Preview - The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

The Anniversary

Alex Finlay

Copyright 2026

322 Pages

We’ve got ourselves a small‑town serial killer, folks. I know — statistically this should never happen, but here we are, clutching our mugs of lukewarm diner coffee and whispering theories like we’re auditioning for a true‑crime podcast no one asked for.

In this delightfully horrifying tale, we follow Jules and Quinn through their post‑high‑school “we survived but at what cost” era as they try to cope with the crimes that have basically turned their hometown into the world’s least fun tourist attraction. And just to be clear, this “anniversary” we’re revisiting? Not the kind with balloons. Not even the kind with cake. We follow ten years of the crime anniversary — every year peeling back a new layer of trauma like a very cursed onion.

Our duo? Peak unlikely friends, the kind of pairing that makes you squint at the page like, “Who put these two in the same narrative and why does it work so stupidly well?”

Jules: your prom‑queen golden girl, hair always perfect, smile always blinding, the type who probably won “Most Likely to Have Her Life Together” while actively sprinting from a serial killer. She’s giving “trauma but make it fashion.”

Quinn: quiet, shy, delightfully weird in that “I have definitely astral‑projected during study hall” way. He’s the boy who sat there looking like he was decoding the universe, or maybe just trying to remember if he left his backpack in the cafeteria again. Either way, vibes immaculate.

After the chaos of senior year, they bolt in opposite directions, desperately trying to outrun the horrors they lived through.

And Jules… oh Jules. This poor girl was attacked by the May Day Killer and technically lived — but like, lived in the “I’m breathing but also constantly checking behind me” sense. Meanwhile, on the exact same night, Quinn gets arrested for punching a drunk idiot at a concert. So yes, the vibes were immaculate all around.

We follow them on the anniversary of that night for the next ten years, watching their lives twist, unravel, rebuild, and collide.

And listen… I’m feeling every emotion for these two. I hurt for them. I hope for them. I laugh with them. I want to square up and fight beside them. The tension is building like a slow‑burn romance mixed with a true‑crime documentary, and I’m calling it now: if Jules and Quinn don’t end up happily married, I will personally throw this book across the room and file an emotional complaint with the universe.