If Something Happens to Me: A Novel
A USA Today Bestseller!
From “one of the genre’s most exciting voices” (E! News) comes one of the year’s most-anticipated thrillers.
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 by several distinct, compelling characters whose paths intersect, detonating into a story of twist after pulse-pounding twist. The novel cements Finlay as one of the leading thriller writers today.
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Readers say *If Something Happens to Me* by Alex Finlay is a fast-paced, multi-POV thriller blending suspense, mystery, and international intrigue. Th...
Five years ago, Ryan Richardson and his high school girlfriend Ali were parked at the local “lover’s lane”. He’s attacked and when he comes to, Ali and the car are gone. The only things he remembers about the attack was Ali’s screams and that the attacker was missing both his pinky fingers. Ryan was accused of the murder of Ali, since she never found her.
Years later Ryan changed his last name hoping to reinvent himself. He is now in law school and has decided to take a trip with his school mates to Italy. Ryan just happens to catches sight of something that shocks him to the core. It’s the man from the night Ali went missing. Ryan must risk his own life to track this man down and finally find out what happened to Ali.
Poppy, a young war vet who returns home to Leavenworth, Kansas, to work as the deputy sheriff. Her first call is to an abandoned car found in a lake. There are two men that have an evidence of an execution style murder. Poppy must find out who these men are, and why they were murdered. The car is Ali’s, the exact one that went missing that terrible night. Ali’s body is not in the car, but her purse is. They find a note in Ali’s handwriting that says, if something happens to me with a cryptic message.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a completely fast paced, easy read with lots of twists and turns, that kept me guessing. It is told in multi character POV. The narrator fits all of the puzzle pieces together for us, with ease. This was a 4 star read for me.
Years later Ryan changed his last name hoping to reinvent himself. He is now in law school and has decided to take a trip with his school mates to Italy. Ryan just happens to catches sight of something that shocks him to the core. It’s the man from the night Ali went missing. Ryan must risk his own life to track this man down and finally find out what happened to Ali.
Poppy, a young war vet who returns home to Leavenworth, Kansas, to work as the deputy sheriff. Her first call is to an abandoned car found in a lake. There are two men that have an evidence of an execution style murder. Poppy must find out who these men are, and why they were murdered. The car is Ali’s, the exact one that went missing that terrible night. Ali’s body is not in the car, but her purse is. They find a note in Ali’s handwriting that says, if something happens to me with a cryptic message.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a completely fast paced, easy read with lots of twists and turns, that kept me guessing. It is told in multi character POV. The narrator fits all of the puzzle pieces together for us, with ease. This was a 4 star read for me.
This is only the second book I’ve read by Alex Finlay. I really enjoyed Every Last Fear, so when this one came available, I knew I wanted to check it out. The book summary is pretty worthless and just introduces how the story started. Alex, a law school student, is in Italy on a school break with some friends when he spots the man, he has been seeing in his nightmares for the past five years since his Leavenworth, KS high school girlfriend, Ali, went missing and he was accused of murdering her. All he remembers from that night was seeing a man (not his face) with missing pinkys on both hands.
What the book summary doesn’t mention at all are the other storylines. There is the brand-new Leavenworth Deputy Sheriff, Poppy, who is assigned to man the tipline after the Sheriff’s department finds Ali’s car from the night she went missing. also,e is also the former FBI agent, Jane, who worked Ali’s missing person case five years ago and who tells Poppy that the Sheriff is hiding something. Lastly, there is another storyline of a Philadelphia mobster, Shane, whose son, Anthony, was so bullied at his previous school that they moved him to private school in another school district. It’s not long before Anthony is being bullied in the new school.
The story flips back and forth between the three storylines and between Ryan, Poppy, and Shane with several chapters from Shane’s accountant, Michael. From pretty early, I began to suspect what may have happened to Ali and Ryan as well as Shane’s son, Anthony. But then, I’m thinking, it can’t be this predictable, can it? No, not the same writer who shocked me in Every Last Fear. Yeah, Finlay is just leading the reader astray with red herrings. By the halfway point, my suspicions are all over the place and I’m having a hard time connecting the dots of what I do think.
All I know is that by the end, Finlay will certainly lay out the shocking finale. Deep into the second half, the storylines begin to merge. The title of the book becomes a link in one of the storylines. The finale is explosive (literally) and, of course, that shocking end I was expecting. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, and the narrators, Helen Laser, John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh, were great and really added to the thrills and suspense of the story.
The characterization for most of the MC’s were pretty well developed; I wish a couple of the ensemble characters were more developed, but I guess that would have given away too much of some of the twists. The pacing was great; fast-paced and action-packed. The storyline was confusing in some parts and that was due to some unreliable narration, but the ending was great! I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.1 and will be rounding down to a 4star rating. I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #IfSomethingHappenstoMe
What the book summary doesn’t mention at all are the other storylines. There is the brand-new Leavenworth Deputy Sheriff, Poppy, who is assigned to man the tipline after the Sheriff’s department finds Ali’s car from the night she went missing. also,e is also the former FBI agent, Jane, who worked Ali’s missing person case five years ago and who tells Poppy that the Sheriff is hiding something. Lastly, there is another storyline of a Philadelphia mobster, Shane, whose son, Anthony, was so bullied at his previous school that they moved him to private school in another school district. It’s not long before Anthony is being bullied in the new school.
The story flips back and forth between the three storylines and between Ryan, Poppy, and Shane with several chapters from Shane’s accountant, Michael. From pretty early, I began to suspect what may have happened to Ali and Ryan as well as Shane’s son, Anthony. But then, I’m thinking, it can’t be this predictable, can it? No, not the same writer who shocked me in Every Last Fear. Yeah, Finlay is just leading the reader astray with red herrings. By the halfway point, my suspicions are all over the place and I’m having a hard time connecting the dots of what I do think.
All I know is that by the end, Finlay will certainly lay out the shocking finale. Deep into the second half, the storylines begin to merge. The title of the book becomes a link in one of the storylines. The finale is explosive (literally) and, of course, that shocking end I was expecting. I flipped back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook, and the narrators, Helen Laser, John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh, were great and really added to the thrills and suspense of the story.
The characterization for most of the MC’s were pretty well developed; I wish a couple of the ensemble characters were more developed, but I guess that would have given away too much of some of the twists. The pacing was great; fast-paced and action-packed. The storyline was confusing in some parts and that was due to some unreliable narration, but the ending was great! I’m looking at an overall rating of 4.1 and will be rounding down to a 4star rating. I want to thank NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #StMartinsPress #MacmillanAudio #IfSomethingHappenstoMe
Ah, Italy—the land of pasta, romance, and apparently, haunted pasts that refuse to stay buried. Ryan Richardson, our protagonist, isn't just backpacking through Europe for the gelato and scenic vistas. Nope, he's running from the echo of a fateful night that’s haunted him for five long years.
Flashback: high-school-Ryan—a drive to lover’s lane interrupted by chaos, a car door ripped open, and the kind of traumatic abduction scene that would make even the hardiest true crime aficionado wince. Ryan's girlfriend, Ali, vanished without a trace, leaving him to grapple with the aftermath. Despite the lack of charges, the court of public opinion (read: podcasters and internet trolls) has already handed down a life sentence.
Fast forward to law-school-Ryan—new name, new life, new hope. He's trying to forget the past, but the universe has other plans. A phone call from his father yanks him back to reality: Ali’s car has been found, submerged in a lake, complete with two dead men and a cryptic note in her handwriting.
"If something happens to me…" Seriously? Could the plot get any thicker? Spoiler alert: yes, it can.
In the idyllic rolling hills of Tuscany, Ryan spots the man who’s haunted his dreams—the same one from that night. Cue a thrilling chase across Europe that reads like a Lonely Planet guidebook with a murder mystery twist. From the serene rural villages of the UK to the glittering streets of Paris, Ryan’s search for the truth is a rollercoaster of paranoia and adrenaline.
Meanwhile, back in the good ol' US of A, a young sheriff's deputy in Kansas is cutting her teeth on her first case. Oh, and did I mention there's a mobster in Philadelphia with his own baggage of tragedy? Because what's a thriller without a side of organized crime?
Alex Finlay masterfully weaves multiple viewpoints into a tapestry of tension and intrigue. Each character’s narrative is a puzzle piece, clicking into place with every pulse-pounding twist and turn. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, Finlay pulls the rug out from under you—again and again.
Finlay delivers a gripping thriller that will keep you guessing—and second-guessing—until the very end. It's a wild ride through mystery and mayhem, perfect for those who love their thrillers served with a side of European flair. Just maybe don't book that European vacation right after reading.
Flashback: high-school-Ryan—a drive to lover’s lane interrupted by chaos, a car door ripped open, and the kind of traumatic abduction scene that would make even the hardiest true crime aficionado wince. Ryan's girlfriend, Ali, vanished without a trace, leaving him to grapple with the aftermath. Despite the lack of charges, the court of public opinion (read: podcasters and internet trolls) has already handed down a life sentence.
Fast forward to law-school-Ryan—new name, new life, new hope. He's trying to forget the past, but the universe has other plans. A phone call from his father yanks him back to reality: Ali’s car has been found, submerged in a lake, complete with two dead men and a cryptic note in her handwriting.
"If something happens to me…" Seriously? Could the plot get any thicker? Spoiler alert: yes, it can.
In the idyllic rolling hills of Tuscany, Ryan spots the man who’s haunted his dreams—the same one from that night. Cue a thrilling chase across Europe that reads like a Lonely Planet guidebook with a murder mystery twist. From the serene rural villages of the UK to the glittering streets of Paris, Ryan’s search for the truth is a rollercoaster of paranoia and adrenaline.
Meanwhile, back in the good ol' US of A, a young sheriff's deputy in Kansas is cutting her teeth on her first case. Oh, and did I mention there's a mobster in Philadelphia with his own baggage of tragedy? Because what's a thriller without a side of organized crime?
Alex Finlay masterfully weaves multiple viewpoints into a tapestry of tension and intrigue. Each character’s narrative is a puzzle piece, clicking into place with every pulse-pounding twist and turn. Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, Finlay pulls the rug out from under you—again and again.
Finlay delivers a gripping thriller that will keep you guessing—and second-guessing—until the very end. It's a wild ride through mystery and mayhem, perfect for those who love their thrillers served with a side of European flair. Just maybe don't book that European vacation right after reading.
Wow, this was my 1st read by this author and it was a great thriller. I was engaged from the beginning and did not want to put this one down. It has a lot of action, tension, suspense and mystery. It is a fast-paced story about a missing girl who is presumed dead, a notorious crime boss and a young new sheriff trying to piece it all together.
The story is told by 3 main narrators: Ryan, missing girl's old high school boyfriend now on a trip in Italy with his law class; Poppy, the new, young war vet who has returned home to Kansas to work as the deputy chief (went to same high school and Ryan and missing girl) and Shane, the head of a major crime organization in Philly. Some others are sprinkled in. The story is told in 3 parts and the narratives alternate. They do meet up in part 2. There is an amount of disbelief required but that didn't stop me from being thoroughly entertained. It reads part like a bit assassin/mob story thriller. I did not see the big twist coming.
The story is told by 3 main narrators: Ryan, missing girl's old high school boyfriend now on a trip in Italy with his law class; Poppy, the new, young war vet who has returned home to Kansas to work as the deputy chief (went to same high school and Ryan and missing girl) and Shane, the head of a major crime organization in Philly. Some others are sprinkled in. The story is told in 3 parts and the narratives alternate. They do meet up in part 2. There is an amount of disbelief required but that didn't stop me from being thoroughly entertained. It reads part like a bit assassin/mob story thriller. I did not see the big twist coming.