Ryan Richardson’s girlfriend Ali was kidnapped right before his eyes and it has haunted him for the past five years. He was able to continue to law school but hasn’t had another relationship since. While on a trip to Italy, he receives a threatening note that kicks off a quest to track down the man who took Ali. At the same time on the other side of the world, Ali’s car is discovered submerged in a lake. There are two bodies and a note from Ali inside that could be the clue to everything.

The deputy in charge of the case, Poppy, has a connection to Ali – her older brother was on the basketball team with Ryan. Like everyone else, she can’t imagine why anyone would kidnap Ali and why there are dead men in her car that should have been found years ago in the lake. As the investigation continues, it takes some strange detours that no one saw coming, even the reader.

I always enjoy this author’s books; he keeps you hooked throughout the story and smacks you with a twist when you least expect it. You might start off thinking what in the world do THESE characters have to do with THOSE characters – are there two different stories here?? But just wait because it all becomes clear. And I have to say, I don’t usually find myself sympathizing with villains but good and evil aren’t easily defined here. And why should they be – that’s life, after all, a series of blurred grey areas of right and wrong. In the end, you may be surprised where you find yourself.

If Something Happens to Me is a new favorite thriller of all time for me. You get pulled in from the first chapter and you never want to stop reading. I love the short chapters, the multiple perpesectives, the time jumps, and the twists and turns that caught me completely off guard.
I went into this book kind of blind, besides knowing that we are following a man named Ryan, who's girlfriend mysteriously disappeared without a trace years ago and everyone thinks Ryan murdered her. Ryan has made a new life for himself with a new name, but his father calls him out of the blue about how something has emerged with the case.
The way Finlay writes has you rooting for all the characters, he puts so much thought into each character and I love it.
With so many perspectives you need to have fleshed out characters or else they all seem to run together. Finlay knows how to make each character unique and stand out.
I honestly know I won't stop talking about this book for months to come. I will be recommending this book ANYTIME someone wants an edge of their seat thriller!!

Holy Guacamole! This was a banger! 🔥🔥🔥 Alex Finlay wrote one hell of a story and I loved every bit of it!

One night Ryan and Ali are sitting at Lovers Point talking about their future after high school. They’re high school sweethearts and definitely in love. Then the unthinkable happens….. someone has opened the door, knocked Ryan over the head and taken Ali. Who would do this and why?

Then five years pass. The car Ali was driving is found submerged in a local lake with two bodies found inside, but no Ali. Who are these people and what in heck happened to Ali?

There is another storyline going on as well that I would love to tell you about but then that would be saying too much. All I can tell you is that somehow these stories are connected. Boy oh boy, once that came together, this turned into a full on WILD RIDE! 😱

So much is going on and you’ve got to pay close attention to the details. Was it too much? Absolutely not! In fact, I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN! Work just became a problem 🤣

Put this on your TBR! Preorder this NOW! You will not be disappointed! A full on rollercoaster of a ride! Action and suspense will keep you gripped to this phenomenal read!!!!

A huge MASSIVE THANKS to Minotaur Books, NetGalley and Alex Finlay for this opportunity! All opinions are my own.
Release date May 28, 2024
5 shining ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I couldn’t wait to pick this up after getting approved for an arc. And boy was I not disappointed. There was twist after twist in this book. I figured out one but some of the others I was shocked. I can’t even tell you what this is about because it would be hard without spoiling it. But just know this is a fast and great read.

This book was a page-turner and an easy read. There were a lot of twists and turns along the way, and the suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. The different POVs of the accountant, the mobster, the deputy sheriff, and Ryan added a lot of layers to the book and it was interesting to see how their lives were intersected with each other. There's a LOT that is going on in each chapter, and it comes together in the end really well. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If Something Happens to Me
Alex Finlay
Pub: 5/28/24
4.5☆

Ok, I loved this one! It was fun, fast, and a total bingefest.

If Something Happens to Me was exactly the type of thriller/mystery I crave. It was a twisty and addicting story that completely sucked me and kept me totally guessing (and second guessing) to the very end. There’s multiple POV’s and a lot going on with this quick moving plot but Finlay skills weaves everything together while keeping you on the edge of your seat. The writing, the characters, the pacing… it was all so freakin good. I could not put it down, and devoured it in a few hours.

What I loved;
✨ Twisty Thriller
✨ Addicting Who-Dun-It Mystery
✨ Heart Pounding Suspense
✨ Multiple POV’s

What a fun and wild ride! Absolutely would recommend. A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

If Something Happens to Me is a fast-paced thriller with a slightly more than first half that's filled with misdirection. The story is told primarily from three perspectives. Ryan Richardson, a law student remaking his life after he was the suspect in his high school girlfriend Allison's disappearance, Poppy McGee, a sheriff deputy in Ryan's home town of Leavenworth, Kansas, who only a few days into her new job is roped into the follow-up of finding Allison's car submerged in a local lake. The third POV is Shane O'Leary, a mobster in Philadelphia, whose connection to the other storylines finally becomes clear later in the book. Finlay writes a story that's compelling, feels like it could be real, and mostly stays away from creating storylines that are hard to believe. Ryan gets enough clues to believe that Ali isn't dead, a victim of the Missouri River Killer, as presumed for so many years, which means that if she is, her life could once again be in danger. He and Poppy begin their own separate, then joined race to try and find her, and shut the door on the events that led to her disappearance in the first place. This was a fun and quick read. There weren't necessarily a lot of moments that I couldn't see coming, but I still enjoyed the story. A complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If something happens to me by Alex Finley

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book! This book was a slow burn for me. Trying to figure out what characters were connected and why all the different key players in this was a little much.

A girl that is presumed dead, a big bad crime boss, and of course a law enforcement officer. The three different POVs were a little crazy but over all it was a good book.

The ending was intense and the book kept me intrigued till the end.

Finished this mystery/action ARC in 3 days, so it kept my attention, but did I really love it? Thank you, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

The book is architected in short chapters that switch POV every time between 3 main locations and people: Poppy, a deputy sheriff in Kansas; Ryan a law student traveling in Europe with his student cohort; and a mobster in Philly. I personally would have preferred a little longer time with each character set to establish a deeper relationship with them.

The novel is centered around a crime established in the very beginning of the book: Ryan's true-love girlfriend was accosted from her car at a "lovers point" in a park in KS when with Ryan. Ryan wasn't prosecuted, so who did it and why? What happened to the girlfriend? It takes a good long while to figure out the connections between these people, and there are quite a few characters in each mini-story to keep track of.

While the story came together well, and moved at a good pace, I felt there were so many characters that the reader couldn't really get invested in any of them too deeply. I would have maybe preferred a more classic single narrator storyline with probably Poppy the lead, or even Ryan. Poppy seemed like a really interesting character to me! There were some key plot elements that seemed pretty unbelievable and didn't really pass the smell test for me. I won't give away which ones because every reader deserves to be surprised!

I don't really want to summarize the book as other reviewers have because I think it gives away too many of the reveals that Alex Finlay layers into the book. I know I'm in the minority for this book, but I rate it 3.5 stars.

If you are a fan of Alex Finlay, this one is a must read for you. This was a really fun and fast thriller that kept me guessing the entire way through. This is a larger cast of characters with multiple POV's and I tend to read those a lot faster because if I put the book down for too long I will absolutely forget everything I just read.

In typically Finlay fashion, it was a ton of twists and turns and you never knew who to trust, but you were decently able to root for everyone. They were all like-able characters, even the mob boss, so it made it exciting to have people to root for.

Final thoughts: If you are a Finlay fan, or love twisty who-dun-its, this is the book for you!

Wow such a great storyline. Not usually a fan of books where criminal enterprises are involved but this was well done. I also loved the ending but wonder “are Michael, Shane & Gina” really dead?? My suspicious side has me thinking of the possibilities.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC of this book for an honest review.
This is a fast paced story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. There are a lot of different characters in different parts of the world. You have to pay attention because each main character has a different story. I really enjoyed this book full of twists and turns.

I’m not going to lie, everything you expect from a Finlay book is present in this one! A bit of intrigue, suspense, twists and turns, a bit of blood and gore, some good people, some bad, and some you’re unsure of. One thing I love is that when you start his books you never really know how everything is connected but slowly it is revealed!
3.5 stars rounded to 4 on GR.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Highly bingeable with one of my favorite tropes… multiple POVs that don't interconnect until midway through. I will say this book does require a certain level of suspension of disbelief, which is fine for me. If you go in accepting that, you’ll really enjoy the ride! Thank you NetGalley and publishers for this ARC!

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay was a totally solid and enjoyable thriller! This was actually just the read to get me out of my thriller slump. It was fast paced and kept me intrigued and guessing until the end. I enjoyed the different locations and groups of characters- my favorite part was probably learning how they were all intertwined. I also feel that there was just the right about of characters- not too many that I couldn’t keep track. This was my first read by Finlay, but I’m definitely up for another!

Thank you to @netgalley and @StMartinsPress for this ARC. Three story lines of three different lives but in Part 2, you learn how they intersect. I verbally said "WHAT?". Can't say much more as to not give anything away. This book is good. #IfSomethingHappensToMe #AlexFinlay #May2024 #StMartinsPress

I think it’s time for me to accept that I am not the right reader for Alex Finlay. I really enjoyed the first book of his I read but since then they haven’t worked for me and unfortunately this was very true here.

If Something Happens to Me has an interesting synopsis and I was very excited to dive in. However right from the start I didn’t like the structure - told in three alternating viewpoints in different places with different characters. And as it went along, this only got worse as many of the chapters ended with little cliffhangers and then cut to a different scene entirely. Once in a while, that’s fun! But as often as it happens here it was just annoying.

The actual story was over the top and just felt like summer blockbuster action movie scenes at times. This wasn’t for me. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.

Oh well, everyone else seems to love this one, but I only loved part 1. Then, it turned into an international crime drama that I found hard to enjoy. Could see this as a Netflix movie. Thank you #netgalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This one! It will have you hooked from the beginning not a slow read very fast paced. I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys thrillers. Lots of twist, honesty had you second guessing at some times. The characters were also very good and fit perfectly into the story.

There is a lot going on in this intense thriller - a cold case of a kidnapping reopened, the mob, an innocent man trying to find his old girlfriend and a young deputy trying to prove herself. When a car is pulled out of a lake with two dead men and a coded note that leads to a missing woman Poppy has her hands full with her first case. Meanwhile Ryan is in Italy where he sees a link to his past and is now searching for the girlfriend who was kidnapped years before.
Everything you want in a thriller - an intense chase for answers, well plotted storyline with twists and turns. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.