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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Community Reviews
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!
First a few things I liked about the book: (1) the switching of time, place, and perspective was really interesting - I liked how it was all third person but switched whose emotions you were experiencing as it helped give more depth to the characters, (2) the mystery and intrigue was there the whole way while still maintaining some aspects of realism to the story, and (3) I think the pacing of the writing was very good as it kept me interested in what was happening next but didnât feel rushed with a climax in the last few pages (love a book with an epilogue).
The only thing I think could use some improvement is that the mistakes that the good guys made didnât have any particularly real consequences, but the bad guys had very real consequences. I also think that there could have been more showing than telling on the motivations of the bad guys - particularly I wanted to know more about Gina apart from her being an extension/motivation for Shane. But these are definitely small bones to pick in light of a very successful novel.
Iâd give it a 4.5/5 overall. Very enjoyable read.
First a few things I liked about the book: (1) the switching of time, place, and perspective was really interesting - I liked how it was all third person but switched whose emotions you were experiencing as it helped give more depth to the characters, (2) the mystery and intrigue was there the whole way while still maintaining some aspects of realism to the story, and (3) I think the pacing of the writing was very good as it kept me interested in what was happening next but didnât feel rushed with a climax in the last few pages (love a book with an epilogue).
The only thing I think could use some improvement is that the mistakes that the good guys made didnât have any particularly real consequences, but the bad guys had very real consequences. I also think that there could have been more showing than telling on the motivations of the bad guys - particularly I wanted to know more about Gina apart from her being an extension/motivation for Shane. But these are definitely small bones to pick in light of a very successful novel.
Iâd give it a 4.5/5 overall. Very enjoyable read.
Plot twist, something does happen and it takes YEARS for the connection to occur. Lives change because a note was discovered years after a girl goes missing and they think the boyfriend did it. He still fights to find her and travels all across the world to be reconnected. Some of the story plots were just too far fetched for the time frame and ages of the characters. Overall, it was an okay “cat-and-mouse” and secrets revealed game for a very unfortunate reason.
Oh heck yes, this book takes place in Leavenworth, KS and that where I was when I started it! I was pulled in immediately and enjoyed the wild ride. Plenty of interesting characters and good action. Told from multiple POV’s and just a darn good mystery thriller. Book #73 in 2024
3.5 Stars. I enjoyed the story but it was just ok for me. It was fast paced and nice twist in the middle. There was so many characters that it took me a while to figure out who was who between the past and present. I just got a little lost at times. The audiobook was good.
I was hooked at the beginning of the book and was really investing in the character dynamics. However, the middle of the book was so distracting from all the different storylines and timelines that I found it hard to stay connected with the main characters. I do however, like how the storylines converged at the end of the book.
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