Member Reviews
Wow. Alex Finaly is the master of weaving together storylines and characters that you think have nothing in common and then BAM! You are blown away by the way it all comes together. In this story, we follow a law student, a mobster, and a new sheriff’s deputy all over the word from Kansas to Paris, with other stops along the way, as they all play a part in a high schooler who went missing five years ago. It really is masterfully done. I was SHOCKED in the ways some of this story played out. The twists were twisty which is always a plus in my book.
If you haven’t read any of Finlay’s work, this would be a great place to start. I think it showcases some of the best of his work and is a fast, hold your attention the whole time, read.
I LOVED this on audiobook! I am a sucker for a full cast narration moment. With a lot of characters to keep straight, across multiple locations around the world, having three separate narrators was PERFECTION with helping me keep all the moving pieces of this story straight. Highly, highly recommend listening to this one
I was so excited to read Alex Finlay's latest, and If Something Happens to Me was such an amazing book - I thought about it for days after finishing it! Told from different character perspectives, what seem like several different stories seamlessly come together as one for a gripping finale. I don't usually love crime boss thrillers, but this one was spectacular. Finlay does an amazing job creating each character uniquely, and drafting a realistic and believable plot. I cannot recommend this one enough!
If Something Happens to Me is my third Alex Finlay book and I have enjoyed them all. This is a psychological thriller full of twists and turns that keep you wondering what will happen next. The short chapters kept me on the edge of my seat and I blew through this book. There was so much action, dual timelines, multiple characters. At times I did find there were too many characters I kept wondering who was who for awhile. There are also some characters thrown in that give you little bits of info but then you never hear about them again. While I did figure out some of the big twists this was a great book.
4.5 rounded down for a few of the character issues and some mini plots that just seemed so far fetched.
This book comes out on May 28 and definitely recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of If Something Happens to by Alex FInlay for an honest review.
This one felt a bit Koontz-esque as we're given multiple points of view and locations that didn't seem all that related. It was fun watching it come together.
I liked how this unfolded: a mashup of thriller and a very enjoyable, slow burn of a mystery. Finlay's books never disappoint, and this was nearly impossible to put down at bedtime.
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the eARC of If Something Happens to Me. I thought this was a really clever book. I don't want to spoil anything but the author does a great job of having some unique twists with characters and timelines. I think it's a fun ride and a light fast paced read.
I really enjoyed this book. The storylines, at first, had me wondering how it would all come together. How were these stories related. But then it hits and you see how all the characters are intertwined. This book is fast paced. The short chapters make it a fast read. Will definitely be recommending!
I have enjoyed this author’s previous works so I knew I needed to read this one. I listened to the audiobook for a little more than half and I liked it. The narrators did an excellent job and I think it helped me keep the people/locations straight since this book took place in multiple cities with several narrators. As I often do if I have the option I switched to kindle at the halfway point because I was done waiting for the resolution. I didn’t see every twist coming but I did see most of them. The people in this one at first seem completely separate but by the end you can see the threads that tie them together. Ryan is in law school on a school trip to Europe. He’s changed his last name because while he wasn’t charged so many people believed he killed his high school girlfriend who disappeared after being with him and still has never been found. But not everyone has forgot who he is and his pasts may find him even on another continent. Poppy is home from military service and got a job as a deputy, not something she expected, but she’s excited to start. On her first day the car Alison had been in when she disappeared is found but instead of her body there are bodies of two men in the car. This mystery was not bad although it was a little over the top at times I found it to be a fun and wild ride.
Okay, this book was a little convoluted. I did love the dramatic pacing, and the opening made my heart race. However, the mob storylines and action fell flat for me. I felt like there was a bit too much going on and it became hard to keep track of names, timelines, and motives.
Like a lot of Finlay’s other books, I enjoyed this. Also like a lot of his other books, it felt overpopulated with characters and slightly confusing. I did see a lot of the twists coming but it was not boring. I was very invested and loved Poppy’s character. I liked that it was an intercontinental mystery and loved the descriptions of France, Italy, and England.
Nice action packed thriller, but a little unbelievable at times. I also found the writing subpar and the overall author's commentary on things like social media, US VS UK cultural differences just did not land well. This is not the book I would openly recommend to my friends, however I can see some people enjoying its fast pacing and plot.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.
If Something Happens to Me has been making its way onto best of and most anticipated lists while keeping a strong rating which is hard for a book to do, even at early stages, and had me intrigued. While I enjoy mysteries and thrillers I generally don’t like to navigate many characters or when it becomes sheriff or detective focused (to the point of being procedural) so I had been a little cautious to read this but all the great reception encouraged me on. I am so glad I did!
While this isn’t your classic thriller or mystery novel it’s leaps beyond. Not procedural at all and building distinct enough characters while weaving them into the story masterfully, this was a pleasure to read. While this story is about Allison gone missing and Ryan, her boyfriend’s, journey past that to present day when the mystery cracks open again, it’s also about the mob and the army and vigilantism. Everything came together with hardly a red herring in sight and kept me enjoying the book throughout while anticipating what would come next.
Highly recommended and just perfectly balanced.
This was a great thriller about the cold case of a missing girl, her suspected murderer/boyfriend, a newbie small-town deputy sheriff, and a single-parent mobster in another part of the country whose paths collide when new evidence surfaces. I really enjoyed this thriller by Alex Finlay, I think it is my favorite by this author so far. This was fast-paced with interesting characters and kept my attention the whole time. Once the pieces start to come together and you learn how the paths of the main characters all intersect, it becomes even more page-turning. This was a fun ride and I highly recommend this title and am already looking forward to Alex Finlay's next book! Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay is a fast paced thriller with multiple character POVs set in different parts of the world. Right from the start we are thrown into a gripping story that gets your heart beating. Two high schoolers (Ryan and Ali) are in a car in a secluded area when Ali is ripped from the car and Ryan totally blacks out. Ali is presumed dead and of course fingers are pointed towards Ryan. Fast forward 5 years and the car that they were in is found in a lake with two dead bodies inside. Neither being Ali's. What transpires is a pulse pounding suspense thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
Alex Finlay is one of those author's that I have loved from the beginning. He is plot driven but gives us interesting characters that push the story forward. I loved the fact that we got short chapters making the story read quickly, but also keeping your attention. Then we have each character in a different corner of the world all working towards finding answers or concealing them. With the audiobook performances, those short chapters were even better and quickly pulled me in each time I had to put the audio on pause. The performers really kept me captivated.
If Something Happens to Me is a solid thriller that never stops. There is action and suspense at every corner and puzzle pieces to be put together by the reader. While I had a soft spot for Ryan and what he went through as a teen, it was sweet deputy Poppy McGee who I really loved. She had some great witnesses she brought to the case and I enjoyed following her as she put her everything together.
This is a fun and entertaining book with twists I appreciated. Can't wait to read what comes next from Finlay.
Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Finlay and St Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.
This was another amazing story from Finlay; it was action packed with twists that you don’t see coming. This was a cleverly written story with all the storylines connecting perfectly find. I loved it overall and I would 100% recommend!
The beginning of this one had me a bit confused because so much was going on & there were so many characters being introduced I felt like I couldn't keep it straight. Everything definitely came together & now I understand why it was set up like it was!
This book had multiple moments where my mouth was hanging open because I did not see the twists coming AT ALL. Once I got into it-- I just couldn't stop!
Hometown mysteries were girls go missing & the boyfriend being the suspect gets me. The only problem is that the boyfriend was cleared & now the man that haunts his dreams, the man that took his girlfriend all those years ago, has found him.
Read this one if you're into: hometown mysteries, the past coming back to haunt you, mobsters, & twists that you never saw coming
Ryan and Ali were high school sweethearts preparing for college. Until one night while parked at a lover's lane, Ali is ripped from the car by a mysterious man missing his pinkies and Ryan is knocked unconscious. It's now five years later: Ali was assumed to be killed as she never reappeared and Ryan lived under suspicion as being the perpetrator. The past has now caught up with Ryan while on a school trip in Italy. Ali's car was found submerged in a lake back home and in it was a coded note to Ryan, "If something happens to me..."
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I really enjoyed this one. There's a lot going on in the beginning with a large cast of characters, perspectives, and locations. But after I got all that straightened out, I was able to really get into the story. Because of this, I won't say it's fast-paced so it's one of those books you'll have to be patient with, but it paid off for me in the end. The secrets and twists are slowly unraveled which keeps you wanting more. The characters were a bit two-dimensional for me but the twisty suspenseful plot and mystery were enough to keep me interested. Be prepared to suspend belief at times but overall it was an entertaining quick read. I suspect this will be a top Summer thriller! ☀️
𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
• multiple POV and settings
• slow-burn twisty mysteries
• crime thrillers
• short chapters
• books with a mob element
Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur books for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Ryan and Ali were two high school kids in love. One day, they are hanging out when they are both attacked and Ali is never to be seen again. Ryan now lives with the regret he did not do anything on top of being the number one suspect. But 5 years later when he is abroad, he runs into someone he never wanted to see again.. the man who attacked him and Ali. Can Ryan find out what really happened to Ali?
I read this book in one sitting! I was so wrapped up in the story I could not put it down. I loved Part 1 but when the twist is revealed (was kind of obvious for me but I read a lot of thrillers) it kind of lost the momentum from there. I did still rate this 4/5 stars because I enjoyed the crime part of the book and was wondering what exactly was going to happen! I liked the different storylines and how they all came together. While I did find the end to be meh, I enjoyed the rest of the book!
I would recommend this if you like thrillers, crime thrillers, multiple storylines, and fast burn thrillers. Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this work. All opinions are that of my own
I read Night Shift by Alex Finlay so this was my second foray into his work - I went in not having read the synopsis which was kind of fun to go in blind.
If you can suspend a little bit of disbelief and just go into this with an open mind to the world and scenarios this author created - then you will really enjoy this. Some of it seemed far fetched but I was bought into the characters and the plot right away so huge kudos to the author.
This book is broken into a few "parts" and features multiple narrators. I listened to the audio and am so happy it was a full cast recording because it did help me keep the narrators clear. I would highly recommend listening to the audiobook!
I was a tad confused in Part 1 as to the timelines and how all these characters fit together - but that, I believe, was the point and when everything finally did come together and the puzzle pieces started fitting, it made the experience so enjoyable and I found myself getting "OH!!!" out loud when I would fit the puzzle piece in place.
This is not like a fast paced, page turning thriller as I expected but more of a slow burn, character driven thriller and I definitely enjoyed it. It may be forgettable as time goes on just because I read a lot of books but overall, I really enjoyed this listening experience and look forward to checking out more from this author.
Thank you to Netgalley & MacMillan Audio for this advanced listen in exchange for my honest opinion.
This book was so good that I flew through it in a day.
This kicked off with some action and it felt like it never really let up. The multiple POV was easy to get into, and keeping all the characters straight wasn’t hard, especially since they’re so different from one another. The chapters are pretty short and would usually leave off on a cliffhanger, and both of these things made this book easy to binge. I was so caught up in the mystery and wondering where the story was going to go, and there were multiple twists that had my jaw hanging open. The end especially had me on the edge of my seat, and I liked the way the epilogue tied things up.
This was my first book by Alex Finlay and now I’m going to rush to read his others!
Whew! Another engrossing, unputdownable, pulse-pounding thriller from Finlay! I was hooked in right from the beginning and flew right through this one. If I’d had the time I absolutely could have binged it in one sitting. I didn’t see the twists coming and it was such a wild ride! Short chapters and multiple POV are two of my favorites and this one had them both. 🙌🏼 I also loved how everything wrapped up so neatly in the end. Finlay has become an auto-read author for me and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!
Thank you so much Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the early digital copy.