This twisty turny, global, multi-POV thriller that I could’ve read in one sitting! Short chapters and changing characters kept me wanting more. I loved the Ryan (boyfriend) timeline halfway across the world, trying to move on with his life and still caught up with his missing high school girlfriend. The deputy sheriff storyline was the least interesting to me, but necessary to tie things together. The small town thriller gone global was a great spin on a tale as old as time.

Thank you to St. Martin's for my own copy of IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME. This one is out as of yesterday!

I've been lucky enough to be an early reader of the past three releases by Alex Finlay. They've all been books that are hard to put down. This one's ending let me down big time. It just didn't really go with the rest of the book. I was super entertained, don't get me wrong, just disappointed with how it was wrapped up.

Thank you to Alex Finlay, St. Martin's Press, and NetGallery for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of If Something Happens to Me!

This was a good thriller!

This is a fast-paced thriller that kept me intrigued throughout the duration of the book. The first chapter gripped me with the recount of the crime through the eyes of one character, and kept me hooked as we learn more about the fateful night at Lover's Lane through the eyes of others.

The reveal was decent. It was hinted at a lot during the book, so it was not a shock that it happened. However, it was well executed and the climax of the book was well written.

My only critique is in regard to the formatting. The book follows three distinct storylines, Ryan, Michael, and Shane. All three of these storylines carry a lot of weight and are vital to how the story unfolds and the reveal is unraveled. I think a way to make it more impactful was to complete the story in chronological order. As a reader, I did not realize that we were jumping around timelines until the reveal happened. Just for me personally, I would have been more shocked by the story had the very heavily integrated Michael/Shane storylines been in conjunction with one another.

The book overall was still great regardless.

3 ⭐️ Read:

This thriller was a pretty good read. I will say that I lowered my rating for ‘If Something Happens to Me’ in the end as, while I liked how each character had an update and a clear close to their stories within the Epilogue, I was not really a fan of how abrupt and truly final one of the conclusions/outcomes was. I did, however, enjoy the use of different timelines and locations to more clearly depict each of the main characters’ POV’s as this helped to further flesh out the mystery and suspense of the storyline/plot. Overall, I would recommend that you give this book a shot if you enjoy the thriller/mystery genre(s), but I recommend that you be prepared to potentially be left wanting a bit more from the character development/arcs.

Thank you so much to Alex Finlay, St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

Book Title: If Something Happens to Me
Publication/Release Date: May 28, 2024
Author: Alex Finlay



~Alissa R.

Overall enjoyed this thriller! Have never read this author before but enjoyed the writing style and the suspense. I always love a thriller that I can’t predict the end and this one definitely left me guessing! Would recommend!

I havent read many books by this author. I really liked this one though. The story was well told. I loved the writing.

This book was a fun whirlwind. A little love heartbreak and organized crime. I was a little confused but the really enjoyed how it all tied together.


I enjoyed reading If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay   Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

The book starts off when Ryan and Alison’s romantic night is interrupted. Alison gets taken and Ryan gets knocked out. Everyone suspects Ryan, but a lack of evidence keeps him from being charged. The book goes back and forth between the past and the present and in different cities. In present day, Ryan is a law student and while on a trip with his law friends in Italy he finds out that Alison’s car was found in a lake with the bodies of two men and Alison’s bag with contains a cryptic note. Ryan works together with a young detective (who lives in Kansas) who is trying to prove herself to uncover what happens. At the same time, more people die, some people are still keeping secrets and others have their own agenda.
Clever book with lots of twists. The characters are all over the place shifting from past to present and their names are so similar yet different, plus the author uses both first and last names that it gets a little confusing. I had a hard time remembering who everyone was.
Easy to read, and keeps you engaged.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and Alex Finlay for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I LOVED this book!! Alex Finlay has become one of my favorite and auto buy authors, and his latest novel did NOT disappoint! I loved the multiple POV's and was immediately hooked to this story from the first page and I could not put it down. 5 star read for me!

At first, I was just flying through this book, desperate to know what happened. Then I got to a point where I was a little less interested, and as the mystery unfolded, I felt a little disappointed by it. That said, it’s got international travel, the Mafia, mysterious disappearances, gruesome murders… I mean, you can’t really go wrong even if you’re not 100% happy with how it turns out. It’s worth a read for sure.

An immensely entertaining read, and if you love the thriller genre this Alex Finlay novel is a don’t miss. It’s a compelling story with great character AND plot development with surprises that you don’t see coming. It’s the story of young love, and complicated relationships. But more importantly, it’s the story of redemption. I can’t scream this loudly enough - pick up this read! So grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for this one for nothing was expected…and so much was delivered!!

Thank you for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a solid 4 stars. The story was almost broken up into two parts. The first 60% was a thriller with multi POV and ambiguity on how things were connected. The last 40% was a simple action story. I enjoyed the first 60% much better. I was able to get the connections between characters fairly early on, but that didn't take away from it for me. I did not see the final twist until right before.

I did feel like some elements were not overly realistic, such as a barely 22 year old Sherriff. The dialog was awkward at times.
All in all, I enjoyed and read it very fast. Alex Finlay is an auto read author for me.

Ryan's girlfriend, Ali, tragically disappeared 5 years ago and with Ryan the primary suspect, he was forced to abandon his dreams and change his name. The only memory Ryan has from that night is a man with missing pinky fingers and now in another country, he comes face to face with this same dangerous stranger at the same time that his girlfriends missing car is found!

Ali's car is discovered on the newly hired sheriff's deputy's first day on the job and now she must uncover the truths! Could her dad's lifelong friend, the sheriff, be behind Ali going missing or is something more sinister at play!

If Something Happens to Me pulled me in from the very first chapter!! The story was encaptivating and the short, easy to read chapters kept me going till the very end! Some of the story was unbelievable and predictable but, overall, I really enjoyed this book!!

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I always enjoy Alex Finlay's novels and this one did not disappoint. A story about two teens, young and in love and planning for their future. And then one night everything changes and Ryan's world is torn apart when his girlfriend Ali is taken from his car with no witnesses. All Ryan can remember is being struck in the head and Ali's scream. He wakes up with no recolection of anything else other than the man who hit him missing fingers. With no leads, the case is pinned on a serial murderer and Ryan is never charged. Years later, Ali's car is found in a lake of water and Ryan returns how to find out what really happened that night. This story was really good, but I think the truth of what happened that night could have been better. It was kind of out there and I just feel readers will find that part of the story lacking. Everything leading up to it was great!

Alex Finlay has really never let me down so I was super excited to be able to read his new one, and this was no exception! I did feel like it took a little bit to make sense of who all of the different POV's were and how they all interacted together, but once I got it I was completely hooked. This was a really complex story with a lot of layers and twists and turns so I really felt like I had to pay attention more than I do in a normal thirller, but it paid off in my opinion. This was. a solid thriller that I'd recommend to my friends!

I have read each book by Alex Finlay and each always keeps me on the edge of my seat - If Something Happens to Me is no different. His books are so intricately detailed and so well-plotted that they have you on the edge of your seat the whole time. I was turning pages late into the night trying to work this one out. I loved that the story spanned multiple countries and was full of twisty and action-filled scenes! Cannot wait to read more from this author!

If Something Happens to Me is a fast-paced thriller by Alex Finlay (who can truly do no wrong and I would read anything by this author).

High school senior Ryan Richardson witnessed the kidnapping of his girlfriend Alison Lane in their hometown of Leavenworth, Kansas five years ago. Ryan was left on the side of the road, injured, but with a faint remembrance of their attacker, who was never found. Alison and her car disappeared without a trace and everyone blamed Ryan. He was eventually acquitted but moved away and changed his name due to the unwanted attention and blame surrounding the mystery. Now he's visiting Italy with a group of law students when he gets a message and sees the man that he knows took Allison. He decides to follow up on this and sets out to find some answers.

Meanwhile, back in Leavenworth, Poppy McGee has recently become a local deputy and is charged with reviewing the case files from Ali's disappearance five years ago. As her investigation deepens, Poppy soon realizes that there are people close to her who might know more than they are letting on. There are people monitoring Ryan and Poppy's movements - dangerous people who will stop at nothing for revenge and money.

If Something Happens to Me is an over-the-top thriller full of action. You definitely have to suspend some belief with this one but that's what makes it so fun to read!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The book begins with Ryan and Alison, high school seniors who are attacked while visiting their town’s “Lovers’ Lane”. Ryan is injured and Alison vanishes. The whole town is immediately suspicious of Ryan’s story and remains so until years later when Ali’s car is found submerged in a lake with the bodies of two men inside. But where’s Ali and what is inside the envelope that’s labeled “If Something Happens to Me”?

This was a fast paced thriller that immediately sucks you in. This book had fantastic twists and turns, many of which I did not see coming. It held my attention all the way until the end. I stayed up way too late because I needed to find out what happened. This was another winner for me from Alex Finlay!

3.5⭐️

While there were definitely many twists and turns in this book, and it kept my interest, something was missing for me. Maybe there was just too much going on? There were a lot of characters that eventually became interconnected, but these twists were predictable and not believable. While it was just an okay read for me, it wasn’t a bad read; I enjoyed parts of this, and I know there are lots of people that will love it!!

Sadly, this one wasn’t great for me. The first part had me hooked and engaged, but the more it went, the less invested and interested I became. It was a bit much, a bit over the top, honestly. I just really didn’t like the direction that the story went. I struggled with the amount of characters, particularly while listening to the audiobook. My previous experience with this author has been hit or miss, I loved The Night Shift but didn’t like What Have We Done. And, unfortunately, this was more in the vein of the second one with how ridiculous it felt. Maybe I’m just not great at suspending belief, or maybe he just didn’t sell it to me well enough. I don’t think this is something I’ll be recommending. I’m still willing to give the author another shot though so, maybe next year.