Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the Audio ARC.

First I will preface by saying I only very recently found Charlie Donlea, but since I have found his work I have read every single one of his books. Long Time Gone was a release I was over the moon about. And, for me, it did not disappoint. I loved the world of the Margolis' the interweaving of true crime and the chaos of its obsessed followers and I really enjoyed Eric Stamos.

The audio experience was also lovely, I found it to be super enjoyable and hard to stop listening to.

I will admit parts of this book seemed to be repetitive, as in the same phrases/lines were repeated throughout. And, I wanted a bit more from the conclusion TBH. I wanted more time to learn what happed afterwards and the fallout.

Either way, 4/4.5 stars easily.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #RBMedia for the book #LongTimeGone by #CharlieDonlea. Sloan takes a dna ancestry test and finds out she is a missing girl from 30 years ago. Her biological parents were never found. As she delves into her past and finding out why she was put up for adoption. What happened to her parents and who is behind all of this. This book is a non stop thriller that will have you sucked in until the very end.

4.5⭐️

This was good! An interesting plot that kept me invested throughout the book! Multiple POVS and jumps from past to present to help tell the story. Genealogy being used to solve cold cases is my Roman Empire👏🏼. Imagine submitting your DNA to a genealogy website, only to discover you were kidnapped and your biological parents have been missing since you were taken😲.

It was also fun to have repeat characters from other Charlie Donlea books pop up!

I received an ARC for this audiobook from NetGalley! 🎧. This book will be published on 5/21/24. Thriller readers-add to your TBR!

Overall, this was a solid and intriguing mystery that I enjoyed much more than the last book I read by this author. However, it lacked real suspense and the twist wasn't very "twisty" for me. The audio was ok, just wish it had a little more enthusiasm behind it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Recorded Books for the audio ARC!

Ever since reading my first book by Charlie Donlea (Suicide House) I have read and reread all of his books. He really knows how to hook a reader, keep them intrigued and then throw a wonderfully twisty bombshell that makes the book so exciting and impossible to put down until you get to the end. This book, with the unsuspecting Sloan opening up a whole can of worms with one little DNA test that she took to help write her dissertation for forensic pathology. DNA can solve so many cold cases, finding serial killers and helping people find family they didn't know they had. Sloan has loving parents, knew she was adopted but had no desire to find the mother who gave her up nearly thirty years ago. When she learns she is baby Charlotte, part of the famous Margolis family who went missing along with her parents, I can see why she would want to learn about exactly what happened. So, along with Eric the Sheriff of Cedar Creek on his own mission to find out the truth about his own father, they dodge reporters and delve deep into the Margolis family history. So much excitement as the body count rises and the ones who will do anything to let the past stay buried wield garrotes and guns to silence those who would dare to unbalance the status quo. Yes, I am keeping it vague as I do not want to ruin this great story for others. Read it and be pulled in!

I would call this book another winner and I loved being able to listen as the thrilling story unrolled. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to listen to and review.

Thank you to netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Okay let me start with the good things about this book
- Intresting side characters
- Okay mystery

as for the things i didnt like
- Weirdly alot of training montages???
- An unnecassery not quite there romantic sub plot that did absoulutly nothing
- More of a Mystery than a Mystery & Thriller book.
-I did not care about any of the characters

I can see why alot of people love this book because it is well written and tought out and i will try more books by this author.

Long Time Gone⏱️
By Charlie Donlea🧬

Review👏🏻

This was an excellent book with fantastic storytelling. I was totally immersed from beginning to end. Lots of interesting issues, including genealogy, which causes the main character's life to spiral. There were numerous fantastic twists and turns that genuinely surprised me. I think the author has a remarkable talent for stitching together a fantastic plot. I am looking forward to reading more from him!

Mystery⁉️
Thriller🔪
Crime🚨
Suspense😲

4.5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This was such a great book that just kept me wanting to read more!
It’s a story about a young woman that was adopted and she’s doing her residency for becoming a doctor when she is asked to start working with genetics and she gets her DNA sent off…only to find out that she has no idea what she has just started to unravel. This was such a ride and I didn’t want it to end. Charlie Donlea is a fantastic writer! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow wow wow! This was my first experience with a Charlie Donlea book and I am blown away! I started listening as soon as I was approved and didn’t stop until the book was over. What a wild ride! Beyond impressed with the writing style, all of the research that must have gone into this book, and the crazy way everything ties together. I was hooked from the very beginning!

Thank you to Charlie Donlea, Kensington, and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review!

This audio book was utterly fantastic! This is my second book by Charlie Donlea. Sloane is a forensic fellows who’s job at the medical examiner’s office who’s final dissertation is about forensic anthropology and how DNA is used to catch cold case killers. Sloane (who is adopted) decides to take a DNA test to better learn the process and is shocked to learn that she’s actually the child of a prominent couple who went missing in 1995. Sloane’s whole world is turned upside down as she tries to uncover her past and what happened to her parents. Let me tell you guys the twists kept coming in this one and I was so engrossed in the storyline. I liked how the book went back and forth between now and the past to weave the tale into a seamless story and explain all the events to took place!

Rating: 4.5 Stars!

Charlie Donlea was a new author pick up for me and I am NOT disappointed. I have already added more books from the stack to my ever growing TBR.

Long Time Gone is a murder mystery / thriller where we follow Dr. Sloan Hastings on an adventure to find her birth parents after an online DNA profile suggest she is not who she thinks she is. There is twist and turns, deceit, and a found family in a way. The characters had amazing dynamics, the conversations always had a purpose, and the subtle nods to CrossFit kept the story interesting.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media | Recorded Books for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5⭐️

Sloan Hastings was only trying to better understand how DNA genealogy sites worked for her forensic pathology research project, when the results led her to a startling discovery. Sloan always knew she was adopted but now she knows the identity of her biological parents and the fact that she has been considered a missing child for almost 30 years.

This was well written and easy to devour. The reader received bits and pieces of information from present and past and various characters. Watching it all come together and reveal answers was fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this audio ARC.

Pub Date May 21 2024

3.5 stars
Dr Sloan discovers that her adoptive parents were part of a NV crime family syndicate so she goes undercover to help the FBI solve their murders. It was both interesting and predictable at the same time. I’m glad that it all came together at the end without any crazy, unexpected twists. That said, there was a lot going on with this book- pathology info, DNA info, unsolved murder, undercover investigation, podcaster subplot, etc. I did enjoy it, but it was a lot. The narration was good!

This was pretty great! I really enjoyed the audio and found myself swept away in it at the beginning. I feel like it did start to drag a little in the middle but I enjoyed the mystery going on plus the main character Sloan. It reminded me of another book series that I liked. I'd definitely enjoy seeing more romance (of course) and for her to solve more cases! Overall, a good audio to listen!

Best-selling thriller author Charlie Donlea has done it again with his latest novel, Long Time Gone.

His newest book follows Dr. Sloan Hastings, as she embarks on her forensic pathology fellowship and stumbles upon a long-buried mystery by accident. After submitting her DNA to a genetic site as part of her thesis project, she discovers she is actually Baby Charolette, an infant who's entire family went missing thirty years prior.

Sloan is then sent down a rabbit hole of secrets and corruption surrounding her parent's disappearance.

The storyline was both riveting and concise, with duel-timeline and plenty of mystery to uncover.

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for early access to the audiobook publication of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for a copy of the Audiobook of Long Time Gone!

Long Time Gone follows a forensic scientist who does a DNA test (similar to something like 23&me) to try and find her birth parents. When she gets her results back she finds out her and her birth parents went missing when she was a newborn and was presumed dead all these years.

Such an interesting premise and I believe it was done very well, you are intrigued the whole time and I love rich family that runs the town, but has a ton of dark secrets figures.

While it was very intriguing and I had an good time listening to this (the audio narrator did a fantastic job), it was a bit *slow* and def a more slow burn type of thriller with a lot of action towards the end!

highly recommend checking this one out when it comes out. I can’t wait to read the rest of Charlie Donlea’s backlist after this!

Long Time Gone was a great! I was gifted the audiobook by NetGalley and I thought Vivienne Leheny was fantastic. She did such a good job and I thought this was one of the best mystery crime novels I’ve read this year. I highly recommend it because it was well paced and every chapter just got better and better.
Thanks RB Media via NetGalley.

Thank you so much to Recorded Books for the advanced listening copy of LONG TIME GONE!

I really liked this one from beginning to end! Sometimes I struggle with 3rd person narration on audio, but not with this one at all! The narrator Vivienne Leheny did a great job on both the past and present chapters and held my attention the whole time!

This story was unique and thrilling! I went in totally blind and recommend you do the same as one of the biggest surprises for me in the book is given away in the synopsis! I feel like my pulse was legitimately quickening towards the end of the book as both timelines were building towards a CRAZY conclusion I didn't see coming!

I loved the main character Sloan and thought the author did a great job making me feel connected to her by the way the beginning of the book played out. I love when authors let us see characters first as just people before all the wildness of the plot unfolds in their lives.

Read this if you like

- Crime Fiction
- DNA Testing
- Unsolved Mysteries
- Dual Timelines
- Shocking Reveals

Definitely check this one out when it's published on May 21st!

Thank you NetGalley for this audio read. This is my honest review of the story told, I will first start off by saying that the narration of the book really kept me going and very intrigued. The narrator really did make it super easy and enjoyable to follow along with the read. This is my second story by this author, and I was instantly hooked from the very start, finished the book in 72 hours which was amazing for me being that this was my first audio narration.

The story begins with the past and then it jumps to present day time, Which was easy to follow along with. I thought I figured out who the person was that committed the crime, but I was surely mistaken, and it really had a great twist, however, towards the end, it did become a lot easier to figure out who committed the original crime but it keeps you on edge the whole time.

#LongTimeGone #NetGalley

Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea
Narrated by Vivienne Leheny

Dr. Sloan Hastings, an in training forensic pathologist, has always known she was adopted and the little that her adopted parents could tell her about her birth mom was enough for her. She's had such a good home life, has a great relationship with her parents, and a career that she loves.

A research assignment has Sloan submitting her DNA to an online genealogy site and the results lead to some shocking truths. Sloan is "Baby Charlotte" a two month old baby who disappeared with her parents almost thirty years ago. At the urging of Sheriff Eric Stamos of Cedar Creek, NV, Sloan makes the trek to Cedar Creek to meet her wealthy, powerful, and possibly shady birth family, the Margolis clan. But she's also going in order to help Sheriff Stamos get to the bottom of her missing parents and how her adopted parents were able to adopt her when she was six months old. Plus Sheriff Stamos is sure his sheriff father was killed due to how much he knew about the Margolis's misdeeds.

Meeting the Margolis family is overwhelming, especially knowing the control they have over the entire area, placing people in almost all governing positions of Harrison County. As Sheriff Stamos investigates the past, Sloan has to tread carefully. Her new to her family seems to embrace her even if they might seem overbearing. What happened to her parents, how did she end up with someone else four months later, and did Sheriff Stamos's father die because someone had something to hide?

Vivienne Leheny does a great job of narrating the story and I listened to it in almost one day. With various media greats trying to get to Sloan for interviews on "being found", the threat of being followed while trying to uncover what really happened, and not knowing for sure who she can trust, Sloan stays busy and on the move in Cedar Creek. There are some situations that are so implausible that they are funny, things that shouldn't be able to happen but play a big part in the plot of the story. I just went with the events, rolled my eyes here and there, and had a great time with the audiobook. I bet we see some of the characters in future Donlea books and look forward to doing so.

Thank you to RB Media | Recorded Books and NetGalley for this ARC.