I tried to get into this one a few times but I wound up stopping at 60%; I found I just didn't connect with the characters and the organized crime angle. I loved Finlay's first two novels but If Something Happens to Me and What Have We Done just didn't work for me, unfortunately.

The plot of the book really intrigued me and then it kinda changed course and nothing seemed to be true.

I did get surprised when the plot twist came through, literally gasped and read it multiple times until it made sense in my head lol.

After that, it got boring and slow though and it seemed like the story was over.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed this quick thriller, which easily kept me turning the pages. I saw the "twist" coming a mile away, but Finlay did a good job in tying it in with the timelines. I did feel like I wanted a bit more for Ryan and his story, but I was satisfied with the ending. 3.5 stars, rounded up.

What a roller coaster of a book! If you've ever ridden the Hulk at Universal, Orlando, then this is the book equivalent to the Hulk. There is a brief countdown and then ZOOM! 0 to 60 in 3 seconds. This book took off so fast and didn't slow down until it was over.

Ali and Ryan were sitting in their car when suddenly the door is ripped open and Ali is yanked out and Ryan is bashed over the head. Ali is never seen again, and a lingering cloud of doubt is cast over Ryan as the search for Ali continues for many years. The events that unfold in the search for Ali become more ominous as the story unravels. This is not a straightforward who-dun-it book. It has many twists (perspectives) and tunnels (shady characters) and loops (unsavory events), but it all adds up to one glorious ride.

I absolutely loved this book and it is easily in my top 3 of the year. There were so many twist and turns and timelines and it was just fantastic. It really held my attention and had me wanting to know what happened next throughout the story.

As I mention in almost every review I write, I am usually never happy or satisfied with endings of books, but this one was wonderful. Everything came together and I was satisfied with how it all ended.

I gushed about this book to my mom as soon as I finished it and told her how great it was, so I hope she reads it soon so we can discuss it! This one won't be leaving my mind for a while.

5 stars, one of the best I've read this year!

Enjoyable enough. The constant switching between characters, locations and on occasion and without explanation, time, does get confusing.

I considered abandoning it around the 50% mark but stuck to the end. The easy quality of writing kept me going.

Five years ago, Ali has been abducted while Ryan was pulled from the car on Lover's Lane and knocked out unconscious. Nor Ali or the car have been seen since then. Ryan has tried so hard to put the past behind him, changing his name to run away from the podcasters and the Internet trolls, but while in Italy on a trip with his law-school classmates he gets a call from his dad: the car is found at the bottom of the lake, with two male bodies in the front seats and an envelope that says "If something happens to me..." in Ali's handwriting.
This mystery/thriller was very predictable but an entertaining and quick read. However, so many things don't make sense, making the characters come across as stupid. A dad asks his daughter to reach out to the new kid in school, because he's the son of his shady new client, and thinks "It's not like his son has anything to do with his father's business, right? My daughter will be safe." Said no dad ever... It was fast paced with short chapters, which I liked.
I received an advance copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

If I consider the readability of this book and how it held my interest, I will say that I enjoyed it. It is definitely a page-turner and I liked the little hints dropped throughout and the cliffhangers at the end of the chapters. So I will rate it higher than I would otherwise just for entertainment value.
What I didn’t like was the lack of any character development. I really felt like Poppy and Ryan especially needed more background and personality development. It seems like characters were just thrown into the story with not enough explanation of their roles or backstories. I recognize that character development is more important to me than many readers but I think truly good thrillers get the reader involved with at least one or two characters. The different POVS was fine with sufficient introduction but maybe a bit “jerky”. Overall entertaining and not a waste of time but I wanted more.

This twists and turns in this one certainly kept me guessing!

Coming off of reading "What Have We Done" last year, I went into "If Something Happens To Me" a little wary. I didn't LOVE "What Have We Done" but I did really like "The Night Shift" - so I was hopeful! I wasn't disappointed!

One romantic rainy evening, high school student Ryan and his girlfriend Ali find a secluded spot to...well...be teenagers. When their romantic evening is interrupted by a blow to the head and the screams of his girlfriend as she's ripped away from him, Ryan is left confused, bleeding, and devastated.

Years later, Ryan is on a trip to Italy with his fellow law students, but Ali is never far from his mind. When he encounters the man who has haunted his dreams since that night long ago, he jumps into action.

At first I was very thrown off by the back and forth of the POVs, but after I settled into it I found it easier to follow. The connections between the POVs surprised me - which is saying something as I can usually sniff out a twist coming from a mile away! Overall, an entertaining and quick read.

This book had an interesting premise and I felt like it was well written. Alex Finlay is definitely a fresh and unique voice in the genre. I recommend this if you’re in the mood for a tense thriller.

I try to be very strict with my thoughts after finishing a book - as in, being as objective as I can -, but there are times I break my rule, usually for the same reason: if the story is so addictive I have to force myself to put it down, very few things will make me dislike it.

It could be the narration - fast-paced and captivating, tactful in making you empathize with all the characters, never missing a beat regarding the fateful ending.
It could be the story itself: three different storylines all equally interesting and eventful in their part of the world.
Or it could be the eager instinct of wanting to know more, chapter after chapter, wanting to know everything in a story where we find out how these characters are connected and why only at the end. And then the utter shock of screaming: “OH. MY. GOD.”

It's still unclear to me if Alex Finlay will be my new exception or if this one particular book was just better than what I've read in the past month, but I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll bump into this author.
Actually, I'm buying his other books as I'm finishing writing this.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

If Something Happens To Me
Alex Finlay
4⭐️

Pub Date: 5/28/2024

Such an interesting premise right off the bat! This book is just so bingeable. There basically were 4 storylines, 4 locations, plot stemmed from one incident and all converge into answering one question. There were so many factors that made it all the more so twisty. There's really nobody I trusted in this book except for Ryan and the new investigator. And the actual dirty rat surprised me. I didn't expect that one coming.

I do suggest reading this in one-ish go. The myriad of characters and events were a lot and can be confusing. But it all did make sense. Mayne make a small note for tracing what's happening at what event. I enjoyed this one however I felt like the ending was a little rushed. The build up was so good and so chaotic that I expected a but more for the ending. It definitely was a good thriller that kept me on my toes.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin Press for a gifted e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Once again Alex Finlay writes a propulsive read that keeps you fully engaged trying to assemble the pieces of the puzzle together. There are three primary narrators: Ryan, once accused of his girlfriend’s murder, and he is now on a law school trip in Italy. Poppy, a young war vet who returns home to Leavenworth, Kansas, to work as the deputy sheriff, and Shane, the head of a major crime syndicate in Philadelphia. A few additional POVs are mixed in. Poppy McGee, the freshly discharged deputy sheriff, becomes entangled in the discovery of a submerged vehicle in Suncatcher Lake. Linked to Alison Lane's presumed kidnapping, the vehicle holds two deceased men, and a cryptic note with the unsettling title "If Something Happens to Me" leaves readers speculating on Alison's fate. Shane O’Leary, leader of Philadelphia’s mob families, introduces another layer of intrigue as his son Anthony navigates challenges in a new academy, unaware of the profound impact it will have on their lives. Okay, I can totally see why this book has such high ratings. Fast paced, short chapters, and likeable characters you can root for will leave many thriller readers *thrilled* with Alex Finlay's latest. I liked it well enough but it was never a love match for me. There is just something missing to make it believable and really engage the reader. My many thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publisher.

I was really enjoying this book from the beginning but as the end came around I just felt like it lost its spark for me. A quick read that kept me intrigued from the beginning until it just started to lose its interest.

This was my first time reading Alex Finlay but I'd have absolutely no problem picking up another of his books in the future. I like a good thriller and this one definitely had some great thriller elements in my opinion. Perhaps I SHOULD have seen the first twist coming, but I was just letting the story flow over me rather than psychoanalyze every aspect. If I had, I probably would have figured part one out before. There were plenty of little twists and surprises that I quite enjoyed and toward the end, found myself wondering how the author was going to get the main characters out of it. I pegged a few "bad" guys early on but even then, second guessed myself at one point. Poppy, while she did a good job putting things together, still had some serious lapses in judgement but in the end, I found this to be a pretty satisfying story.

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay is a gripping thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Ryan Richardson’s past resurfaces when his missing girlfriend’s car is found, setting off a chain of events that take him across Europe in a desperate search for the truth. With pulse-pounding twists and a cast of compelling characters, Finlay delivers a masterful tale of suspense that cements his place as a top thriller writer.

Thank you for the ARC of this book!

Finally!! My faith in the books I’ve picked recently have been restored!! I’ve read a lot of books that were subpar lately. Not no more. Allison is kidnapped out of her boyfriend’s car as a teenager, never to be seen again. Her boyfriend Ryan is a suspect, long after he is no longer supposed to be. When a new deputy sheriff comes to town and a vehicle comes out of the lake, all the old questions regarding the case come flooding back. Did Ryan do it, is it a conspiracy, is Allison still alive?

There were so many plot twists in this novel, at one point I thought I had missed something crucial. I really enjoyed each characters story and was invested in finding out what would happen next. I was very happy with this read!

Good storyline, lots of little twists and surprises at the end of each chapter, which makes it interesting and exciting. I like how this author writes. I like how we had five different locations (Kansas, Philly, Italy, France and the UK) going on and still the story connected. I like how we were able to find out the truth before the end but it still had more exciting things to happen. I do think the last chapters after the epilogue were unnecessary and really ruined Poppy‘s character to me. Other than that it would be one of my favorites. I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Ryan Richardson keeps reliving the same night, for five years. The car door opening, he's smashed in the head and the piercing scream of his girlfriend as she's taken. There's no trace of his girlfriend or the car. Until one day years later his Father calls with the news that the car has been located. Interesting premise?
Well sit down, strap yourself in and hold on tight! This book was twisting and turning at 90 mph!! Captivating characters and suspense filled all the way through to the very last word!

Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book! I loved this book! It was a great summer beach read! While I had been trying to get my books read and reviewed on time more this spring, I’m now kinda glad that this one got pushed back until my beach vacation. It definitely kept me guessing and I loved the twist at the end of part one! I will definitely be recommending this one!

Alex Finlay has done it again with another heart=pounding, edge of your seat thriller. I could not put down If Something Happens to Me and read it in nearly one sitting. The twists and turns this book takes are incredible and I loved the ending. I don't want to spoil anything (it's an easy book to spoil), but this is certainly a book to add to your TBR list.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
4.5/5 stars