[Book Review] Night Shift by Robin Triggs

Night Shift by Robin Triggs is an intense and claustrophobic tale about extreme cold, murder, and a plot to take down Australis. But who is the culprit?

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. 

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on Night Shift by Robin Triggs

In the first few pages of the book, we see a note requesting the recipient to do with the following account what is deemed appropriate. Right off the bat, and of course also keeping the cover of the book in mind, you know that something went very, very wrong…

As the account begins, we meet the new Chief of Security, Anders Nordvelt. Nordvelt has arrived at Australis to replace the last Chief who left the base after some health issues; headaches, sleepwalking, and other such things. Nordvelt, who clearly has ties to The Company, is seen as an outsider from the very beginning; the crew that has already been there for months doesn’t trust him. They also don’t believe that they need him and everyone know that there is something fishy with the promotion in the first place as Nordvelt is quite young.

One afternoon, the crew goes out to a ridge to celebrate the final sunset before the area is plunged into darkness for the next six months. While out on this excursion, Nordvelt sees the crew drinking and smoking which The Company would not approve of. Before this becomes much of an issue, the first of the slew of major events occurs and of course, suspicion lands on Nordvelt first.

From there, we’re off on a fast-paced and suspenseful ride where finding out what happened next was equally exciting and frightening.

This is a book that I had a very hard time putting down! The writing was wonderful and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of Mr Triggs work!

The world building was light, but as readers I felt that we were given just enough information to understand what the situation was. The descriptions of the base and the conditions were also just right; it let you imagine the space and scenery overall, but also let you fill in the blanks in your own mind. Same held true with each of the characters and their descriptions.

I also really appreciated that there was some sci-fi elements, but that they weren’t too intense. This allowed me to stay focused on the mystery elements rather than getting too tied up in the smaller details.

I really enjoyed learning more and more about The Company, the state of the world, and little tid-bits about each character and their roles as the story progressed. All of these layers made the tale even more engaging than the overall plot already was.

Toward the end of the book, I loved how well all the puzzle pieces fell into place. This was a situation that I did not see coming in the slightest, but once it was laid out, it made total sense. I cannot wait to reread this one from the beginning now that I know what had really been going in.

My Favorite Passages from Night Shift

Our torches were powerful but the blizzard smothered all. 

The wind blew across the courtyard like the exhalation of giants. 

A novel is a puzzle: you set out all the pieces, lay them in order and try to link them together only to find out that they’ve transmogrified whilst your attention was elsewhere.

My Final thoughts on Night Shift

I absolutely relished my time reading this one; each second was so entertaining. I thought the plot was super interesting, the writing style was wonderful, the cast was great… Zero complaints from me!

This is another that I would LOVE to see as a film. Perhaps staring Timothée Chalamet.

If you’re a fan of tales that will keep you guessing while also feeling a bit claustrophobic, this is a great pick for you!

And stay tuned, book number two is in the works! The expected publication date is July 23rd 2020 by Flame Tree Press. I CANNOT WAIT!

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Thanks for reading!