Member Reviews
Another suspenseful and edge of your seat novel by Alex Findlay.
The story surrounds Ryan Richardson and his life after he is involved in a car accident where his girlfriend, Ali, seemingly vanished. There is a cloud of suspicion and guilt that surrounds Ryan as he changes his name and tries to move on.
Ryan has moved away and built a new life for himself with his law school friends overseas when he gets a call from his father telling him the car has been found which triggers a series of events which drags Ryan back into the mysterious disappearance of Ali.
I really enjoyed how this story unfolded and the clever narration by both Ryan and Poppy, the freshly discharged deputy chief. There were many twists and turns that I did not foresee and it was a real page turner.
The plot was refreshing and new and I would recommend this to anyone who likes a thriller with a mix of mob family storyline.
Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy for my honest review.
This thriller is truly a great read! Excellent writing and characters. Full of twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night. Thank you for the opportunity to review this book!
This is my third Alex Finlay book and I think it’s my favorite! I loved the short chapters and multiple POV. Very action packed like Findlay’s other books. The only think I didn’t like was how many times we had to talk about pinky fingers 😂
I'll be recommending this book to all my friends who love thrillers! It kept me on the edge of my seat. In the beginning, it's unclear how all of the different perspectives relate to each other, but the characters are compelling enough that you want to keep reading. I couldn't put it down!
Another author that has firmly made their way onto my auto read/buy list.
Finlay has hit this latest book out of the park! With multiple characters and multiple points of view I thought it might be tricky to keep up with … quite the opposite was the case. Fast paced with short, sharp chapters kept me on my toes. A gripping and compelling storyline with some tough topics and an ending I did not see coming had me flying through If Something Happens To Me.
Many thanks to St Martins Press and Minotaur books for an advanced ebook - was wholly entertaining and highly recommended.
4.5 stars rated up.
There is something about Alex Finlay’s books that when the moment I turn the first page, something giddy inside me flourishes because I know that the story within the pages will be exciting, amazing, hard to put down - and yes this book got me really good! I enjoyed it so much - thrilling and a very good story line and plotting. Cant wait for the next one.
This was a very written book and I read it very quickly. Ryan and Ali are a couple and the last thing Ryan remembers is Ali being pulled from a car and no one has seen her since. The story goes through several perspectives and the reader is left wondering how they connect and what happened to Ali?
I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery/thriller for their next read! The pacing was well done and kept me flipping pages late into the night!
Thanks so much to St. Martin's Press for an advance audio copy of If Something Happens to Me.
Ryan has been tortured reliving the night five years ago that resulted in his girlfriend being taken from him. All he remembers is someone taking her, but has no clues as to who it could be. Then finally after so much time has passed, he received a call that her car has been found, there are two dead men inside along with a note from Ali that says “if something happens to me…”
Simultaneously, a mysterious face from Ryan’s past shows up, triggering a memory from that night. Now, in a foreign country halfway across the world, he takes off after this stranger desperate for answers. He forms an unlikely alliance with a green detective and a wronged mobster in hopes of discovering what happened to his girlfriend, and clearing his name once and for all.
In true Alex Finlay form, here comes another story that starts with a bang and does not slow down until the last page. Alex has a fantastic way of creating a sense of urgency in his books that feels unique to other authors I read. The narration also helped convey this even better.
I did give this one three stars because ultimately, I felt no connection to the characters and I just could not get into the mafia aspect. I read a fair amount of mafia romance, and of course expected these two experiences to be different, but for some reason it just didn’t come together for me.
Basically at the end of the day, I know I am in the minority of people who didn’t love this one - especially in the minority of people who typically love Alex but didn’t love this - so take my disjointed half-assed review with a grain of salt and give it a go. This in no way stops me from looking forward to his next release.
This was a DNF for me. It just felt all over the place and frustrated me. This is the 2nd in a row that I’ve DNFd. I think he’s just not for me.
This is my first Alex Finlay book and I did enjoy it. It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was very good. I had trouble at first following the time lines and how they were merged, but I did catch on after a bit and from there it was smooth sailing! I was hoping it was a bit more of a thriller than it ended up being, so I'm giving it a 3/5 star, but that is still a good rating for me!
I'll definitely be reading more from this author!
This is one of my favorite books by Alex Finlay so far.
I love the idea of the note from the past coming to haunt our characters today.
I loved the twists and turns in this fast paced thriller.
If something happens to me by Alex Finlay was an edge of your seat thrill ride. The short chapters in the second half kept me reading “just one more.” I love how it all came together about halfway through. I thought it was unique, relevant, and exciting. I enjoyed this author’s last book and will be on the lookout for the next one!
This was such an unexpected gem for me! Alex Finlay books have been pretty hit or miss for me, but this one is by far the best and my favorite. The pacing was great, and I really felt the suspense and high stakes throughout this entire book. Starting off the story with such a stark difference in the cast of characters (a budding lawyer on a trip in Itay, a new deputy sheriff on her first day, and a mob boss in Philly) was so great because it really made you invested in the story and how all these different storylines were connected. I felt the characters were really well fleshed out and their motivations made a lot of sense to who they were - I felt so connected to them (and yes, I mean all of them). I loved everything about this book, and it is definitely one of my new favorite thrillers of all time!
It isn’t always easy to put your past behind you, something that Ryan is very familiar with. Five years ago his girlfriend Ali was kidnapped as he lay there, unable to help after being on the receiving end of a blow to the head. Some believe that Ryan had something to do with it, and even though he was cleared there is still some suspicion that hangs over his head. In an attempt to move on with his life Ryan has changed his name and now attends law school.
He thinks that this is all behind him, but a phone call from his father changes that. Ali’s car has been found submerged in a lake, and there are two dead bodies inside, along with a cryptic note: If something happens to me…
This was a novel that I had high hopes for; between Finlay’s previous novels and the prologue to this one I found myself super excited to dive into If Something Happens to Me. Sadly this was not the page-turner that I had hoped it would be. The chapters are short, which helps to make it a fast-paced novel, but there were just so many pieces to the story that were too unbelievable to me; some things were a little too far fetched for my tastes. I also found it to be rather predictable, but this might be due to the fact that I have read his previous novels.
The audiobook was okay. I did like that there were multiple narrators used, especially since the novel is told from the viewpoints of multiple people. I found the pace to be rather slow, especially for a thriller, and at times the delivery was flat and monotone, but not always. Overall the audiobook didn’t really live up to my expectations and didn’t necessarily add to my enjoyment of the story.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
This is my second time reading Alex Finlay and I was super excited when I got the arc. Maybe my expectations were high, I didn't like this one. The book started well, with a gripping plot but unfortunately failed to keep it till the end. First of all, there are too many characters to keep up with. Generally, I prefer fast-paced books with short chapters but here I was frustrated as the POV kept changing in each chapter, the emotions were all over the place. Either stick to one situation with small chapters or give long chapters if you switch between different timelines.
I will still pick another Alex Finlay book as I like the writing style.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
Finlay weaves an intricate and pacey tale with multiple points of view and vivid locations across the US and Europe.
Part 1 is 3 POV and sets up the rest of the book beautifully—drawing the reader in to care and understand the characters and their motivations, while simultaneously wondering how all three of these stories fit together.
Really enjoyed those book and recommend to anyone who loves a good adventure story.
If Something Happens to Me tells the tangled story of the death of a mysterious girl.
I did not like this book. It started out strong enough, but then grew to be confusing. There were way too many characters and POV shifts. I couldn't keep everyone straight nor did I care to. I also thought the characters were cartoonish (especially the ones involved in the mob). The ending wrapped up too quickly and tidy...not believable.
I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Such a good read that I enjoyed! I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!
Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley for this ARC!
The twists and thrills of this book had me flipping the pages so fast! I read this book in one day, it is very fast paced! This was my second Alex Finlay novel and I am going to need to read all the rest!
5 stars and will be recommending to friends!