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.

This might be the right book for someone, but it wasn't for me. The chapters are very short and choppy. For me, this made it difficult to get in the flow of the story. The characters were somewhat ridiculous and the mystery was not hard to figure out. I knew I was in trouble when our MC, who is a CrossFit titan, learned the small town sheriff who was working with her on the case was also a CrossFit enthusiast. Wasn't it sexy, after they spent all night researching her case, that they could release their tension and bond during a rigorous CrossFit workout in the special CrossFit outdoor gym that he built himself in his backyard? (Do we think that this book might be sponsored by CrossFit?)

As a project for her forensic pathology fellowship, Sloan Hastings submits her DNA to a forensic genealogy site and has a shock. She’s the missing “baby Charlotte” from three decades earlier when her parents went missing, location still unknown.

After this discovery, she’s approached by the Sheriff of Cedar Creek Nevada, Eric Stamos to help him find answers in his father’s death back when she and her parents went missing. Eric’s father was the sheriff investigating their disappearance and his death was suspicious. Sloan has the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the Margolis family, her biological family, and Cedar Creek royalty. The family has wealth, status and power that’s made it impossible to investigate them with any success and so Sloan’s inside connection could be important in solving both cases.

I really enjoyed Long Time Gone! I find the use of genealogy DNA fascinating! It’s most notably helped find one of the most notorious killers in California, The Golden State Killer. Even though I’ve read a bit about the process, I appreciated Donlea’s explanations.

I liked Sloan and was invested in her efforts to solve the mystery of her past, how she came to be put up for adoption and finding out what happened to her biological parents. The ending culminated in a pulse pounding conclusion that had me on the edge of my seat!

There was a hint of romance between her and Sheriff Eric that could be further explored if there are future books planned. I’d be on board for that!

I alternately read an e-copy (courtesy of Kensington) and listened to a library audio. I can recommend either version. I enjoyed Vivienne Leheny’s performance and listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

4.5 stars

I've never read anything by this author before, but I certainly will read more in the future. This was a truly engaging story, and I love how it mixed the past and the present, as well as multiple secrets concerning Sloan's birth and adoptive parents. It was fascinating to see how forensics can use DNA to unravel cold cases. The writing style quickly pulls the reader in, and the action and short chapters keeps readers actively engaged. Sloan was a realistic character, and the reader is made to feel like they are truly a part of her journey to uncover her past. The way it all unfolds is truly masterful.

Charlie Donlea definitely knows how to write a thriller. Short chapters, complex plot lines, a blistering pace, dual timeframes that converge for a powerful ending…all of these conspire to keep the book in readers' hands. There are no flowery descriptions of setting, just the details that are necessary to place the novel. Characterization takes place through actions and, while not particularly deep, it is sufficient to sketch out the characters well enough to have them make sense.

In LONG TIME GONE, the setup involves Dr. Sloan Hastings' research on the use of DNA in forensic pathology. In order to further her knowledge, she submits her own DNA to a genealogy site to understand the process…instead, she gets a shock. She finds out that she is a member of a powerful Nevada clan and that she and her parents went missing when she was an infant. As she digs down into her past, connecting with her birth family, she also discovers that the family's power has been fueled by greed and violence. The chance DNA finding sets her on a path to find out what happened to her birth parents, a path that leads to an escalation in violence and puts her life in danger.

Chapters are short and are grouped into timeframes. We move between the 1990s when Sloan was born as Charlotte Menendez and then disappeared along with her parents, and the present as she attempts to dig up the details of that disappearance and her adoption. Donlea does a great job of introducing any new characters and pieces of the plot within those sections of chapters so that they are firmly in the readers' minds as the timeframe switches. I never felt disoriented by the temporal changes.

The pace of the book moves so quickly that there is little time to reflect upon any holes in the plot. Once the final pages are read, however, and there is time to think about it, a couple of issues emerge. The most glaring for me is motivation for the ultimate villain. At times they seem sociopathic, at other times deranged, and sometimes completely normal. Thus, the villain ends up seeming more of a plot device than a true character. I also found it difficult to believe that Sloan, who is portrayed at the beginning of the book as completely driven professionally, would drop everything and take off to solve her family mystery. Donlea provides a semi-plausible leap based on the connection between her forensic pathology work and her personal situation, but I found it unconvincing.

Even with these shortcomings, I recommend the book for its ability to draw readers in and hold them fast in the plot's grip.

Charlie Donlea does it again!

Long Time Gone is an incredible book that brings back one of my favorite characters of Donlea's (Dr. Livia Cutty). as well as how DNA can change your entire life.

Dr. Sloan Hastings is on a two-year fellowship in forensics under Dr. Livia Cutty (from Donlea’s book The Girl Who Was Taken)

Dr. Hastings research topic assigned to her for her fellowship Forensic and Investigative Genealogy.


DNA, DNA, DNA! To get an inside more depth view of the ancestry websites, Dr. Sloan begrudgingly submits her DNA to the website. Even though she is adopted, she does get their permission and goes through with it.

When the results come back OMG OMG!!!!

No spoilers here, but I was excited to see Ryder Hillier from the podcast "Unsolved" from Donlea's book Don't Believe It.

This was such an incredible book! I absolutely LOVED it! The research was amazing, and the story was compelling with many twists I did not see coming.

Though she was adopted as an infant, Sloan Hastings didn’t think submitting her DNA to an ancestry website as part of her forensic pathology fellowship would yield any terribly serious results. Boy, was she wrong. It turns out Sloan’s DNA revealed that she is “Baby Charlotte” an infant who disappeared 29 years ago, along with her parents from her family’s home across the country, where her rich and powerful extended family still lives and searches for them. Hoping to not only discover more about her past, but find out what happened to her parents, she decides to head to Nevada. But there’s someone who is desperate to keep the past firmly in the past.

The book is told along two timelines, the past and the present.

This was my second Charlie Donlea book, and I was hoping it would live up to its promise, and boy did it. This book was a great read start to finish. The mysteries (Theres a couple, but I won’t spoil them!) are all suspenseful, and I was seriously on the edge of my seat as they came together and Sloan and her investigative partner, the Sheriff in Cedar Creek, start putting everything together.

And I did not figure out the ending at all. Plus the fact that it’s a little….well….muddy, helps make it all the more interesting. I won’t say more, but it’s really good. Though a little frustrating, but drop me a line if you want to chat me about that.

Anyway, just get this book if you want a good mystery/thriller. It’s well worth the read!

Sloan is starting her fellowship that deals with genealogy. To learn more about genealogy she submits her own DNA to a website. Little did she know she was about to find out she was the famous missing "baby Charlotte" from nearly thirty years ago.

I loved this story from start to finish. Told is a then and now aspect. I was intrigued by both eras. I liked that descendants from long ago characters were currently working on the case today.

Not a unique topic--crimes solved with DNA or involving rich entitled families, but told in a unique way. I just love this authors way of drawing you in and not letting you go until the end.

The chapters are short and the story unfolds at a steady pace.

Another good one from Donlea!

Thanks to netgalley and Kensignton Books for the arc.

Second book by Donlea, and I loved it! I thought I had it figured out, but I didn't. Quick mystery that I didn't want to put down.

Thank you Netgalley & Kensington books for an eARC of Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea! I really need to read this author's entire backlist of books.

What's it about?

Sloan Hastings is beginning her fellowship and is assigned to research forensic genealogy. How are sites like Ancestry.com and 23andMe helping break cold cases wild open? Sloan always knew she was adopted, but she gets WAY more than she bargains for when she submits her own DNA to be profiled. Her DNA suggests that she is the famous "baby Charlotte" of 30 years ago - An infant who mysteriously vanished with her parents and hasn't been seen since. Sloan makes it her mission to try to solve the case of what happened to her and her parents before the media & true crime podcaster junkies galore.

Expertly written, I alternated between eBook and audiobook for this one and found myself wanting to know what was next at every minute I had to put it down. Very few books have been able to tackle the DNA-to-crime topic and keep me intrigued, and Donlea nailed it. Family secrets plus police procedural and media frenzy, who can Sloan trust? I did guess the ending on this one, but it felt complete and wrapped up nicely. I can't wait to see what Donlea comes up with next, and thriller lovers won't be disappointed by adding this one to their TBR!