Title: Every Last Fear
Author: Alex Finlay
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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.
I enjoyed this read! Solid writing and not too heavy-handed with the trail of clues. I liked Matt and the Misfit Toys a lot. They gave this a fun edge, despite the intrigue and danger. I did figure out whodunit, but it wasn’t because the foreshadowing was too much or anything, just a lucky guess. There’s a lot going on in this novel, but it was a good and engrossing read.
Alex Finlay lives in Washington, D.D. Every Last Fear is Alex’s debut novel.
(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books in exchange for an honest review.)
Tomorrow Is Another Day 