Book Review: If Something Happens to Me | Alex Finlay

Alex Finlay is undeniably a great storyteller. His newest book revolves around a cold case when a car belonging to a local girl who went missing years earlier is discovered submerged in a lake. The audiobook is the way to go for this book, in my opinion, since it helps keep the changing perspectives straight.

What is If Something Happens to Me about?

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. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

What did I think?

This was an interesting book, though I personally found it slower than Alex Finlay’s others. This isn’t a bad thing, the story lent itself to that pacing. Told in alternating views, I thought the audiobook narrated by Helen Laser, John Pirhalla, and Paul Dateh was the better way to consume this because the distinct voices helped me keep straight whose perspective we were in. All three did a great job, and Helen Laser never disappoints!

Five years before the events of the book, a student named Ryan Richardson was out with his girlfriend when a man opened Ryan’s door and pulled him out. His girlfriend Ali was never seen again, sending shockwaves and rumors through the small town. Many locals thought Ryan must be responsible for Ali’s disappearance, or at least he knows more than he has let on. There’s no evidence of Ryan’s involvement, but that doesn’t stop the harassment aimed at Ryan.

In the present, Poppy McGee has just returned to her hometown to start her new job as the deputy sheriff and Ryan (going by the surname “Smith) is in Italy with some friends from law school. When Ali’s car is found back in their hometown submerged in a lake with two dead men in the car, Poppy is assigned the case and Ryan’s attorney reaches out. Who are the two men? How long has Ali’s car been in the lake? There’s an envelope with a cryptic cypher inside and a note in Ali’s handwriting: “If something happens to me”. Poppy will do whatever it takes to help find out what happened to Ali even if she doesn’t like what she finds.

The story follows three storylines: Ryan in Italy when he learns about Ali’s car, Poppy newly hired at the Sheriff’s office and working the case, and a man named Shane O’Leary in Philadelphia.  Shane’s story centers around his son, who is relentlessly bullied at his new school, and his “business”, which involves some highly illegal activity. It’s not immediately clear how and when the stories will intertwine, but that is part of the intrigue reading this book.

There are a lot of secrets that are revealed throughout the mystery. Poppy was the most likeable character and the most well-developed. Ryan’s story was a tad action-y in my opinion, but it was easy to empathize with him having to start over in life just to escape the gossip around him. Shane’s story was interesting—I couldn’t figure out how it would tie in but it was clear it was going to be linked to Ali’s disappearance and the two men in the car.

The ending was satisfying, though I wanted a bit more than we got. It seemed to wrap up quickly and then move to a lengthy epilogue. I felt there was one character who didn’t get enough closure at the end, but the others were tied up neatly. I personally enjoyed his last book, What Have We Done, but it seemed that other readers may not have. This is stylistically more similar to Finlay’s first two books.

An engaging book though I did find it slow at times. Ryan’s story held my attention the least, but thankfully the story didn’t feature him too much. Fans of Finlay’s first two books and who like a good mystery will enjoy this!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for my copy. Opinions are my own.