The Anniversary

Overview

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

Every year he comes for them . . .

On May 1, 1992, Jules Delaney and Quinn Riley hardly know each other.

Jules is high school royalty 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.

Praise

Starred and Featured Reviews, Booklist, Library Journal, and Bookreporter
An Amazon Editors' Pick, Best Mysteries & Thrillers May 2027
A Goodreads “Top Mystery and Thriller Book of 2026”
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Selection for May 2026 -- Best Books Voted by Librarians
An Apple Books Most Anticipated Audiobooks for the Spring
A Library Journal Mystery of the Month
A New York Post “31 Page-Turning New Thrillers to Read”
A Nerd Daily “Most Anticipated Book Releases 2026”
An Indigo Bookstores (Canada) “Most Anticipated Mysteries and Thrillers”

“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

“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)

“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

“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)

“Alex Finlay may have produced his best work yet with his spine-chilling and absorbing new thriller, THE ANNIVERSARY.... 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 (featured review)

“The Anniversary is a superb read that propels the reader on the same intersecting path as Jules and Quinn toward a dynamic conclusion of the book and to their emotional torture. Finlay doesn't just construct a mystery; he maps how a single moment can fracture a life, then follows the cracks as they spread. It’s a thriller with genuine weight, and the ending lands with visceral impact.”—Best Books Thriller Books

“I couldn’t put down this engrossing novel about the intertwined lives of Jules and Quinn, teenagers living in a small Midwestern town where a serial killer runs amok. The Anniversary begins on May 1, 1992, with seemingly unrelated events: Jules survives a harrowing attack by the infamous May Day Killer, and Quinn is thrown in juvenile detention after being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alex Finlay’s heart-pounding thriller picks up from there, revisiting these characters on this same day each year, revealing how their lives were shaped by these twin tragedies. Plus, mysteries swirl: the May Day Killer is still on the loose, and Quinn’s mother was murdered while he was locked away. 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