Editorial Content for Those Empty Eyes
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Reviewer (text)
I have been reading and enjoying Charlie Donlea’s work for years. However, nothing he previously wrote prepared me for the incredible ride I was about to take with his latest release. Here, he deftly juggles so many different characters and storylines, each of which fuses together to make one whopper of a story that will have readers not only tightly gripping the book all the way to the finish line but also spinning in amazement at the unpredictable plot twists.
THOSE EMPTY EYES begins on January 15, 2013 with the slaughter of the Quinlan family, three members of whom were shot to death. Once the police arrive, they find the only survivor of the massacre, 17-year-old Alexandra, holding the very same shotgun that did the bloody deed.
"THOSE EMPTY EYES dazzles from page one right up to the unexpected finish and never disappoints for a moment."
Even though she’s very young and now dealing with the shock of losing her parents and 13-year-old brother, Alexandra pleads her innocence. The problem is that her two large empty eyes convince the public she’s a killer, and she’s given the nickname “Empty Eyes.” However, there’s no valid proof that she’s guilty. Alexandra’s legal counsel sues the state and police force for defamation (among other accusations), and she’s awarded a multi-million-dollar settlement.
Since she has no family to return to, Alexandra lives with her attorney and his wife until she is of legal age to be on her own. Once she reaches that point, she chooses to relocate to England to get away from the online trolls and true crime fanatics who constantly harass her. All the while, she has been secretly trying to find out who is responsible for killing her loved ones.
Alexandra visits a bank in Zurich, Switzerland, where her parents had prior business dealings, to deposit some of her millions. She also inquires about an account number she came across while checking her parents’ paperwork. Unfortunately, the manager is unable to help her, and an associate uses this as leverage against her. He recognizes her as “Empty Eyes” and attempts to blackmail her in exchange for keeping her identity a secret. This forces her to return to the states and take on a junior investigator job with her attorney’s firm. She also legally changes her name to Alex Armstrong. Ten years may have passed since the shocking loss of her family, but many true crime professionals will not let it go.
Meanwhile, Alex shifts her attention to the disappearance of a student journalist and podcaster. Laura McAllister was about to reveal details of a date-rape drug that was given out at a frat party on the campus where she worked. The primary suspect turns out to be the son of a prominent judge who is being talked about for a seat on the Supreme Court. Alex and her own tragic story cross paths with that of the FBI agent who is vetting the judge. Eventually they realize that something far deeper is at play here.
THOSE EMPTY EYES dazzles from page one right up to the unexpected finish and never disappoints for a moment. It propels Charlie Donlea into the upper echelon of psychological thriller writers and sets the bar awfully high for whatever he plans to write as a follow-up to this brilliant novel.
Teaser
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.
Promo
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.
About the Book
You know her name.
You know her face.
You know those eyes…
Ten years after she was exonerated for the slaughter of her family, the girl the tabloids called “Empty Eyes” is the only one looking for the truth in this propulsive thriller from #1 internationally bestselling author Charlie Donlea.
Alex Armstrong has changed everything about herself --- her name, her appearance, her backstory. She’s no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, Alexandra Quinlan, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation.
It’s been 10 years since, and Alex hasn’t stopped searching for answers about the night her family was killed, even as she continues to hide her real identity from true crime fanatics and grasping reporters still desperate to locate her. 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. For as different as the crimes may seem, they each hinge on one sinister truth: no one is quite who they seem to be.
Audiobook available, read by Vivienne Leheny
