Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. Disappearance stories always pique my interest. It starts off with a bang when two teenagers encounter trouble while parked at lover's lane. The girl is abducted, and the boy is soon under suspicion for her disappearance. Years later, a young female cop, new on the force, gets handed an intriguing mystery relating to the case.

To be honest, I lost interest at about the 80 percent mark. I am not sure why, but maybe I'm just not the right audience. Once things start to become clear and questions pretty much answered, nothing compelled me to keep reading, so I skimmed through to the end. There is a suggestion that the female cop may be interested in women, so what else is new. Recommended.

It has been five years since tragedy devastated Ryan Richardson’s life. Now a law student on vacation sees a man who was a part of that past. A kidnapping that happened back then that is intertwined with the lives of so many from all over. The twists and turns in this book will keep you on your toes figuring out who all is involved and the connections they all have with each other. Great read!



Thanks to Alex Finlay and St Martin’s Press for the read!

*round up to 4.5/5 stars* wow! This book truly did amaze me! I had read “The Night Shift” a while ago and found it to be a pretty average read, so this blew away my expectations. The research put into this plot was clearly shown through the attention to detail and intricacies of how each character was connected. I would’ve given this 5 stars, but honestly until about halfway through, the plot was almost too elaborate and complex that it was hard to understand the intensity of what was going on. The plot twists were fantastic, the connecting of stories was beautifully done, and the writing was a pleasure to read. I couldn’t put this book down!

Just wow! Intelligent and complex mystery, the past haunting the present for all involved as some ghosts won't stay hidden, and some keep being found. No spoilers - a solid and well written mystery that will keep you hooked.

St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books provided an early galley for review.

Earlier this year, I read The Night Shift by Finlay and really enjoyed it. So, I was eager to see what he would write for his next novel.

There are definitely some similarities between that book and this one. Both involve a reopened cold case involving high school students several years later. There are several narrative viewpoints in both - including one from a male connected to the incident who changes his name to avoid the infamy and one from a female in a position of law inforcement that is investigating the case. This book is also divided into three parts and features many shorter chapters, allowing for jumping around to the various threads of the tale.

I found the story to have a slow build, much like a roller coaster. While everything still moved along at a steady pace, I was hoping for some faster thrills and much sharper twists. Granted, the "slowness" might too be where my brain was at when reading this (coming off a super busy week prior). Still, I was entertained by this story.

One of the secondary characters instantly became a favorite of mine - the true crime podcaster Ziggy dela Cruz (no spoilers). This is a character of which I'd like to see more. To be used in just a small way would be a waste. Finlay has reused characters in books in the past, so there might be some hope for Ziggy down the road.

As a would-be writer myself, I did appreciate Finlay's notes in the back where he talks about how locales in the book were places he had some familiarity. That reflects a lot of writing tips and guidances I've absorbed over the years ("write what you know").

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC of the book.

Ali was kidnapped in her car during a date with her high school boyfriend Ryan - which made him the number one suspect. It took years for Ryan to get on with his new life, when Ali’s kidnapper comes back into the picture with more mystery. Around the same time the true crime podcasters have located Ali’s car in the local lake with 2 male bodies and a coded message from Ali in it. Where is Ali and who are those men as well how to crack the code is a riddle for a new deputy sheriff to solve.

At the beginning I was trying to figure out who is who and how they’re connected because there were multiple POV. Almost every chapter ended on a mini cliffhanger and I wanted to cheat and skip some chapters but every POV had intriguing and unexpected twists that I didn’t want to miss.

It's probably a good idea to mention is that there’s mob involved so there are some ruthless scenes involved, as well as a suicide.

Alex Finley does it again!

An abducted girl, a serial killer and a secret code all make this fast pace novel a fun read!
Ryan and Ali are on the brink of adulthood when Ali is taken and presumed dead. Years later her car is found with a note that says “if something happens to me” and the new sheriff starts to uncover the truth behind this cold case.

Face paced thrillers are my favorite type of read so I thought I had this book figured out but my jaw was on the floor with that twist!!
If something happens to me takes place across several different US states and Europe with different character point of views.
I will say that there are a lot of characters and I had a little bit of trouble keeping everything straight. But overall this is a very fun read that feels like an action movie. I highly recommend it!
Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This was my first experience with Alex Finlay and I loved this new installment! It had me hooked from the first page all the way to the end - I couldn't put it down. I liked the way that the differing story lines all came together in a way that made sense and was seemless. I am looking forward to reading more by Alex Finlay!

Such an awesome thriller! There were so many twists and turns, and it kept my attention the whole time. Definitely pick this one up!

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

I have enjoyed most books by this author and this one falls into that category, too. Great? Not so much, but convoluted and twisty. The timeline isn't always as straight forward as it seems, either.

A teenager is missing. It is the night before leaving for college and she is out with her boyfriend who says a man knocked him out and took the girlfriend and her daddy's car. The boy is blamed, of course, as he was the last known person to be with her, but then, where is she and where is the car?

Years go by, he changes his name and is furthering his education into law school when the situation lands back in his lap. He's no longer a teenaged, helpless boy, but a man who wants to right some wrongs. This is where it gets a little hard to believe at times, but go with it and see where it takes you. Some surprises along the way, of course, can be found to keep you on your toes.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance reader copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.

WOW. Alex Finlay has done it again. Just when you think you have this book figured out, another jaw dropping twist comes around the corner. This book is fast paced, gripping, and everything you could possible want out of a thriller. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, I cannot believe how good it was!

There is a lot going on in this story and all of it is great! Ryan had his girlfriend ripped from his life and no one knows what happened to her. Then out of the blue her car is pulled from a lake only she is not one of the bodies in it. Follow along as this story takes down an intersection path.
So good!

I knew that I liked Alex Finlay after the Night Shift, but this made me like him so much more. Three amazing things about this book: SUPER quick chapters (think 3 pages), Multiple POV (but not confusing or too much), and a book that kept me asking myself "HOW ARE ALL THESE STORIES GOING TO TIE TOGETHER?" any anytime that happens automatic A from me.

Ali and Ryan are high school sweethearts who live in a small town in Kansas. They decide they want to head to the towns hook up spot, for a fun night out. It begins to downpour and suddenly Ali is dragged from the car and Ryan is knocked unconscious never to see Ali again. Fast forward five years later, Ali's car is found at the bottom of the lake. Poppy, the new town sheriff, has been asked to go through the tip line, where she begins to find clues about Ali's disappearance. As the investigation continues, Shane O'Leary a major crime boss, begins to intertwine in this case. Did the disappearance have to do with a vengeful mob boss with a grudge against a group of teens? And why?

Mobs, money, small town romance, yes please. BUT huge trigger warnings to suicide.

I was fortunate enough to get an ARC of this through Minotaur Books!

I found this book to be a delightful surprise, despite my usual impatience with stories that take time to reveal their connections between characters. There was just something about the storyline or perhaps the writing itself that compelled me to read on, and I'm so glad I did. From the moment Ryan wakes up to find his girlfriend missing and his life turned upside down, the suspense never lets up. The twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat, and just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story threw me for another loop. The ending was incredibly satisfying, and I was pleasantly surprised by the level of realism that was maintained throughout. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for more books by this author!

This book was well worth reading, despite my usual impatience with books that have multiple characters who don't seem to have any connection until long enough into the book that I find myself skimming the pages until I can see what is going on. I'm not even sure why I didn't do it this time - there was just something about the storyline or maybe the writing that told me it was going to be worth reading the whole book. And it WAS. Poor Ryan got knocked unconscious and woke up to find the car and his girlfriend gone. All he has is a vague image of the man who attacked him in the dark. Of course everyone assumes that he killed her, even though her body hasn't been found. He is so severely harassed that he moves out of the country and changes his name. Time goes by and Ali's car is found at the bottom of a lake and it is NOT empty. Ali's purse is found in the car with an envelope which says, "If Something Happens to me" (hence, the title of the book). It contained a cryptic message of nothing but numbers which experts were struggling to decode while a deputy sheriff tracks down Ryan somehow after having no luck talking to Ali's friends about what the code might be about. And it's a roller coaster ride from here on. Every time you think you know who the bad guys are, you quickly find out you are wrong. There was only one case where I saw something coming, and that was ONLY because I kept wanting to tap the Deputy Sheriff on the shoulder and ask her why she hadn't asked somebody something that was really bugging me. When she never asked, I figured it had to be for storyline purposes, which ended up being true. I found the ending to be very satisfying, although when it was getting close, I DID look back to see if the author was male or female so I could be prepared to be disappointed. Yes, the book is fiction, but I want there to be enough reality that the ending doesn't feel contrived, which this one certainly didn't. I will be looking for more of his books!

What a fun ride this was! I finished this book in one day because I had to find out how it ended! I would definitely describe this as “unputdownable”. It was fast paced and easy to read. I love the authors writing style. This is my second book by him, and I’ll definitely be reading more. Thanks to NetGalley and SMP for the advance copy!

This book just wasn’t any good. Too much going on and it still bored me to read. It was really hard to keep up with all the different characters. I’m also no expert in law enforcement but half the stuff they’re doing in the story would never slide in real life.

Thanks to the publishers at St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley I was able to get a early access E-Copy of “If Something Happens to Me” by Alex Finlay

The start of this story your immediately thrown into some action which hooked me and reeled me in, it was hard to put down. I wanted to know what came next and who was connected to who.

One night at the end of his senior year Ryan meets up with his girlfriend of four years Alison at lovers lane a hot spot for hook ups in a small town of Kansas before a summer split between the two of them only to end up knocked out and Alison missing.
Ryan was a suspect of Alison’s disappearance until evidence came about she was a possible victim of a cereal killer who was in the area at the time of the attack.
Ryan has moved changed his last name in fear of others finding out his true identity and being linked to Alison’s disappearance.
6 years has passed and one day Ryan is confronted with his passed.

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
This one will have you on edge forsure!

This one captivated me from the beginning. We jump around between three different points of view and I was confused how they.intertwined, but once I figured it out it was fantastic! I would recommend this one to anyone that loves action and mysteries that you're trying to figure out.