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A review by mydearwatsonbooks
Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
3.0
(TW: sexual assault, pedophiles)
Matt Pine is a student at NYU. He’s playing chess outside when he hears the news: his entire family, save for his older brother, has died while on vacation in Mexico. It is first ruled as an accident…but was it really an accident? Or was it foul play? Could it have something to do with the father? Could it have something to do with the true crime documentary done of his older brother who is currently in prison? The story follows Matt and FBI agent Sarah Keller as they each try to find out what happened. It also uses flashbacks (and the eldest brother’s current point-of-view) to establish events.
A lot of this novel seems a tad…far-fetched, but I think that’s part of the fun of “regular” thrillers. It also tried to be part police procedural, which I liked. I would’ve liked more police procedural than Matt’s POV, but I did appreciate how Finlay showed the changing relationship between Matt and his hometown.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was that the writing felt really distant. I didn’t feel like I could connect with any of the present POVs at all; I connected more with the flashbacks and the brother’s POV. Also, side note: the documentary lady was awful (Finlay did a great job creating her personality).
I really wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. It was as psychologically thrilling as I wanted (my fault. This seems to be a common theme with me), but it kept me interested. If you like thrillers and/or true crime documentaries, you’ll probably like this novel.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Publishing date is March 2.
Matt Pine is a student at NYU. He’s playing chess outside when he hears the news: his entire family, save for his older brother, has died while on vacation in Mexico. It is first ruled as an accident…but was it really an accident? Or was it foul play? Could it have something to do with the father? Could it have something to do with the true crime documentary done of his older brother who is currently in prison? The story follows Matt and FBI agent Sarah Keller as they each try to find out what happened. It also uses flashbacks (and the eldest brother’s current point-of-view) to establish events.
A lot of this novel seems a tad…far-fetched, but I think that’s part of the fun of “regular” thrillers. It also tried to be part police procedural, which I liked. I would’ve liked more police procedural than Matt’s POV, but I did appreciate how Finlay showed the changing relationship between Matt and his hometown.
One thing I didn’t like about this book was that the writing felt really distant. I didn’t feel like I could connect with any of the present POVs at all; I connected more with the flashbacks and the brother’s POV. Also, side note: the documentary lady was awful (Finlay did a great job creating her personality).
I really wish I could give this book 3.5 stars. It was as psychologically thrilling as I wanted (my fault. This seems to be a common theme with me), but it kept me interested. If you like thrillers and/or true crime documentaries, you’ll probably like this novel.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Publishing date is March 2.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia and Sexual assault