people saying they thought this story was very predictable, I found it to be the complete opposite. I was completely entranced by how in the dark I was. Perhaps it was because it took me longer to read this novel that I wasn’t immediately struck with suspicions of who the killer could be. Regardless, I thought that this book was filled with surprises and twists and turns.
As I’ve mentioned various times, the characters deal with their own sub-plots that contribute meaning to the overarching question of the novel: Who is the killer who struck in 1999 and 2015?
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// Wrap Up // Usually, when I am in a reading slump I do not finish the novel I am reading. However, The Night Shift was able to hold my attention and I’m so glad it did. Otherwise, I would have missed out on a chilling story containing betrayal, murder, and chaos.