Catching up on my backlog of NetGalley and I wish I had read this sooner. Charlie Donlea knows how to write a thrilling story.

I will admit I was unsure at first but trust the process as the story all starts to fit together and you finally see how the subplots fit all together and just when you think you have it all figured out BAM! That ending!!! It was a WHAT THE moment. I did not see that coming at all. Brilliant!

Totally explosive twist that I relished! Crime thriller writing at it's finest quality. You won't be able to stop reading once you start.

I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting. I will definitely be looking for more from this author, this is my first by them but it definitely won't be the last one I read

This is my first book by him, and definately wont be my last. I just had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. There is so many things going on in this storyline , you have to concentrate.

Intense, Compelling..
Alex Armstrong has reinvented herself. She had no choice. Alex Armstrong is also a seeker of justice, a seeker of the truth. Will a new case also open up a thread of investigation into her own tumultuous and tragic past? Compulsive and suspenseful from the off, a swiftly moving thriller with a credible and well drawn cast of characters, a propulsive plot and an engaging narrative. Intense and compelling storytelling.

I must start by saying I did enjoy this story and was keen to get back to reading it each time I had stopped. The main character was interesting and made me feel a great deal of empathy for her. Where the book didn’t delight me was in how Alex developed from where she started where she ended up. I can’t explain any more than that without giving the plot away but when you read it you may know what I mean

Well worth a read though as it’s a very clever and original thriller.

I think with many thrillers you need to take a deep breath, suspend your disbelief and hope you will be indeed be thrilled. When I read one sometimes I’m hoping for a little bit bubblegum for the brain and never expect too much. Herein lies the problem for me with legal thrillers and police procedurals….they present as trying to be realistic so the above doesn’t always apply to them - especially when you are a true crime geek. As this is how the story begins, it was too OTT for me and I couldn’t buy into it. With the damage already done, it swiftly changed style into more of a high stakes before switching to a mystery and then a crime thriller - my head was birling. If you enjoy these thriller styles, don’t mind multiple POVS, multiple timelines, multiple all sorts and some heavy duty creative licence being taken then you may fare better than this nerdy, confused old gal did.

One night, Alex's life changed forever when her parents and her younger brother were murdered at their own house. As Alex was found holding a gun in her parent's bedroom, it's assumed that she did it.
Ten years later, she is still hunger on finding the reason why the family got murdered.

There is another story with different timelines within this book, which will make you keep guessing of the connection between them.

There are lots of characters, there are lots of going on - but they didn't confuse me at all, and the author did an amazing job to intertwine all together into a shocking ending.

Thanks @netgalley and @canelo_co for ecopy of this book and to @mamas.high.on.books for reading this book with me.

‘They’re all dead.’

Ten years ago, three members of a family were brutally murdered in Virginia. The only survivor, teenaged daughter Alexandra Quinlan, was accused of the murders. As she was led from the house in shock and in handcuffs, she was nicknamed ‘Empty Eyes’ by the media. The nickname stuck, even after Alexandra was able to prove her innocence and won a highly publicised defamation lawsuit.

Ten years later and now known as Alex Armstrong; she has never stopped looking for answers about the night her family was killed. Alex has completely changed her appearance: she knows that there are some people still convinced she is guilty of her family’s murder and at least one member of the press is still working on the case. Alex works as a legal investigator for the Garrett Lancaster, the lawyer who represented her. Alex becomes involved in a missing person case. Matthew Claymore is under suspicion after his girlfriend Laura McAllister goes missing. Laura, a student journalist, was about to break a major story about rape and coverups on her college campus. Alex believes that Matthew is innocent, and her enquiries lead her to some disturbing revelations about a college fraternity and the powerful parents of one of its members. And, shockingly, there seems to be a link between the disappearance of Laura and the murder of Alex’s family.

Well, that was rollercoaster ride! More than a few twists in this tale, some of which I did not see coming. There are several seemingly separate threads as well, covering a number of contemporary issues, but Mr Donlea weaves them all neatly together by the end.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Canelo for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review
purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

Wow what did I just read?!!? Should you ever be looking for one of those thrillers that leaves you reeling at the end, this is your book. I'm still in shock even thinking about it now. Such a good book, I can't rave enough about it. This was my first Charlie Donlea read and it didn't disappoint at all. I'm so keen to read more by this author now.

I loved the multiple points of view in this book. Such an interesting story too which was amazing to get through

I'd like to thank NetGalley for the arc of this book

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.

I have to say straight away I have never read a Charlie Donlea book that I didn't like so I am biased toward this author. I have read other reviews of this book and was surprised at the mixed reaction, although I do agree it is not his best book, it is far from ordinary I feel. In saying that yes, there usually are many characters in Charlie's books and things can move around a lot but all of this is what makes his books so enjoyable. Even though this one is not his best work it is still a very good read and I did enjoy it even though you do have to suspend belief but isn't that what fiction is all about?

This books follows on from "Empty Eyes" which I thoroughly enjoyed. Some of the characters are quite unlikeable but I never find this an issue when I am reading as long as they play a part in bringing the book to life.. They each have their place and all are important to the development of the story and I felt that Alex was well portrayed. If you are new to this author this is probably not the one I would recommend but please do not give up on this author, give his other books a chance.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advacned copy of the book, all opinions are my own.

This was a largely frustrating book for me. One of those novels which starts well and such potential but it just didn't quite hit the mark. All the ingredients were there but I think there was just too much going on.

The book starts off with a punch. A brilliant opening court scene where are treated to flashbacks from the death of Alexandra's parents and brother during a home invasion. Alexandra managed to escape however was subsequently accused by both the police and wider society of being responsible.

Despite proof this was not the case, and a huge settlement from the state of Virginia, Alexandra could never quite shake off the suspicion of society and, in particular, true crime bloggers who were still obsessed by her case.

Alex changed identity and became an investigator, trying to assist others in need, particularly those wrongly accused. She takes on the case of a man accused of murder when his girlfriend goes missing, just as she was about the drop a huge campus rape scandal involving high profile figures.

As I say, a truly great premise that was done well but just could have been a bit better. I think the editing needed to be stronger to try and pace the book a little better. For example, the missing woman isn't introduced into the novel until about half way through and before that we are treated to Alexandra's globe-trotting which didn't really feel like it added much to the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

DNF at 50%

It had been a while since I read a Charlie Donlea book. The blurb for Those Empty Eyes got me really excited though and I looked forward to reintroducing myself to his work. Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me at all.

It all starts with a bang when seventeen year old Alexandra is arrested for the murders of her parents and her younger brother. It seems rather obvious to everyone except the local police department that she isn't guilty. But ten years later, mainly due to the police's incompetence and true crime addicts, many still believe Alexandra is a ruthless murderer who got away with these killings and a lot of money.

And then that bang just fizzled out. Many new characters are introduced. I assume they'll all start to play a part at some point but I couldn't quite keep them apart. They all "sounded" the same. They were all flat and two dimensional. The plot and the writing became incredibly tedious and repetitive. It almost felt as if the author himself didn't quite buy into his own storyline.

I don't like not finishing books, I really don't. I struggled on because I always feel I owe it to the author (and in this case the publisher who approved my request) but when household chores started to sound more appealing than continuing to read, I admitted defeat. This was at the halfway point, where I looked back at the first part and realised very little had actually happened so far and I really didn't care to found out what was still to come.

Needless to say my reintroduction to Charlie Donlea didn't go so well. Looks like Summit Lake will forever be my favourite book by him.

This started off fantastic, a breath taking pace with a fantastic set up. Unfortunately after that, for me at least, it lost its way big time.

We start off with a home invasion and the assassination of a family, both parents and their son. Seen from the killers point of view, it’s a fantastic opening. The killer however realises that another person was in the house and seems to have escaped, the 18 year old daughter. With no time to search further the killer makes their escape.

When the police arrive on the scene they find the daughter in the parents bedroom on the floor holding the weapon that was used for the murders. She gets charged with the murder but is cleared at a later date and sues the state for millions.

Despite this, she has become infamous because of the incident and many still believe she was responsible.

That’s the whole set up of the book and if the book had been a straight forward search for the killer as it was set up to be, it would have been great right? Well that doesn’t quite happen and everything gets quite convoluted(and uninteresting)to lead us to an ultimately predictable reveal.

Most of the story takes place 10 years later where the daughter now works for the lawyer firm who got her off the charges, as an investigator.
Still an infamous figure, she has changed her name and appearance so as not to be recognised. Btw I found the appearance change an utterly bizarre choice - brightly died hair, facial piercings, tattoos, like that is changing your appearance for sure and I’ve no problem with any of these in everyday life but like this woman is trying to blend into the background and not draw attention to herself right? She’s also an investigator who gets up to some shady stuff, illegal entries etc. Can you make yourself any more memorable or have people giving you a second glance?

There is a lot of side stories here that are just a distraction, even though they are used as a vehicle to bring the story together. I stopped caring what had happened or about these investigations. The fantastic opening was just washed away in a lot of convoluted and improbable scenarios.

Such a shame. I thought I was in for a treat after the opening. The book just lost its way completely after that and I was just glad when I got to the end and was finished.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

This is an average thriller and definitely not the best I have read in the genre. Because of the many sub plots, the pace dragged and it became quite frustrating to read. A great twist at the end, but a bit of a slog to get there.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a huge fan of Charlie Donlea’s works before and I was very excited to read this one as well. The author was able to eatablish an emotional connection with the main character right from the beginning and I soon became completely invested in helping her prove herself. But to be honest I kind of was able to guess the twist at the end and the background of how and why it happened was also not as satisfying as I thought it would be. So I am going with 3/5 stars for this one

This had so many twists and turns to the story that you never were quite sure where it was heading. What starts off as a simple "who killed my family" read turned into a much deeper and more complex story.

I've read one other book by this author and loved it, so I was keen to read more by him. I enjoyed this slow paced, dark, emotional, and tense read just as much.

That ending! I now want to read his back catalogue!

The book that helped me get my reading mojo back.
I’d been struggling to finish a book for a month or so, and then I picked Those Empty Eyes up.
Read it cover to cover in a day. Loved every page, and can’t wait for the next instalment
Brilliant