Thanks to the lovely Bibliophile, I was gifted The Night Shift by Alex Finlay from my wish list for the holiday book exchange. It was a quick read that I generally enjoyed.
In 1999, a brutal massacre takes place at a Blockbuster video store. Three employees and their manager are stabbed to death, with one survivor, Ella. While the police have a suspect, he is released for lack of evidence and then disappears. Ella goes on to be a therapist, but has a troubled lifestyle which haunts her.
Fifteen years after the murders, it happens again at an ice cream store (no doubt inspired by the real-life yogurt shop murders all those years ago). Three girls are murdered, with one survivor, Jesse. Jesse is taken to the hospital where she shuts down and refuses to talk to anyone; having been bounced around various foster homes, so she has no close family to come to the hospital. Her school principal is called in, but at a loss, he calls Ella, knowing she went through the same thing fifteen years ago and is a licensed therapist. Ella is able to break through a bit with Jesse, who is a wiser-than-her-years, sarcastic teenager who while thoroughly traumatized, has an undeniable strength.
We switch point of view to Sarah Keller, a very pregnant member of the FBI, who is called in to help the local police force with the ice cream shop murders. She is your typical smart, capable law enforcement type that always seems to appear in these types of books. The final point of view is Chris, the 1999 murder suspect’s brother, who was taken away from his abusive father after his brother disappeared and later adopted under another name. He now works as a public defender and is drawn into the case when Jesse is arrested for the murders.
As the case unfolds, we go back and forth between each character’s point of view. It’s a very popular way to write these stories, and works to good effect here, keeping things moving along. Since so much of thrillers are the plot, I won’t spoil anything beyond the initial set up. But I will say this was a very capable thriller, with some good twists and a solid ending. There were a few trouble spots, like things that stretched credulity a bit, some plot holes, and the typical unrealistic coincidences that always seem to pop up in these stories. But no matter, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for a fast-paced intriguing read.
