Description:

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.

Adele’s Review:

Alex Finlay has become a favorite thriller writer and auto-read for me. When the opportunity came to review If Something Happens To Me, I could hardly wait to start the book. Finlay writes well and tells compelling tales, and this novel is no exception.

However, a caveat. This story seems to be written for the big screen, not for a read-a-holic like me to relax with on the couch with a cup of coffee. The novel tells multiple stories, in as many points of view, for the first fifty percent of the book. The book description tells us who the central protagonist might be, but we need to read the first half of the story to discover how the other numerous characters, settings, and points of view are connected. Once established, the overarching plot becomes clearer, but the chapters among the other characters continue. In the end, all the plot threads come together to form a satisfactory conclusion.

Although Finlay is an excellent writer and storyteller, the construction of this book can be challenging to follow. For this reason, this reviewer rated the book four stars instead of five. However, Alex Finlay continues to be an author to watch on this reviewer’s favorites list, and I look forward to reading his next book.

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6436095934

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CGRZFD1D