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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
BOOK: If Something Happens to Me
AUTHOR: Alex Finlay
PUB DATE: 5/28/2024 by Minotaur Books
PAGES: 336
RATING: 4.5
GENRE: Mystery & Thriller
A BIG Thank You to NetGalley, Alex Finlay & Minotaur Books for gifting me this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review!
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.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Alex Finlay writes another unputdownable novel that comes out May 28th! From the very start, this is a compulsive, action-packed story – full of mystery and of course… a cliffhanger! I had to keep reading to find out what happened to the female main character! I kept guessing throughout the book to see how all ends would be tied up! With many twists and turns, this made for an excellent thriller! He sure knows how to write them!
Happy Reading!
AUTHOR: Alex Finlay
PUB DATE: 5/28/2024 by Minotaur Books
PAGES: 336
RATING: 4.5
GENRE: Mystery & Thriller
A BIG Thank You to NetGalley, Alex Finlay & Minotaur Books for gifting me this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review!
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.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Alex Finlay writes another unputdownable novel that comes out May 28th! From the very start, this is a compulsive, action-packed story – full of mystery and of course… a cliffhanger! I had to keep reading to find out what happened to the female main character! I kept guessing throughout the book to see how all ends would be tied up! With many twists and turns, this made for an excellent thriller! He sure knows how to write them!
Happy Reading!
“Ryan is outside on the wet grass. The car is gone. And so it Ali. ”
Here are reasons to read the thriller book:
- Kidnapped Girl - Ryan wakes to find his girlfriend Allison gone
- Submerged Car - and 5 years later, Allison’s dad’s car is found, but she is not in it
- Deputy Sheriff - Enter deputy sheriff Poppy who starts looking into the case and finds a message left from Allison
- Boyfriend - But Ryan has moved on in his life, until an unsuspecting visitor compels him to find the meaning in her message
This book was on my most anticipated list for the month. The story is broken into 4 parts, and in the first we follow a few different stories, and it’s a little unclear how they connect. But at the end of Part 1, I exclaimed “Oh Dang!” and then I couldn’t put it down. It’s fast paced and extremely entertaining. While it’s not my favorite Alex Finlay book, it is a book that pulled me out of my mediocre reading month!
Alex Finlay’s latest thriller follows three different main characters in three different parts of the world. We follow the perspective of Poppy, a deputy sheriff, who has returned home to Kansas to support her ailing father. We follow Shane O’Leary, a mob boss who lives in Pennsylvania, and has taken over the family business. Our third perspective is from Ryan Smith a.k.a. Ryan Richardson, who has finished his 1L year of law school and is traipsing around Europe with a group of his peers. But Ryan has been keeping a secret and has changed his name to get away from the speculation that he has endured since his high school girlfriend went missing and everyone assumes he killed her. So, how are 3 people living in different parts of the world connected? You’ll have to read the book to see how the author weaves these individual's lives together.
This was my first time reading this author’s work. I’ve seen a lot of buzz surrounding his last couple of thrillers. When I was given the opportunity to read an ARC, I decided to jump on the train and see what all the hype was about.
This thriller didn’t disappoint. This book was fast-paced, and its short chapters kept me turning the pages. While the book kept me engaged, it was at times predictable. This didn’t take away my enjoyment of the final reveals. The characters were fleshed out well enough that you felt the motivation behind their decisions— even if it was a character you probably shouldn’t be rooting for in the end. I've read plenty of thrillers that left me scratching my head as to why they did something, so to understand the whys of a thriller is refreshing.
If you are a fan of a thriller that weaves multiple story lines together, I think you will enjoy Finlay’s latest release.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the e-ARC of IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME by Alex Finlay in exchange for my review. This novel will be released on May 28, 2024.
I tried to pick this up a few weeks ago, and soft DNFed it when I wasn't in the mood. I wasn't going to come back to it. I DNFed one other book by the author and thought maybe the author just wasn't for me. But, I kept seeing good review after good review pop up on my feed, so I decided to give it another chance.
I thought I had the twist figured out, but I was so wrong in a great way. There are a lot of characters, and I had trouble keeping track of who was who. I wish each character's name was stated at the beginning of their chapter so we could remember whose POV we were in. Also, the epilogue was three chapters long, and it didn't need to be. All of those things slowed the book down for me. Most of the reviews I've been seeing say this is fast-paced, but I found it to be more medium paced. Despite what I've mentioned, I did enjoy this and was intrigued to find out what happened next every time I had to put it down. I'll be going back to the book I DNFed by the author at some point, and I've also added his other books to my list and look forward to picking them up in the future!
I tried to pick this up a few weeks ago, and soft DNFed it when I wasn't in the mood. I wasn't going to come back to it. I DNFed one other book by the author and thought maybe the author just wasn't for me. But, I kept seeing good review after good review pop up on my feed, so I decided to give it another chance.
I thought I had the twist figured out, but I was so wrong in a great way. There are a lot of characters, and I had trouble keeping track of who was who. I wish each character's name was stated at the beginning of their chapter so we could remember whose POV we were in. Also, the epilogue was three chapters long, and it didn't need to be. All of those things slowed the book down for me. Most of the reviews I've been seeing say this is fast-paced, but I found it to be more medium paced. Despite what I've mentioned, I did enjoy this and was intrigued to find out what happened next every time I had to put it down. I'll be going back to the book I DNFed by the author at some point, and I've also added his other books to my list and look forward to picking them up in the future!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Suicide, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wild and stunning story of danger and dedication, Finlay’s newest thriller is a crazy ride!
While the disparate story lines made for a confusing start to the narrative, I was eventually sucked in to this twisty tale. There were so many layers that added to the dense plot and the characters had very satisfying arcs.
I think you’ll love the progression of the characters, the intense revelations and the satisfying ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.
While the disparate story lines made for a confusing start to the narrative, I was eventually sucked in to this twisty tale. There were so many layers that added to the dense plot and the characters had very satisfying arcs.
I think you’ll love the progression of the characters, the intense revelations and the satisfying ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.
One of my new things is to not read the summary before I start reading a book. I'll read it before deciding whether to request a book, but otherwise I want to go into the book as blind as possible. That worked wonderfully for this book! It was a slow start as the various characters and storylines were being developed. It meant I could enjoy the different story lines, not knowing how or when they would merge. I almost felt this book could be the start of a series featuring Poppy McGee (what a name!) and Chantelle Luna. And as much as I generally do not like long epilogues that answer all the questions, I felt like this one did a good job of giving enough of an idea about where the characters move on to without the neat little pretty packaging many authors succumb to!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
4 1/5 ⭐️
This one was really good, I mean I always a little confused throughout it but once I realized what Alex did with the writing I was able to really enjoy it, the twist was great, but wasn’t too much to give me anxiety and the story ended amazing!
This one was really good, I mean I always a little confused throughout it but once I realized what Alex did with the writing I was able to really enjoy it, the twist was great, but wasn’t too much to give me anxiety and the story ended amazing!
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"But in this moment, he decides he’s not going to run from himself anymore, not going to be afraid anymore. Tomorrow morning, he will confront The Monster."
This is a complex thriller spanning multiple countries with a large cast of characters. At first none of their stories seem connected.
I do struggle to enjoy books like this that have so many moving parts. It never felt cohesive enough for me to fully enjoy.
Thank you St Martin's press for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a complex thriller spanning multiple countries with a large cast of characters. At first none of their stories seem connected.
I do struggle to enjoy books like this that have so many moving parts. It never felt cohesive enough for me to fully enjoy.
Thank you St Martin's press for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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