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danubooks 's review for:
If Something Happens to Me
by Alex Finlay
dark
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Debts must be paid sooner or later.
Five years ago, Ryan’s life derailed when the unthinkable struck He was out with his girlfriend Ali in her dad’s BMW in Leavenworth, Kansas’ equivalent of Lover’s Lane. A sudden storm interrupted their amorous intentions, but even when they were back inside the car their feeling of safety proved misplaced. Ryan remembers being struck hard, and waking up later lying on the ground outside and alone. There was no sign of Ali or the car ever again, and Ryan quickly became a suspect in her disappearance. Charges were never brought….there was no body nor evidence of a crime, and his parents hired an excellent attorney….but in the court of public opinion he was guilty. He went from a popular star basketball player with a great future ahead of him to a pariah. He changed colleges and his name, and now hides his past from those he meets. He is studying to be a lawyer at Georgetown Law School and finds himself in Italy with a cohort of his fellow law students including Nora, the first person to make him smile in years. When he receives an anonymous note from someone demanding a meeting who says that he knows who Ryan is, he panics…..and so begins a nightmarish game of hide and seek. Meanwhile, there’s the story of Philadelphia crime boss Shane O’Leary, whose teenage son Anthony is not adjusting to life at his new school. Shane pulled strings to get Anthony admitted….,the usual students are from families whose wealth and status in life are socially far above that of those whose money comes from gambling and other shady pursuits….but will come to regret that decision when the extent of the bullying that has been going on erupts in the most horrible of way. Back in Leavenworth, Deputy Sheriff Poppy McGee starts her new job back in her hometown after a forced honorable discharge from the military (she took action against an aggressively handsy superior, and the powers that be just wanted the situation to go away), and her first day is a corker. A civilian outfit that has made a name cracking cold cases has discovered, in the wake of a recent teenage girl’s disappearance, a car at the bottom of Suncatcher Lake….but its not the teenager’s Honda they thought they’d find; its the BMW that belonged to Ali’s dad. In it the divers finds not one but two bodies….both male. Who are they? What happened to Ali that night? Who has found Ryan? It looks like the past is coming back with a vengeance, and it will claim many lives before the full truth will be known.
Briskly paced and well plotted, this is a thriller with enough subterfuge, hidden secrets, and vengeance that has waited long enough to ensnare a reader’s attention and keep it from the first through the last chapter. With narrative shifting between the POV of different characters, there are a lot of moving parts to keep in view. Ryan blames himself for not saving Ali….and is branded as being a killer by those who knew him well. Shane is a violent yet occasionally sympathetic criminal, a Tony Soprano of sorts, who will move heaven and earth to bring solace to his grieving wife and retribution to those who pushed his son to the brink. Poppy is dealing with the loss of the military career she had worked hard to achieve, her mother lost suddenly and her father battling cancer; her brother may have some connection to Ali and what happened to her, and while she wants to trust her new boss she keeps hearing that all is not as it should be in her department. The lives of these three and the people who surround them are slowly converging, but working out the how, the why, and even the where is a satisfying conundrum. Readers of authors like Thomas Perry, Lisa Scottoline and Eniko Jean will find If Something Happens to Me a fascinating addition to their TBR pile. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me early access to this gripping thriller.
Five years ago, Ryan’s life derailed when the unthinkable struck He was out with his girlfriend Ali in her dad’s BMW in Leavenworth, Kansas’ equivalent of Lover’s Lane. A sudden storm interrupted their amorous intentions, but even when they were back inside the car their feeling of safety proved misplaced. Ryan remembers being struck hard, and waking up later lying on the ground outside and alone. There was no sign of Ali or the car ever again, and Ryan quickly became a suspect in her disappearance. Charges were never brought….there was no body nor evidence of a crime, and his parents hired an excellent attorney….but in the court of public opinion he was guilty. He went from a popular star basketball player with a great future ahead of him to a pariah. He changed colleges and his name, and now hides his past from those he meets. He is studying to be a lawyer at Georgetown Law School and finds himself in Italy with a cohort of his fellow law students including Nora, the first person to make him smile in years. When he receives an anonymous note from someone demanding a meeting who says that he knows who Ryan is, he panics…..and so begins a nightmarish game of hide and seek. Meanwhile, there’s the story of Philadelphia crime boss Shane O’Leary, whose teenage son Anthony is not adjusting to life at his new school. Shane pulled strings to get Anthony admitted….,the usual students are from families whose wealth and status in life are socially far above that of those whose money comes from gambling and other shady pursuits….but will come to regret that decision when the extent of the bullying that has been going on erupts in the most horrible of way. Back in Leavenworth, Deputy Sheriff Poppy McGee starts her new job back in her hometown after a forced honorable discharge from the military (she took action against an aggressively handsy superior, and the powers that be just wanted the situation to go away), and her first day is a corker. A civilian outfit that has made a name cracking cold cases has discovered, in the wake of a recent teenage girl’s disappearance, a car at the bottom of Suncatcher Lake….but its not the teenager’s Honda they thought they’d find; its the BMW that belonged to Ali’s dad. In it the divers finds not one but two bodies….both male. Who are they? What happened to Ali that night? Who has found Ryan? It looks like the past is coming back with a vengeance, and it will claim many lives before the full truth will be known.
Briskly paced and well plotted, this is a thriller with enough subterfuge, hidden secrets, and vengeance that has waited long enough to ensnare a reader’s attention and keep it from the first through the last chapter. With narrative shifting between the POV of different characters, there are a lot of moving parts to keep in view. Ryan blames himself for not saving Ali….and is branded as being a killer by those who knew him well. Shane is a violent yet occasionally sympathetic criminal, a Tony Soprano of sorts, who will move heaven and earth to bring solace to his grieving wife and retribution to those who pushed his son to the brink. Poppy is dealing with the loss of the military career she had worked hard to achieve, her mother lost suddenly and her father battling cancer; her brother may have some connection to Ali and what happened to her, and while she wants to trust her new boss she keeps hearing that all is not as it should be in her department. The lives of these three and the people who surround them are slowly converging, but working out the how, the why, and even the where is a satisfying conundrum. Readers of authors like Thomas Perry, Lisa Scottoline and Eniko Jean will find If Something Happens to Me a fascinating addition to their TBR pile. Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me early access to this gripping thriller.