This book raises questions about innocent till proven guilty when Ryan's questioned for the disappearance of Alison Lane. Ryan and Alison both popular in school and went to visit Lovers Lane. Immediately after they park somehow a stranger enters the car knocks out Ryan and steals Alison. The media and town suspect Ryan due to the size of him and likelihood for it to be someone else. When a convicted Serial Killer's DNA is found it seems to allow most suspicion to be passed of Ryan. Until five years later more evidence is discovered and Ryan who barely escaped the first judgement will have to undergo additional questions. This book is amazing at building character. I loved Poppy's character as I am also former military. I hate that she was mistreated and her trying to find her place really added to the story. I appreciate how Alex Finlay did not just tell a story, but he built real people. I also found myself reading it non-stop and each chapter was not too long. I was not sure where the ending was going to go but I loved it and will highly recommend this in the book clubs and for library purchasing.

Here are my main take aways:
1. Multiple POV
2. Questioning narrators
3. Innocent until proven guilty
4. Cold Case
4. Hints of misjustice especially females in military and law enforcement
5. Quick Read

This was such a quick binge-able book. I love the short chapters! I loved the POV's from multiple characters and it really did come together nicely at the end of the story. Fans of Alex Finlay will love this book and I will be recommending it to all my friends!

Thank you in advance to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC**

I really enjoyed the 3 POV's in the story. The characters were written well and I love when a story is split up into parts. After the bombshell at the end of Part 1 I expected a crazier ending but overall the story came together nicely. Its a fast paced story that you won't be able to put down.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this early release of If Something Happens to Me. I really enjoyed this thriller. It was well thought out and action packed. The twist at the end of Part One had me totally shocked. I sometimes like when the twist happens earlier in the book rather than at the end. I did expect more of a twisty ending than what it was but overall it was still really good. This book is fast paced with three different alternate points of view.

This book follows three people.. a young man who’s girlfriend got abducted in front of him five years ago, a new cop who is trying to work on the case of the abduction , and a mob boss’ family tragedy and business.

I enjoyed the different points of view and how different all of the characters were. The best aspect was that all of the characters lives intersected with one another which you eventually figure out as you read on. It was a thriller meets the television show The Sopranos. I would recommend it if you are into a twisty thriller with a dash of organized crime.

This was my first book by this author and I’m really excited to read the rest of them! This book comes out May 28th so be sure to add it to your TBR!!

Lots of twists and turns.

3 POVs that were necessary to the plot. I was actually interested in all 3 and it was fun trying to connect the 3 characters to the central plot.

I will say that I did not predict the big reveal, BUT I did have a feeling about the second.

The ending was very gratifying and made sense.

This is the fourth book I have read by Alex Finlay, who shows a promising future in the mystery field. I found two earlier books well-constructed and highly entertaining (4 to 5-star ratings).
His previous book was disappointing (2 Stars), but he seems to be back on track with this newest book. I thought it was clever, overly complicated, and slow in parts. The chapters are short to keep the plot moving along. It focuses on three well-developed characters but also their friends, families, workmates, and enemies, many of whom play vital roles in solving the mystery. So many names! I was anxious to learn the outcome but found it challenging to maintain interest.

Ryan was a popular high school basketball player in Kansas. One evening, he was parked in 'Lovers Lane' with his girlfriend Ali. A man pulled him out of the car and knocked him unconscious. When he came back from being unconscious, he remembered very little except for Ali's shrill screams. He thinks he remembered a distinguishing feature on the man's hands. Both Ali and the car she was driving were missing. Ryan fears Ali to be dead, but the community believes him to be guilty of a horrible crime. He was not charged due to a lack of evidence and his parents obtaining a good lawyer for him. Ryan's life has become unbearable due to mentions on crime podcasts and the hostility of crowds. He changes his last name and enrolls in law school, where his classmates and friends are unaware of his background.

Five years after the tragedy, he is on a class trip to Italy; he is still shattered by the loss of Ali, whom he regards as the love of his life and believes dead. He is dating a new girlfriend but cannot forget what happened. A phone call from home informs him that Ali's car has been discovered submerged in a lake. The bodies of two unknown men are in the car. The only trace of Ali is her water-logged purse. Inside is an envelope with her handwriting preserved in plastic. It says, "If Anything Happens to Me," and contains a coded message. The cypher is in the form of numbers; to decipher it, one needs to know which book is used in writing the code. Ryan believes the message was meant for him.

Shockingly, he catches a glimpse of the man who dragged him out of the car on that fatal night. The man says something to Ryan to make him suspect Ali is still alive. He pursues the man to England for further information but finds him murdered and then moves on to France to attempt to decipher the code. Next, he returns to Kansas.

Poppy is a new sheriff's deputy in Kansas. She was military-trained but was dismissed unfairly. She is investigating the men's identity in the submerged car and interviewing Ali and Ryan's friends and acquaintances, including a member of her family. She is diligent, intelligent, and determined to solve the mystery surrounding the case.

What possible connection does this case have with mobsters in Philadelphia? We are introduced to leading gangster Shawn O'Leary, a fellow gangster and their families. How does their story converge with the case in Kansas?

The story contains violence, abduction, killings, school bullying, suicide, torture by mobsters, obsession, and revenge with mind-boggling twists and turns. It all comes together at the end, with plenty of shocks and surprises along the way. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) for this much-appreciated ARC. The expected date of publication is May 28.

Wow! I give this five stars. All the characters are well written, and have a soft side, even the bad guys (well, except one). There are twists and turns, several story lines that at the beginning you wonder how they will all get tied together, and it all comes together in such a cool way. There are a few plot supports that are a bit unrealistic, but my desire to keep reading and the speed in which I read the book outweighs those feelings. The fun, well written characters, the story line, the tension and the tension and excitement makes it a winner for me! The variety of settings were all well done, and though confusing at the beginning I enjoyed all the different towns and settings. I would love it if Poppy McGee becomes a character series, and Ryan Smith et al a spin-off lawyer series.

This is my first Alex Finlay book, I will now be seeking his back titles out. This book ranks up there with some of my other favorite thriller authors. I do think there is a factor of "right book at the right time" for me, but this is a great vacation/summer beach read. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the early copy of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Five years ago Ryan Richardson was hit on the head and his girlfriend was grabbed out of her car and never seen again. Ryan's life was turned upside down with the suspicion he was responsible. During a summer trip in Italy with his law school friends, he finds out Ali's car was found with two dead men inside.

Ryan and a local sheriff deputy work to unravel the mystery.

Enjoyable mystery.

This was a fantastic read with lots of twists and turns! An unsolved disappearance is brought back into the spotlight when a missing girl’s car is found in a lake. The story follows several characters (including the boyfriend, the new deputy, and an organized crime boss half a country away) as threads are pulled to unravel the mystery of what happened to Alison Lane.

This book really kept me turning the pages (well, swiping the kindle screen) and up late. It was fast paced and really well told.

2.5 rounded up

While I have really liked all the Alex Finlay books I have read so far (5 to date)- this one missed its mark for me.

I do have to give the author credit for creating a very fast paced page turner. I loved that the chapters were super short and it was easy to get through several quickly. However, the writing was not good. It felt pretty juvenile and stereotypical for certain characters. I definitely didn’t expect literacy fiction type writing but this was noticeably bad. In addition, I never found myself surprised by a twist or finding a surprise satisfying.

It was also very hard to believe that there was a police officer who was 21 and going rogue to solve the unsolved disappearance. I found that this fact distracted me and it would have made more sense for her to at least be in her late 20’s.

I’d pick up the Night Shift or What Have We Done and skip this one.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my review.

4 1/2 stars! 🌟

Twists ☑️
Short chapters ☑️
Multiple POVs ☑️
Quick pace ☑️
Suspense ☑️

My little thriller loving heart is full. Grab the popcorn and enjoy this binge-worthy read.

There is quite a large cast of characters in this book and sometimes that can be daunting, but Finlay wrote in such fluid fashion that he quickly put me at ease. Everything intertwined just right and left me without any questions at the end.

Thank you #NetGalley and#stmartinspress for an arc of #IfSomethingHappenstoMe in exchange for an honest review.

If Something Happens To Me is a great book. I really enjoyed the characters. I would love to see more with Poppy McGee! The book had a great plot and had several twists. I had a great time reading it.


Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the digital arc and allowing me to share my early thoughts.

Alex Finlay is a master at writing an action-packed thriller that reads like a blockbuster movie. The Night Shift is still my absolute favorite, but I enjoyed this a lot more than What Have We Done. This one was so fun to play detective with and while I guessed the big twists, Finlay did a good job laying out the clues for the reader. I read it with a friend and she didn’t see the twists coming at all! This one held my attention the whole way through. I loved the short chapters with cliffhanger endings and each POV added an interesting layer to the story.

If you like fast-paced thrillers, unsolved cases, multiple POVs that eventually intersect, crime plots, and lots of twists and turns then I highly recommend this one!

I enjoyed this book! It wasn’t my favorite and didn’t have a wow moment but I was intrigued enough to finish it. I do like this author and look forward to more!

Just finished reading “If Something Happens to Me” by Alex Finlay.

This book starts with a mystery. Ali and Ryan are parked at “lover’s lane”. They are attacked and when Ryan comes to, Ali is missing.

What follows is a fast paced thriller. There are many characters and points of view. First there’s Ryan, who has changed his name and is trying to move on with his life.
Then you have Poppy, a deputy sheriff whose first day on the job is the day Alison’s car is found.
Finally there is Shane O’Leary, mob boss. All are intertwined but how?

This book is a binge worthy thriller. I highly recommend!

This book starts off with a sweet scene of young, first loves hanging out before they both leave for college but then it turns into a terrible night for Ryan as he is knocked unconscious and his girlfriend Ali is gone. He doesn't know what happened that night but suspicion is on him. Fast-forward 5 years and Ryan has changed his last name and is now in law school on a school trip to Italy. He is confronted by someone who knows what happened that night and with fragments of his memory coming back realizes this guy could be trouble.

Told from various points of view, this thriller was so action-packed and fast paced. I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happened that night and how it all fit together. There were a few twists and turns and the suspense was so good. I enjoyed this fun read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own.

One day, one event, one mistake, one video can change the course of so many lives forever. Taylor and her father Michael, Alison and Ryan, Shane, Anthony and Gina, Poppy, Dash and Sheriff Ken. Some people can make a mistake and all can be forgive, but others it can ruin their lives forever. Ryan thought it was his fault that Alison disappeared and was taken that he could have protected her. Michael thought he could escape and hide himself and his daughter. With the age of Social Media and everyone having a camera, it was bound to happen that Alison wouldn’t be able to avoid being captured at one point.

This book takes a lot of twists and turns. At first I wasn’t sure how all the stories intertwined until the end of Part One. I sat there shocked by the revaluation of what I just read. Alex’s writing style has you wanting to keep turning the page. I couldn’t stop reading to find out what was going to happen next. This books shows what a parent is willing to do to protect the ones they love and that you don’t always know who a person really is.

Thank you Net Galley and Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin Press for this ARC. I’m not usually thriller seeker, probably read one once a year, but this was a break from the happy go lucky books I normally read. This book was fast paced, heart pumping and truly thrilling. A++ Alex Finlay has gained a fan.

Five years ago, Ali was abducted while out with her boyfriend Ryan - car and all. No one knows what happened but presume it was him. This story is multiple POV (primarily Ryan, sheriffs deputy Poppy, and mobster Shane, but we get a few others sprinkled in) in multiple locations and sometimes times! It kept me on my toes, I sorta smelled the twist coming but it was a fast and engaging read. I really loved the unique writing style!

This book started off really great and I was hooked from the beginning. The three POVs woven together nicely. I figured out the "plot twist" before it was revealed but it was a great twist nonetheless. I really liked the premise of this. However I DNFed at 75% mark. The final chapters felt like a soap opera. It was ridiculous. I lost the interest. The book could have been much shorter and more juicy. Just 200 pages would have been more than enough.

Definitely kept me guessing! It got a little confusing at some points about halfway through but I genuinely enjoyed this story.