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Charlie Donlea

Biography

Charlie Donlea

Charlie Donlea is the USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of SUMMIT LAKE, THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN, DON'T BELIEVE IT, SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS, THE SUICIDE HOUSE, TWENTY YEARS LATER and THOSE EMPTY EYES.

A late bloomer, he was 20 years old when he read his first novel --- THE FIRM by John Grisham --- and knew he would someday write thrillers. His books have now been translated into 20 languages across nearly 40 countries.

Praised for his "soaring pace, teasing plot twists" (BookPage) and talent for writing an ending that "makes your jaw drop" (The New York Times Book Review), Donlea has been called a "bold new writer...on his way to becoming a major figure in the world of suspense" (Publishers Weekly).

He resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.

Charlie Donlea

Books by Charlie Donlea

Long Time Gone
by Charlie Donlea - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

On the first day of an elite two-year fellowship, Sloan Hastings receives a research assignment in the emerging field of forensic genealogy. She enthusiastically begins her research by submitting her own DNA to an online genealogy site. Sloan has always known she was adopted, but her DNA profile suggests her true identity is that of Charlotte Margolis, aka “Baby Charlotte,” who captured the nation’s attention when she and her affluent parents mysteriously vanished in July 1995. Despite a large-scale investigation and months of broad media coverage, there were never any suspects in the family’s disappearance and the case has been cold for decades. Sloan’s search for answers leads her to Cedar Creek, Nevada, a small town north of Lake Tahoe. The more she learns, the more apparent it becomes that the answers Sloan seeks are buried in a graveyard of Margolis family secrets. And someone will do anything to keep them hidden...

Those Empty Eyes
by Charlie Donlea - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Alex Armstrong hasn’t stopped searching for answers about the night her family was killed 10 years ago. As a legal investigator, she works tirelessly to secure justice for others, too. People like Matthew Claymore, who’s under suspicion in the disappearance of his girlfriend, a student journalist named Laura McAllister. Laura was about to break a major story about rape and cover-ups on her college campus. Alex believes Matthew is innocent and unearths stunning revelations about the university’s faculty, fraternity members and powerful parents willing to do anything to protect their children. Most shocking of all, as Alex digs into Laura’s disappearance, she realizes there are unexpected connections to the murder of her own family.

Twenty Years Later
by Charlie Donlea - Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Avery Mason, host of "American Events," knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story --- a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy and betrayal --- is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence. Emma Kind has waited 20 years to put her sister to rest, but closure won’t be complete until she can clear Victoria’s name. Alone she’s had no luck, but she’s convinced that Avery’s connections and fame will help. But the twisted puzzle of Victoria’s private life is just the beginning.