On New Year’s Eve, 1999, the town of Linden, New Jersey is rocked to its core by a brutal mass killing. Four teenage girls and one man, the night staff at the local Blockbuster Video, are attacked after closing. Only one of them survives. The killer, identified as a local teenage boy named Vince Whitaker, flees after being released due to too little evidence and has evaded capture ever since.
It’s 2015 and although she’s a trained therapist, Ella Monroe, the sole survivor of the Blockbuster case, still carries the trauma of that event with her every day. And when she receives a call about another, eerily similar case, she knows she has to help. Because, once again, there’s a single survivor. And Ella is the only one who knows exactly what the girl is going through.
The case is a joint investigation between local PD and the FBI. The latter involved because of the suspicion that the killer could be the same from the 1999 case. Sarah Keller is assigned that part of the case and is explicitly told not to step on the locals’ toes. But no one has seen Whitaker since 1999. And why, if he’s been gone all this time, would he return to kill again?
It’s appropriate that this book begins in a video store because this book has excellent cinematic qualities!
It’s odd to note that there’s a nostalgic aspect to reading this, but it can’t be helped in my case. I spent a lot of time in video stores in my youth. I even worked in one for a while. Stopping by Hollywood Video on my way home from working at the bookstore was a nightly event that I actually kind of miss.
That aside, thankfully my experience was a good one. I can’t even recall any particularly nasty customers, to be totally honest. (There had to have been some, the late fees some of those folks racked up were astronomical!)
Now that’s out of the way, let’s get into the meat of the story!
Two mass killings, sixteen years apart And it quickly becomes clear that the investigation into the first case was lacking. The cops thought they had their guy. They were so certain that once they set their eyes on him, they didn’t even bother to try and figure out the why.
So when it happens again, that’s one of the many things Keller has to figure out. Why then and why now? Why the video store? Was there a specific target? There are so many questions, in fact, that it’s clear Keller can’t limit her investigation just to finding Whitaker.
Meanwhile, Ella finds herself quickly invested in the survivor of this latest murder. A teen orphan in foster care with aspirations of becoming a journalist. And it turns out she’s well versed in the Blockbuster case.
The characters in particular are a big draw in this book. First there’s Keller, who I adore! A massively pregnant federal agent with a partner who is supportive and loving…you just don’t see that much in crime fiction (she reminded me a bit of Marge in Fargo).
Then you’ve got Ella, who is understandably damaged by her experiences. But it’s not just surviving the 1999 killing. Her family has suffered more than it’s fair share of trauma.
Chris, who I didn’t mention above, is a public defender who’s become a bit jaded by his job. He, too, has carried the weight of the Blockbuster murders with him all these years—his brother was accused of the crime. Their home life was pretty awful and in the wake of the crime, he was actually put into foster care himself and adopted, which has allowed him to return to the area somewhat anonymously. As a lawyer, he’s all too aware of how thin the case was against his brother. And now he feels like he’s in a position to help him. But he’s had no contact with him since he disappeared and he can’t imagine that Vince could be responsible for another crime.
We get POV chapters from each of these characters, but there are actually quite a few additional characters who shine throughout the novel.
But Becky, how’s the plot? It’s great! I definitely had my suspicions about the killer and eventually I was proven right. But I wouldn’t say it was an easy guess. I think, rather, that it’s Finlay’s intention all along for the reader to put together the hints peppered throughout and figure out the who and why alongside the characters themselves. Which is definitely part of the fun!
The Night Shift is out now from Minotaur. If you enjoy fast-paced crime fiction with strong characters, this is definitely the read for you!
Order a copy from your favorite indie via Bookshop!
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