The Night Shift

“The cool teacher. Young, good-looking. The one the moms fawned over. At the same time, he was capable, no-nonsense, the kind of person who you wanted in charge, which is probably why they later made him the school’s principal.”

This description of Mr. Steadman, which comes from Ella’s point of view, demonstrates the effectiveness of his deceptive public persona. For years, he is able to hide his crimes because he portrays himself as socially appealing and competent. In the eyes of the local community, he is not the type of person that seems capable of mass murder.

“She tries to keep it clinical but she feels the tears filling her eyes. She leaves out the part about awakening to Katie’s nearly decapitated head on her lap, as if her friend had crawled to her for help and died there. And she leaves out the recurring nightmare of the figure bending down, sliding the blade into her as he whispered: ‘Good night, pretty girl.’”

As with other psychological thrillers, The Night Shift uses the experience of horror to emphasize internal psychological states. Saying that Ella is traumatized is nowhere near as effective as showing the graphic details of her experience, and Finlay’s concrete and visceral descriptions are designed to create a sense of brutal intensity in this part of the narrative. Ella’s response to these memories, even after so many years, also indicates the long-lasting effects of trauma.

“That’s what drew Ella to work in the trauma field: how little all the well-meaning therapists understood her. Maybe, just maybe, she hoped, she could unlock the secrets of the mind and help other victims. And maybe even herself.”

Ella’s motivation to help other trauma victims to overcome The Various Forms and Effects of Abuse is an important part of her motivation. This goal portrays her sympathetically, and her desire to put her worst life experiences to constructive use hints at the depths of her strength and resilience.

“‘Next to Columbine, it was one of those remember-where-you-were moments for me when I was a kid.’ At the time, brutal murders at the edge of the millennium felt like the country losing its innocence.”

This allusion to a historic high school massacre is designed to place the murders in the novel in a more realistic context and imply that these events could easily take place in a real-world setting. The passage also evokes the universal sense of a loss of innocence. Coming from Keller, this observation distances her from the Blockbuster case while still demonstrating her ability to relate to it well enough to help apprehend the killer.

“‘He lost everything, simply for living up to everything this office stands for. He was, and still is, the best lawyer I ever knew.’ Henry ended the speech with three words that they all soon learned he uttered at the end of every staff meeting: ‘Serve justice today.’”

Henry is Chris’s boss at the public defender’s office. He is passionate about justice in a way that Chris used to be before he lost his idealism. The events of the novel will force Chris to confront his trauma, allowing him to heal and regain his passion for humanitarian work. Thus, Henry serves as a reminder of the dedication that Chris once showed and will one day regain for himself.

“Ella had two sessions that morning: a college kid who was flunking out and hiding it from her parents, and a seemingly perfect mother of two who purged every piece of food that entered her body. The meme is true: Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

While the primary antagonist, Mr. Steadman, represents a man who hides his evil crimes behind the persona of someone gentle and selfless, The Night Shift also depicts different versions of people who are not what they appear to be. Ella’s clients, for example, hide pain and dysfunction. Such examples emphasize the author’s broader message that everyone has hidden depths.

“Ella is learning a lot about this girl. That she’s tough. Brave. And has a violent side.”

Jesse is the archetypal shapeshifter. The narrators’ perspective of her blurs the line between ally and enemy. In thriller novels, this is a useful technique for misdirection. Ambiguous observations about Jesse are designed to temporarily suggest her guilt, imbuing the narrative with an additional layer of uncertainty and emphasizing The Deceptive Nature of Public Personas.

“He’s so tired of the drug war, which is really just a war on broken people, many who’ve suffered childhood trauma. Locking them up does nothing. Plenty of people in the system want to help. But his clients are like an army from a zombie movie. Help one, and a hundred more appear.”

Chris’s attitude toward his clients and toward the issue of drug addiction imbues his narrative with a tone that suggests the author’s own frustration with how the legal system handles these matters. However, the narrative balances that attitude with a recognition of how burnout—or compassion fatigue—can occur for those trying to help. This passage thus explains the reasons for Chris’s cynicism toward the legal career that once inspired him.

“‘The time to discuss that you need to quit defining yourself by that day.’ […] Phyllis never had the fortitude to hear about that night; […] Yet she has the gall to tell her to get over it? ‘Maybe it’s time for you,’ Ella says, venom in her tone. ‘For what? I face my demons, dear. And until you do, you’ll continue to be a mess.’”

This conversation between Ella and her mother touches on two of the book’s themes. Phyllis’s refusal to let Ella talk about what happened to her combine with her emotional neglect to become a type of emotional abuse. As a response to Ella’s trauma, Phyllis’s attitude shows that trauma can be exacerbated through such emotional neglect. The concluding message encourages more compassion for victims of trauma.

“A book her father gave her after Blockbuster. She riffles through the pages and stops at the bookmark—a photo booth strip, black-and-white photos taken shortly before her world changed. When she was herself. She can see the difference in her face. Next to her sits a boy. Oh, god, where is he now? In a different life, she’d be on Facebook stalking him. Reconnecting with a first love.”

Ella doesn’t reveal the identity of the “first love” in the picture. This fact indicates that the identity of the person is important, foreshadowing the significance of Ella’s teenage romance to the Blockbuster murders. Leaving the identity unknown also escalates tension and suspense. Ella’s contemplation of a “different life” also hints at the profound ways in which trauma can change a person’s future.

“Like most educators, Steadman’s job doesn’t end when the bell rings. Terrible hours, but at least the pay is bad, he always jokes. To make ends meet, he has a couple side hustles, including tutoring and running a driving school. […] Mr. Steadman isn’t one to go under the microscope, and he usually ends up filling all the time asking her loaded questions, never talking much about himself. It’s an occupational hazard, a principal of a high school needs to be beyond reproach, and keeping life close to the vest helps.”

In this paragraph about Mr. Steadman, Finlay offers clues and misdirection to enhance the central mystery. The fact that Mr. Steadman runs a driving school is designed to appear as an unimportant, throwaway detail, but as the story continues, various references to the driving school begin to accumulate. In the context of this passage, however, Finlay intends for these lines to support the carefully curated illusion of Mr. Steadman’s upstanding character. Ostensibly, he goes above and beyond to help students, remains selfless in conversation, and maintains a high level of professionalism. As Finlay’s novel demonstrates, the complex interplay between real clues and red herrings hone the suspenseful edge of a mystery thriller plot.

“‘Remember: we are not here to judge you, and lying to us will only hurt your case.’ That isn’t necessarily true. If a defendant confesses to the crime, it constrains the defense. A lawyer can’t knowingly suborn perjury. As if reading Chris’s mind, Henry adds, ‘And just so you understand the rules, we can never tell anyone what you say to us. But if you confess to something, we can’t claim innocence as a defense.’”

In several different scenes, Finlay delivers details that contribute to the procedural element of the novel. Because Finlay is a seasoned lawyer, he incorporates his legal knowledge into his writing, lending authenticity to the plot and complicating the choices that his characters must make when their freedom is on the line.

“‘There’s a crime alarmingly similar to the one your brother—your fugitive brother—is accused of committing, and you don’t think your client might want to suggest that maybe he’s the perpetrator?’ ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Chris says. But his mind leaps to Mr. Nirvana’s post. He’s in New York, only a short car ride away from the crime scene. If the vlogger is Vince, any defense lawyer worth their salt would have a field day with it.”

Chris’s interaction with Clare, another lawyer, forces him to acknowledge the ethical considerations of his decision to be a part of Jesse’s defense team, for his belief that his brother Vince is innocent of the Blockbuster murders means that he has a substantial conflict of interest and may not be the best choice to defend Jesse. At this point in the narrative, Mr. Nirvana’s presence in New York supports the possibility that Vince is involved in the Creamery murders. However, this detail is another red herring: a bit of misdirection regarding Vince’s guilt and his present whereabouts.

“‘How do you know all this?’ Ella asks. ‘Adoption records are sealed.’ […] ‘I know because Katie McKenzie was my birth mother.’”

Jesse’s revelation about being Katie’s daughter is a major plot twist that accomplishes many things as a plot point. It adds to the complex layers of interconnectedness between the novel’s main characters and the two murder cases, and it can also be interpreted as a sign of Jesse’s innocence, for it offers an alternative reason for her research of the Blockbuster case. Additionally, it may insinuate a hidden motive for Jesse as the potential killer. All of these uncertainties are designed to complicate the plot and heighten the narrative tension.

“And the realization nearly levels him. The woman whom he’d resented for so long, whom he’d hated for leaving him in the brutal care of Rusty Whitaker, whom he’d let go of on graduation day, hadn’t abandoned him after all. A medley of guilt and grief and anger envelops him.”

When Chris learns that his mother was killed and never abandoned him as he believed, he has long since given up hope long ago of ever seeing her again. However, his sense of betrayal and abandonment have remained. Although this new information offers closure, it also triggers intense emotions due to the trauma that Chris has experienced over the matter. Now, as he is forced to reframe his entire history, he cannot yet appreciate the fact that his intense emotions will be the catharsis he needs to make progress in his path toward healing.

“Ella also can’t stop thinking about Chad Parke. Jesse’s story about her former teacher has the ring of truth. But so did the teacher’s version. Was Jesse obsessed with Parke and set him up when he rejected her? Or was she the victim of a predator who took advantage of a young girl who needed a father figure? Jesse is extremely smart and world-wise for someone her age. She also seems to be unusually manipulative. It’s hard to believe Jesse could be duped by Parke in the way she describes. On the other hand, she’s just a kid, a teenager.”

The Night Shift features two male educators who sexually exploit their students, and this aspect of the narrative receives considerable discussion from multiple angles. Of the various forms of abuse depicted in the novel, this is arguably the most destructive and traumatizing version. Ella’s assessment of this “he said/she said” aspect acknowledges that both scenarios could be true. Wisely, she remains open to both and gives Jesse the benefit of the doubt, rather than making assumptions about Jesse’s character.

“‘It’s exhausting, isn’t it?’ ‘What?’ Ella says. ‘Pretending all the time. Faking the smiles and cheerfulness, so everyone stops worrying about you.’”

One of Ella’s therapy clients makes this observation. As a character, she is not important to the plot, but her observation helps to illuminate the author’s ongoing analysis of the nature of trauma. Like most of Ella’s clients, this particular person has experienced trauma that affects her daily life in ways that most people cannot see. The message here is that the effects of trauma can be profound, and that people may be suffering more than they admit.

“‘There’s only one thing sneakier than criminals.’ ‘What’s that?’ ‘Teenage girls.’”

With this wry comment to Atticus as he is looking for clues in Madison and Hannah’s text messages, Keller reveals her astute understanding of human nature as it applies to criminal investigations. Young girls in situations like Hannah’s do not realize that they are being victimized, and others aren’t aware of the issues because the girls lie about their activities. As with many scenes in the novel, this exchange contains a broader message, and Keller’s words implicitly urge adults to be wary and protective of children who are not yet fully able to protect themselves.

“Another image comes to her. During breaks from college, trolling the park after midnight. A perilous endeavor, even in the much safer era of NYC. Essentially, tempting someone to try it. She’d find the darkest sections—the Ramble, the North Woods, the ruins—and walk alone. Pepper spray at the ready, she’d think: go ahead, just you try. It was her way to take back control, but it never eradicated the fear in her bones.”

Ella’s memories of Central Park reinforce the sense of how deeply she has been traumatized. Her actions also demonstrate her resilience. Instead of allowing fear to take over her life, she fights it. Although the fear remains, her efforts enable her to function and feel that she has some control over her life.

“After so many years, longing for this moment, practicing what he would say, how he would say it, how he would manage to hold back the tears and the pain and the loss, and embrace the brother who kept him safe, the older sibling who insisted that Chris work hard to find a way out, to find nirvana.”

This description of the moment before Chris meets Mr. Nirvana reveals the symbolic weight that the travel vlogger holds for Chris. The loss of his brother has meant the loss of his protector and his inspiration. Not seeing or hearing from Vince, nor knowing where he’s been for 15 years, has been extremely hard on Chris. Mr. Nirvana symbolizes his hope that he might one day be reunited with his brother.

“A man she’s trusted, a mentor, her support system through it all, lied to her. Knew something devastating and did nothing. And she needs to understand why.”

At this point, Ella only knows that Mr. Steadman had some knowledge of her father’s suicide that he kept from her. That by itself is a betrayal of the trust that she put in him. Learning the true depth of his crimes threatens to permanently destroy her ability to trust anyone. The passage also serves a more pragmatic purpose, for her need to question Mr. Steadman drives her to confront him at home, where she learns that he is in fact the killer.

“The host says, ‘So the killer, he says something extraordinarily creepy to you during the attack, the same words he said fifteen years prior to the lone survivor of the Blockbuster killings?’ ‘That’s right.’ ‘Why do you think he did that? Or let you survive, for that matter?’ ‘I think he wanted to divert attention from himself. At the time, everyone thought Vince Whitaker was the Blockbuster killer, so he thought they might think Vince killed the employees of the ice cream store. But his backup plan, which was what ended up carrying the day, was that the authorities would believe that I committed the crime.’”

Finlay uses the device of Jesse’s television interview to deliver a comprehensive denouement and tie up loose ends in the plot. Jesse explains the killer’s motive for repeating the words that he said to Ella 15 years ago and identifies his reasons for leaving Jesse alive. Her explanation also clarifies the circumstantial evidence against her. It seemed like too great a coincidence that she was a victim of this attack while she was delving into the Blockbuster case. However, Mr. Steadman knew about her research and chose her as a scapegoat.

“‘All these years, he was a monster in plain sight.’ […] She said there’s a saying, ‘The sheep spends its life worried about the wolf, only to be eaten by the farmer.’”

This quote modifies the metaphorical idea of the wolf in sheep’s clothing to demonstrate how difficult it can be to know who is the most dangerous. If people are only looking amongst the “other sheep” for a wolf in disguise, they might miss the danger posed by the farmer. As a school principal, guiding and helping impressionable students, Mr. Steadman is more like the farmer. He hides his criminal nature well, but his actions mask a deeply dangerous agenda.