WOW! This was my first book by Alex Finlay and it sure did not disappoint! I've heard a lot of great things about his writing style so was excited to have the opportunity to read this ARC! Split into different parts, we follow Ryan's journey around the world to find out what really happened to his girlfriend. While a longer read compared to some other thrillers I read, Finlay kept me on the edge of my seat with his quick pacing and engaging writing style - I wanted to rush to the end and figure out what happened while simultaneously wanting everything to slow down so I could enjoy it longer! I'd recommend this to any fellow suspense/lovers, and I'm glad I have a new author to follow. Thanks for the ARC!

If something happens to me
Written By Alex Findlay
Produced by St. Martin’s Press
Release Date May 28, 2024


WOW! Now I may be somewhat biased here because Alex Finlay is one of my top 3 favorite authors. This book keeps Finlay right at the top due to the intense nature and well written storyline. Fi lay continues to impress his readers with his uncanny ability to tell a story that captivates and enthralls his readers to the point that they can’t stop reading. I read this in one sitting and totally was engaged until the very end and I have a sneaky suspicion that you will also enjoy this one.

The story is told by different POV’s and is masterfully told by Finlay and inside we meet our protagonist Ryan Richardson. A man haunted by the events that happened one night where he and his girlfriend were attacked and his girlfriend Allison Lane’s screams were piercing. When he realized what had happened it was too late. Allison was gone and so was her car. The only problem now is Ryan became the number one suspect. No body was ever found and the only thing he can remember about the guy that did this was that he was missing his pinkies and he looked like every other guy out there. As he relives that terrible night in his head he is bound and determined to find Ali. But can he? Five years later……

Life has gone on for Ryan. He has changed his last name to Smith and entered law school hoping to change the trajectory of his life.
Then as Ryan and his law school friends are on a trip abroad to Italy and he is starting to like Nora. She is a classmate of his and one thing to note, they know nothing of his past….yet. One day he is in his room and he gets a note stating that states that the writer knows what happened and wants to talk to him. As soon as things settle down a bit, Ryan gets a call from his father with news he never expected. The police found Ali’s car submerged underwater. And inside there were two men but Ali was nowhere to be found. Only a written letter in her handwriting saying……….If something happens to me.

In Kansas we meet Poppy McGee, a sheriff’s deputy who is newly hired and works in the same town Where Allison disappeared. She is working the day that Allison’s car is found. The two men were shot and dead before the car was submerged but som of Allison’s belongings were still salvageable. That is where the police find the letter. The one that sends them in a frenzy. The one that simply says……..If something happens to me.

There are several plot twists that will blow your mind and this book is in my top ten all time favorites. With murder, mobsters, police procedurals, and a little romance included….. who wouldn’t want to read this amazingly well written novel. The characters are well developed and mesh well together keeping the reader engaged and entertained from the first page to the last. This is another of Finley’s greatest and if you want to read a great book written by a Fantastic author, you need to run to your nearest bookstore on release day and grab you a copy. This one will certainly make you wonder if something should happen to you.

5 stars

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunities to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Ryan and his girlfriend Ali are accosted one night in their vehicle leaving Ryan with a head injury and Ali missing. Ryan is clearly the number one suspect but with no car or body, he can't be charged in Ali's in law disappearence. Years later, Ryan is in law school when Ali's vehicle is found either two dead bodies and a mysterious note. The story that unfold is thrilling and nail biting until the very end.

Wow! Can I just say wow! This book was fantastic and kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to read more. There were so many twists and turns and each time you couldn't believe it, and none of it you ever see coming!
There are a few different story angles that make you wait to see how they are connected and once you find out you'll be shocked. I haven't found a mystery/ thriller book lately that blew me away, but this one has now done that for me.
Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this book in return for my honest review.

At the center of the story is Ryan Richardson, a man haunted by the events of a fateful night five years ago. Finlay masterfully draws readers into Ryan's world, where the shadow of suspicion looms large and the quest for justice becomes an all-consuming obsession. As Ryan embarks on a journey across continents in search of answers, he finds himself drawn into a web of intrigue that spans generations and continents.This pulled me in immediately, it is full of mystery, suspense, and a relentless pursuit of the truth. The conclusion was a complete jaw-dropper and this had a death grip on me until the end. Multiple perspectives that all weave together because the characters lives are intersecting in ways that are completely unexpected. Overall, definitely recommend if you are looking for a new psych thriller to add to your TBR.

4/5 stars

If you love a good thriller, stop what you’re doing and read this book! I read “If Something Happens to Me” in less than a day – I couldn’t put it down! The story has multiple twists and turns and follows different POVs in a way that builds the plot perfectly. The story follows Ryan who lost his girlfriend Ali after she was taken mysteriously five years earlier. He is faced with a number of challenges throughout his life, and they only increase when her car is found in a lake. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC – I will definitely recommend this book to my mystery/thriller loving friends!

Holy moly, this book! Smart, scrupulously plotted, and that twist at the end of Part 1 took me completely by surprise. This is one of those books you'll want to read a second time to see what you missed. Loved every page!

I liked a lot about this book, there were a number of storylines that alternated and he often left each segment with some tension, which really worked in this book. At times, more action than I like but that is a personal taste. Ryan, having lost the love of his life after she disappears and he is accused of killing her. Poppy, a new detective working the case when Allison's car turns up 5 years later with two dead bodies. A mobster and his various family members and his accountant all figure in the story. Even the very bad guys have some parts that are relatable but it is really about the good guys winning in the end. Overall a satisfying read, family relationships, love relationship and work relationships, and friendships all explored.

While I have a few of Alex Finlay's books in my TBR pile this is the first of his that I have read, but it won't be my last.
If something Happens to Me is a gripping thriller that will keep you hooked from the very first chapter and will keep you guessing until the very end. Ryan's girlfriend is missing and presumed dead, Ryan is accused of her murder, but without enough evidence he is let go. Unfortunately, most people in town are convinced he is guilty and his life is forever changed,. But years later when her car is found along with two men and a note saying If Something Happens To Me, and new detective Poppy sets out to find the truth. If you like a good thriller, mystery with lots of twists and turns you will enjoy this book.

I think my students will enjoy this action pack thriller with some likeable characters, some bad guys and some in between. three interwoven stories that intersect over time. Enjoyable read

I really enjoyed Alex Finlay's upcoming book, "If Something Happens to Me." The abundance of cliffhangers kept me eagerly turning the pages, making it a thrilling and suspenseful read. While the plot may require some suspension of disbelief, the book was really fun, and I could easily see it translating into an exciting movie. The constant suspense had me on the edge of my seat, making this book truly addictive. A must-read for anyone seeking an engaging and gripping story!

I received a free eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this because I’ve enjoyed Finlay’s thrillers in the past (although weirdly they don’t seem to stick with me…maybe because I didn’t write full reviews). I had wanted a palate cleanser from too many mysteries, but the book I started wasn’t doing it for me, so I went back to my old standby - a fast paced popcorn read. This is fun, but it’s not really doing anything new with the genre. I found the perspective switching a little frustrating, in part because the chapters are SO short, but also because there’s a twist. I didn’t feel like the style was necessarily hiding a poorly structured story, but it bugged me for reasons that are hard to explain without giving too much away.

We have a couple of main characters – there’s Ryan Smith (formerly Richardson), whose girlfriend Alison Lane disappeared five years ago. They were together that night, and all Ryan remembers is being pulled from the car by a “monster” (the only identifying thing he can remember is that the guy had the world’s most generic face…and no pinkies), and then waking up alone in the grass the next morning. Both his girlfriend and the car were gone, and of course Ryan was the prime suspect in her murder. Except no one ever found her body. We see all of this in the standard mystery prologue, and then jump ahead five years. Ryan is just finishing his first year of law school, and he’s on a trip to Italy with his classmates. They don’t know anything about his past and he’d like to keep it that way, but he’s starting to get close to Nora and wonders if maybe it’s time to let someone in. But then he gets a mysterious note in his room, hinting that someone knows who he is…and they want to meet up.

Our other main character is Poppy McGee, the freshly hired deputy sheriff in Leavenworth Kansas. The same town where she grew up, and also the same town where Alison Lane disappeared. On her literal first day on the job, Alison’s car (or rather, her father’s car) is recovered from a lake. A lake the local police definitely searched at the time. Even stranger - although some of Alison’s stuff is in the car, her body isn’t, but there are two dead men in the front seat who were clearly shot, meaning they were dead when they went into the lake. Even stranger, although the car has been in the lake for five years, somehow some of Alison’s stuff was salvageable, including a note with “If something happens to me” written on the envelope.

There’s another plot happening in Philadelphia with a dude named Shane O’Leary, who is clearly part of the mob (when we meet him, he’s chucking a guy into some body of water…a river, a lake, I forget). He has plenty of money, enough to buy his son’s way into a super fancy private school, but not enough for his son to be well liked. It’s unclear how much his wife and son know about his other activities, given that it’s definitely a family business. It seems like his wife is willfully ignorant? Like, she knows he has connections and their money isn’t exactly clean, but the less she knows, the better? There’s also Michael, his accountant, whose daughter Taylor goes to school with Shane’s son Anthony. Shane wants Michael to talk to Taylor about making Anthony feel more included. She’s 14, so it goes over about as well as expected, but she does insist that she’ll at least talk to the kid.

So all of these plots are switching back and forth - we have Ryan in Italy and Poppy in Kansas both dealing with essentially the same set of circumstances - Alison’s car has been found so the formerly cold case is now red hot. Even without a body, it’s assumed Alison was murdered, and her murder was pinned on a serial killer (the Missouri River Killer or MRK) after some of her hair was found in his tent. And then MRK was shanked in prison, so everyone just…forgot about the case? (there does end up being a reason for this) The problem is, for the first 60% or so, Shane and Michael and their respective families may as well be in a completely different novel. We’ve got this cold case with new clues and then this mob guy and his accountant and their kid drama. I knew eventually we’d find out how all these things connect, and we do, and things that seemed like plot holes ultimately make sense, but it takes a LONG time for that to play out. I feel like people might get frustrated with that pacing.

Book Review: 4.5 / 5
This is my first Alex Finlay book and I LOVED it! I'd seen Night Shift floating around booksta last year but somehow never got around to it. I requested this ARC because the premise just sounded so intriguing and safe to say I think I'm gonna have to go back and read his others!
This book had so many layers and I felt like I was reading 3 stories in one. What started as your traditional murder mystery turned into a mob drama and it was sprinkled with exciting travel destinations and warped timelines. I thought it was executed brilliantly! I also felt like the heart alive in each character was something that thrillers don't often have - we usually get to know thriller characters at a surface level, maybe cracking the surface on their fears/anxieties because that plays into the plot, but I felt Finlay's characters all had such dimension and personality.
Loved it! Pick this one up when it comes out May 28, 2024

Alex Finlay is one of my must-read authors. His books are good pager turners with a twisty plot and crafty characters. I enjoyed the characters a bit more than the plot for this one with both the ending and book title slightly eh for me. Great book cover! His first two books were my favorites and I liked this book more than his previous one.

I feel all of his books would make for a fast-paced streaming event so hope we see something get done soon!

Thank you to both Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Quick, excellent, easy to follow. The time and identity twist might be predictable to avid suspense and thriller readers, but I was not anticipating it and found it to be well-executed. Finlay also does an excellent job building empathy and understanding for Taylor, despite her role in Anthony's death.

I loved this thriller and keep thinking about it. It was perfectly plotted and the pace never lagged. Two things still on my mind 1) I think this could be a great movie and 2) the author could turn this into a series with Poppy since she’s law enforcement.

This is the second book I've read by Alex Finlay, and I loved it as much as the first, aside from one predictable twist. I enjoyed the characters (in the way they were supposed to be enjoyed), and the multiple settings. It was a quick and absorbing read. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I love a good mystery and oh man the missing girlfriend and then finding the missing car a good time later opening up the case. Thats so cool well not cool but such a good plot start like will he find out what happened or wont he. I loved how i just wanted to know what was going on. Alex Finlay has been a favorite author for me for a long time. The descriptions of Tuscany made me want to pack a bag and fly there today. i give it 5 stars like I always do with this author.

This is a really enjoyable, winding narrative that's set five years after an abduction that had a ripple effect on the lives of several people. Though the book ostensibly follows Ryan, who hasn't been able to shake suspicion after his high school girlfriend is kidnapped while they were out together, its focus extends to a cast of characters from Kansas to Philly to Italy and beyond, with its story threaded together in a really compelling way.

I just finished reading "If Something Happens to Me", by Alex Finlay. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This is my first time reading this author. I went into this story blind. Sometimes I read online reviews or summaries before starting a book, but not this one. This is a story about a fairly new Officer, Poppy is asked to look into a mysterious dissapearance of a young girl named Allison, when the car she was abducted in is found in a nearby lake but...she isn't in it. The story also includes Allison's dad, her boyfriend Ryan and Poppy's family. Then there is the mysterious hitman Shane O'Leary and his family and we don't get the connection at first until we do and then the story takes off...

But I think I've said too much...this book is awesome. It is a fast paced adventure involving alot of characters and is told in parts so that the reader doesn't lose track.

What I loved about this book was that it was so seemless in its transition between characters and plots. The author chose the perfect time to make revelations in the novel to make it interesting and suspenseful and surprising.

There were a few loose ends that I had questions about...but it certainly didn''t take away the impact of the story and its resolution which was awesome and necessary and totally satisfying. All the characters were flawed, except for maybe Ryan who I just wanted him to be happy.

All in all, a great book. Five out of five stars. A must read for lovers of this genre.

Happy Reading everyone