There is only one survivor, a young woman named Jesse. There has been another attack, one terrifyingly similar to the mass murder Ella survived years ago-this time, four teens have been attacked at a local ice cream shop. Steadman, who is now the principal at her old high school. Fast forward fifteen years: Ella is now working as a therapist, and, one night, receives a desperate phone call from her former high school guidance counselor, Mr. Vince is arrested for the crime, granted bail… and then promptly disappears, never to be seen again. Suspicion immediately falls on another teen: Vince Whitaker.

Three are killed, and only one-Ella-survives. On that fateful night, four teenage Blockbuster employees are brutally attacked. All the expected horrors of Y2K never materialize, but at this particular Blockbuster, a different kind of horror is about to take place.

Our story begins at the most fitting of 90’s-thriller settings: a Blockbuster on New Year’s Eve, 1999. Pick this one up, clear your calendar, and enjoy the ride. THE NIGHT SHIFT is a full-throttle thriller that is, simply put, the most fun I’ve had reading in quite a while. Readers who love fast-paced thrillers featuring FBI agents (think: books from authors like Lisa Gardner) will devour Finlay’s accessible and immediately-engaging writing readers who loved Riley Sager’s recent ode to the 90’s in SURVIVE THE NIGHT will love being transported back to the end of the last century in Finlay’s immersive writing. Could the original killer be back in town? THE NIGHT SHIFT unfurls at breakneck speed, practically daring readers to set it down. Fast forward fifteen years, and a similar tragedy takes place, this time at an ice cream shop.

A suspect is named, but soon after skips bail and vanishes. It all begins on the eve of Y2K in New Jersey, when a group of teens are brutally murdered at a local Blockbuster. Available this week from Minotaur Books, 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. More thrillers should be as fun to read as Alex Finlay’s THE NIGHT SHIFT. The Verdict: page-turning, binge-worthy suspense

The night shift alex finlay