If Something Happens to Me by Alex Finlay

‘Something’s not right. The puzzle pieces are warped, disfigured.’

The novel opens with a prologue set in Leavenworth, Kansas. Ryan and Alison, high school sweethearts, are about to leave home for different colleges. On their last night at home, they head off in Alison’s father’s BMW to a local lover’s lane near the river. They are parked, when the car door is ripped open. Ryan is knocked out and when he wakes up the following morning, both Alison and the car are gone.

Five years later, in Leavenworth, a car is found in Suncatcher Lake. The finders are a couple of men who were looking for another missing person and whose claim to fame is that they’ve helped solve thirty-two cold cases. Poppy McGee is the (new) deputy sheriff charged with investigating.

In the meantime, Ryan has lived with Alison’s disappearance and the fact that many believe he is guilty for five years. He has changed his name to try to distance himself from the past and has entered law school. And now, when he and his law-school classmates are on a trip to Italy, Ryan’s father calls him to let him know that the car has been found. Inside the car are the bodies of two men, and a bag belonging to Alison. The bag contains an enveloped note. On the outside of the envelope, Alison had written: ‘If something happens to me…’

The story shifts to Philadelphia, where Shane O’Leary lives with his wife Gina and son Anthony. Anthony attends an elite school where he is bullied. And Shane O’Leary wants to know who is involved.

All these threads (and there are a couple of others) are eventually neatly tied together. To disclose more about the story would introduce spoilers and while some elements of the story are predictable, it is the way that Mr Finlay ties all the pieces together that held my attention. Suspend your disbelief, fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride. This is the first novel I have read by Alex Finlay: it won’t be the last.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith