Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay (2021) Review

Every Fear grips you from the first page and never loses your interest.

This story is told in multiple points of view from both the present and the past. My new favourite thing to find in books is mixed media, so I was happily surprised to see that excerpts from a Netflix documentary (made up for this book) was included. Foreshadowing? Hope so! But the transcript was easy to follow and dynamic – I could hear the cuts and envision the episode.

The Pines have had quite the ride! For a seemingly normal suburban family, their lives were tainted by quite a few tragedies – The first of which was the arrest and conviction of their eldest son, Danny, who even though he claims his innocence, is in jail for the murder of his girlfriend.

Danny’s story was turned into a Netflix documentary that argued his innocence, but consequently brought infamous notoriety to the rest of the family who couldn’t escape the past and had their lives negatively affected by their association with the case.

Fast forward to the present. Matt, the second oldest of the Pine children, is now a NYU student and luck was on his side as due to conflict in March Break schedules, was unable to go to a Mexican family vacation with his parents and two younger siblings. Wait a second – why is he lucky when he didn’t get to go to paradise and live on coconut water, sand, sun and waves for a week? Well, tragedy never strikes once – his whole family was found dead at their rented villa. It looked like an accident, but was it? Why is the FBI involved and why does Matt have to go in person to sign a release form for the bodies at the request of Mexican authorities? Well, that’s where the book basically starts, and we go around this fast-paced crazy ride. Grab your snacks, take the day off, avoid responsibilities as I’m warning you, this book will beg you to be read in one setting.

I do not want to spoil this book, but I can tell you that Finlay takes us to wonderful places, remains consistent in his plot and executes everything superbly. All his twists and reveals are pertinent and exciting. I also have to say that I honestly grew so attached to the Pines, I mourned their deaths. Maggie is such an amazing character I wouldn’t mind it if Finlay recreated a character with her traits in his future books!

If you like well written unputdownable thrillers, with great characters, perfect execution and consistent plot, this one is for you.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press, Alex Finlay and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of “Every Last Fear” in exchange for an honest review. #EveryLastFear #NetGalley

My total rating: 4.83

Review for this book is mentioned in this video: https://youtu.be/WixTJ_WPyuY