On May 1, 1992, Jules Delaney (high school queen bee) and Quinn Riley (boy from the wrong side of the tracks) hardly know each other. By morning, their lives are forever connected.
A year later, Jules is haunted by trauma and guilt, tormented by one question: Why was she spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to devastating news—the unsolved murder of his mother. Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year: May 1st.
As the years pass, secrets surface, lies unravel, and the paths of Jules and Quinn draw closer together. Two mysteries edge toward the truth—what really happened the night Jules was attacked, and who murdered Quinn’s mother? All the while, the May Day Killer is still out there. And the clock is racing toward another anniversary.
The Anniversary by Alex Finlay will be published May 12, 2026. St. Martin's Press provided an early galley for review.
I have been a fan of Finlay for several years now. I very much enjoy his fast-paced novels.
This one has an interesting structure, taking a snapshot day every year over the course of a decade to check in with the cast of characters. It is certainly not an approach I remember having seen previously in my reading journey. Because the years are sequential, there is not as drastic of a temporal shift. It very much reflects a nostalgic trip through the 90's with a very dark theme weaving it all together.
Of course, Finlay has done the work in mapping out what happens during the in-between 364 days so that it appears that these characters have lived their lives while we're just "checking in" on them each year. Of course, some readers might be put off by the story for exactly that reason - feeling it doesn't give them enough just with these "one day in the year" visits.
As with his other mystery/thrillers, this one will definitely resonate with the right audience.
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