“Every Last Fear” by Alex Finlay – A Lineage without Peace

Alex Finlay made plenty of waves before even publishing his first novel, Every Last Fear, which was considered by numerous publications as one of the year's most anticipated books. 

It tells the story of a young man, NYU student Matt Pine, whose family has been found dead from an apparent gas leak. Unconvinced, he sets out to discover the truth, in the process being reminded this isn't the first time his family finds itself under a criminal spotlight.

Alex Finlay Creates the True Crime Family

True crime documentaries, whether in books, movies or otherwise, bear the kind of fascination capable of transcending cultural barriers, presenting subjects of interest which tug at our simplest and most primal strings. However, while most of us have the advantage of being able to disconnect from the topics, things are quite different for the Pine family in Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay.

The story begins by introducing us to Matt Pine, a student at New York University with a bit of an unusual family. His older brother, Danny, is serving a life sentence for the murder of his teenage girlfriend, Charlotte, but recent findings have started to suggest he might in fact be innocent. In turn, he became the subject of a true crime documentary and took his family into the spotlight with him.

One night after a late party, Matt receives the absolute worst news of his life: his parents, little brother and sister were found dead while vacationing in Mexico, apparently from a faulty gas leak. Though the FBI and State Department clearly think it's much more than an accident, they keep all their information as far away from Matt as possible.

This forces him to return to his small hometown not only to bury his loved ones, but face the people who bore the true brunt of the documentary Danny was the focus of. Vilified in front of the whole nation, the townspeople are nothing if not hostile towards Matt, forcing old and painful memories crawling back to the surface.

New findings lead him to believe the death of his family is somehow related to Danny's case, and he sets out to discover the truth behind it all. However, he himself also holds a secret of his own: the night of Charlotte's murder he witnessed something which makes him believe his brother truly is guilty of the crime he was condemned for.

The Perfect Thriller Prototype in Every Last Fear

The first thing I believe most people will notice when they open this book is just how unrelenting and lightning fast the pace is... as it should be for any novel calling itself a thriller. I can't think of a single moment where time is wasted on anything which doesn't pertain to the story in one way or the other; every letter seems dedicated to progressing the plot forward.

At the same time, the writing style employed by Alex Finlay is perfect for the kind of approach he decided to take. It's very clean and mostly sticks to simpler sentences, never feeling flowery for the mere sake of it. I think it's safe to say this is one of the most important aspects when trying to write a page-turner sort of plot, and Finlay absolutely nailed it.

Another technique employed by the author to help maintain a high level of variety in the story are the constantly switching perspectives we're treated to. Not only do we jump back and forth between different people, getting hints and glimpses into their lives and schemes, but we even jump back and forth in time to get better-acquainted with the Pine family.

Though it is an extremely plot-driven story, there was one element which I believe suffered from it, and it's the characterization. While I can certainly forgive and even understand the need for most characters to be limited in this type of book, I think it extended to the main character, Matt, a little too much. He never seems all too affected by the loss of his entire family, which is a misstep I feel I have to bring up.

With this being said, once I put this gripe in the rear-view mirror I didn't really have any other problems to contend with in terms of the style, structure, or any other literary elements. Exceptionally-few novels can even come close to making a claim to perfection, so I don't believe this problem to be a deal-breaker.

The Many Perspectives of Guilt

The technical quality of the novel aside, what else does it have to offer us? For starters, the main mystery surrounding the death of Matt's family obviously takes the centre stage for the most part, and rest assured, it has about as many twists and turns as laws the physics allow. Though the ending might be a bit predictable for those who eat thrillers for breakfast, lunch and supper, it remains a very well-executed one in my book.

On top of Matt's quest for the truth, we also have his brother's case, with everything but our protagonist's personal knowledge pointing to Denny having been wrongly convicted. There's even time for a bit of an interesting internal struggle as Matt tries to reconcile his memory with what reality appears to be. Finlay toes the line quite well between making us believe in Denny's guilt or innocence.

Personally, I also enjoyed quite a bit the segments which delved into the past, presenting the Pine family in all of its average glory. The action is never broken up for too long for the sake of flashbacks, but they largely tend to reveal little interesting bits and pieces of information which we, the readers, are quite encouraged to keep track of and eventually plug into the puzzle.

It's especially interesting to see how, hypothetically, a family could be affected by not only being related to a convicted killer, but also being at the centre of a true crime documentary, especially one which slings dirt at the community they're in. It definitely raises some issues in this topic most of us probably haven't considered for more than a brief moment.

The constant switching of perspectives is handled quite well from a big-picture standpoint, often complementing each other and leading us to increasingly clearer revelations. Everyone seems to be guilty with something to hide one way or another, and simply-speaking, it's just fun to try and sort the truth from the lies.

The Final Verdict

Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay is, in spirit, what virtually every page-turning thriller should aspire to be. A plot full of twists, action, switching perspectives and dates handled with a lot of skill to make for a novel greater than the sum of its parts.

If you're looking for a solid thriller capable of captivating you to the point of finishing it in one sitting, then I believe this novel would make for a perfect fit.

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Alex Finlay Personal site Alex Finlay is an American author born in the South and now living in Washington, D.C. After spending many years travelling the globe, he found the inspiration to publish his first novel: Every Last Fear. It was classified by numerous publications, including CNN and Goodreads, as the most anticipated novel of the year.