Alison Gaylin | IF I DIE TONIGHT

Plot (via Goodreads):

Late one night in the quiet Hudson Valley town of Havenkill, a distraught woman stumbles into the police station—and lives are changed forever.

Aimee En, once a darling of the ’80s pop music scene, claims that a teenage boy stole her car, then ran over another young man who’d rushed to help.

As Liam Miller’s life hangs in the balance, the events of that fateful night begin to come into focus. But is everything as it seems?

The case quickly consumes social media, transforming Liam, a local high school football star, into a folk hero, and the suspect, a high school outcast named Wade Reed, into a depraved would-be killer. But is Wade really guilty? And if he isn’t, why won’t he talk?

Told from a kaleidoscope of viewpoints—Wade’s mother Jackie, his younger brother Connor, Aimee En and Pearl Maze, a young police officer with a tragic past, If I Die Tonight is a story of family ties and dark secrets—and the lengths we’ll go to protect ourselves

Review:

Let's be honest - I LOVE thrillers, mysteries and suspense. Within those genres, there is a sub-genre that I feel does not get enough love and that is domestic suspense. Domestic suspense thrillers are hard to come by and some  really fall flat for me even though I do love them. This is not one of those cases. IF I DIE TONIGHT by Alison Gaylin is not only an intense binge-worthy read, but it's plot is taut, morose, and engaging. 

What I especially loved about this story (okay, I loved basically all of it), is not only is this well constructed and minutely planned, but the atmosphere within this novel is so gloomy and superb. I swear, even though I live in upstate New York and I know what the fall can be like, this novel just engulfs you. Everyone always talks about the beauty of fall in New York and I personally love it, but like everything else in life it's not always as glamorous as it appears. Gaylin brings forth the dreariness New York can offer in October. As a reader, I could feel the cold dampness in the air that you can never warm up from, the chill in your bones once the sun goes down, and the sharpness in your lungs as you breathe in. I'm a sucker for atmosphere and Gaylin did a spectacular job building the scene. Not only is this a highly immersive read, but the details alone in just the plot are ones that immediately had me hooked. We have a domestic suspense thriller about a family who's son may or may not have killed one of his classmates, but there is so much more. Bring in a tough-as-nails police officer with a dark past and an amazing backstory and a has-been pop star from the 80s and you have yourself one dazzling read. Seriously, this one is a winner.

I loved the balance of this novel jumping back and forth between the domestic suspense and police procedural. The amount of time between the two is meticulously done, foreshadowing darker things to come and having just enough small cliffhangers to keep telling yourself "one more chapter..." I had a lot of "one more chapter..." and basically devoured this read in one day. I could not get enough. These characters that bring this story to life are so honest and poignant that it's heartbreaking  to read about them, but you have to because you want what is best for all of these damaged and alluring people. Little by little the truth begins to come to light and Gaylin does a fantastic job of giving you one puzzle piece at a time as you approach the end of this novel into finding out what the big picture is. What I really enjoyed was how complex this novel is, but you don't get a good realization into that until it's too late. As I approached the ending and was grasping at the tidbits of information I was given, trying to piece everything together, I was shocked at how wrong I was about what really happened that night. The last 75 pages just flew by like I was only reading 75 words and I could not put it down if I wanted to. I absolutely loved how Gaylin wrote the ending to this novel and I was left with no questions, no loose ends, and was shellshocked as I found out the truth. This novel is masterfully done and I can assure you, it's definitely one that should not go unnoticed. Congratulations, Alison Gaylin, you have one unforgettable read on your hands. I cannot wait to see what you do next.

*Special thanks to William Morrow for providing me with this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5