Review – If Something Happens To Me by Alex Finlay
Synopsis
For the past five years, Ryan Richardson has relived that terrible night. The car door ripping open. The crushing blow to the head. The hands yanking him from the vehicle. His girlfriend Ali’s piercing scream as she is taken.
With no trace of Ali or the car, a cloud of suspicion hangs over Ryan. But with no proof and a good lawyer, he’s never charged, though that doesn’t matter to the podcasters and internet trolls. Now, Ryan has changed his last name, and entered law school. He’s put his past behind him.
Until, on a summer trip abroad to Italy with his law-school classmates, Ryan gets a call from his father: Ali’s car has finally been found, submerged in a lake in his hometown. Inside are two dead men and a cryptic note with five words written on the envelope in Ali’s handwriting: If something happens to me…
Then, halfway around the world, the unthinkable happens: Ryan sees the man who has haunted his dreams since that night.
As Ryan races from the rolling hills of Tuscany, to a rural village in the UK, to the glittering streets of Paris in search of the truth, he has no idea that his salvation may lie with a young sheriff’s deputy in Kansas working her first case, and a mobster in Philadelphia who’s experienced tragedy of his own.
In classic Alex Finlay form, If Something Happens to Me is told from several distinct, compelling characters whose paths intersect, detonating into a story of twist after pulse-pounding twist. The story cements Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.
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Review
Told from several POVs, this suspense/thriller continued to throw out plot twists that I didn’t see coming. Looking back, maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised at the main one that happened at the 50% mark, but it wasn’t on my radar at all.
There is so much I would love to discuss, but some would be plot spoilers. However, this story is well told and kept my interest from start to finish. I did suspect something was up with a character or two, but I was mostly surprised at the story’s direction.
I really liked Poppy. She is a new deputy sheriff in the town after some issues with her time in the military. I like that she is petite but takes no guff from anyone. She delves into the mystery surrounding Ali once the car is discovered in the lake. She is tenacious yet caring.
The book does contain scenes regarding suicide, depression, bullying, and more. However, these helped us understand the parent’s point of view and their feelings. I am not saying what they do is right (you have to read the book to find out), but it is understandable.
This is the second book by this author that I have read, and so far, I have enjoyed both.
We give this book 5 paws up.
About the Author
Alex Finlay is the author of the 2021 breakout novel, EVERY LAST FEAR, the 2022’s GoodReads Choice nominee for Best Mystery & Thriller, THE NIGHT SHIFT, and his latest 2023 release, WHAT HAVE WE DONE. His work has been an Indie Next pick, a LibraryReads selection, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, as well as a CNN, Newsweek, E!, BuzzFeed, Business Week, Goodreads, Parade, PopSugar, and Reader’s Digest best or most anticipated thrillers of the year. Alex’s novels have been translated into nineteen languages and are sold around the world. All of his books have been option for film and television, and EVERY LAST FEAR is in development for a series on a major streaming service.
