If Something Happens To Me by Alex Finlay

Narrated by Helen Laser, John Pirhalla, Paul Dateh

Standalone Thriller

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the digital review copy and Macmillan Audio for the ALC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

I don’t read a lot of straight-up thrillers without romance, but I was offered an ALC of If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay and it sounded like a good change of pace. I was looking for a little more variety this summer, so I grabbed it.

A twisty plot with three seemingly separate stories came together for a wild ride! Short chapters and multi-cast narration added to the suspense. We began with Ryan and Alison, two high school sweethearts, spending the night parked by Suncatcher Lake for a last night together before they went off to college. The next thing you know, the passenger door was ripped open, Ryan heard Ali scream, and then he was dragged out of the car and knocked over the head. When he came to, Alison and her car were gone.

Though he is found innocent of any wrongdoing, Ryan is still found guilty in the court of public opinion. True Crime podcasters and social media didn’t let up, so he changed his last name and entered law school, starting a new life. 5 years later, he is on a European trip with a group from law school when he gets the news that Alison’s car was found with 2 dead guys in it and a cryptic note from Alison: “If Something Happens To Me”.

Poppy McGee was just discharged from the army and became the deputy sheriff. Her first case is to figure out who the guys in Alison’s car are and what they had to do with her death. She is the second POV of this novel.

The third story is about mobster Shane O’Leary, his son Anthony O’Leary, who just started in a new school, and Michael, the mobster’s accountant.

Alex Finlay masterfully brought all three of these stories together in a race throughout Europe, an investigation at home, and an exciting conclusion. There were a lot of characters to keep straight, but I think the audiobook with different voices helped that.

Likes:

Short chapters that ended in cliffhangers made this unputdownable.
The three different POVs kept it interesting.
Fast-paced, easy read.
Made more exciting by the different locations.

Dislikes:

Got a little slow in the middle.
I was able to guess part of the twist pretty early.
I never fully connected with any one character.

The Narration:

The triple narration by Helen Laser, John Pirhalla, Paul Dateh definitely helped to make this book more exciting and helped me follow whose POV we were in. They were each perfect for the characters they voiced, and I think listening to it made it better than if I had read it.

The Down & Dirty:

If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay was an exciting and addictive thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. Three seemingly unrelated stories from 3 POVs came together in a story with lots of twists and turns I didn’t see coming. If you are looking for a quick and easy thriller, I recommend you try this one.