I enjoyed this book much more than the last one by this author. This tale delivers all the twisty, jaw-dropping suspense I look for with this genre. There are so many secrets hidden by many of the characters to be uncovered. The anticipation was keenly felt and I had to backtrack several times just to make sure I was hearing what I thought I heard. My inner monologue was in high gear with a lot of wait, what? and oh, no you didn’t which just added to my enjoyment.

The author does a very good job of balancing the numerous plots going on with these characters so that the reader doesn’t feel lost. The reader is given the details of the past with Victoria Ford and the death of her lover, her being charged with the crime, her death in the North Tower on 9/11 and the voicemail she left for her sister begging for her innocence to be proven, which was quite enthralling. Twenty years after 9/11, Avery Mason is working to feature this story on her news show while dealing with a father who is on the run from the feds for fraud and has reached out to her for help. As she changed her professional name years ago, not a lot of people know who she or her father are, or so she thinks.

This story moves at a great pace, keeping details fresh and concise with enough suspense to keep me engaged and eager for more. The switching between past and present was done smoothly and drove the story forward. The narration of this audiobook was expertly performed by Vivienne Leheny. Her ability to captivate the reader with the perfect blend of emotion and tension adds to the enjoyment of the story.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book has reminded me that I may not enjoy every book an author writes, but I should always remain receptive to being surprised and this book delivers many surprises. I highly recommend this book to readers who like twisty suspense novels that culminate in shocks you didn’t expect.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Twenty Years Later from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Twenty Years Later is a gripping suspense novel that explores the intertwined mysteries of a murder, a missing person, and a 9/11 victim. The story follows Avery Mason, a TV reporter who is drawn into the cold case of Victoria Ford, a woman who was accused of killing her lover and then died in the North Tower on the fateful day. Avery has a personal stake in the case, as she shares a dark secret with Victoria that could ruin her career and reputation. As she digs deeper into the past, she uncovers shocking secrets, hidden motives, and dangerous enemies who will stop at nothing to silence her.

Charlie Donlea is a master of suspense who knows how to keep the reader hooked with twists and turns, red herrings and revelations. He skillfully weaves together the different timelines and perspectives, creating a complex and compelling puzzle that keeps you guessing.

The audiobook is narrated by Vivienne Leheny, who does a great job of bringing the characters and emotions to life. She captures the different accents, tones, and personalities of the diverse cast, making each one distinct and believable.

Twenty Years Later is a must-read for fans of Lisa Unger, Allen Eskens, and Harlan Coben. It is a thought-provoking novel.

Avery Mason is looking for a big story to start her news show next season. She thinks that looking back at the 9-11 attack might be good, especially when she learns that new technology is letting scientists identify victims from small bone fragments. She contacts the lead scientist who agrees to let her television crew come and film in the lab, using a recent victim who has been identified as the focus. That victim was Victoria Ford.
But Avery finds that there is much more to this story than she had anticipated. At the time of her death, Victoria Ford had been the main suspect in the sex murder of a famous author who was her married lover. She was about to be indicted and was in the Towers that day to meet with a lawyer about her defense. When Avery visits Victoria's sister, she is adamant that Victoria could never have killed anyone and plays Avery the voice message Victoria sent that day when she knew she wasn't going to make it out. In that, she proclaimed her innocence and begged her sister to clear her name.

Avery decides this is definitely her story. She contacts the detective who headed up the case, a former FBI agent. He agrees to review the case with her and share case file documents but he has a secret and an ulterior motive. That's understandable because Avery is hiding a big secret as well. The two become involved and both try to hide their secrets while investigating the long ago murder.

This is my first Charlie Donlea novel but it won't be my last. There are plenty of twists and turns. Everyone has a big secret in their past and the slow reveal of these add to the plot. The novel starts a bit slow but once it gets going is a mystery fan's pleasure. I listened to this one and the narrator was perfect. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

This book follows a TV journalist, Avery Mason, who is working on a story about remains of a 9/11 victim in present day. They have just been identified using some new technology regarding DNA.

In the course of the investigation, it is discovered that the 9/11 victim was a suspect in a murder case, which involved some sexually twisted stuff, that was never solved. Avery wants to see if this can help that case, but she also has her own secrets she doesn't want uncovered.

The attention to detail in this book makes you feel you are right there with the characters.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed the twists and turns in this book and I really enjoyed the perspective on 9/11. I honestly wish there would have been more detail in there about 9/11 although it didn’t play a “major” role, I loved hearing perspectives about it and it really hit home. I thought it flowed well and I would definitely recommend!

This thrilling new crime mystery follows TV criminal journalist Avery Mason (described as Caucasian), who is working on her latest story regarding the remains of a 9/11 victim from twenty years ago that has just been identified using new DNA technology. During her investigation, Avery discovers that the victim was actually the prime suspect in a sexually twisted murder case, and that the case was never solved. Avery hopes that bringing new light to the case will help to advance her career, but she must do so carefully as to not bring her own secret past to the forefront. In Twenty Years Later, Charlie Donlea reveals an impeccable writing style complete with various storylines and multiple plot twists. His writing is evidence that he is very knowledgeable on the subjects of criminal investigations, medical examinations, DNA extraction, and the events surrounding 9/11. The substantial attention to detail on these subjects in addition to the descriptive settings of the story that include walking the streets of New York, sailing in Wisconsin, and enjoying the sandy beaches of Jamaica make listening to this audio version feel like a true crime podcast!

Thank you to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Why did I wait so long to read this book?!?! It was gripping and I couldn’t put it down! It has murder, it has sex, it has betrayal, it has 9/11. There are twists and turns and mouth dropping moments. I don’t even know how to sum it up, other than this is a must read!

4.5 stars – Rounding to 5 for Goodreads

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #kensingtonbooks #ltbreaderteam #twentyyearslater

The premised of this book is really good.

I enjoyed the investigative part of it. I did not see the ending coming. It was a nice surprise.

But the book dragged a bit for me when focusing on the protagonist's life. it has some interesting plots, but in general I wished it focused more on the main plot.

Twenty Years later started slowly for me and I didn't get fully invested in the book until around the 40% mark. The book starts with a strong opening scene, and I was onboard, the book hits the brakes and begins with the back story. Usually, I don't mind this but this one just hit the brakes for me. There are a lot of characters in the mix - don't worry you will be able to remember and keep track of them, but they did add to the slower pace. Once I got to the 40% mark, things began getting interesting, so hang in there if you feel the beginning is slow as I did.

I was excited to listen to this book, as I’ve enjoyed this author in the past. This one just wasn’t a success for me. The switches between storylines and confusion of relevance and character traits was enough to make me dizzy. Also, the seemingly pandering use of 9/11 didn’t sit right. It wasn’t horrible and I finished the listen, but I wish the narrator had employed some sort of device for making timeline and viewpoint switches easier to recognize. Often, by the time I realized who was talking and where we were in time, I had missed some plot and we were on to someone or somewhere else. This book just wasn’t for me.

This one was packed full of surprises, 90% of the book I'm thinking things are one way, then all of a sudden Im proven wrong! I enjoyed that very much 😁💯

Thanks netgalley for giving me the early audiobook so that I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 🧡

The book centers around two crimes with a main storyline that focuses on 9/11. Packed with so much activity and twists, I found this very difficult to put down once I got invested in it!

The narrator was perfect for this book. Great tone and animation.

Two different story lines at the same time made this one a page turner. This one was a wild ride and that twisted ending was off the charts.

Twenty Years Later was a great read by Charlie Donlea. Avery Mason is a TV reporter and the host of American Events. Her latest story is a murder mystery that is laced with kinky sex, tragedy and betrayal. This story is guaranteed to be ratings gold. There is new DNA technology that has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make it’s first successful identification of 9/11 victim in many years. The twist is that the victim, Victoria Ford, was accused of a gruesome murder of her former lover. Victoria begged her sister in her last phone call to prove her innocence. Emma Kind has spent the last twenty years waiting to put her sister to rest, she can’t get closure until she clears Victoria’s name. She’s convinced that Avery will be able to help her find the real killer. I enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to read more by the author.

RATING: 1 STAR
2021; Kensington/Recorded Books

I have enjoyed Donlea's novel's in the past, but this one - plot wise is a bit too much to believe. I still was in it to the end to see who the killer was. I am not sure if the author and editor also grew bored with the story, but the ending was lame. It was one of those "oh, I got to page 400 and don't have an ending and need to finish it in 2 pages". I did think the cover was gorgeous, and the narrator did a good job. I will still read the next Donlea novel as I do find his books overall well done.

***I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook/eBook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

This was a brilliant story. I really loved how interesting the storyline was. It was fantastic how complex this story was. It was great that I was constantly trying to work out what was going to happen next. I really loved the way the author incorporated the destruction of the twin towers into the story. The author really created a very clever story that had some amazing twists. I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator who really brought out the fantastic sense of atmosphere and tension that the book held. I actually had to binge read this book it was that good with its such an excellent gripping thriller. 

Many thanks to the author and publishers for creating a brilliant roller coaster ride story.

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/twenty-years-later-by-charlie-donlea-rb-media-3-stars either under my name or ladyreading365 or lady Reading365 or ladyc reading

3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley # kensingtonpublishers for a arc copy of the book for a honest review!
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The story comes into two timelines. So it’s quite confusing in a blink of an eye because it’s not as pattern as it seems. Quite not interesting at first nearly DNF to be honest it was ok.
You have to be patience to read the timelines,.

❤️Shaye.reads

What can I say this is one of the best books I have listened to in a long while so my thanks to NetGalley and publisher Canelo for allowing me to listed to the audio book

It's well-written, has a complex plot with so many twists and turns and coincidences and follows a time line which includes the fall of the twin towers in 9/11

In July 2001 Walt Jenkins investigates his first ever homicide case; Cameron Young a very succesfull author is found hanging from his balcony in bizarre circumstances, the apparent suicide is actually a murder and it looks like Cameron lover is responsible.

For over 20 years the largest forensic laboratory in the world had been developing new techniques to try to identify victims from DNA extracted from minute bone fragments and one such fragment throws up his lovers name a true crime TV presenter Avery Mason is determined to investigate what actually happened for the 9/11 20th anniversary show

This brings up a number of things that have happened over the last 20 years and not just in case but also in Avery's life.

A brilliant listen

I really enjoyed the authors precious work, Don’t Believe it, so I was excited to give this a go. The beginning did not immediately grab me and honestly took ten percent for me to even find a groove. Way too many plot lines and things going on to maintain a focus. At the end I felt like it was a fine and enjoyable read but not one that will stick with me.

This was a really fun thriller. I really enjoyed this narrator and the story. It was so compelling and grabbed my attention from the start. I think the author did so well with the tone of the story and knew how to grab the reader’s attention.

Such a great book - solid thriller!