EVERY LAST FEAR

 

SYNOPSIS

“They found the bodies on a Tuesday.” So begins this twisty and breathtaking novel that traces the fate of the Pine family, a thriller that will both leave you on the edge of your seat and move you to tears.

After a late night of partying, NYU student Matt Pine returns to his dorm room to devastating news: nearly his entire family—his mom, his dad, his little brother and sister—have been found dead from an apparent gas leak while vacationing in Mexico. The local police claim it was an accident, but the FBI and State Department seem far less certain—and they won’t tell Matt why.

The tragedy makes headlines everywhere because this isn’t the first time the Pine family has been thrust into the media spotlight. Matt’s older brother, Danny—currently serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend Charlotte—was the subject of a viral true crime documentary suggesting that Danny was wrongfully convicted. Though the country has rallied behind Danny, Matt holds a secret about his brother that he’s never told anyone: the night Charlotte was killed Matt saw something that makes him believe his brother is guilty of the crime.

When Matt returns to his small hometown to bury his parents and siblings, he’s faced with a hostile community that was villainized by the documentary, a frenzied media, and memories he’d hoped to leave behind forever. Now, as the deaths in Mexico appear increasingly suspicious and connected to Danny’s case, Matt must unearth the truth behind the crime that sent his brother to prison—putting his own life in peril—and forcing him to confront his every last fear.

Title: Every last fear

Author: Alex Finlay

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication date: March 2, 2021

REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"You have two choices when you're confronted with your every last fear: give up or fight like hell"

Wow! That was impressive! That is how you write a suspense novel. It's hard to believe this a debut novel, as it was better done than most of the suspense/thrillers written by established authors. It had everything you could ask for in a suspense book and more.

"They found the bodies on a Tuesday. Two days after the family had missed their flight home. Six days after all texts and social media had gone dark". Three sentences in and I was completely mesmerized with this story.

The plot was perfectly paced, knowing exactly when to step on the gas and when to hit the brakes. Misdirection, red herrings and several suspects both in Danny's case and the Pine murders, managed to deliver an increasing tension that led to an ending where every single clue was tied. Halfway through I had no idea where the story was going, but then my light bulb went on and I saw everything crystal clear. It's no usual I guess the endings, but in this case I nailed it!

The documentary extracts were fantastically done and I truly felt as if I was watching a true crime documentary.

But if I had to highlight a single thing about this book would be the characters. I loved every single one of them. When an author makes me care for the characters I implicate myself in the story 100%,and this was one of those cases. There were several POV, what made it not possible to know deeply any of them but, at the same time, they were well developed and I felt as if I knew them. That and the fact that we already know the fate of the Pine family made it completely heartbreaking reading their chapters. Hearing them talk about their hopes and dreams made my heart hurt. Once I reached the end I felt I needed to grieve them.

Fantastic novel of suspense with a very well done plot and some great characters that will have you turning pages into the wee hours. Mr. Finlay, you have a new fan!

This was my last buddy read of the year with Susan and, without knowing her thoughts yet, I can honestly say we said goodbye to 2020 with a great one, didn't we?