Spoiler-Free Blog
These days it seems I’m always a little wary of thrillers, and I wasn’t much inclined to pick them up in 2022. I read a few too many predictable plots in 2021, and then shifted mostly onto fantasy.
But then my book club selected The Night Shift, and I’m so glad for it.
Premise:
Three main characters deal with the ripple effects of a gruesome murder that mirrors a crime from fifteen years earlier. We follow:
- Keller, the detective who is 8 months pregnant with twins
- Ella, the sole survivor of the first attack
- Chris, the brother of the first crime’s accused murderer
I actually enjoyed this. A lot.
This was a much-needed break for me in the thriller genre.
I might’ve given this book four stars, but because I genuinely enjoyed it despite its faults (and because it may have resurrected me from a year-long thriller slump), I’m giving it five stars.
The detective, Keller, is 8 months pregnant, and while I’ve never been pregnant and cannot speak to the realism of her activity level, I found her to be an enjoyable character to follow. Her adoring husband, Bob, just added such a sweet and wholesome element that balanced out the heaviness of the main plot.
Watching women be badass at their jobs and have a happy family life is so satisfying.
Keller was also professional, never doing shady things, never causing a scene, never putting up undue fights with her higher-ups in the way some “lone wolf” detective stories tend to go. When she did, it was for good reason and not for clout.
I also felt the detective’s character provided a solid counterweight to our other female POV, Ella, the survivor. Ella is a severely traumatized person, still working through that night she was attacked fifteen years earlier. She engages in some self-destructive behaviors, but still manages to be sympathetic.
Chris’s POV was the final piece of the puzzle, providing some valuable insights to the justice system and to his home life with Vince (the alleged murderer) that ties the whole thing together.
It was a well-balanced cast of characters, and each were distinct. The writing was to-the-point, no frills, which I find I prefer.
Should you read it?
I highly recommend you do. If you’re looking for an entry-point to thrillers, look no further than The Night Shift.
If it means anything, I will say this was the first time my entire book club all agreed that we liked it, and we all finished it. That never happens.
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One response to “The Night Shift: A much-needed break”
Amazing a whole book club liked it! I bet that was so interesting to talk about when everyone is in agreement….fun! Love the premise the detective is 8 months pregnant with twins 💪 I bet while your reading it you forget that & then there is a reminder & you think “Oh yeah! She’s bad ass” 😉 Definitely adding to my list.