“They found the bodies on a Tuesday”
- Book: Every Last Fear
- Location: Mexico, United States (USA)
- Author: Alex Finlay
No Way! You are never going to convince me that this is a debut novel by a new author! This just has to be an established and successful writer, who has chosen a pseudonym for this particular project. ‘Every Last Fear‘ is just too slick and polished, written and nuanced at the hand of someone who has total authority and confidence over the storyline and characters as they hit the pages! I am growing to like this new trend of blended fact and fiction novels more and more, so I checked out the recorded articles surrounding the case featured in the documentary, which makes a great basis for the unique storyline Alex has skilfully wrapped around it.
Alex makes things potentially tricky for himself by writing the story in dual timelines, but not in any pre-organised sequence; and having it narrated in multiple voices. All of which could have made the finished book potentially complicated to follow and somewhat disjointed. No chance of that here though, the well constructed storyline moves along at a cracking pace, the chapters are kept short and are well signposted, each with a timeline and the voice of the person speaking, which keeps everything effortlessly fluid and easy on the eye and, more importantly, seamless for my frazzled little brain. Because that’s about the only thing which is easy to follow, in this multi-layered, intensely textured story. The rich atmosphere is kept at a constant boiling point and nothing about this page-turner made me feel comfortable or at ease with the disturbing situation in which poor Matt Pine finds himself embroiled.
There are more twists and turns in this compelling plot than you can shake a stick at and although I might have had an inkling about what was going on and who my top suspects were, I certainly wouldn’t have wanted to lay my cards on the table too early, which is just as well, as in the end I was only partially correct. What starts out as two seemingly unrelated events, the incarceration of Matt’s older brother Danny for murder, and the apparent accidental death of the remainder of Matt’s family in Mexico, are all too soon set on a collision course so serious that they attract the attention of the FBI, although agent Keller adds yet another layer to the already toxic mix, that of corruption. She is however the one solid rock of a person, young Matt can turn to when events begin to spiral out of control and threaten to overwhelm him. She brings a compelling brand of compassion and collaborative thinking to these high profile cases, even when small town politics threaten to thwart her investigation and block her pathway to the truth.
It is Matt himself, who eventually works out the sickening truth about who needs to be held accountable and responsible for trying to eliminate his entire family, including himself, living to tell the tale, but only by the skin of his teeth. The closure for Matt is almost bittersweet, as losing his parents and two younger siblings, brings him closer than he has ever been to his errant elder brother and helps to heal both their wounds. So many lies and secrets, so much manipulation and duplicity, so much abuse of power. And from Matt’s father an unexpected forgiveness, which all comes too late for the family and leaves Matt and Danny never knowing the full truth, which is probably just as well.
The narrative and dialogue are crisp, rich in detail, visually descriptive and totally immersive, as the dynamics of the story change again and again. An excellent cast of well drawn and defined characters also help to keep everything running smoothly, with some good synergy and and exchanges between them. They are genuine and believable, passionate and vulnerable, yet often not easy to connect with, although I found that I could invest totally in them all. FBI agent, Sarah Keller, stood out from the crowd and I could see the potential for her to star in her own series! I realise that the story was already based on a televised documentary, however I can see the potential for this adapted version to be optioned for film.
Please wait...
