I liked how the author kept me wondering who did what throughout the book, and also wasn't shy about killing off important characters. Life definitely isn't all about happy endings!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, stmartinspress & minotaur_books for the advance copy!

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay
Pub Date: Out Now
336 pages

Ryan had been suspected in the disappearance of his girlfriend (Ali) five years ago. He was cleared and when new evidence was found Ryan had to relive that day again. A note is also discovered from Ali ... did Ryan have something to do with his girlfriend's disappearance?
What would happen now? What does the note mean? So much suspense!

This book was a pager-turner. The story is told from multiple points of view and different locations which I enjoyed very much.This is a dark thriller with a lot of crime, murder, investigations, mobsters, and action.

This was a good book with plenty of twists and turns. I didn't see the ending coming. Lately, I don’t see a lot of endings coming LOL. This book is like a puzzle at the end where you can put all the pieces together.

If you like fast paced thrillers I recommend this book to you! Added to your summer list!

This is the perfect popcorn thriller to binge in one sitting! I listened to this one on a road trip from Tennessee to Florida yesterday and it made it go by so quickly! The full cast of narrators was also super helpful in keeping each point of view clearly separated. Each narrator did a wonderful job building the tension and creating their characters. Their voices complimented each other perfectly!

In true Alex Finlay style, there are twists throughout and I never saw any of them coming. There are three main characters with seemingly different lives and the way Alex weaves their stories together is intricate and jaw-dropping.
There are so many elements woven into this one that I love to see in a thriller - multiple points of view, a missing person, some police procedure, multiple locations, a mysterious stranger, and long-buried secrets. I highly recommend this book if you’re a thriller lover, especially the audio!

If Something Happens to Me is another fun thriller from Alex Finlay. It is told from multiple perspectives dealing with the murder of a teenage girl, seemingly by her boyfriend. I thought that it was a fun, if predictable, mystery with well-developed characters. I recommend as a good mystery book.

I found "If Something Happens To Me," an enjoyable thriller. The plot was multilayered and fast-paced. The action starts at the beginning of the book, not at all a slow burn. The characters were authentic and relatable. I like Alex Finlay's writing style that engaged the reader in a smart plot. The ending was not at all what I expected, and it was a surprise that made sense. I am now following Alex Finlay and will be picking up his previous books. Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Special thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for an e-arc of this novel.

I really enjoy Alex Finlay's writing.

This books is a good thriller, has lots of twists and turns and was a fun read with likeable characters.

I really enjoyed reading this book.

I've enjoyed other books from Alex, so I was excited to get to this one.

There are several characters here and it took some time to get settled into the frequent switch between them; however the quick chapters help to set the pace. We were given just enough info on each of them to get a sense of the person they are and in hindsight, it works.

Plot wise, it's a lot of moving pieces and nothing felt like it made sense, until it did. I didn't catch the reveal before it happened, so that was a delight. And sure, I could have done with more at the end, but like everything else, it seemed to work.

Overall, at times it felt disjointed and while frantic, there wasn't tension. And yes, I'm fully aware this review doesn't make a lot of sense, but here we are.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

REVIEW ✉️

If Something Happens to Me ~ Alex Finlay
Pages: 336
Genre: Mystery & Suspense

Gist: A young woman goes missing without a trace until years later her car is found submerged with an envelope inside that reads “If something happens to me…” Her high school boyfriend gets closer to the case while vacationing in Europe but will find out the truth from a rookie sheriff in Kansas and a mob boss in Philly.

Thoughts: When I read Finlay’s novel, The Night Shift, I was hooked! His ability to weave a story together and build suspense through multiple plot lines is outstanding and I found that reading this newest novel brought me back to that feeling I had when I read my first by him.

I was immediately impressed with the plot development and loved another tenacious female “detective” character. There is a plot twist midway that will shock you and make you happy that you invested in this read. A lot of fun and really smart, Alex Finlay holds his spot as one of my favorite suspense writers. Thank you @minotaur_books for sending an eARC my way - physical copies are out now!

A fast paced action thriller that spans multiple countries and timelines. Ryan Richardson has escaped the haunting claims that he was responsible for his high school girlfriend disappearing. As the details come together from that night, Ryan fights to get resolution while a local police officer works to get to the truth. There were some interesting twists in the book but they are easy to predict. Overall it’s a fun read and worth picking up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the arc.

If Something Happens to Me was an entertaining and quick paced novel. The beginning had more promise, even though it was a bit far fetched. I liked the twist but didn't find it shocking. I felt Poppy was a compelling character and I liked that she had a connection to the case but it was believable. I felt like the weakest part of the story what was happening in Italy with Ryan. Overall, it was worth the read and having read it while in Italy, I appreciated being immersed in an area that some of the story takes place.

✨NetGalley BookReviw✨
📚If Something Happens to Me
✏️Alex Finlay
📌Publication Date 5.28.24
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Talk about peeling back an onion, this book has so many layers. I found myself holding my breath and getting goosebumps when a major bombshell would drop.

What’s the mystery circling Ali? Will she be found alive, is she hiding intentionally, or has she been dead for 5 years already? Is Michael who he says he is? Will Ryan ever complete this puzzle with the help of Poppy? Who is really to blame here? All questions you’d ask yourself.

This is my first book by this author and it did not disappoint. Thank you @netgalley and @Minotaur Books for allowing me to read this before publication date.

#mystery #thriller #books
#nextread

Thriller/Mystery

Pulse pounding excitement throughout.

Ryan is trying to overcome a horrific incident from his past - his girlfriend, Alison, was abducted while they were making out in the car. She and the car were never found, and Ryan has had the cloud of suspicion hanging over his head ever since. Recently, the car has been found, but the bodies in the car are two men. The worst event in his life cannot be forgotten - hopefully, he can find the truth - once and for all.

In another POV-Poppy McGee has just taken a job as a deputy sheriff in her hometown. Just as she is getting settled, a car with dead bodies in it is found in the town's lake. Thrown right into the thick of things, Poppy must navigate being the new girl while trying to solve a 5-year-old murder case.

In yet another POV - we get the story of a man forced to be a bookkeeper for a mob boss. Things go awry and he and his daughter's lives are in danger.

How these storylines intersect is both interesting and skillfully woven. Another tremendous thriller from Finlay.

Another great read by Alex Finlay. When Ryan was a teenager, he and his girlfriend are out on a rainy night, and they are attacked and his girlfriend is abducted. Five years later, Ryan has never gotten out from under the cloud of suspicion that his story of what happened isn't true and he has something to do with her abduction. It follows him wherever he goes. Now a law student, and on a trip to Italy, his past seems to catch up with him again as his girlfriend's car is found submerged in their hometown lake with two dead bodies in it. Alex Finlay creates a fast paced, crime thriller that paints a picture of what happened before and what is happening now.

Alex Finlay creates clues for you to follow, based on his multiple POV narration that start to unravel the story of Ryan, Allison, Poppy and many other well created characters. The plot twists in If Something Happens to Me were on point and kept me on the edge of my seat. I think this was a well done, gripping read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Alex Finlay for the eARC of If Something Happens to Me. Publication Date for If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay was 28 May 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

No surprises here, I enjoyed another Alex Finlay novel! Some of the highs for me included the alternating points of view and the pace of the novel, I thought it was the perfect length. It took me about 50 pages to feel connected with the story. but once I did, I thought the novel picked up and the plot developed well.

I also enjoyed how the novel felt like multiple mysteries mixed into one- sometimes it can be hard to keep track of all of the different twists and turns, but I thought the flow worked.

I look forward to reading more by Finlay in the future.

I read this one in a day. I liked how you don’t know what happened to Allison and how a lot of the characters are connected.

I appreciate the digital copy from NetGalley and the publisher, but I couldn’t wait for Finlay’s newest novel to end. No thrills, dull characters and a blah ending that I skimmed through. Skip this one!!

This was an enjoyable read that kept my interest all the way through. It had a fun twist halfway through that probably should not have surprised me, but it did.

Multi POVs in a thriller are my favourite! I went into this blind, not really knowing what to expect and I highly recommend doing the same.
I liked how there were sub-plots throughout the story which made it so much more enjoyable to read.
thank you to SMP and Minotaur books for my advanced copy!

“𝐎𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭.”

Alex Finlay has become a reliable storyteller for a solid action-packed read filled with mystery. His latest is no exception.

Finlay is at it again, with a prologue that truly has you sucked into the story and propelling the rest of the book: what happened to Ali the night she was taken and why? Although there are lots of perspectives to keep track up, Finlay does a great job at making each distinct. I adored Poppy, the new deputy sheriff - she’s smart, driven, and cares about others, especially her brother, Dash. My only complaint is I would’ve loved to see more of their interactions in the last half of the book, as Dash seemed to just fade away. Finlay also does a great job at building empathy for Ryan, who has tried to sort out his life the past five years and not be haunted by suspicions over Allison’s disappearance. He’s a sympathetic character who has shut people out as he’s tried to move on, and I loved seeing him slowly realize that he has people in his corner to lean on. Even Finlay’s supposedly ‘bad’ characters are multi-faceted; nothing is pure black and white, reflecting many of the people we meet in real life. The reveal of how the three main narratives link together was satisfying, and the short chapters kept the pages turning. Although the denouement needed a bit of suspension of belief, it was still a lot of fun to see it play out.

If Something Happens To Me is a story of vengeance, secrets, fear, and closure. It’s the perfect popcorn thrill ride that has all the elements that would make an excellent movie adaptation. This is another winner from Alex Finlay. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was my third by this author, and he continues to write books that are fast paced and continues to keep me guessing. I enjoyed the many points of view to get many sides of this story, even if it did get confusing at times. I recommend this book to someone who has enjoyed this authors previous work or are looking for a quick easy mystery that keeps you guessing,