Book Review: The Anniversary
If you had told me a thriller about a serial killer could be a love story at its heart, with an almost nostalgic 90s setting, then I probably wouldn’t believe you. However, then I read The Anniversary, and the last few pages left me feeling hopeful and like I came for the mystery, but I left with something a little bit life-affirming and romantic.
Jules and Quinn met in study hall in small-town Nebraska in 1992. They’re kindred spirits, but they are from different social circles. Jules is beautiful and popular and Quinn is bookish with a lot of family issues. The Anniversary follows these two characters over more than a decade, always coming back to a significant date: May 1st, the day the May Day serial killer attacks. I won’t give away much more about the plot, but I loved how several threads of the plot came together in unique and satisfying ways. The clues were there but the resolution and final twists were still surprising.
My Thoughts
Although I read a lot of thrillers, I tend to avoid stories about serial killers because often they are too scary for me, but The Anniversary did not have gratuitous amount of violence. I felt that any “scary” parts served the story and the plot. Further, while there is lots of violence and trauma in the lives of the main characters, ultimately the characters are well-developed and multi-faceted; there was more to them than the trauma they experience. Overall, I found that I was reading not just for the plot, but to find out what would happen to them. With that said, the book has short chapters and it is fast-paced.
The Setting
I also enjoyed the unique setting of the ‘90s and early ‘00s. I forgot about how hard it must have been to investigate missing persons’ cases before the Internet and good record-keeping practices, and forensic evidence like DNA, so that was an interesting angle for this book.
This is the first thriller I’ve read by Alex Finlay, but it definitely won’t be the last one. Thank you to Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
