The Anniversary by Alex Finlay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
The Anniversary follows two main characters, Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley. When they were both 17-years old, back in 1992, one fateful night changed the trajectory of both of their lives, and intertwined their stories forever.
This sounds dramatic, but it’s true. Finlay expertly-weaves together the stories of Jules and Quinn, keeping me at the edge of my seat the whole way through.
On the fateful night in question, Jules survives an attack of the elusive May Day Killer, a serial predator who attacks unsuspecting young women every May 1st in small Midwestern towns. Though she survived the attack, certain psychological scars may never heal.
And poor Quinn, trying to break-up a fight, severly injures one of the participants, and he’s arrested and ultimately ends up in juvenile detention because of it. While he’s there, his mother is murdered, and the crime goes unsolved.
A year later, Jules is plagued with survivor’s guilt, and Quinn, recently released from juvie, struggles to put the pieces of his life back together.
We follow both of their perspectives through that process, with the book ultimately spanning over many years.
Jules and Quinn never give up their search for answers, and over time, more and more clues are revealed, bringing their paths back together once again. The bottom line is the May Day Killer is still out there, Quinn’s mother’s murderer is still out there, and they’re determined to find the truth before any other innocent lives are lost.
I feel like I’m not giving this detailed plot justice, but you get the gist. I really enjoyed the back and forth and how we followed the two MCs over such a long period of time. As the puzzle pieces started to fall into place, my attention was fully captured.
The audiobook was fantastic. It’s dual narrated by Brittany Pressley and Ari Fliakos, and having the individual narrators for both perspectives, really lent believability to the plot. It also kept my attention more than had I just been reading a hard copy, I think.
Jules and Quinn were both great characters. They had been through so much, but they never let the negativity of those events completely overwhelm them. Sure, they struggled through some complicated emotions, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but they never lost their determination and will to fight for closure.
They were also both very smart and resourceful. A highlight for me was their interactions together. I felt like they supported each other nicely.
Overall, I had a blast with this. It’s really, really good. The story is gripping, with tons of twists and turns that’ll keep you flipping pages well into the night.
Finlay’s last release, Parents Weekend, fell a little flat for a lot of people, I enjoyed it, but certainly not as much as some of his earlier works. With The Anniversary, I feel like he’s hit his stride again. I definitely recommend this one.
Thank you to the pubisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I look forward to whatever Finlay has in store for us next!