Scan barcode
kellirae's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
in_love_with_bookish's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
You have two choices when you’re confronted with your every last fear:
Give up or fight like hell
I can’t even say I’m disappointed with every last fear because when I picked it up, I didn’t have any huge expectations and I didn’t know whether I will love it or not. I guess 3 stars is still a positive ratings but I don’t think this rating honestly reflects my feelings towards the book.
They found the bodies on a Tuesday
The book starts with a bang but then it kind of loses the allure that captivated me in the first chapter. Even though the book is told from different POVs in different point in times, I still struggled to immerse myself in the mystery.
I think the strongest thing about the book is the portrayal of the family dynamics and the aftermath of the tragedy that happens in the past and the present. I really was interested in those elements and how it gave an emotional depth to the story. There were also some dark moments that were written and handled well in my opinion.
The truth of the matter was that it was rarely a stranger who killed you; it was usually someone you held dear. As Keller knew too well, the sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer.
The mystery itself was average and underwhelming. I didn’t have the urge to think it through or attempt to solve it because it didn’t intrigue me enough. I think the story had some surprising moments but overall it didn’t bring anything new to the table.
I guess I’ll have to pick my thrillers more carefully from now on. I think I read so many that I just need to only pick up the ones that will blow my mind away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
lexa's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Solid dark and twisty thriller. Some elements I saw coming, but most I didnt.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Dementia, Grief, Infidelity, and Racial slurs
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
podanotherjessi's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I don't read a lot of mystery, so my opinion here should be taken with a pinch of salt. But this book bored me. I felt like the whole thing could have been wrapped up in an hour long TV show instead of a full novel, and that's probably a good sign mysteries might not be for me.
Beyond that, I didn't care about the characters at all. The main characters were boring, and the background characters felt cartoonish. Every time someone new was introduced, we got a chunk of description about who they were - what they look like, what their personality is, how they're connected to the MC. It was very telling, not showing. And this happened for everyone, no matter how unimportant they are.
There were also a lot of extrenuous detail and flashbacks that felt pointless. Maybe they were meant to be red herrings or to distract the reader, but it all felt unneeded. Very mild spoilers, example:At one point the MC talks about not being able to stay with his aunt cause she has cats and he's allergic. Okay, small detail, not bad. But then the book flashes back to how he found out he was allergic, and there was no point to it.
Characters: 4
Plot: 7
Setting: 3
General appeal: 5
Writing style: 3
Originality 6
Ending: 7
Beyond that, I didn't care about the characters at all. The main characters were boring, and the background characters felt cartoonish. Every time someone new was introduced, we got a chunk of description about who they were - what they look like, what their personality is, how they're connected to the MC. It was very telling, not showing. And this happened for everyone, no matter how unimportant they are.
There were also a lot of extrenuous detail and flashbacks that felt pointless. Maybe they were meant to be red herrings or to distract the reader, but it all felt unneeded. Very mild spoilers, example:
Characters: 4
Plot: 7
Setting: 3
General appeal: 5
Writing style: 3
Originality 6
Ending: 7
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
msennflinn's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Infidelity
getbrekked's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Child death, Death of parent, Death, and Dementia
Moderate: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Minor: Suicide and Racism
emileereadsbooks's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thank you for the gifted book Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books and Netgalley.
This book hooks you from chapter one and although it is billed as something for true crime fans, I think it's just generally for mystery fans. There is a bit of a true crime aspect, but it doesn't have that same feel because it's obviously fiction. I think this book is well written and certainly a page turner. The ending makes sense and wasn't rushed, but also didn't shock me. Overall I say this was a solid mystery book that will make for a great summer read. I could easily see a sequel or a spin-off book with the FBI character.
Other reviewers have pointed out how it is problematic how the Mexican authorities are spoken of in this book. They are called "The Mexicans" and the failings of some people are lumped into an overall negative stereotype that should have been edited out. This could have easily been altered with some word changes to not have a negative association of an entire heritage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Dementia
meltingpages's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Dementia and Adult/minor relationship
mjwilliamson's review
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Although there were times near the middle of the book where I felt unmotivated by the story, it was worth reading until the end. The characters were most certainly flawed and rough around the edges, but I think that is what makes them so compelling — they’re incredibly human. I liked the tendency to insert transcripts from the “docuseries” as I found it enchanted characters and message of that particular chapter. The overall stylistic intention of the book mimicking the documentary format was a nice touch too. I found that the parallel storylines of the ‘before’ and ‘after’ were the right narrative choice for Finlay to make as it not only provided non-info-dumped insight into characters and the details of Danny’s case, but it also kept the story rolling, unfurling each snippet when the explanations were required. Similarly, the switching narrators/perspectives added a nice holistic view of the case, its affect on various parties and the main plot as a whole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia
biancabuysbooks's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
WOW, what a thriller! Right away from the description, I knew I wanted to read Every Last Fear, the debut thriller novel from Alex Finlay.
Every Last Fear starts with NYU student Matt Pine getting devastating news: his parents and two younger siblings have been found dead in Mexico while on a spring break trip. Their deaths make the national news, and unfortunately, this isn't the first time the Pine family has been in the spotlight. Matt's older brother, Danny, is spending life in prison for the murder of his high school girlfriend and a recent Netflix documentary brought national attention to the case.
With the deaths abroad and some suspicious circumstances, the FBI gets involved, and Alex Finlay takes us on a hunt to find the truth. The story follows several different characters, alternates between past and present, and has short chapters (my favorite)! I was a little overwhelmed at first with all the characters, but the audiobook narrators, Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom, did a great job, and I quickly caught up with all of them. Once I had the characters straight, I could not stop listening! I was hooked on this page-turner from the beginning and it never slowed. I thought it wrapped up well and was a solid debut thriller, I'm looking forward to more from this author!
Every Last Fear starts with NYU student Matt Pine getting devastating news: his parents and two younger siblings have been found dead in Mexico while on a spring break trip. Their deaths make the national news, and unfortunately, this isn't the first time the Pine family has been in the spotlight. Matt's older brother, Danny, is spending life in prison for the murder of his high school girlfriend and a recent Netflix documentary brought national attention to the case.
With the deaths abroad and some suspicious circumstances, the FBI gets involved, and Alex Finlay takes us on a hunt to find the truth. The story follows several different characters, alternates between past and present, and has short chapters (my favorite)! I was a little overwhelmed at first with all the characters, but the audiobook narrators, Cady McClain and Jon Lindstrom, did a great job, and I quickly caught up with all of them. Once I had the characters straight, I could not stop listening! I was hooked on this page-turner from the beginning and it never slowed. I thought it wrapped up well and was a solid debut thriller, I'm looking forward to more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Death