Review Detail

Luanne Rice's If Anything Happens to Me is a young adult thriller that was suspenseful and engaging to the very end. The story begins with Oli (short for Olivia) grappling with her younger sister's death. Eloise was murdered eight months ago, and the police have still not found her killer. Oli visits the spot where Eloise's body was found only to find another girl buried there, but this girl is alive. Oli helps the unknown girl try to regain her memory and figure out how she came to be buried alive. There has to be a connection between these two cases that can help Oli find her sister's killer. And so begins a wild story with lots of twists and turns.

What I Liked: The characters are well written and drew me into the story. I felt empathy for Oli as she struggled with her sister's death and understood her quest for justice for Eloise. As the mystery grows, we learn some of the town's history, which includes some supernatural elements. Adding this element to the story made it more interesting. By midway through the book I thought I had figured out the mystery, so I was pleasantly surprised to find a few unexpected twists and turns. In addition to solving the mystery of Eloise's death and Iris's kidnapping, there are a few smaller storylines worth mentioning. It is clear that Oli has experienced loss before after losing both of her parents at a young age, but as she mourns the loss of her sister, you can see how it is affecting her. In addition, Luanne Rice captured so well the feelings of a first crush. The two were friends who were growing closer, and yet Oli shut him out after the death of her sister.

If Anything Happens to Me is a suspenseful YA thriller that will make readers not want to put the book down.