In this compulsively readable thriller, Charlie Donlea focuses on the ripped-from-the-headlines topic of forensic and investigative genealogy, which has recently been used to solve cold cases. Toggling back and forth between 1995 and 2024, the story follows Sloan Hastings, who submits her DNA to a genealogy website as part of her fellowship in forensic pathology. Sloan grew up knowing she was adopted, but she was surprised to learn that her DNA proved that she was the missing “Baby Charlotte,” whose disappearance had captivated the nation in 1995. Donlea strikes the perfect balance between explaining the science and usage of forensic genealogy with a clever and captivating mystery and well-developed characters. Chapters frequently end on cliffhangers, which kept me turning the pages and wondering who was at fault and why.

This book had more twists and turns than a hidden drive. I loved every minute of it. A family drama full of lies, deceit, and photography! Knowing the premise of the book before reading, I still had so many jaw-drop moments I never saw coming. This was a thrill for the ages. I am a huge Charlie Donlea fan and this book did not disappoint. I hope to see these characters make cameos in future books, as I feel vested in their future and want to hear more!

The mystery was intriguing and kept me tuned in. However, on multiple occasions I felt that the writing was explaining things too much - CrossFit, genealogy sites, printing photographs, etc. and it made up a significant portion of the novel. That being said, I really was thrown for a loop at the end so it kept me on my toes at least!

Sloan Hastings is on a fellowship in forensic pathology and receives an assignment to understand the role that genetic information on ancestry sites has in solving cold cases. To better understand the process, Sloan submits her own DNA — with hesitation as she is adopted and this could potentially lead her to her birth family.

It turns out that Sloan is actually ‘Baby Charlotte,’ a baby who mysteriously disappeared thirty years ago along with her parents. Long Time Gone follows Sloan as she looks to uncover the secrets of her and her birth family’s past.

Charlie Donlea has written two of my fav psychological thrillers (TWENTY YEARS LATER and THOSE EMPTY EYES) and I’m overall a huge fan of his writing style. In true Charlie Donlea fashion, the chapters are very short, and alternate between past/present to unravel the twisted story. I also realllly enjoyed the concept of the story and using genealogy and ancestry sites to solve cold cases.

I knocked off a star because there were some loose ends and a few details that felt a bit too unrealistic. Overall, this is a perfect not-too-scary thriller that layers several storylines to create a binge-worthy psychological thriller.

A good modern take on forensic studies with the personal connection of a case to the main character. It was pretty predictable except for the twist at the very end but overall a decent thriller with a lot of action! Some really cheesy/inaccurate depictions of investigations that just didn't totally captivate me.

As a longtime Charlie Donlea fan, I was so excited when I found out about this book. I love true crime and the idea that DNA is doing fantastic things to solve old cold cases. If you have no idea what that means, this is the book for you.

Dr. Sloan Hastings is starting a 2 year study in forensic pathology, and she's given a subject to focus on - how genealogy websites (think 23 and Me) can help to solve cold cases. At first Sloan is nervous about submitting her own DNA because she's adopted, but when she does, it opens a Pandora's Box.

I loved this story. I loved seeing what happened when Sloan finds out that she's actually the missing child of a well to do family, and that when she disappeared, so did her parents. Sloan decides to head to Cedar Creek to meet her blood relatives, but what she doesn't know is that the Margolis family has a lot of secrets, and they'll do anything to keep those secrets hidden.

This novel is a fast read and it keeps you guessing. I kept thinking maybe I knew what was going on, but then something would happen and I was at square one again. I found Sloan to be a really interesting, well written character and I wanted her to be able to find some sort of resolution in this new part of her life that she discovered.

I was definitely surprised with the ending, but it all fit into place well. This is the perfect book to read on a dark and stormy night.

PhD candidate, Sloane, is studying to be a forensic pathologist and receives her assigned fellowship. She'll be studying forensic genealogy, noting the recent arrest of the Golden State killer who was found and located using well known genealogy sites.
To fully understand the process of how genealogy websites work, she agrees to send off her own DNA. Having been adopted as a baby, Sloane discusses this with her parents before sending her sample off. Being the supportive parents they've always been, they agree stating they too are curious about her past.
The results of her DNA come back with startling revelations. Her DNA matches that of a baby who disappeared with her parents in July of 1995 from Cedar Creek, Nevada. Apparently her birth name was Charlotte Margolis and her disappearance made news at the national level.
Looking for answers, Sloane is taken off guard when sheriff Eric Stamos from Harrison County in Nevada shows up on her doorstep. He, too, is looking for answers regarding his father's death which occurred while his father was investigating the disappearance of Mr. and Mrs. Margolis along with their baby girl, Charlotte. Sloane and Eric quickly realize the power and influence the Margolis family have. When they agree to work together, they know their search could be dangerous, if not deadly.
Will they get the answers they seek? Or should they have left the past behind?
This book hooked me immediately and the action and suspense didn't let up! This was thrilling and engaging reminding me of just how brilliant Donlea is. I'm anxious to see what enthralling, twisty tale he creates next for readers!
This was definitely a 5 star read and one I would recommend to fellow mystery and thriller lovers! I had the privilege of both reading and listening to the book - both are available so make sure to go grab your copy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Once again, Donlea writes characters the reader cares about and a plot that keeps the reader engaged the whole time. The attention to detail is one of Charlie Donlea’s greatest talents as a writer!

Dr. Sloan Hastings, who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, just finished a clinical pathology residency and is entering a two-year program to become a medical examiner. During the first year of her training Sloan will be required to assist with autopsies and complete a research project. Sloan's project, assigned by program director Dr. Livia Cutty, is forensic and investigative genealogy.

Forensic and investigative genealogy works something like this: law enforcement officials send the DNA of an unknown perp (perhaps from a rape kit) to a national DNA database; if there's a hit, that person is related to the perp. This technique was used to catch the notorious Golden State Killer.

Twenty-nine-year-old Sloan has always known she was adopted, but never considered sending her DNA to a site like Ancestry.com to find her biological parents. As part of her research project, though, Sloan decides to send in her DNA, and the results are shocking. Sloan is actually Charlotte Margolis, who disappeared nearly three decades ago.

Sloan learns that her biological parents are Preston and Annabelle Margolis, who - along with their baby Charlotte - vanished from Cedar Creek, Nevada in 1995. Preston was the scion of Cedar Creek's VERY rich and powerful Margolis family, and the disappearance led to an extensive search and national publicity. However, no trace of the trio was found.....until now.

Once word gets out that Sloan is actually 'baby Charlotte', the press descends on Raleigh in droves. Someone else comes as well: Sheriff Eric Stamos of Cedar Creek, Nevada. The sheriff tells Sloan that the disappearance of her biological parents might be related to the (supposedly accidental) death of his father, Sandy Stamos, who was once sheriff of Cedar Creek. In 1995, Sheriff Sandy Stamos was investigating the hit-and-run death of Baker Jauncey, a partner in the Margolis Law Firm. A car belonging to Annabelle Margolis (Sloan's biological mother) was found near Baker's body, but Annabelle insists she was home that night. As it turns out, the circumstances of Baker's death are NOT what they seem, and Eric thinks his dad learned something that led to his murder.

To cut to the chase, Eric convinces Sloan to 'go west' to meet her Margolis family in Cedar Creek, Nevada. Once Sloan is accepted into the clan, she can do an undercover investigation into the disappearance of her biological parents AND the death of Sheriff Sandy Stamos. Sloan agrees, and takes a plane to Cedar Creek.

When Sloan arrives in Nevada, her biological grandparents and aunts and uncles make a 'welcome Charlotte' party, and Sloan is provided with a comfortable guest cottage for her visit. Sloan makes it her business to snoop around, and also secretly meets with Sheriff Eric Stamos, to further their joint inquiries.

The story alternates back and forth between the 1995 and the present, and surprising secrets are revealed in both timelines. I enjoyed this edge-of-your-seat suspense novel, which is well-plotted and well-written. Highly recommended to fans of thrillers.

Thanks to Netgalley, Charlie Donlea, and Kensington for a copy of the book.

Enthralled from the beginning til the end. This played out like a true crime podcast or a recent documentary. This is my first Charlie Donlea novel and I want more!
I love reading about forensics and this book has the main character starting a fellowship with one of the worlds leading experts. Our MC, Sloan Hastings is delving into the study of forensics genealogy, the method used to capture the Golden State Killer. She submits her own DNA only to find out some truly shocking results.
Thank you to Kensington Books and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy! I had so much fun reading this book!!

This is my favorite Charlie Donlea book to date! Captivating and highly enjoyable. I will always rate a book 5 stars if it can hold my attention from beginning to end. Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced copy! Thoroughly enjoyed it!

An interesting spin on the traditional mystery. Loved reading about the technology tying DNA to cold cases. Story was well-driven if a bit flat at times. I will certainly recommend to the traditional mystery genre lovers. I'll look forward to reading additional books from the author, as the writing was clean and characters were mostly well-realized and carried depth. 3.75/5 rounded up.

Charlie Donlea has been gaining popularity in the mystery-thriller genre and now that I have read his latest book "Long Time Gone", I can totally see why.

To start with, the premise itself is something which can catch its reader's interest instantly and so it did with me. Sloan Hastings, who hopes to become one of the best forensic pathologists in the country, is fortunate to get to train under one of the foremost pathologist Dr. Livia Cutty. Sloan is asked to study upon and expand the emerging field of forensic geneology as part of her first year research program.

But she finds the unexpected when she registers herself under one of the ancestry websites to understand how these websites work and how they can help people gather information. Sloan's DNA matches to a member of the prominent Margolis family belonging to a small town in Nevada called Cedar Creek and she learns that she might be the long-lost daughter of the second son of the family. Her parents had presumably vanished along with their 2 month old daughter Charlotte during 1995 and no one has seen them ever since.

Sloan's attempt to find what exactly happened to herself and her parents takes her on a journey of betrayal, new affections and latent danger. What the readers get as a result is a thrilling and nail-biting mystery that takes us on a roller-coaster of fear and adrenaline.

Charlie Donlea is a prolific story teller who has the ability to pull his readers into the story instantly. They are taken into the midst of the mystery very soon and submerged into it with no respite from the tension. He has a crisp narrative style which helps keep the pacing in point. And he pays more attention to the development and establishment of his characters as well which makes the reader feel that they know these people and care for them.

The non-linear narrative style greatly helped in building up the tension within the story and keep the interest intact. Once the base story was established, the events take place in such a frenzy that I just couldn't stop reading it.

I must say I had a great and enjoyable experience reading this book and couldn't wait to read more of Donlea's work.

I rarely give 5 stars to a thriller but this one deserved it! It starts with a happy, young lady that is starting her training for her career and she finds out that she is a missing child from 30 years ago. It progresses fast and is so interesting! I was enthralled from the beginning to the very end!

I loved this book! It’s riveting. It really highlights the potential of genealogy DNA. I hope that many cases are solved! #LongTimeGone #NetGalley

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley- thank you!

This book was so interesting! I thought the forensic genealogy component was really fascinating. I liked Sloan as a character and how the story developed. I guessed part of what happened fairly quickly, though there were still some good twists even with my guess. Overall a good read, and I will be looking for more Charlie Donlea books in the future!

I've read a few of Charlie Donlea's books and Long Time Gone is my new favorite.

Read this one if you enjoy:
-Small town crime
-Cold cases
-Domestic thrillers
-Missing person cases
-DNA mysteries
-Past/Present timelines
-Multiple POV

This book was so different from other books that I’ve read. I had a hard time putting it down. It kept me interested the entire time. It wasn’t just the mystery happening for the main character and how she became adopted. It also had little side mysteries throughout the book that grabbed my attention and kept me wanting to know what happened. This is the first book I’ve read from this author but I loved it and have added a few of his other books to my collection since starting to read this one.

An Exhilarating and Captivating Story

SUMMARY
Sloan Hastings is excited to be starting her fellowship in forensic pathology. Her first research assignment was on forensic and investigative genealogy. One of her first tasks is to understand how genealogy databases work in solving crimes. To enhance her knowledge, she submits her own DNA for testing. She knew she was adopted as a baby, and she adores her adoptive parents, but what happens next changes everything. She and her birth parents had disappeared 29 years earlier, so where are her parents now?

REVIEW
LONG TIME GONE is the perfect book to dive into and tune out everything happening around you. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you sent your DNA for testing? Sloan got more than she bargained for after submitting hers. The story was both exhilarating and captivating.

Charlie Donlea’s writing cleverly weaves an intricate tale of the events of the past with Sloan‘s actions following her DNA discovery as she races to solve the mystery of what happened to her birth family. Sloan’s character is smart, courageous, and delightful, and you can’t help but cheer her on.

As a photographer, I was a little dismayed that the author left out the explanation of the need to develop 35mm film into negatives before developing photos. But other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. My favorite part was the ending, I simply could not put the book down. Love Charlie Donlea.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Kensington Books
Published May 21, 2024
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

Full of twisted secrets, lies, and corruption it's a gripping reads that draw your attention from the first few pages. Told in past and present timelines, with flashbacks, it impressively reveals crimes, greed, ambition, and the power of influential families. This fast-paced thriller is written brilliantly. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Suspense building with everyone is a suspect theme. I liked Sloan very much. Her determination and strength through all of the drama unfolding while being a national news is commendable. The research aspect with forensic science intelligence is interesting. The ending is superb with jaw-dropping twists, though a little farfetched. I enjoyed the book immensely and highly recommend it.
Thanks a lot to @Netgalley and publisher books for the eARC.