Reviews

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

A debut thriller about a family made famous by a Netflix true crime documentary... After Danny Pine is put in prison for bludgeoning his girlfriend to death, the Pine family is put into the spotlight with a documentary made about the case. Danny's father and younger sister are tireless in the pursuit of truth and freeing Danny. A number of years later, Danny's younger brother Matt is attending college in NYC and is informed one night that his father, mother, sister and younger brother have been found dead from apparent carbon monoxide poisoning while on vacation in Mexico. Their deaths bring the Pine family back into the headlines. An FBI agent lets Matt know that she doesn't think their deaths were accidental. Matt starts to think that his family's deaths are related to Danny's case.

The novel shifts between multiple perspectives and moves back and forth in time. There are snippets from the documentary, Matt's perspective, the lead FBI agent and other members of The Pine family. This was a fast paced story offering up a lot of information that all coalesced in the end. There were lots of twists and action along the way. If you like thrillers, Alex Finlay is definitely an author to watch.

What to listen to while reading...
Numb by Linkin Park
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Little Dark Age by MGMT
This Mess We're In by PJ Harvey & Thom Yorke
All I Think About Now by Pixies

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.

jourdanedwards's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

natebragg's review against another edition

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4.0

A fun, albeit somewhat predictable mystery/thriller. I enjoyed reading this book and found many of the characters easy to root for. The documentary sections were a nice wrinkle that added something different compared to similar styled books.

rstankievech's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

alixfish's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

thephdivabooks's review against another edition

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5.0

Review to come

jaynewoodward's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

3.75

mollyvh's review against another edition

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4.0

3.5 rounded up. Not my favorite thriller, but definitely a fun read.

bargainsleuth's review against another edition

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3.0

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Trigger Warnings: Attempted Rape , Sexual Assault, Cheating, Murder, Death, Child Death, Racism, Racist Comments, Attempted Suicide , Drug Use, Alcohol Use, Mentions of Suicide, Mention of Pedophilia

I’m working my way backwards with author Alex Finlay’s books. First I read What Have We Done? and then it was on to The Night Shift , and now I’ve read his first book, Every Last Fear. He’s one of my new-to-me favorite authors.

The book centers around the killing of a teenage girl and the imprisonment of a teenage boy. The story later becomes the basis for a true crime documentary; I’ve seen first-hand what a Netflix documentary series can do to a community when Making of a Murderer came out a few years ago. It was based on a local murder, and what a shitstorm it created for everyone involved. Lawsuits are still being settled regarding this documentary, and truth be told, I don’t watch any crime shows (not since Castle went off the air) or true crime documentaries. But I found all the chatter in the book about the documentary added to the suspense.

When Matt’s family is killed while on vacation to Mexico, he doesn’t know what to think. The reader doesn’t know what to think, either. His brother Danny has been locked up for years for the murder of his girlfriend, yet the case is still a hot topic because of the documentary. Matt’s still in college and just follows what Agent Keller at the FBI wants him to do (It was great reading about Keller again, who appeared in another Finlay book, this time younger and pregnant.) Somebody wants him dead, too.

In flashbacks, the reader is taken back to the time of Danny’s girlfriend’s murder, and the days leading up to the family vacation in Mexico. Matt’s dad and younger sister are diligently using social media to find more clues that could lead to Danny’s release from prison. That leads them to a tip in Mexico, which leads to their impromptu trip.

While I typically don’t read thrillers and avoid true crime documentaries, I still found this an interesting book with lots of twists and turns I never could have thought of. However, I figured out who was behind the killings because it was the only logical explanation to me. No one else had the means or motive to kill Matt and Danny’s family. Maybe all my reading of Nancy Drew books helped me with figuring out the clues.