Intense read. It was enjoyable from beginning to end. Fast paced thrillers are my favorite and this one nailed it!!

In a small Kansas town, Ryan Richardson experienced a terrible night when his girlfriend, Ali was taken from his car, forcibly, and against her will. He will never forget that night, nor will anyone else in his town. They accused him of being her killer, and it caught on with podcasts, true crime stories, etc. He moved away and changed his name, but is still haunted by memories of that night.

Five years later, Ali's car is found submerged in the lake in their town, with two dead men inside. In her purse, in a watertight bag, is an envelope.
On the outside it says "If Something Happens to Me" in her handwriting. The inside holds a coded message. The new Deputy Sheriff in town, Poppy, must try to put the pieces together to find out what really happened so long ago.

From Italy to England to Pennsyvlanie and Kansas, this story races along and it was a fast paced read. It kept my attention and I flew through it! Even with a wide range of characters, it was easy to keep track of them and follow the story. AFter a few slow reads lately, this was the perfect solution and I really enjoyed it!

I want to thank Minotaur Books and Netgalley for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whew. I was immediately sucked into this book and read the whole thing in less than 3 hours. Alex F is a mastermind. The way each of the storyline interconnected had me squealing. I did have a little bit of an inclination on what the "twist" would be but still was a good time.

I read If Something Happens to Me a month or so ago and I throughly enjoyed this thriller. Alex Finlay is an auto-read author for me so I didn’t bother reading the synopsis ahead of time. The bare bones of the plot is a teenage girl goes missing, and five years later her car is found. That’s really all you need to know before diving in.

Even though I’m a big fan of this genre, it’s not that often I get that true jaw dropping twist moment out of a book like I did with this one. Maybe I wasn’t on my A game and it was super obvious to other readers but it totally caught me off guard which is exactly what I want when reading a thriller. Now other things that happened later on in the story were not huge surprises but at least I got that one shocking moment.

A good pick if you are looking for a thriller to take with you on vacation or one to relax with after a long week.

Definitely a case of waiting way too long to write a proper review so this will likely be short and sweet. Alex Finlay books are always a hit for me, while they may not totally blow me away they're thoroughly enjoyable and exciting to read. This book felt a little over the top, but it was just enough that it was still entertaining and kept me on my toes.

I read this book very quickly in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I have previously really liked Finlay’s novels, and this was no exception. Although I predicted some of the plot points early on, the story still unwound in a satisfying way. I look forward to the next book from Finlay!
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC!
3.5/5 rounded up

This was so good!!! I really enjoyed this book and did not see how it would all tie together (but it did!) I def recommend

As always, Alex Finlay had me hooked from the very first page. I've read every single one of his books, and they never fail to draw me in, with twists and turns all over the place.

What I love about Finlay is the multiple POVs. I love having a cast of characters, most of whom are seemingly not connected and yet by the end all of the strings are nicely tied up. Through the first half of this novel, I was simply trying to understand how all of these characters were related to each other, and the last half was spent wondering how on earth this book was going to end.

What does Anthony being bullied at an elite prep school have to do with Ryan and Alison on Lover's Lane, their night ending in Alison being abducted and Ryan left to pick up the pieces, suspicion thrown his way?

Five years later Ryan is trying to live a life of anonymity and suddenly Poppy McGee is trying to piece together a mystery that gets thrown in her lap. How do they all connect? Get ready for a wild ride. Cancel your plans, stay off the internet, you're going to devour this book in a day. Once again Finlay has done it, because this book? Is a fabulous read.

A quick, twisty, page turning read! I felt like because this story was so quick I didn’t get to know / remember the characters all that well, but still a fun read.

5 years ago Ryan took a blow to the head while being yanked from his car hearing his girlfriend Ali scream never to be heard from again. After being a suspect in her disappearance, Ryan moves away and goes to law school. While on vacation in Europe he sees the man who pulled him from the car around the same time Ali's car is found in a lake.

Dare I say this Finlay has surpassed Riley Sager for me as my new go to summer thriller. Other than the Night Shift this has been my favorite of Finlay's. Fast paced, interesting premise, a bit over the top but done in a way that I still find believable. This one would be good for fans of Harlan Coben.

Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this book to review. This is a great book. Alison and Ryan are young lovers intent on losing their virginity. They are parked on Lovers’ Lane when a man, missing his pinkie fingers on both hands, hits Ryan on the head and abducts Alison. Fast forward five years and Ryan is in law school and on a school trip to Italy. Alison is still missing, but is she dead? Why does Ryan see Pinkie Man? What does Sean O’Leary have to do with any of this? This would make a great beach read. It’s fast, not too involved, and easy to see whodunnit. Pack it in your beach bag. Thank me later

A cover up that leads to a thrilling game of cat and mouse. This book is full of jaw dropping twist and is an addicting fast paced read. I couldn't put this one down. Thank you Netgalley and and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my review.

While glancing at other reviews for If Something Happens to Me, I have come to see that I am an outlier. I can definitely see why others enjoyed the book: it's fast-paced and full of twists and turns.

For me, there was a bit too much going on. At the beginning, I was quite confused as to how seemingly 3 separate characters would be intertwined. It felt overly complex to me, almost as though the author had two separate book ideas that they decided to merge into one. The ending also wrapped up super quickly. Which isn't inherently bad, but I felt like it could have been paced better.

The book does require quite a bit of suspension of belief. It's very unrealistic, which stopped me from loving the story. But if you are able to excuse that aspect, I think you'll enjoy it.

Overall a very entertaining book, it just wasn't a home run for me.

So I've really enjoyed some of Alex Finlay's other books, but this one didn't quite do it for me. It jumped between a lot of characters and the twists were not super exciting.

★ 3 stars.

I recently finished reading "If Something Happens to Me" by Alex Finlay, and it was quite a journey. The story revolves around Ryan Richardson, who has been haunted by a traumatic night for the past five years. The night his girlfriend, Ali, was taken, and he was left with a crushing blow to the head. Despite the suspicion hanging over him, Ryan manages to rebuild his life, changing his last name and attending law school.

The real twist comes when Ryan, on a summer trip to Italy, learns that Ali's car has been found submerged in a lake with two dead men and a cryptic note inside. This discovery sets off a chain of events that takes Ryan across Europe, desperately searching for answers and facing the man who has haunted his dreams.

Finlay certainly knows how to craft a suspenseful narrative with fast-paced, short chapters that keep the pages turning. The likeable characters, especially Ryan, who is easy to root for, are definite highlights. However, the mafia subplot didn’t resonate with me and detracted from my overall enjoyment. This is likely a personal preference, as I lean more towards psychological thrillers. While the prologue was incredibly gripping and set high expectations, I found the middle section of the book to be slower than I usually prefer. Despite the numerous action scenes and twists, I struggled to stay fully engaged.

Overall, "If Something Happens to Me" was a good read with some memorable moments. The ending was well-crafted and tied up loose ends satisfactorily. If you enjoy a mix of action, suspense, and a touch of mafia drama, this book will surely satisfy your thriller cravings. As for me, while I didn’t love it, I found enough to appreciate and would consider reading more of Finlay’s work.

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I love the previous work of this author. This book however just wasn’t one for me. This book has a lot of characters to keep up with that made things very confusing at times. This was more a mob/crime boss type revenge story. So if that’s your thing this you will probably enjoy this. It was also kinda slow for me. I love this author’s work and will continue to grab up his books where I can!

I've been an Alex Finlay fan since the beginning and this book did not disappoint! I loved the way it was written, and it really kept me on my toes. I could not put this down! I loved the twists and turns, and honestly it was just a thrill. So perfectly thought out! I 100% recommend this one!

When Alison Lane goes missing in Kansas and her boyfriend Ryan’s life is turned upside down, he’s forced to change his name and start over. But when new evidence is uncovered and everyone begins to question whether Alison is actually missing, Ryan must decide what to do. And when new Deputy Sheriff Poppy McGee starts to make connections, it becomes clear that there is more to the story. A strong story with a twist in the middle that changes the readers perspective!

So many characters and so much going on. Almost hard to keep track of it all. Definitely not what I was expecting based on this author's previous work that I've read. The premise was good, but it went in a direction that didn't appeal to me. The character development and details were lacking, especially at the end. I just never really got into it. Recommended for those who like mostly fast paced, crime boss/Godfather type revenge stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC.

Alex Finlay is a great storyteller and in his newest book If Something Happens to Me helped seal that deal even more.

This book was a wild ride. So go in blind, buckle up and enjoy this ride that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Short cliffhanger chapters will have you binge reading this in one sitting. Be prepare to journey from Italy to France and even to Kansas and so many other places in between. This book will definitely check off lots of places around the world for you. Oh the adventures you’ll go!! Absolutely can’t wait to see what this author writes next!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, St Martin Press and Macmillan Audio for this ARC & ALC in exchange for my honest review. 4 thrilling stars! The narration was perfect and kept me totally mesmerized! Highly recommend if you love fast pace thrillers, podcast and true crime and a full cast audio! Chefs Kiss!!