Every Last Fear

DNF

I really did not like this book. People were saying that this was a fast-paced book but I do not agree. I felt like it dragged so much. There was too much POV's and they did nothing for the book. Matt was extremely boring to read from. I felt like he did nothing. There were homophobic/racists comments and that was what really push me over the edge. I don't understand why the editor didn't remove those comments. I just don't understand why people love this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my review.

3.5 rounded down - a few too many characters for my liking, by the end with the reveal I had literally forgot who the killer was in relation to the rest of the group, oops. Overall a good read though

A run of the mill conspiracy whodunit. Disappointing mostly in that the killer was obvious from early on. What made this a little different was getting to know the victims after knowing they were dead. Otherwise, there wasn't much that made this stand out for me.

Authors need to retire these “motives”

I really enjoyed this! It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and I did cry a bit for our dear Matt.

My only complaint with this is the pacing. It was so slow for most of the book and picked up a ton in the final portion. I just wish it had been more fast-paced the entire time so I was more engaged with it.

Could be spoilers






This one was good. I enjoyed it, didn't love it. Matt, finds out that his family has just been murdered all but one who is in jail.

The FBI has contacted him to go identify the bodies in Mexico. By the time he gets there the bodies have already been released.

Has this got something to do with the investigation his father and sister were doing to get Matt's brother released from prison?

It pains me to write negative reviews, but Every Last Fear was a disappointment. The way the chapters jump around between five different characters, all in 3rd person narrations, made them very difficult to connect to or really care about at all. I believe it would have been a better book if Matt was the sole narrator. I really just didn't care about what Matt's father, mother, sister, or even Agent Keller had to say. I would have been more invested in the story if I had really gotten to know any of the

This was heading into 5-Star territory until that ending...ugh. I can't really expand on that without giving away spoilers, so I will just say that I think the story needed a few more chapters to flesh the ending out more. I feel like the “why” explanation was rushed and glossed over. However, that aside, this was an amazing debut novel. It was fast-paced. Engaging. An extensive cast of characters and POVs that keep the mystery moving along, and yours truly guessing right up to the end.

So overall, I enjoyed it. I just wish the author had given us a bit more in the ending.

ARC Via NetGalley

Awesome Debut Novel!


This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021 and for good reasons. This was an easy five-star read and I didn't have to really think about the rating at all. I finished this in about three days. This book is an absolutely stunning thriller told from multiple perspectives and timelines that adds so much dimension. Matt is an NYU student whose family is of national acclaim after a documentary series that featured his brother's story. Danny is in jail for the murder of his girlfriend in high school, a crime for which he claims he is innocent. I found myself angry at the family's hometown because as you read you will learn that Danny's confession is so coerced, what you will see is a father who has spent a lifetime trying to prove that the wrong man is in prison.

While at NYU Matt is approached by FBI Agent Sarah Keller and told that while on vacation his entire family is found dead during a terrible misfortune and the only family he has left is Danny the brother in prison. However, this revelation is not the whole story, and as we investigate the case alongside Matt and Keller, the story takes us on unexpected paths to find out not only what happened to the Pine family but also what happened to Charlotte, the girl Danny was accused of murdering so many years ago.

I am trying to be stricter with my 1-5 star rating this year but I can say that this was easily a book that can be an all nightery kind of read. Every chapter adds more to the story making this a captivating and unputdownable read. The pace is stunning giving you just enough of the bread crumb to want to keep you up all night until you know who killed them. Without giving too much away I will say the ending is completely satisfying and very surprising. You will guess who did it and you will be wrong and you will love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and all parties involved in the decision of my receiving of this arc this was a fabulous read I can not wait to see what comes next from Alex Finlay.

I was excited to get a review copy of this! I've seen it on a lot of lists, and it sounded like a story I would be interested in.

Plot Details
Matt is a college student whose brother Danny was convicted of murdering his girlfriend and is in prison for life. A documentary series made the case well-known, and the public's thoughts are divided on whether or not Danny is actually guilty. Matt is honestly not even sure, but his dad and sister are out to prove Danny's innocence. They end up taking a trip to Mexico in pursuit of evidence, where Matt's entire family except for him and Danny end up dying from a gas leak - supposedly. What's really going on?

My Thoughts
I had a hard time getting through this book, but it wasn't because I didn't enjoy it. I read it over a small vacation that also happened to be over the week of the election in the US, so between my vacation activities and watching election coverage, I just had a hard time focusing on it.

I love the premise. Books that are starting to include modern-day things like Netflix documentaries seem more real and interesting to me, and I liked that about this one. I think ordinarily it would have been a quick read. And I definitely didn't see the ending coming! The characters in Every Last Fear were interesting to get to know, especially Matt and Maggie. I enjoyed reading about their journey through all of this.

Definitely a good one to check out! I'd give it 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 because I think that half a star is only due to my own distraction and not because of the story at all.