Member Reviews
Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy and my audio copy. Unfortunately I really struggled with this one on audio. I had to go back to the beginning to understand what was going on. Nothing wrong with the narrator it was just a complex audio book at times to follow. Once I started reading it I was able to follow everything better. I think at that point I could have switched back to audio, but just know this is a book that will require your full concentration. I was between a 3-4 for this story and I seem to be in the minority. I have seen some people saying it was one of their favorite books of the year or top books ever read. So if you go into this one I hope you enjoy!
There was to much going on in the story for me to really get into the main plot point. I found the story to be all over the place and never connecting with me as the reader.
The perfect murder, or the perfect cover up? This thriller had me on the edge of my seat! The constant back and fourth of 20 years ago to the present was collaborated so well it was easy to keep up with. Avery, the host of American Events goes to New York to not only seek out information for her new American Events show but to capture her father that has been on the run.
I absolutely loved this audiobook! Avery Mason, a popular American Events television host is off to New York to do a story on a 9/11 victim and at the same time she is trying to fix something deeply troubling in her past so she can continue to keep her old name and old life hidden from the world. When the 9/11 victim turns out to have been facing a probable murder charge Avery digs deeper to find out what really happened. There is so much going on in the story and yet it is done seamlessly and held my interest throughout. Vivienne Leheny did an excellent job as the Narrator!
Victoria is charged with the murder of her boyfriend, a famous author who was found hanging in his home. She leaves her sister a message right before the attack on 9/11 where she is last seen in the tower with her lawyer. The case goes unsolved as the world focuses on 9/11.
Twenty years later, Avery, a TV host, is intrigued when Victoria is identified as a victim from the wreckage. She starts to investigate about what happened 20 years ago.
This story is told from multiple POVs which I love and then and now timelines. The ending blew me away… wow. Also, this book was narrated amazingly.
Thank you Netgalley, Charlie Donlea and RB media for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.
Twenty Years Later was a great audio listening experience. It was a fast paced thriller with multiple story lines. The narration was clear and easy to follow and the story was twisty. Everything a solid thriller should be!
The audiobook is narrated by Vivienne Leheny who is AMAZING, and if you love audiobooks as much as I do, you are going to love it. She was the perfect person to voice the book and I was super impressed with how well she nailed the Jamaica parts. She transported me into every location perfectly and is definitely setting herself up to be one of my favorite narrators. I would say Twenty Years Later is medium to fast-paced, and also completely unputdownable. And the twists!! I didn't see any of them coming and the very end was jaw-dropping. I also never once felt like it was too long even though this book is on the longer side. Overall, it was just so well done and Donlea is truly a master of his craft.
Thank you to the publisher for my advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
I think I will give this book another chance. I´ll try to get my hands on the physical book instead. It was hard for me to keep up with the story, maybe reading it will be different, however, I can say that the story is very intriguing and I like the mystery in it.
I'm sorry I tried for a month to get into this story but I just couldn't I was listening to the audio and keep getting lost on who was who and then I got to the point I just didn't care. I read some great reviews but every time I went to pick it up I'd listen to a little bit and just got bored or just didn't care. So for me this is a DNF for me.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and feelings.
"Twenty Years Later"is a murder,mystery thriller that. begins with the day of the 9/11/2001 attacks and then fasts forward 20 years. There is finally a hit on DNA found at the world trade center and it is from Victoria who was accused of murdering her secret lover 20 years prior. Avery, a tv host of American Events hears of the story and decides this would be perfect for the 20th anniversary of 9/11. As she investigates the story she realizes there is more than what it appears. She has her own story to tell and past to hide.
I listened to the audio version of this book. It was entertaining and kept me listening. There are some twists and turns that I didn't see coming but they were so over the top that they were unbelievable. Overall I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance audiobook..
Oh, Boy!
This was my first novel by Charlie Donlea, and I was not disappointed!
First of all, has it been 20 years since 9/11? Everyone remembers where they were when they saw the events unfolding before them on TV. I certainly remember where I was. I had taken a sick day and was in excruciating pain due to my endometriosis (TMI, I know).
I was lying on the couch in the living room and trying to distract myself from the pain by watching TV. Suddenly the news comes on and I could not wrap my head around what was going on. Some of the pain meds used to make me light-headed, and I remember thinking, 'I'm dreaming, this is not real, this is not happening.' Sadly, it was all too real.
Anyway, so about the book. The scene opens with the horrifying murder/suicide of a famous author. That opening chapter is gripping, I'm telling you, and will want to make you keep turning the pages.
Evidence found at the crime scene points to Victoria Ford as the murderer. As fate would have it, 9/11 happens when she's actually at her lawyer's office to discuss the case before she goes to trial. In all the confusion, she disappears and is presumed dead, which is confirmed by the DNA that is matched with hers through the remains that are found at the site twenty years later.
Avery comes across the story of Victoria Ford's DNA found in the remains from the site of 9/11. While following this story, she realises that there is more, A LOT MORE, to the story than she originally thought. Avery has skeletons in the closet of her own, namely, that her father is infamously known as 'The Thief of Manhattan' due to the huge Ponzi scheme that he ran and duped tons of people into parting with millions of dollars, and then disappeared when he was discovered. If this ever came out, that Avery is the erstwhile Clare Montgomery, then it would mean the end of her career as the presenter of a wildly popular TV show.
Avery meets with someone she believes can help her with intimate details of the case since he was the one working on it. Except that he is on a mission of his own to get to Avery's father through her.
Avery stumbles across a very important clue in the manuscripts that Victoria's sister gives her in an attempt to clear Victoria's name.
Is there a possibility that Victoria may not be dead after all? Did she commit the murder, and what was her motive? If she's not dead, then what of the DNA extracted from the remains found in the rubble? Does Avery does know the whereabouts of her father, and will she help him to escape, blood being thicker than water and all that?
The characters are well-etched out, and the narrative is taut and gripping. There are many twists and turns that I did not see coming, and I love that in a thriller. I did enjoy this one, and will definitely be picking up more books from Charlie Donlea! Don't miss this one!
I loved this book! The narration for the audiobook was great and made the book very captivating! I was shocked a couple of times throughout while listening. I’ve been reading a lot of back to back thrillers so I was worried I was becoming desensitized to certain twists, and it turns out, I’m not!! I also loved the characters in this book, and became very invested in the outcome of their lives! I definitely recommend this one!
I listened to the audiobook for this and it was amazing! I loved the narrator and the story sucked me in from the very beginning. I would think I had the story figured out and another twist would come, shaking things up all over again. This will definitely not be the last book I read/listen to by Charlie Donlea - I definitely recommend!!
So good! I never knew where this book was going. The narration was incredibly engrossing, I had a great time listening to this one.
A woman is about to be charged with the murder of her lover, a famous author. Then 9/11 happens, and she is assumed to be dead. Twenty years later, a tooth recovered from the ruins of the towers is analyzed for DNA and it matches that of this woman. This brings the murder story back into the limelight, and TV news magazine host Avery Martin joins the detective who initially investigated the case in re-examining the evidence. But, both Avery and the detective have secrets in their pasts. This is an intriguing mystery, especially with its connection to the disaster. It kept my attention initially, but the answers seemed obvious to me quite early on. The main characters seemed a bit too stereotypical, and the ancillary characters seemed rather vague at times.
Twenty Years Later is a fictional tale about someone who takes advantage of 9/11 victims in order to make money for her family in need. It was a more difficult read for me as I had colleagues who worked in the North Tower. So I was already on high alert having been reminded of their tragic deaths on the 20th anniversary.
The premise was clever but I kept trying to poke holes in the plot. Could this have really happened the way it played out? I was definitely reading with a skeptics eye.
Perhaps readers with a bit more distance to the 9/11 tragedy might enjoy it much better.
That said, the narration was just fine. I prefer audiobooks these days and this is one that doesn't require you to sit in place so as not to miss any story details.
Special thanks to Recorded Books for the advanced listener copy via the NetGalley app.
This is the first DNF I’ve had in quite awhile. I try to trudge through a book to prevent a DNF but sadly this one was abandoned. I was looking forward to this book too based off all of the great reviews so I truly think this was a “It’s not you, it’s me” kind of situation.
I think the trouble was that there was just so much going on and it seemed disjointed to me. I struggled to connect with any of the characters and because I felt the storyline was just all over the place so I really had a hard time even concentrating on the book. I took a break and went back to it, hoping that it would change how I felt but I just didn’t have any interest in finishing it.
That said, I still gave 3 stars because the book wasn’t badly written and based off the other’s reviews, it appears to be a great book for them and maybe had I finished it, it would have all tied together but I just wasn’t invested enough to find out.
This book was enjoyable but felt a bit long… I felt like it didn’t need to be 11 hours and could have been tied up quicker. I liked the characters and the tie in to 9-11, but I found the end super implausible. The narrator was good but not the best I’ve ever heard. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.
3.5/5
Ooh this was a good one. I couldn't stop listening to this once I started. I love a book that leads me to go off on a tangent and start researching things.
I love the fact 9/11 played such an important role in the book . I loved the little gentle pushes we was given in one direction only to find the story had turned and ran in the opposite direction. By the end my mind was suitably blown . I had to have a long think about everything!
Twenty Years Later spans, as the title suggests, 20 years. It begins with the day of the 9/11/2001 attack in New York, and frequently jumps to 20 years in the future. Avery, a television host, gets wind of a story relating to the 9/11 tragedy. The first identification of a person found in the rubble in years has happened, and the victim happens to be accused murderer Victoria, who had been accused of murdering her married lover. As Avery digs into the story, she unravels a bigger story than she had ever bargained for.
This book is fun and entertaining. It has a lot of twists and turns, including some history with Avery herself. The twists are plausible, and the book was easy to get into. Overall, those who enjoy twisty thrillers would love this book. Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.