Based on the book summary, it’s kind of hard to determine what’s the primary storyline for this book. Is it Alex finding the killer who murdered her family when she was 17? Is it finding Laura McAllister? Is it clearing Matthew Claymore’s name in Laura’s disappearance? For the record, the part of the story around Laura and Matthew is only a short part in the second half of the book, not enough to even be a storyline. However, there is a secondary storyline about a kid’s summer camp called Camp Montegue. This secondary storyline is weaved in and out of the whole story.

The story starts with the killing of Alex’s family when she was 17. She survived by tricking the killer and hiding from him. For the rest of the first half of the story, it covers the aftermath of that night, her arrest for the killings and the defamation suit and case she filed against the police dept after she was cleared of the murders. It also covers the following two years where Alex basically disappears in order to search for leads to her family’s killer based on documents she found in her family’s home.

The second half of the story starts eight years later, and Alex has changed her name, looks and residence. She now works for the attorney who represented her in the defamation case as an investigator while still keeping a low-profile so as not to attract the attention of the media and/or true crime fanatics that are still looking for her. It’s during one of her cases (not the Matthew Claymore or Laura McAllister cases) that she discovers a link to the case of her murdered family.

The murder of Alex’s family is most certainly the primary storyline. In the last 15-20% of the story, the two storylines begin to merge. After being contacted by an FBI agent regarding the investigation of Laura and Matthew, Alex negotiates a quid pro quo deal to help the agent if she helps Alex with her investigation of her family’s murders. After sharing all the evidence that she has on her family’s case, Alex is introduced to a former FBI profiler in order to put together a profile of the killer. The ending comes quick after that and it’s an intense and scary scene. However, it’s the last few pages of the book that TOTALLY threw me for a loop! OMG!!! Never saw that coming, I had actually pegged it as someone else!!!

A very enjoyable story and Charlie Donlea is a good writer and storyteller. It’s only the second book I’ve read by him but I’ve really enjoyed both of them and have gone and added another one to my to-read shelf. I like Alex too, she’s an interesting MC, in spite of her ridiculous coffee snobbery. Good grief!!! Enough already, Mr Donlea!!! We get it!!! Alex is a humungous and obnoxious coffee snob!!! Do we really need to hear anymore about the perfectly vacuumed siphoned coffee with the perfectly timed vapor pressured water and the perfect amount of Americano ground beans. Seriously??? Can we just move on about all the nonsense of why anything less than a perfect cup of coffee is a complete waste of her time as well as a fate worse than death? Pleeeaaassseee😊

Anyway, if this ever becomes a series, I would check out the next installment. I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

@NetGalley @KensingtonBooks @ThoseEmptyEyes

Empty eyes

Donlea always takes us on such a journey with his writing. It’s beautiful and complex and full circle! There is so much going on and he never leaves anything undone! It amazes me how all of the different characters and storylines are kept straight and then begin to intertwine in the most unbelievable ways! Even at the end, when I think everything has been tidied up and the book is finished, the last chapter SHOOK me! I truly did not see that coming, at all! I may just be saying this because I finished Daisy Jones last night, but I could see this book making an amazing series!

This book started off with a BANG, in the middle of the night, a scared teenage girl hides as her family is brutally murdered. I mean, that got my attention! We waste no time getting into the thick of it. I was immediately invested in this book and Alexandra as she is going through an unthinkable event. Donlea does a great job of introducing all of the characters and giving them depth and lasting impact. At times I was confused on who certain characters were and their importance to the book, with multiple storylines, but I knew if I stuck with it, the reveal would be worth it! And it was!! I can’t imagine the amount of detail and thought that goes into creating stories like this, but I appreciate it! Cannot wait to see what he comes out with next!

Thank you to Kensington books for the ARC! I read a combo of the hard copy and listened to the ALC thanks to RB Media. The audio was very well done, I stayed engaged with the story and enjoyed listening. But I always love to hold the physical book and read it, I feel like it connects me to the story and characters.

Loved the synopsis and think this could have been fantastic, but the story lost momentum with all of the side plots and repetition. It all ties together in the end, but it took too long to get there - it felt like I was reading a 500 page book, not 300.

I’d read another book by this author, unfortunately this one didn’t work for me.

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea is a thriller you'll want to add to your summer reading list.

"It's been ten years since Alexandra Quinlan was arrested for killing her family. When evidence pointed to her not being the killer charges were dropped. Alex testified at her highly publicized defamation lawsuit against the police department. With the help of her lawyer, a family friend, she won a large judgement.
Alex changes her name and moves away because the True Crime junkies all believe she got away with murder. But Alex never stops looking for the person responsible for killing her family. Now she's an investigator for a law firm and finds similarities with one of her cases to that of her parents. Will she finally have the answers she's looked for?"

Donlea grabs you from the very beginning. You are mesmerized by the trial and the events of the evening where Alex's family was gunned down. Donlea eventually jumps to Alex as an investigator while also filling in the background of the story. It all leads to a wild ending. And a twist you feel coming but never believe he'll actually go there.

The middle third of the book is slower than the beginning and end but still worth it. I did not want to stop reading this book.

Another great thriller to add to the beach bag this year.

Charlie Donlea writes a hell of a story with unforgettable characters. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I was completely invested in the outcome. I was also left guessing until the end. This one takes readers on a winding trail for answers through seemingly unrelated cases. I'm never disappointed by this author and this book is an excellent example of why. I couldn't put it down. This should be at the top of your must reads!

Ooo yes, this was a good one! Donlea is very clever with his writing - I can't imagine it is easy keeping all the plots in order. The MC, Alex, was strong even when she was naive - I mean, who doesn't know that other countries have multiple dialects like America? Either way, I couldn't wait to find out who was responsible for her family's murders. You definitely have to suspend your disbelief at times but if you want a fun thriller than this one is for you.

This was so wild and one of my favorites of Donlea! I loved the different directions the plot went in and how these little snippets of a story connected in one big web. I did feel as though there were so many characters introduced only to disappear a few pages later and some of the cast was hard t o keep track of but overall i loved this one!

I went back and forth with this one, but overall I liked it.

The story is about Alex Quinlan. It starts out on a night where she is the only survivor after her entire family are all shot in their home. Alex is a child at the time, handcuffed, and wrongly accused of the crime. After the case is dropped, and she wins a substantial lawsuit against the State, the damage is already done. The media frenzy surrounding the case is out of control, and the true crime world is obsessed with Alex, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media.

The first part of the book is about the murder and Alex's court ordeal. Frankly, I would have liked an entire book about this part. The story then jumps to Alex in Europe, a few years later, where she ran away to try to drop out of the public eye. Eventually two amateur sleuths figure out who she is, and attempt to extort her.

The book then picks up 10 years later. Alex is back in the state's working as an investigator for the attorney who saved her as a child, and essentially adopted her when she was alone. This is where things got a little messy for me. There were a bunch of seemingly unrelated chapters that didn't really tie together well for me. Some of the plotlines were unnecessary.

The book culminates in revealing who the killer of Alex's family was. However, the reader is meant to figure it out with a good chunk of the book left. You see how it plays out.

My biggest issue is that I wanted to know more about each plotline, and I think this could have been multiple books. But overall, it was fine.

This was a great suspense thriller that had me gripped from the first chapter. Although it was a little confusing with a lot of characters storylines crossing paths I overall loved it. A+ for Charlie Donlea!

A carefully crafted and twisty thriller that deserves to be read without spoilers. Alex is the only survivor of a horrible attack on her family and she became the subject of intense public and legal scrutiny- so much so that she changed everything she could and left the US for 10 years, Now, though, she's back and she's working as an investigator for a law firm but she's more focused, really, on finding the real killer. She discovers that much of what even she believed was not true, And there are surprises afoot. She's a terrific character. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, Very good read,

4.5 stars!

A complex multi-layered story that bobs and weaves until all the points finally intersect rewarding the reader with a satisfying payout. I've seen several reviews complain there were too many story lines in this one and I wonder if they read Twenty Years Later which was written in a similar style? Regardless, I appreciated the layering as it kept me guessing and even when I thought I had it figured out I wasn't quite right. Points for misdirection!

At age 17, Alexandra was the lone survivor after an intruder shot the rest of her family in her home. The police quickly try to pin the murder on her and a journalist gives her the name "Empty Eyes" after she was led, in shock and in a daze, out of her home that fateful night. When she's cleared of the murder she sues the State of Virginia for mismanaging the investigation and damages to her reputation and wins. With no family to turn to and her life in ruins, Alex is taken in anonymously by the cop whose testimony cleared her and her lawyer husband who represented her at the trial. She flees to England to start anew with college and a secret plan to discover who was behind the murder of her family only to be recognized by "true crime" junkies who try and extort her.

10 years passes and Alex has reinvented herself with a drastic image change and a change to her name. Working as a legal investigator for the law firm that represented her in her own trial, Alex gets involved in a case of rape on a prestigious college campus that may influence a Supreme Court judge nominee. Still trying to piece together the puzzle of her own families murder the pieces all start to click when a quid pro quo deal is made. Question is, can Alex figure out the murder before the murderer finally ties up the loose end they left that night?

I enjoyed Alex as a heroine and sympathized with her situation. True crime is huge right now with podcasts and Netflix series and the author makes many valid points about victims rights and the sensationalism that comes with some of these crimes and the media coverage and demonstrates that throughout the story. Armchair detectives are judge, jury, and executioner and it's crazy how impacting that can be. I enjoyed it and will continue to read this author.

3.5 stars

Donlea’s Twenty Years Later was such a solid read, so I was excited when I saw he was out with a new book. The premise of this story immediately grabbed my attention. I love an unsolved mystery and a victim determined to find out the truth. Similar to other reviewers, there were a lot of aspects I liked; however, the overall experience felt a bit chaotic. Donlea had a lot of moving parts in this story, and it created a disjointed reading experience at times with all of the side plots. That said, some of the reveals along the way definitely caught me by surprise, and I was never bored. I was certainly interested in learning what happened to Alex’s family, and I really enjoyed the ending. Still, this did not quite live up to my hopes based on how much I loved Twenty Years Later.

As a fan of Charlie Donlea’s work, I was so excited to see this ARC pop up on Netgalley. The plot intrigued me right off the bat— a massacred family, a sole survivor, and the media who blames the aforementioned “sole survivor” for the murders. I couldn’t wait to find out the truth about that night.

However, somewhere along the way, I felt the story lost a bit of focus. There were so many subplots to keep track of; and although they came together in the end, I wish the story felt more well-balanced.

I definitely recommend this book. But just know that it takes a little bit of patience.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington Books for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

I generally really enjoy Donlea’s writing so I was excited to dig into this one. It’s very well thought out and I loved all the surprise twists. I thoroughly enjoyed the main character and that last chapter - wow! Definitely recommend!

Alex is on the hunt to find her family's killer. As the only survivor of that horrific night, she was immediately the police's first suspect. She became a media sensation with the nickname 'Empty Eyes' because of a photograph taken while she was in shock. She is ultimately cleared, but the case has since went cold.

She tries to escape the media and public criticism by fleeing the country, but finds her way back home as an investigative consultant with a new identity. There are multiple storylines and points of view - a judge who is vying for a Supreme Court seat, an FBI agent hired to vet the judge and find any of his closeted skeletons, a podcaster who is about to blow the whistle on a covered up campus rape story, and victims of sexual assault at a children's summer camp. How do these all connect and what set all of this mess in motion? Alex is determined to figure out what happened to her parents and little brother, but uncovers a whole lot more.

Charlie Donlea can do no wrong! I love his way of intertwining different points of view and timelines in such a seamless (and not confusing) way. Everything comes together so wonderfully and although I expected the twist at the end, I think it was executed so well.

Thank you to Charlie Donlea, St Martin's Press - Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a wild ride in true Charlie Donlea fashion. I was gripped, turning the pages as fast as I could. There are two separate mysteries to solve that come crashing together at the end. One is the murder of Alex’s family, and the other is the attempt to cover up sexual assaults on a college campus years later.

I could not get enough of this one, and I loved trying to solve both mysteries at the same time. In the end I wasn’t surprised who the guilty party was, but with the other I needed more information/more details. It felt abrupt. With that said I really enjoyed this one, and if you have ever read this author then you will as well!

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea starts off with a horrifying home invasion scene. Someone kills every member of Alexandra Quinlan’s family—except for her. I was immediately drawn into the story of Alexandra Quinlan, known as Empty Eyes to the world. This story spans a decade during which Alexandra te to figure out who killed her family and why.
I enjoyed the way this story was told and how the answers are slowly revealed. There are chapters from a mystery person’s point of view from the 1980s at a summer camp. There is a current day mystery going on at a college campus. Both of these merge together with Alex’s story for an explosive and satisfying denouement.
I highly recommend this book and all of the author’s previous books. They are fun to read and I’ve loved them all! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

Wow. This book gripped me at the beginning, confused me as to where it was going in the middle and then ended with a gut punch! I loved how quickly it moved. I loved the multiple points of view. And I absolutely loved the story line and twists and turns throughout. This was an enthralling read and I need to read everything else by Charlie Donlea!! I loved this one.

Thank you again to Melodi @booksandchicks for bringing Charlie Donlea’s Those Empty Eyes to my attention. I really enjoyed Twenty Years Later and immediately requested his newest novel on @NetGalley. Thank you to Kensington Books for the advanced copy. It publishes March 28.

This heart pounding story opens in 2013 when young Alexandra Quinlan’s entire family is murdered and she becomes the prime suspect. That’s all you need to know, the story takes off from there and will take you places you’ll never expect, many ripped from today’s most disturbing headlines.

This story will keep you guessing and at the edge of your seat. Charlie Donlea definitely has a new fan and I can’t wait to peruse his backlist. Highly recommend for fans of suspense and crime fiction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ten years ago, teenage Alex Quinlan witnessed the murder of her parents and her younger brother while she hid behind a grandfather clock, terrified.

Alex survived but was then arrested and accused of the murders. She was found in her parents' room holding the gun used in the murders. She is later exonerated. But her life will never be the same. And she sues the State of Virginia for defamation and wins. Media still hounds her. They call her Empty Eyes and she can't get away from it.

She moves to the UK in hopes of a new life. But she can't let go of finding out who killed her family and why.

This book has several POVs. Layer by layer we learn more about the murders. There were several twists that I did not see coming.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Kensington Books and RB Media for an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.