Reading in the Mountains

Finally, an Alex Finlay thriller… and God, this one reminded me why people get addicted to thrillers in the first place.

One night in 1992 destroyed two lives forever.

A girl survives an attack from a serial killer who returns every May 1st.

A boy gets blamed for a crime that was never truly his.

And year after year, their lives keep colliding as buried secrets claw their way back to the surface.

The Anniversary feels dark, haunting, and dangerously addictive — the kind of thriller that whispers something terrible is coming, yet somehow makes it impossible to stop turning the pages anyway.

I’ve read a lot of thrillers since starting this thriller-obsessed journey of mine, but this? This feels like one of those books. The rare 5-star kind. The kind that keeps your brain spinning even after you put it down for five minutes. It kept me constantly engaged, constantly suspicious, constantly needing to know more.

And the web of tragedy in this story is absolutely insane.

Quinn’s mother being murdered over a work secret.

Jules surviving the May Day Killer after being brutally attacked.

The horrifying realization that several girls were left alive… and now he may be coming back to finish what he started.

The FBI involvement.

Jules’s little sister vanishing on May 1st.

Every single thread tightens the noose a little more.

I grew so attached to Quinn and Jules it was almost ridiculous. Their pain feels heavy, real, suffocating. Jules’s life is practically shaped by trauma, while Quinn’s story becomes its own devastating tragedy. And somehow, the darker this book became, the harder it was to stop reading. Every chapter felt like waiting for another punch to the ribs. Another secret. Another disaster. Another revelation capable of ruining everything.

And the plot twists? Insane.

I did catch the killer… but also not entirely, which is honestly the best kind of thriller reveal. I don’t want to spoil anything because this book deserves to be experienced completely blind, but trust me when I say the tension never lets up.

Also — spoiler-free but important — I love a satisfying ending, and this one absolutely delivered. I finished this in a day and a half, which says everything considering it’s not a short book by any means. I was obsessed. Fully locked in.

This might genuinely be my favorite thriller of the year so far, and that is not a statement I make lightly.

Highly, highly recommend.