I was drawn into this story from the very beginning and I love how the different lives and storylines all come together. I enjoyed how Finlay plays around with the timelines and how the chapters are not dated, you assume they’re in linear order, and when you find out they’re not!!! The first big twist at the end of part one had my jaw on the ground. The plot was enjoyable for me as I was able to suspend my disbelief as we traveled all over the world and explored multiple well-known thriller tropes. Finlay’s characters are complex and multidimensional, and I was still learning more about them right until the last pages.

Con: I felt that there were simply too many characters in the book to easily keep track of. Example, in just one storyline, Ryan is studying abroad and has a group of five or six friends, all of whom are mentioned by name. I took the time to try to remember who was who, but their names did not end up being super relevant to the story. I also struggled a bit with keeping track of each name of who was in O’Leary’s circle. It was just a lot of different characters overall and I feel that limiting the number of characters could have helped the story flow a little better. Or this could just be my brain refusing to retain new information at this point in my life…

For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream as she is taken.

With no trace of Ali or the car, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Ryan. But with no proof and a good lawyer, he’s never charged, though that doesn’t matter to the podcasters and internet trolls. Now, Ryan has changed his last name, and entered law school. He’s put his past behind him.

Until, on a summer trip abroad to Italy with his law-school classmates, Ryan gets a call from his father: Ali’s car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. Inside are two dead men and a cryptic note with five words written on the envelope in Ali’s handwriting: If something happens to me…

Another win for Finlay and might be my current favorite. With having an ecopy and audio I binged through this one so fast. I’m a huge fan of the short chapters that kept me wanting to know more. I thought for sure I had it all figured out, but that twist threw me. Loved the note and the rush to figure out what it meant. Don’t want to give anything away, because it’s a must read. Fast paced and fun to read - 100% recommend!

I really enjoyed this one. Fast paced, addictive read with a compelling cast of characters. An interesting plot with just enough surprises to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m Five years ago, Ryan Richardson experienced the unthinkable. While on a date with his girlfriend Ali, he was hit on the head, knocked out, and pulled out of his car and when he woke up, Ali and her car were nowhere to be found. He was not accused of a crime and the case went unsolved.

Five years later, Ryan is now a law student living under a different last name and is on a trip to Italy with his classmates when he hears the news that Ali’s car has been found with two dead bodies in it. A letter written by Ali that says “If something happens to me” is also found. Meanwhile, in the US, new Deputy Sheriff, Poppy McGee is assigned to the case and Ryan receives a mysterious note stating that someone knows his identity. With Ryan and Poppy desperate to find answers, the race is on to figure out what happened to Ali, who is following Ryan and who the dead men are that were found in the car…

This was a fast paced quick read that kept me turning pages. It is told from multiple points of view and switches between a few different storylines that ultimately come together like a puzzle to reveal many secrets, lies and twists! This is the first book that I have read by Alex Finlay and I will definitely be readi

The past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived the terrible night, the car door ripping open, a blow to the head. Being yanked from the vehicle, his girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream as she is taken. If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay is told by multiple narrators, at differing times, past and present. I found it easy to follow, with suspenseful twists throughout. I truly did not know what to expect up until the very end. Thank You very much to the Author, Publisher, and Netgalley for the complimentary egalley.

My perfect kind of thriller...short chapters! multiple point of views! storylines that you don't know they are connected until you do! and saying "oh shit" out loud!! Really enjoyed this thriller, and have enjoyed all of his others as well! This is a fun read.

Thank you to @netgalley for this arc of If Something Happens To Me by Alex Finlay! I had not read a book by him but I do have one other one on my shelf to read. Now I’m excited to read that one!
This was an extremely twisty, fast paced, and crazy ride! I loved the multiple points of view as well. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I could not put the book down as I needed to know what happed next!!!
If you like a good psychological thriller, you will love this!!! Check it out asap, you won’t regret it!!!

Reading Between the Wines book review #42/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: If Something Happens to Me
Author: Alex Finlay
Available TODAY!!

Sipping thoughts: Wow! What a flip in the script! I was not expecting what I read. I love it when you are thinking one thing and then all of a sudden you realize that you had it all wrong. The first chapter opens with a bang and the thrills don’t stop there. Just imagine if someone you loved disappeared and then you get a cryptic message that says “if something happens to me…” The mystery behind the message and the kidnapping all stems from a mistake that carries over into many lives. I really enjoy Finlay’s writing style and I could not read this one fast enough.

Cheers and thank you to @StMartinsPress and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @IfSomethingHappensToMe.

#IfSomethingHappensToMe #AlexFinlay #StMartinsPress #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThrillers #GeneralFictionAdult

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for my gifted ARC, and MacMillan Audio for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun mystery thriller! I predominately read via audio format, and I enjoyed the narration style, with multi-narrators bringing this story to life.

What to expect:
✨️ Fast-paced
✨️ Multiple points of view
✨️ Intricately woven story-lines
✨️ Lots of twists
✨️ Short chapters

This is a bingeable thriller, and a novel that will keep you guessing. If you're looking for a fast-paced twisty thriller to binge, definitely consider picking this one up!

This is a summer thriller that is right up my alley. I love a book that tells separate stories that are intricately woven and when it all came together it blew my mind!
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Ryan Richardson has spent the last five years reliving the night that his girlfriend was taken. After much suspicion that he was involved he started a new life, with a new name and law school. He’s a law student on a trip in Italy when he gets the call that Ali’s car has been found submerged in water, with no Ali. Instead, two dead men and a note. When he sees the man that haunts his dreams he knows his nightmare has become a reality.
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Somehow his new reality will include a young sheriff deputy from Kansas and a monster from Philadelphia who’s living his own nightmare.

I don’t want to say too much but I couldn’t stop reading this one! This one is out today!
Thank you @minotaur_books and @netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

“If Something Happens to Me” by Alex Finlay
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Release Date: 5/28/24

Thank you Netgalley for the arc! Finlay has quickly become one of my favorite mystery/thriller author. I like that his books have a solid story and a breadcrumbs are left a long the way to figure out what’s happening.
Five years ago Ryan Richardson life flipped upside down when his girlfriend Ali was abducted in front of him and the town made him the #1 suspect. Now the car they were driving was discovered in the towns lake, but it wasn’t Ali inside. It was two men. What happened 5 years ago? Where is Ali?

I'm a little at odds with myself over Alex Finlay's newest novel, If Something Happens to Me. There were plenty of things that I really enjoyed about the book, such as it being a fast-paced ride with short, punchy chapters that make the book *so* hard to put down. Short chapters and multiple POVs are my kryptonite in this particular genre, so that earned some brownie points, for sure. The characters are also well-developed and likeable, and it was easy to care about what happened to them over the course of the plot. The same cannot be said for me with many other suspense thrillers, which is why it was so disappointing that I didn't love ISHTM as much as I wanted to.

Don't get me wrong; its a good book, and I enjoyed it. But while I found the book engaging and appreciated the pacing and plot, something didn't quite sit right. I think my primary issue was with the mafia aspect of the plot. If I'm being honest, I just didn't buy into it, and it felt a bit cheesy at times. Given that the mafia storyline is a significant part of the overall plot, my skepticism about it really dampened the initial enthusiasm I had for the plot and characters. Even though I was curious about how things would resolve, I wasn't particularly excited whenever I picked up the book.

It's important to note that this is a matter of personal preference. I tend to gravitate more towards psychological thrillers rather than action-packed stories. For readers who enjoy high-octane action and a strong mafia angle, this book is likely to be a real hit (pun intended). It delivers plenty of suspense and excitement, with enough plot twists to keep you guessing.

So, while it wasn't a perfect match for my tastes, I can see the appeal for a slightly different kind of reader. If you’re a fan of action thrillers with a mafia twist, this one is sure to satisfy that craving.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for providing me with an electronic copy of If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by any third parties.

Ryan Richardson, accused of murdering his girlfriend while in high school, has taken on a new life studying to be a lawyer. Through a series of connected events, Ryan begins uncovering the truth of Allison’s disappearance.

Wow. So I’ll admit I had a hard time at first keeping all the different characters straight and trying to figure out all the connections. Once I realized how they were all connected (in a way I didn’t expect), I couldn’t stop reading.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Fast paced, and a quick read, this has way more twists than I expected.

Real Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

The issue with giving books a 3.5 star rating is that people automatically assume that means you hated it or that it was a bad book. That’s usually the case. For If Something Happens to Me, it simply means it was an alright thriller that I didn’t mind reading, will likely appeal to the average thriller reader not looking for something deeper or with more substance, but isn’t a title I’d go around recommending or putting on my own bookshelf.

ISHTM starts with a killer (ah, come on, let me have my fun) opening scene straight out of a slasher flick or scary story that ends with one of this novel’s main characters blacking out. It’s well-written, creepy, and immediately engages you. It’s a very nice piece of bait to lure you into a boiler-plate plot that’s been dressed up with a hodgepodge of other story elements: A boyfriend who was wrongly accused of his girlfriend’s death who ultimately had to leave town and change his name, a shadowy eight-fingered man, a young and plucky new female officer in town just as new evidence comes to light regarding this cold case, a good ol’ boy police force that may be keeping secrets, a mysterious FBI agent, and an organized crime syndicate with a bone to pick. It’s a puzzle, so, how does it all fit together?

Of course, there are the predictably-timed turns. There are some attempts at red herrings and misdirection, but I don’t think this book was plotted very well because they didn’t hit like I assume they were supposed to. The pacing was actually done very well, without much lagging or rushing. There were some attempts at social commentary that I felt were clumsy in nature and ultimately came across as trying too hard and that made the ending of this book feel more than a little cheesy.

At the end of the day this book was an okay read and I don’t regret spending my afternoon on it, but I can’t say I’d recommend you rush out and buy it. It’s not the worst time either.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Crime Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller

This psychological thriller is told from multiple viewpoints, in seemingly disconnected storylines, that will take you on a journey across the world.

It begins in Leavenworth, KS. Ali and Ryan two high school seniors ‘parking’ when suddenly Ryan is bashed in the head and both Ali and her car disappear.

Fast forward five years, Ryan has changed his last name and fled from his old life under a cloud of suspicion. He still thinks about Ali, has tried to remember more about what happened that night, but can only remember a man, a monster, without pinkies, who took her. He’s in Italy with his law school classmates, when he receives a suspicious note demanding they meet and ‘I know who you are.’ At the same time back in Leavenworth, rookie cop and former soldier, Poppy McGee is assigned to Ali’s case after her car is found at the bottom of the lake with two dead men inside.

The perfect for fans of cold cases, mob stories, whodunnits, and the dark & twisty. I found it to be an interesting read told from multiple viewpoints. It kept me wondering what was happening and how the stories were connected.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review!

This book was captivating from the start. Ryan's life was turned upside down after his girlfriend Ali's abduction five years ago. Now, new evidence keeps coming up, dragging all those painful memories back to the surface.

The story is told from multiple perspectives, keeping the suspense high and making each chapter more intriguing than the last. Great world-building blending mystery and suspense perfectly. It's a captivating read that keeps you guessing all the way through.

This is just a firecracker of a book. Takes off with a bang on page one and goes full throttle until the end. It follows three story lines and weaves them together in ways that I never saw coming. This is just such a fun book! Buckle up and get started. Highly recommended.

This story was a quick fast paced thriller. It had a lot going on in the beginning but eventually did a good job of connecting it all together.

The characters fell a little flat for me. It felt like connections were made quick and I had to fill in the gaps in order to keep up.

This was a solid 3/5 stars. It was a quick read and fun story. The ending was pretty good and worth the read if you want a story that wraps up nicely.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advance copy.
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This was a fast paced, addictive and twisty thriller told from three separate POVs that come together as the story unfolds. My rating is a little lower only because I’m probably not the best audience for this one - I don’t love reading action scenes, but I still found this story page turning and full of surprises. A fun summer binge read if you like lots of pulse pounding action in your novels!

The story pulled me in immediately and I didn't want to stop turning the pages. I love this type of mystery and by telling the story from the different points of view, the full picture is uncovered piece by piece. There were a lot of characters giving a lot of different views. Once uncovered I really liked how the author had woven the characters together. I am a fan of this author and this was one of my favorites. I really liked Poppy as one of the main characters. I received an advance copy from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.