This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

A very weak story in my opinion and felt as if it was aimed at young adults because of the language and setting of the book. I tried to get into it, but after 100 pages I found I was not enjoying it so stopped. Maybe one for another day?

IF I DIE TONIGHT is an intriguing, well-written and twisty mystery. It's an interesting look at a community rocked by a violent event, with plenty of questions hovering over its cause, motivation, and even who's involved. Jackie Reed is worried about her sons, particularly her eldest, who has withdrawn and seems to be changing before her eyes. What really happened with the carjacking? What did Aimee En really see?

Tightly-plotted, gripping, and populated by interesting and three-dimensional characters. Told from a variety of perspectives, each of which bring their own interesting interpretations, this novel will keep you hooked and reading well into the night.

Well written mistery, story of family drama and psychological thriller Loved the storyline, recommend thoroughly.

If I Die Tonight is my first book by this author. A story of family drama and psychological thriller.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of the book for review purposes.
A fantastic read - the stlory line was fast-paced, well written and full of twists at every page! As the mother of a teen I could relate to the frustration of them shutting me out. Well done. ,

I really enjoyed this novel, read within a couple of days. Loved the storyline, recommend thoroughly. Look forward to more titles by this author *****

This is a fantastic thriller with a brilliant storyline! Had me hooked from the first page. Excellent read.

Unfortunately, this book was archived before I got chance to read it.

I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. I look forward to reading more by this author

If I die tonight? by al gaylin.
There is an accident a hit and run. Is it one of Jackie reeds sons? was it an accident? Who killed him if it wasn't an accident? Now jackie must seperate the truth from lies. How did liam end up on that road? And where was Wade her son that night? Will she find the truth?
This was a really good read. I was stumped with who it could be. It wasn't who I thought it was. 4*. Netgalley and random house uk cornerstone.

A L Gaylin floored me with What Remains of Me, so I was ecstatic to get my hands on If I Die Tonight. I am pleased to be able to say: Gaylin has done it again. Fantastic mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I could not recommend this author enough.

This was my first AL Gaylin and I am so pleased to have found another author to add t can add to my " look out for" list. This was a refreshingly different book with lots of very interesting facets. Yes there is a crime at the heart of it but there is also cyber bullying and family angst too. The characters are well drawn and whilst some of the supposed shock turns were fairly easy to spot they were quite believable too.

What Remains of Me was for me one of the stand out novels of last year so I was really looking forward to this. And it really did not disappoint. In If I Die Tonight Jackie Reed is a normal mom, just trying to bring up her son's Wade and Connor the best she can. Wade worries her a lot, he's a loner and prone to unpredictable behaviour but she's sure he's basically a good kid. But then one night a popular boy from Wade's class is killed in an apparent car jacking. Fingers are pointed and Jackie tries to unravel the truth, but all she really knows is that Wade was out that night and he refuses to say where he was....

This book kept me gripped throughout. Gaylin has created a cast of believable characters that are really likeable, which is very unusual in this genre! Jackie and local police officer Pearl Maze are the real heart of this story so it's great they are such well rounded, believable and (I'll say it again) likeable protagonists. I only have one criticism of the novel and that's the ending. It's just a bit too abrupt and neat. That aside this is well worth a read, Gaylin is a born storyteller.

Strong characters and a good story involving single Mam Jackie and her two boys. Well worth a read

If I Die Tonight takes you on the journey of single mum Jackie and her two boys, Wade and Connor. A classmate of Wade's is killed in a hit and run and fingers soon point to Wade.
Various twists throughout that kept me guessing. A fab book.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House, UK Cornerstone Century for sending me the book for an honest review. The book was really good, it talked about murder, trauma at a young age, abandonment & the extremes teens may go to because they’re “bored” (not all but y’know). It also shows how much of a part social media plays in our everyday lives, in the way it’s so often used to spread the word (whether it be good or bad, it’s super quick). I think it’s the reveals that added to the little twist the book had which made it a 3.5 rating instead of a 3. One of the reveals really made me say “um what…?” like did I read that right?

Regular visitors to the blog will know that I am a big fan of crime thrillers set in small town America. If I Die Tonight is set in Havenkill, a small Hudson Valley town where little happens and that’s exactly how the residents like it. Except tragedy is heading to Havenkill in the form of a hit and run accident. When Liam Miller is tragically mown down one wet October night following a carjacking, all eyes fall on Jackie Reed’s eldest son, Wade. Wade is different to his classmates. He’s artistic, secretive and a bit of a loner with no friends to fight his corner. His younger brother, Connor is on his side though and will do anything Wade asks of him. Even dispose of a tied carrier bag in a dumpster at the local Lukoil. The same bag Wade had hidden in Connor’s closet the night of Liam’s accident. Jackie soon begins to realise that she doesn’t know her children anymore. That they have their own lives, their own secrets. It’s down to Jackie to clear Wade’s name before he’s arrested and made into the local pariah.

One of the things you can always guarantee with an A.L. Gaylin novel is GREAT characters. Some readers are all about the plot, others the setting. Personally, I’m all about the characters (and the plot and the setting!). Jackie Reed was someone I could immediately understand and relate to a little. She’s a working single mother, with little support from her ex-husband. What I liked most about Jackie though was her heart. There are times throughout the book when the reader is made to question Wade’s innocence. Jackie has a small wobble here and there but she’s pretty steadfast in her belief that her son is innocent. I loved that. I could feel her love and belief emanating from the page. There are a whole host of other brilliant characters in this story too (however, Jackie will remain my favourite!). I also really liked Jackie’s youngest son, Connor. Connor’s life changes when his friends suddenly start treating him differently. I can imagine how much this would hurt as an adult so I was interested to see where Gaylin would take the emotions of a young teen. He’s an admirable young man and I really liked him.

I was pleasantly surprised by one of the twists. I had convinced myself that I knew where the story was going but I was actually quite far off of the mark. The amount of suspicion in the pages of If I Die Tonight was really rather thrilling. I mentioned before how much I love books set in small town America and that’s because I love the claustrophobia and how the characters suddenly become suspicious of friends and family, always looking over their shoulders.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. I thoroughly enjoy Gaylin’s writing style, her characters are well written and more believable than most and it’s a GREAT plot, chock full of suspense. After reading two of this author’s books she is now firmly on my list of authors to keep an eye out for. Highly recommended.

Four and a half out of five stars.

I chose to read and review an ARC of If I Die Tonight. The above review is my own unbiased opinion. My thanks to Jasmine at Arrow Publishing for asking me to be part of the blog tour and for my ARC.

This is a very character driven book which tugged at my heartstrings throughout. It's the story of single mum Jackie and her two boys Wade and Connor and what happened to them after the events that transpired one night when a classmate of her older boy, Wade, was killed in a hit and run after a carjacking. Set in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business, fingers soon point to Wade as the culprit especially when he can't account for his whereabouts that night. Jackie has to decide whether to trust her son. A simple task you may think but when Wade's recent behaviour has become somewhat questionable, even Jackie starts to have doubts. There is so much going on around and about the incident with most of the characters keeping secrets and lying , even to the Police that for pretty much the whole book I was chasing my tail as I tried to cut through the noise to get to the truth.
It was quite an emotional read for me, especially with what was going on with Connor and how the fallout from the town's victimisation of Wade spilled over to his life and affected his own relationships. Similarly with what happened to Jackie and her job. All on the say so of a bunch of people who decided to be judge and jury and convict on no evidence. Guilty until proven innocent and trial by social media methinks!
And as we got to the end, my heart was really in my mouth as I contemplated what was happening. Especially as the shocking truth was starting to come out. A truth that completely floored me when all was revealed. Apart from one final twist that I just can't quite get my head around. But, apart from that, the ending was completely satisfying.
As with this author's previous book, What Remains of Me, I fell easily into the style of writing. Something I was very thankful for given the rather convoluted plot and all the secrets and lies flitting about, moving my focus from one character to the next as I tried to make sense of it all. I think the book relied more on confusion than plot to keep the tension high but hey, it worked OK for me so why not!
All in all a good solid read that left me satisfied. Would definitely read more by this author.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The book begins with a teenage boy called Wade posting his suicide note on Facebook. The story then explains what has happened and why he felt such despair that death was the only possible escape.
A classmate dies having been run over in the middle of the night. There are a number of possible scenarios, from being struck by a drunk driver to being the victim of a botched car-jacking. Wade, as a loner and troubled teenager, seems to fit the only alleged witness description given of the perpetrator and therefore becomes the subject of rumour and gossip.
Unfortunately, in the present age of social media this can all take place online, reaching a far wider audience and enabling anonymous people to speculate irresponsibly and maliciously, constructing wild theories from the most baseless rumours.
I thought that this was a very relevant, modern and topical book which really addressed the enormous power of social media and how it can be used for good or evil. It dealt with the tendency to see everything in black and white only. The modern trend of elevating young accident victims almost to the level of martyrs or heroes – the GoFundMe pages; the creation of roadside shrines; hacking of social media accounts: the distortion of truth; how anyone can comment or speculate on a social media post, their empty and uninformed words now given power by being published online and reaching an ever-wider audience, so baseless rumours spread and are soon taken as fact.
I think this is a book that needed to be written and I would recommend that it is put on reading lists for senior schools so that young people can get some sense of the responsibility that should accompany the power of social media.