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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is fast and exciting, with short chapters and alternating POVs, and I really enjoyed how some seemingly disparate storylines came together. I ended up just below 4 stars because, while a fun read, it wasn't anything particularly memorable, and I didn't really understand why everything came to a head at the time it did and not 5 years earlier. (Also SO much trust was placed in a woman who had been on the job for like 5 minutes)
*
That said, it was still fun to read, so a great option if you're looking for something exciting that you don't have to think too much about.
That said, it was still fun to read, so a great option if you're looking for something exciting that you don't have to think too much about.
This one was just ok for me. While there was one slightly unexpected twist, the rest was somewhat predictable once I got the 1904029 story lines sorted. Which is the other thing that I didn’t really enjoy—there was just SO much going on. For me, it felt kind of cheesy almost. Overall, this wasn’t a bad book and I’d give the author another shot. But it just wasn’t really 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
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
ARC provided by MacMillan Audio via NetGalley for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this audiobook. I was instantly drawn in to all three of the storylines and was excited to see how they were all going to connect. The three narrators do an excellent job portraying their character’s stories.
I really like it when books with multiple points of view are narrated by different readers. This makes it so much easier to keep track of whose part of the story is being told. Helen Laser does and excellent job of portraying Poppy McGee, a young sheriff’s deputy with a military background. And both John Pirhalla and Paul Dateh do a great job with the male points of view. I tried to figure out who read what part, but was unable to. Whoever read for the part of the Irish mob boss does an excellent job with the accent, as well as the Philly ones. All of the readers did an excellent job with conveying the emotions of the characters and with the complex nature of the story.
This story is told in three parts, and at first there doesn’t appear to be any connection between some of them. One part is told by Poppy McGee in Kansas as she tries to unravel the story of what happened to Allison, the girl who went missing. The second part is told by Ryan, who is off in Italy trying to escape his past and move on with his life. The third story is the one that took longer to connect to the other two, it takes place in Philadelphia and switches points of view from Shane O’Leary, the irish mob boss, and some of the people who work for him. All of the stories eventually converge into a single story of grief, revenge, and finding your way back after a tragedy.
The writing is fast paced with many twists to this multi layered story. It takes a while to get into the story, mostly I think because the Philadelphia story doesn’t seem to connect to the other two stories early on. I don’t want to say much more about the plot, though as almost everything I could say would be a spoiler. The chapters are short, but pack a punch as the story unfolds. All of the characters are well rounded with solid backstories, although the story is more plot driven than character. There is growth among some of the characters, mainly Ryan, who learns to accept what happened in the past and move on with his life. I really enjoyed reading about Poppy McGee and really hope to see her in a future novel.
This is my first book by this author, but I don’t think it will be my last. I really enjoyed his writing style and found the story to be totally engaging. I really enjoyed how one event rippled out to affect so many people in this story. If you like well written thrillers with multiple layers and well written characters, then this is one you should give a chance to.
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
fast-paced
Ryan has been trying move on from his life 5 years ago where he was accused on doing something to his then girlfriend, Ali. Her missing car is dragged up in the lake and it opens up the case again.
Poppy is a new sheriff deputy working on this case and is relentless trying to figure out what happened. This story is fast paced with multiple POVs and I really enjoyed how the characters were all connected. There's not really any twists but the story keeps you entertained.
All the narrators did a great job bringing the story to life. Thank you @macmillan.audio @minatour_books @netgalley for a copy of the book.
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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:
Yes
This was crazy and fast paced since page one!
I’m not sure I really felt the plot was believable… but i guess it’s plausible!
The story is fast, the twists are there, and lots of POVS to enjoy!
A good solid thriller that will be a good book club discussion book for sure.
Thank you NetGalley for an arc I. Exchange for an honest review.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Thank you MacMillan Audio for my alc copy.
First time reading Alex Finlay and that was such an exciting and fast paced read! I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the story. I definitely need to read this authors backlog.
First time reading Alex Finlay and that was such an exciting and fast paced read! I enjoyed all the twists and turns throughout the story. I definitely need to read this authors backlog.