The Night Shift by Alex Finlay Summary
Overview of The Night Shift
When Y2K fears gripped America, a Blockbuster massacre shocked a town. Fifteen years later, history repeats. Alex Finlay's thriller - nominated for Goodreads' Best Mystery 2022 - weaves trauma, redemption, and Scream-like atmosphere into one question: can the past's survivors solve today's murders?
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Key takeaways
A Night That Changed Everything
"Good night, pretty girl." Five whispered words that would haunt Ella Monroe for fifteen years after surviving the brutal New Year's Eve massacre at a Blockbuster Video store in 1999. While her coworkers-the manager and three teenage employees-had their throats methodically slit, fifteen-year-old Ella somehow survived, hidden in a storage closet, her clothes soaked with her friends' blood. The case went cold despite extensive investigation, leaving the small town of Linden, New Jersey to slowly transform its collective grief into whispered speculation about the "Blockbuster Butcher." Fast forward to 2015. Ella, now thirty and working as a therapist in Philadelphia, has constructed a fragile facade of normalcy while self-medicating with Xanax and engaging in risky hookups. When she receives a late-night call from her former teacher, now Principal Steadman, history repeats itself in the most horrific way: four teenage girls working the closing shift at the Dairy Creamery have been attacked, with only one survivor-a quiet foster child named Jesse Duvall. The parallels are unmistakable. Both attacks targeted teenagers working night shifts. Both demonstrated careful planning. Both left a single survivor found hiding. And both occurred in Linden-a town too small for such striking coincidences.
When Trauma Lives in Your Body
The Masks We Wear
When Systems Fail
Hidden Dangers in Plain Sight
Finding Light in Darkness
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"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
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