The Anniversary - by Alex Finlay (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From the national bestselling author of Parents Weekend, comes one of the most anticipated thrillers of the year.

"Everything I want in a thriller!"―Ashley Elston
"I could not put it down!"―Angie Kim
"Nonstop twists!"--Jason Rekulak
"A master of his craft."―Jeneva Rose

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.

Review Quotes

An Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Books of May 2026
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Selection for May 2026
A Library Journal Mystery Pick of the Month
A Goodreads "Top Mystery and Thriller Book of 2026"
An Apple Books Most Anticipated Audiobooks for the Spring
A Shelf Reflection "Most Anticipated Book of 2026"
A Nerd Daily "Most Anticipated Book Releases 2026"
A New York Post "Page-Turning New Thriller to Read"
A She Reads "Most Anticipated Thrillers of Summer 2026"
A Pure Wow "11 Novels that Will Define the Summer"
A Bookbub "These New Books Are Truly Unputdownable"

"The suspense never lets up, the various story lines come together nicely, and there are a few twists that even the most well-read mystery readers may find surprising. This is Finlay's best book in years."--Booklist (Starred Review)

"Somehow, Finlay manages to improve with each amazing book, and he has crafted another terrific suspense novel that demands to be read in one sitting. Jules and Quinn fly off the page, and readers will be emotionally engrossed in their journey to see where they are in their lives each May 1."--Library Journal (Starred Review)

"I couldn't put down this engrossing novel about the intertwined lives of Jules and Quinn . . . As Finlay delicately untangles a web of deception and violence, a gripping novel emerges about fate, family, and the ties that bind us all."--Annabel Gutterman, Amazon Editor (Best Mystery/Thrillers of the Month)

"I am excited to report that Alex Finlay may have produced his best work yet with his spine-chilling and absorbing new thriller . . . The finale of The Anniversary is worth the price of admission and aptly concludes all the suspense that has been building up to that point. Finlay has written a work of extremely unsettling terror that is unleashed on two terrific protagonists. We know they will be forever damaged by it, but we still can't stop pulling for them right up to the end."--BookReporter

"Two people are forever connected by the events of a single day. Piece by piece, Alex Finlay expertly reveals the secrets and lies that bind them together. Razor sharp, smart, and emotionally charged--it's everything I want in a thriller!"--Ashley Elston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of First Lie Wins

"The Anniversary is Alex Finlay at his best, an addictive murder mystery, nail-biting thriller, and tender love story, all beautifully told through a masterful story structure. I could not put it down!"--Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls

"This ingeniously structured thriller races through the 1990s with two sympathetic heroes and nonstop twists. It's phat, it's fly, it's all that and a bag of chips!"--Jason Rekulak, New York Times bestselling author of The Last One at the Wedding

"An unputdownable thriller that never telegraphs what's coming next, or lets the reader off the hook. The twists and turns in the separate, tragically connected, journeys of Jules and Quinn is simply one of the best crafted novels of this, or any year. In the May Day Killer, Finlay has created one of the most compelling and mysterious villains anywhere in the genre. The Anniversary is a must-read, and why Alex Finlay ranks with Coben, Crais, and Connelly as one of the very best in the business. Hey, "Hollywood," if you're listening, your next blockbuster is between these two covers!"--Jon Lindstrom, USA Today bestselling author of Hollywood Hustle and Hollywood Payback

"Alex Finlay is a master at creating complex, high-stakes thrillers that are charged with emotion."―Mary Kubica

"There is nothing as addictive as an Alex Finlay novel."―Ashley Winstead

"A master of his craft."―Jeneva Rose

"One of the leading thriller writers today."--Sarah Pekkanen

About the Author