Book Review: "If Something Happens to Me" by Alex Finlay

One night, high school seniors Ryan and Ali drive to Lovers’ Lane. They’re both ready to take the big step in their relationship before they head to separate colleges. But before things get too far, the car door is ripped open, Ali screams, and Ryan gets hit in the head. When he wakes up, Ali and her car are gone.

The events of that night changed Ryan’s life completely. His whole town suspected he was responsible for Ali’s disappearance, perhaps even her murder. But even though he was never charged with any crime, suspicion still surrounds him. Five years later, he’s changed his last name, graduated from a different college, and he’s studying to be a lawyer. But he never feels comfortable opening up to anyone about the night that haunts him.

While Ryan is on a law school trip in Italy, Ali’s car is found submerged in a lake in their hometown. He gets an anonymous note that says “I know who you are,” and it requests to meet with him. Before he can decide what to do, he catches a glimpse of something from his nightmares since the night Ali disappeared: the man he remembers dragging Ali away.

Desperate to find answers to the questions that have plagued him for years, Ryan follows the man through Europe. At the same time, a young deputy sheriff back in Ryan and Ali’s hometown starts looking into the case now that the car has been found. She discovers a web of secrets and lies that goes far deeper than she could imagine.

There are a lot of disparate storylines in the book that at first make you wonder how they will all fit together, but then everything clicks. You definitely need to suspend a little disbelief here, but Alex Finlay teases out the twists and keeps you guessing the whole way through the book. (I was right about certain things but in the wrong ways.)

I’ve been waiting to read this for a while, since I’m a fan of Finlay’s books. This was worth the wait for sure!!