As promised, here’s the second book of the Charlie Donlea journey I embarked upon recently. Of the two, I think this is the one I found the most compelling.

Synopsis

Alexandra Quinlan has gone to great lengths to separate herself from the night that changed her life forever, the night her entire family was massacred leaving her the only survivor and the initial prime suspect. Ten years after the murders and after increasingly tumultuous years in which she fought to clear her name and get justice for the mistreatment she received by both law enforcement and the media, she now does some investigative work for a law firm. She’s changed both her name and her look, no longer recognizable as “Empty Eyes,” the name given to her by the media on the night of her family’s murder. When a particularly disturbing investigation leads her to clues regarding her own family’s still-unsolved murder, Alex finds herself back in the past reliving that awful night and pulling her into a dangerous world of secrets for which she may not be prepared.

Review

Once again, Donlea fooled me. A little. He likes to do this thing where he dangles something super obvious in your face leaving you wondering if this is really supposed to be a mystery/thriller, and then he slaps you in the face with something unexpected in the absolute final scene. So, in a way you have the satisfaction of being right while also marveling at the twist. Well played, Donlea. This novel moves at just the right pace, and it’s wildly exciting in all the right places. I really liked Alex, and I felt like I really knew her. Knowing her backstory so thoroughly allows us to understand her motivations. The scene in the beginning in which Alex’s family is murdered is so vivid it feels real. It’s terrifying and visceral. The grandfather clock is an especially nice touch. As tough as this scene is to read, it also pulls you in and makes you need to know what happened.

Once again, I really thought fans of true crime got a bad rap, but in this case some of it made a lot more sense. The way the media forced the narrative of Alex’s story is all too real. There’s a reason the term “court of public opinion,” exists. People like to think they know it all when they’ve only seen a couple of news reports that were simply designed to scandalize the masses. It’s easy to forget real people are behind these stories splashed across our televisions.

Once again, the psychology of the killer is in the hot seat. I had some issues with the killer and their motivations vs. their subsequent actions, but I can’t exactly get into that without entering into major spoiler mode, and I refuse to do that. Great for conversation but not so much for a review, so I will leave it at that. Overall, an exciting and satisfying thriller.

Published March 28, 2023 by Kensington. ISBN 1496727177. Paperback. 432 pages.