A Celebration of Books,
Writers & LIterary Excellence

Save the Date


Gaithersburg
Book Festival

May 16, 2026

10am – 6pm

Bohrer Park


Alex Finlay

Featured Title: The Anniversary
The Anniversary
The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

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

Today became an anniversary they would never celebrate.

One fateful night in 1992, Jules and Quinn’s lives are changed and intertwined forever. Quinn Riley, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks, is arrested after he innocently tries to break up a fight but ends up nearly killing someone. Jules Delaney, high school royalty, survives an attack by the elusive and terrifying May Day Killer―a predator who strikes every May 1st in small Midwestern towns.

A year later, Jules is struggling with trauma and guilt, tormented by the question: Why was I spared? Quinn is newly released from juvenile detention and returns home to fresh heartbreak: the unsolved murder of his mother.

Over the next decade, their lives are revisited on a single day each year, May 1st. As secrets unravel and the paths of Quinn and Jules converge, two mysteries edge closer to the truth. 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, this novel is an utterly compelling story of the hunt for a serial killer. But it’s also a heartfelt―and heartrending―novel about fate, innocence lost, and two souls who find that sometimes being broken is the only way for the light to get in. The Anniversary reaffirms Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.

About Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay is the best-selling author of several acclaimed novels, including the 2024 national best-seller, “If Something Happens to Me.” His work regularly appears on best-of-the-year lists and has been translated into 25 languages and sold around the world. Nearly all of Alex’s books have been optioned or are in development for film and television. 

Alex will be presenting “The Anniversary.”

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