The Night Shift by Alex Finlay

 Rating: ★★★☆☆

Dates Read: 7/6/23 - 7/9/23

    It's New Year's Eve 1999, and four teenage girls and their manager are working the closing shift at the local blockbuster. At this point, everyone was freaking out about Y2K, but no one knew they really should've been worried about the person at the blockbuster, about to take four lives. 15 years later, lone survivor Ella Monroe gets a call asking her to come to the hospital. It happened again and the survivor won't speak.

    "The sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer."

    While this isn't my first encounter with an Alex Finlay book, it is the second installment featuring my favorite character, the FBI's remarkable badass, Sarah Keller. I thoroughly enjoyed the storytelling approach in this book. It skillfully weaves together multiple plot elements, which can be challenging to follow, but it was masterfully executed here. I really enjoyed the YouTube snippets, the intricate web of interconnected characters, and the gripping suspense that permeates throughout the story.

    The narrative seamlessly transitions between various points of view, and each perspective is equally captivating. I was hooked and couldn't stop reading. I also want to note that the audiobook narrators truly excelled in capturing the essence of this story. This book has a definite "final girl" vibe.

    When it comes to the reveals in this book, there are some enjoyable ones. However, I can't say they completely caught me by surprise. Having read a fair share of this genre, it's rare for a book to completely astonish me. Nonetheless, there were enough unexpected twists to keep me engaged and entertained. Even without complete surprise, I found this book to be well worth the read.