I truly enjoy Alex Finlay books. The story-telling is top notch. I didn't want to stop reading this one and because of the way it was told, the end of the chapter was just as gripping and I couldn't put it down. There were a lot of characters in this one and most of them I thought were well done but a couple didn't work for me. Some of the best characters were the ones who even if they were unlikeable, I still wanted to root for them. It is best to go in blind on this one so I won't give much away. The plot is a little over-the-top, and suspension of disbelief is required, but it is gripping and worth reading. I didn't love how the ending worked out, but overall, it was a good one.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Alex Finlay's books have been hit or miss for me in the past, and I am happy to report that this was a hit. If Something Happens to Me was a wild ride full of so many twists and turns. It kept me listening until the end! The reason I am giving it 3 stars (still a good rating!) is that some of the plot points and characters were hard to keep track of because there were so many! I listened to the audiobook, so it might have been easier to keep track of the characters if I read the e-book copy. I still highly recommend this for a fast-paced thriller this summer!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the free copy of If Something Happens to Me in exchange for an honest review!

I loved everything about If Something Happens to Me. The story was riveting, and the characters were perfectly flawed.

This book drew me in quickly, but lost me in the last third. There were a lot of characters to keep track of in multiple geographic locations. And I'm not sure why, but every time I read the word Leavenworth, my brain would sort of stutter--I kept thinking of the prison instead of the town. It was just distracting enough to annoy me.

Ryan is the popular kid: star athlete, universally liked, and has a beautiful girlfriend. He basically has it all, but when his girlfriend is abducted during a date, it comes crashing down. Ryan is now "killer." There may not be enough evidence to charge him, but the town, police, and media have come to their own conclusions anyways. Ryan swears he is innocent. He was hit in the head and has no memory of that night, other than the man who hit him might have been missing a pinky. No one believes Ryan, but he knows what he saw. Ali disappeared without a trace and has never been found and Ryan has changed his name to get away from it all.

Poppy is Leavenworth's new deputy sheriff. Her first day on the job, amateur podcasters find what the police could not: Ali's car. Being new to force, Poppy is assigned desk duty to sort through leads on Ali's disappearance. Poppy knows there is more to this case than what meets the eye, but does she break protocol to investigate on her own? It seems no one, not even the good guys, can be trusted.

If Something Happens To Me was action packed and had a real page turner. There were multiple points of view shown throughout the story, which kept the story moving at a fast pace. It was a bit difficult to keep all the characters straight, but I appreciate getting to hear from so many sides of the story. I do wish the connections between most of the characters was not revealed as soon as it was, because I prefer a book that keeps me guessing throughout. This book basically was a mystery for the first 60% and action for the final 40%.

This is my first Alex Finlay book but definitely not my last. I finished this twisty thriller in less than 24 hours. I enjoyed the pacing and it definitely got my heart pumping. I liked the multiple narrators, especially Poppy, and couldn't wait to find out what happened.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books for the advanced reader copy.

This was really good!! You can't imagine how it can all come together. What does a missing girl in Leavenworth, Kansas - her car being found years later in a lake with two dead men in the front seat and a preserved note in her makeup bag - and a family in Pennsylvania that is less than upstanding - all connect. Well now that I see it written out and having read the story, I should have figured it out, but I didn't. I had quite an aha moment when it all fell into place, but this one kept me flipping those Kindle pages as fast as I could.

This fast paced thriller had me up reading late. I really liked the story jumping from different points of view along the time line. I thought that Poppy (law enforcement) , although young, was a strong character and filled her role well and was very believable. Even though there were several storylines going, I was able to keep up and didn't get confused. Overall, I thought this was a very good read.

If Something Happens to Me is my second Alex Finlay book, and I feel much the same about this one that I did with What Have We Done last year, which is to say that it was all a bit forgettable and felt like it was trying too hard.

I enjoyed the first half of the book well enough, but by the second act, the story became too far-fetched, the twists were predictable, and it was ridiculous how everything kept conveniently sliding into place at just the right time.

In the end, this was just another middle-of-the-road read for me. To be honest, I doubt I will even remember what this book was about a month from now.

If Something Happens to Me is another fast paced thriller from Alex Finlay! From the moment the story began, I was sucked in to multiple storylines. From a small town sheriff’s deputy, to a mob family in Philly, to a group of college students in Rome, you are immediately drawn in and I could not wait to find out how the stories were going to come together. The story kept me going—I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced mystery/thriller!

4.5/5 stars

Another fast-paced winner from Alex Finlay. This book has three intertwining narratives, multiple locales (for satisfying cat and mouse games and chases) and twist after twist, as we have come to expect from Finlay. It even has an unlikely suspect missing both pinky fingers and a dying message left in code. Basically Hitchcock meets The Fugitive.

A satisfying and quick read because you'll be turning the pages or listening to the audio as fast as possible to find out what happens next. There's intrigue for miles, great characters (my favorite is Poppy), and excellent audiobook voice acting. You don't want to know too much about the plot going in, so try not to read spoilers.

Alex Finlay is an automatic read ASAP author for me and has yet to let me down. A fun, thrilling and suspenseful read!

It’s Poppy McGee’s first day as the newest deputy in the sheriff’s office in her hometown when a car is pulled out of the lake. It reopens a five-year old cold case when Ali Lane was abducted while parking with her boyfriend, Ryan. Now Ryan’s trying to move on with his life, on a trip in Italy when his past finds him.
This is a mystery with mobsters, murder, action and lots of twists. It’s super entertaining!

An Intriguing Case With An International Scope

Two high school seniors, Alison Lane and Ryan Richardson, parked on Leavenworth’s lover's lane. Tomorrow, they will leave for different colleges. A sudden rainstorm disrupts their plans as they exit the car to enjoy their last evening together. They return to the car, but when Ryan wakes up, he is alone. The car and Alison are gone. He recalls a crash and a blow to his head. Thus, a chilling cold case unfolds from this fateful evening, filled with suspense and mystery.

This novel’s main storyline has three major threads. The first centers on Richardson, who was initially accused of murdering Alison Lane. He leaves, trying to establish a new life. Richardson primarily narrates this thread. Deputy Sheriff McGee narrates most of the police investigation thread. This investigation starts on her first day on the job, and she comes with baggage for why she left the military. The last thread was a mystery thread that centers around a crime boss's and associates' actions in Philadelphia. This thread’s tie-in takes a little while to become apparent. I did not find jumping back and forth between these threads and various narrators confusing, and I had no problems following this storyline. There are many twists and turns, red herrings, and the basic storyline that quickly captured my interest. I was compelled to read into the night, and this novel was a fast read for me.

The backgrounds of Richardson and McGee are a bit light but are adequate to provide a basis for their actions. However, their actions and thoughts truly define them, and these aspects are rich and compelling. Several characters undergo extensive character development in the crime boss thread, greatly aiding in understanding their actions. This depth of character development fosters a strong connection between the reader and the characters.

Some aspects that can cause some readers to stop reading are present in this novel. Intimate scenes are only mentioned in reference. Rude and vulgar language is present but context-appropriate. The worst of this trifecta is violence. Much of it is actively described, but most is associated with the criminal element thread. The violence is comparable with Primetime TV police procedurals. I found my e-reader’s Internet access of value while reading this novel. Much of the Richardson thread occurs in Europe in some out-of-the-way places. I liked highlighting a location and jumping to the Internet to find where they were.

The issue with this novel that rubbed me the wrong way was that Deputy Poppy McGee seems to be taking many actions without consulting the Sheriff. I liked how the author wove a story with over a dozen characters into a captivating story. There were not any loose ends at the end of the novel. I was happy and sad with the ending.

I have read this author’s last three standalone novels. He is one of my Must-Read authors. I enjoyed reading this novel and recommend reading it. I am looking forward to reading further novels by his author. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received this novel's free prepublication e-book version through NetGalley from Minotaur Books. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. Thank you, Minotaur Books, for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

I enjoyed this. Lots of twists I didn’t see coming but extremely difficult to follow the multiple different story lines. Would be 3.5 stars for me if I could give half stars.

If Something Happens to Me is the Jason Borne-esque book of the year!
This book offers multiple POV's with many storylines weaving throughout.
We start with high school sweethearts being ripped apart by mobsters, and we are then transported into a world of crime, dirty law enforcement, loyalty, mind games, and murder.
Broken into three parts, this book is a whirlwind the entire time. After part 1, I had an inkiling of where things were headed and how each person was connected, but in part 3, we are thrown for a big twist that comes out of left-field.
There were times I was a bit lost as to which character was with which group of people, but Alex has a way with words that quickly helped right my ship and steer me back in the right direction. That was half the fun - many characters, many layers, many mysteries all made for a quick paced, engaging read!

This one was just ok for me. While there was one slightly unexpected twist, the rest was somewhat predictable once I got the 1904029 story lines sorted. Which is the other thing that I didn’t really enjoy—there was just SO much going on. For me, it felt kind of cheesy almost. I did, however, really enjoy the audio. Having a cast just makes the experience more immersive, in my opinion. Overall, this wasn’t a bad book and I’d give the author another shot. But it just wasn’t really for me.

A solid suspense with lots of twists, but still easy enough to follow. I didn't connect to any character in particular, likely because there are many, but they were all likeable and well-written.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Oh Alex Finlay, how do you craft these stories so masterfully? I am in awe of the way this story came together and how many layers and pieces there were to keep track of. But with the multiple characters, storylines, POVs and timelines, I didn’t find it difficult to keep track of it all. There were numerous twists that I never could have predicted and elevated this story so much! It was such a fast read, I couldn’t get enough of it! The quality and complexity of the characters and stories were extremely elevated. I really enjoyed this one and think it’s the best book I’ve read by Finlay yet! He continues to surprise me!

3.5 stars

This is fast and exciting, with short chapters and alternating POVs, and I really enjoyed how some seemingly disparate storylines came together. I ended up just below 4 stars because, while a fun read, it wasn't anything particularly memorable, and I didn't really understand why everything came to a head at the time it did and not 5 years earlier. (Also SO much trust was placed in a woman who had been on the job for like 5 minutes)
*
That said, it was still fun to read, so a great option if you're looking for something exciting that you don't have to think too much about.

This is only the second book I’ve read by Alex Finlay. I really enjoyed Every Last Fear, so when this one came available, I knew I wanted to check it out. The book summary is pretty worthless and just introduces how the story started. Alex, a law school student, is in Italy on a school break with some friends when he spots the man, he has been seeing in his nightmares for the past five years since his Leavenworth, KS high school girlfriend, Ali, went missing and he was accused of murdering her. All he remembers from that night was seeing a man (not his face) with missing pinkys on both hands.

What the book summary doesn’t mention at all are the other storylines. There is the brand-new Leavenworth Deputy Sheriff, Poppy, who is assigned to man the tipline after the Sheriff’s department finds Ali’s car from the night she went missing. also,e is also the former FBI agent, Jane, who worked Ali’s missing person case five years ago and who tells Poppy that the Sheriff is hiding something. Lastly, there is another storyline of a Philadelphia mobster, Shane, whose son, Anthony, was so bullied at his previous school that they moved him to private school in another school district. It’s not long before Anthony is being bullied in the new school.

The story flips back and forth between the three storylines and between Ryan, Poppy, and Shane with several chapters from Shane’s accountant, Michael. From pretty early, I began to suspect what may have happened to Ali and Ryan as well as Shane’s son, Anthony. But then, I’m thinking, it can’t be this predictable, can it? No, not the same writer who shocked me in Every Last Fear. Yeah, Finlay is just leading the reader astray with red herrings. By the halfway point, my suspicions are all over the place and I’m having a hard time connecting the dots of what I do think.

All I know is that by the end, Finlay will certainly lay out the shocking finale. Deep into the second half, the storylines begin to merge. The title of the book becomes a link in one of the storylines. The finale is explosive (literally) and, of course, that shocking end I was expecting. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, and the narrators, Helen Laser, John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh, were great and really added to the thrills and suspense of the story.

The characterization for most of the MC’s were pretty well developed; I wish a couple of the ensemble characters were more developed, but I guess that would have given away too much of some of the twists. The pacing was great; fast-paced and action-packed. The storyline was confusing in some parts and that was due to some unreliable narration, but the ending was great! I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.1 and will be rounding down to a 4star rating. I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

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