The Anniversary by Alex Finlay
Publication Date: May 12, 2026
Summary from Netgalley:
Every May 1st, a serial killer stalks a small town. Every year he comes for them . . .
On May 1, 1992, Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley hardly know each other.
Jules is high school queen bee in a small Midwestern town when she survives a brutal attack by the elusive May Day Killer—a predator who strikes every May 1st and then vanishes without a trace. Quinn, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested the same night after trying to break up a fight and nearly killing someone.
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.
Twisty, high-concept, and emotionally charged, The Anniversary is an addictive murder mystery and nail-biting thriller—but it’s also a tender, heartrending story about fate, innocence lost, and two people bound by a single day. With its masterful structure and propulsive tension, The Anniversary reaffirms Alex Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.
ARC provided by St Martin’s Press via Netgalley for an honest review.
Confession:
This book was brilliant! I wasn’t sure when I started it if the format was really going to work for me, but it totally did. Having the story take place on the same day over a span of the year doesn’t sound like it should work but it did, and what you get is a thriller that will keep you wondering what will happen next.
I was worried that only seeing one day out of a whole year of the character’s lives wouldn’t make for well fleshed out characters, but somehow the author made it work. It actually worked better in that you got to see how the characters changed over the year, without a lot of filler plot. Both characters shine through the narrative and are easily relatable and lovable.
Jules comes from a well off and privileged family, but from the start you can tell that she is pretty down to earth and empathetic to others. After she survives her attack, we encounter her more vulnerable side, but she still manages to come out of the experience with a fierceness that I’m not sure would have developed as full as it did. I admired Jules and what she decided to do with her life.
I really liked Quinn as well. He is a studious young man who is also thoughtful and kind. He also has a strong moral compass. He is fiercely loyal to his mom and brother. He suffers a great deal of tragedy in his young life, but comes through it all a better person for it. He has a drive to find the answers to his mom’s murder and to helping Jules.
The plot of this story is nothing short of brilliant. I really loved how the author was able to weave a narrative over a ten year period, but by only using the anniversary of when the story starts. The story switches between Jules and Quinn and while even though each day we learn a little bit about what has happened in the year, there is no info dumping here. The year is woven into the story in a natural way. I also really liked how there were years where Jules and Quinn did not run into each other, but were often in each others thoughts as the went about their lives. The romance was nice woven into the whole story without it taking over the plot.
The summary mentions two mysteries, but there are actually three. Quinn solves another one that didn’t really relate to the other two, but was important to him and his characters development. That mystery was just as well done, and the twist was not quite expected. The other mysteries were also well done. Who the May Day killer was wasn’t a total surprise, but there was a twist that was. Quinn’s mom’s murder was a bit more twisty than I expected and the reveal was a bit more of a surprise.
If you are looking for a fast paced and atmospheric thriller this is one that will keep you turning those pages. This story is told in an interesting way but is full of relatable characters and believable relationships. Fans of this author’s work will love this one and if you have not yet read one of his books, this is a good one to start with.
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