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A review by jsncnrd
The Night Shift by Alex Finlay
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
2.0
Formulaic. Easily solved mystery. None of the characters were intriguing enough or relatable enough to connect with, so you really don't care what happens to them. They were all actually kinda annoying.
The writing had a strange undercurrent of subtle misogyny and sexist comments which didn't sit well with me -- specifically in Ella's chapters. There were also some insensitive remarks about drug users and human trafficking victims.
While reading, it feels like you're being talked down to. It's as if the author feels that he is the leading expert in understanding the criminal justice and court system as if it is not incredibly common knowledge. It is as if he woke up one day, started writing this book, and thought ... "Let me introduce an acronym to you and then spell it out just in case you aren't as well-versed as me. Let me mansplain criminal procedure to you. Let me act like you, the reader, have no common sense or critical thinking skills."
Spoilers below! Ramblings and thoughts on some plot points.
Spoilers:
- The fathers being involved was blatantly obvious.
- The author did NOT need to kill Atticus off. Lame.
- I knew the teacher was up to no good. He was weird from the jump.
- It was clear that there were multiple channels / that there were at minimum 2 separate killers who were not working together.
- How did Ella’s mom not get arrested for obstructing justice and KNOWING that there was a murder victim buried in her backyard. And, for that matter, encouraging her husband to keep it a secret. Someone please arrest this rich white woman!
I think Alex Findlay's writing takes itself far too seriously, when in reality, it's fairly lackluster. This is a thriller / mystery, but I wasn't left thrilled.
The writing had a strange undercurrent of subtle misogyny and sexist comments which didn't sit well with me -- specifically in Ella's chapters. There were also some insensitive remarks about drug users and human trafficking victims.
While reading, it feels like you're being talked down to. It's as if the author feels that he is the leading expert in understanding the criminal justice and court system as if it is not incredibly common knowledge. It is as if he woke up one day, started writing this book, and thought ... "Let me introduce an acronym to you and then spell it out just in case you aren't as well-versed as me. Let me mansplain criminal procedure to you. Let me act like you, the reader, have no common sense or critical thinking skills."
Spoilers below! Ramblings and thoughts on some plot points.
Spoilers:
- The fathers being involved was blatantly obvious.
- The author did NOT need to kill Atticus off. Lame.
- I knew the teacher was up to no good. He was weird from the jump.
- It was clear that there were multiple channels / that there were at minimum 2 separate killers who were not working together.
- How did Ella’s mom not get arrested for obstructing justice and KNOWING that there was a murder victim buried in her backyard. And, for that matter, encouraging her husband to keep it a secret. Someone please arrest this rich white woman!
I think Alex Findlay's writing takes itself far too seriously, when in reality, it's fairly lackluster. This is a thriller / mystery, but I wasn't left thrilled.