Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea is a pretty exciting book. When Sloane, who was adopted as a baby, takes an online genealogy test for research purposes, the last thing she expects to find is long lost family. She is just learning more about her chosen field of research. However, not only does she find family, she discovers that she is the long time missing baby Charlotte, who went missing thirty years before, along with her parents. Come along for the ride while you discover what happened!

I loved Those Empty Eyes from Charlie Donlea, so I was excited to read his latest book Long Time Gone. Dr Sloane Hastings begins a new job working with DNA and criminal cases and finds herself as the main character in an unsolved, cold nearly 30 year old case. She discovers the truth about her adoption and her birth family, as well as the mysterious circumstances under which she was adopted. The book takes many twists and turns and kept me reading! I especially loved the interesting photography information. I think I would have loved a bit more humor and romance injected into the mystery (there is a hint of possibility at the end, but I would have appreciated it sooner in the story). I listened to the audio book and the narrator had a wonderfully soothing voice and did an excellent job of differentiating all of the characters.

I really enjoyed this book! It had me hooked from the beginning and kept me interested throughout. There were some pretty wild twists and very descriptive moments that will definitely stick with me.

I previously read Twenty Years Later by this author and enjoyed it, so I was interested in this new release.

Sloan is on her way to becoming a medical examiner and has to complete a dissertation. Her given topic is forensic genealogy. Knowing she was adopted, she’s reluctant but decides to submit her DNA to an online database. When she gets a match to Nora Margolis, she finds out that she is the missing “Baby Charlotte”, having disappeared with her parents thirty years ago. She meets up with Nora and meets the family, working alongside a local sheriff in order to try to figure out what happened to her and her parents.

The story was fine. I enjoyed the discovery and piecing together the mystery, but I never felt overly invested. I also felt like the plot point of Sloan working toward becoming an ME was completely unnecessary in the long run and got almost dropped, until the epilogue.

The ending reveal of whodunnit was fine, not totally unexpected but also not overly obvious. I did have to suspend my disbelief a little with how the characters got evidence of the crime with Sloan’s birth parents, and I think that kind of took away from the story for me.

Overall this was fine, but not one I’d go out of my way to read again.

In this engrossing, masterfully twisting new thriller from the #1 internationally bestselling author, a forensics trainee learns through a DNA test that she mysteriously disappeared as a baby thirty years ago—and her life is still in danger …

The twists and turns are plentiful since there are two storylines. The past unfolds as they are working the case in the present, and we get a bird’s eye view of both timelines. It is fast paced and yet the suspense builds at a steady rate. I finished this in one sitting because I could not stop listening. The performances were also engaging and believable. I almost forgot they were reading.

The plot was strong. It’s definitely giving low-brow, the kind where everyone is always driving or on the move. But hey, I was entertained. The writing style was meh — I don’t need to be mansplained what ‘SUV’ stands for. The CrossFit references felt dated. It almost felt like the author spent too much time setting up a character’s or location’s identity that there was much on anything else. My tip: show, don’t tell. Too much explaining. There was a plot, but there was no story.

Charlie Donlea has done it again with a fast-paced thriller.

Dr. Sloan Hastings has started her two-year fellowship in forensic pathology. As part of an assignment, she submits her DNA to a genealogy site. Sloan was adopted as a baby and has no desire to find her birth parents. The DNA results reveal a connection to the disappearance of a famous baby and her parents thirty years ago. Sloan travels to Cedar Creek, Nevada to meet her new biological family and try to understand what happened to her. The family is wealthy and powerful and there seems to be a lot of questionable events surrounding the disappearances. With the help of local sheriff, Eric Stamos, Sloan digs deep to understand the series of events nearly 3 decades ago.

I couldn’t stop listening. Definitely recommend you read or listen!

Thanks to NetGally and Recorded Books for the ALC.

4.25 ⭐️ Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced copy of this audio book.

This is my second Charlie Donlea book and I really enjoyed it.

Sloan Hastings is doing a fellowship in forensic genealogy. To get more involved in her research she submits her own DNA to see what results come up. Sloan is adopted and she is aware she however when she gets the DNA results back they are shocking! She finds out her DNA matches baby Charlotte, the child that went missing years ago with her family. Now Sloan is determined to find answers before the media and everyone else does.

This book was super fast paced and so engaging. I enjoyed the narrator as well.

The plot of this one was great. There were some flat pieces and some far fetched sides but very little and the majority of the book was just riveting and had you intrigued! Def recommend.

Thank you Netgalley & RB Media for an ALC 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!

Another gripping, well written and shocking book by Charlie Donlea ! Long Time Gone grabbed my attention from the beginning to the end! I listened to the audio and had a hard time putting it down. This book did not disappoint, I am looking forward to Donlea's next novel. I will definitely be recommending this book to the person in charge of purchasing for my library.

Dr. Sloan Hastings is a forensic pathologist in training in a prestigious program in North Carolina. As part of her training she is assigned a research project and her topic is forensic genealogy. Wanting to get ahead and start exploring her topic, she submits her own DNA to a site to figure out how the process works. She gets the shock of her life when she learns she is actually Charlotte Margolis, a baby who captured the nation's attention and disappeared along with her birth parents nearly 30 years ago.

The Margolis family is a high-powered family with people and connections everywhere. Sloan goes to Cedar Creek Nevada to meet the Margolis family and also try and figure out what happened to her birth parents. She connects with local sheriff Eric Stamos and together these two must unravel a web of lies from 30 years ago and try to take out a powerful family in the meantime.

Charlie Donlea is a master of sliding stories and not fully giving you the entire picture but just enough to keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting more. With multiple characters and viewpoints, this story is a perfect combination of what it's like to try and solve a decades old mystery and how secrets can stay buried until one small piece of information causes the dam to break open and spill out.

Perfect story for fans of true crime podcasts and amateur sleuths.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for sharing this book’s audio advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book through a audio ARC from NetGalley
Author: Charlie Donlea- I am now a fan! This is my second book of his and I really enjoy his writing style and how he puts his books together to tell a very satisfying story
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

What a ride! I am completely fascinated by DNA and the current trend of registering with ancestry websites so this book held a massive appeal to me and it did not let me down.

Sloan Hastings is beginning a fellowship in forensic pathology under the much admired Dr. Livia Cutty. As part of her first research assignment, it is suggested that she submit her own DNA to an ancestry website, but Sloan was adopted as a baby and has no desire to find her birth parents. With the blessing of her adoptive parents, Sloan goes ahead and takes the test, revealing shocking results; Sloan is the famous "Baby Charlotte", the missing Margolis baby who disappeared 30 years ago, along with her parents. The Margolis family are powerful and powerful families have secrets. As Sloan gets closer to the truth, helped by the local Sheriff, Eric Stamos, someone is determined to stop them.

Gripping from start to finish and brilliantly narrated by Vivienne Leheny.

5 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Charlie Donlea and RB Media for an ARC in return for an honest review.

I have read several of Charlie Donea's books and have enjoyed every one of them. This novel has it all—forensic pathology, genealogy, and murder mystery—the perfect ingredients for a great book. It is written in the classic Donlea style, which I enjoy, and the narration is top-of-the-line.

When a DNA project leads Sloan to discover she's a missing child, her world is rocked. And not just any missing child, she's Baby Charlotte - - a high profile case from thirty years ago. Charlotte Margolis and her parents disappeared and haven't been seen since. Now Sloan who was adopted as an infant finds that she had initially been kidnapped and her birth parents are still missing.

Sloan is quickly pulled into the orbit of the Margolis family as they are wealthy and powerful. Also, the press finds out her identity and begin following her mercilessly. Meanwhile, Sloan is working with others in an attempt to understand how she vanished and where her birth parents might be. As she is pulled back to the town she's initially from, other mysteries begin to surface. She meets the sheriff who is the son of the previous sheriff who died mysteriously. And that's just the beginning of the strange circumstances that they begin to uncover.

Charlie Donlea has such a knack for writing great mystery thrillers so I was thrilled when I had the opportunity to read this one early. Then I also received an early copy of the audiobook and my world was truly complete. LOL. Maybe a slight exaggeration, but I was pretty darned excited.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The audio was absolutely wonderful. The narration was really spot on and fit the characters. I enjoyed listening to it immensely. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the ebook and audiobook.

This was a really good book, I loved the cast of characters. It had a lot of twist and turns and changes in locations. If you like true crime books, it listens like that and you are in for a pleasant surprise.

Long Time Gone by Charlie Donlea
Narrated by Vivienne Leheny
Publisher: RB Media, Recorded Books
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: May 21, 2024

Long Time Gone is a standalone mystery by Charlie Donlea and wow! this was intense!!! I am definitely a fan of the author now and look forward to reading his books. I never know what I’ll get from the book because they have each been so different, but also amazing!

Long Time Gone did not disappoint…this book was so intense! The twists and turns and misdirection had me wondering who I could trust. I thought the story was amazing. I loved how it tied DNA, family trees, and unsolved missing persons together.

This was a fast read because I refused to stop reading it! It was like I was afraid I’d miss something if I wasn’t actively reading. Clear your schedules because this can be read in a day if you do nothing else! I was definitely hooked and you will be too!

I loved the narration by Vivienne Leheny! I thought she was incredible!!!

This is a must read for 2024!!!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Charlie Donlea is a new favorite of mine. I was hooked after reading 20 Years Later. His latest title, Long Time Gone, was brilliant. The characters are so well developed and the story unlike any other. The main character, Sloan, is living a somewhat normal life until an assignment for her forensic pathology program bring up a major surprise about who she really is. The story begins to unfold from there, but in true Donlea fashion, he kept me guessing until the end. I am looking forward to the next book!

When DNA results reveal a disturbing connection to the mysterious disappearance of a famous baby nearly three decades ago, a forensic scientist is plunged into a dangerous search for answers in this engrossing, propulsive new novel from the internationally bestselling author of Twenty Years Later.

Thirty years ago, Baby Charlotte vanished. Today, she’s still in danger.

This was such a fun, thrilling ride! I loved the idea of genealogy opening up a cold case. Talk about a shocking surprise to find while researching for a medical school assignment. Sloan heads to Cedar Creek to learn more about her biological family. Told in past and present, Sloan begins to learn more about the mystery of what happened to her missing parents and how she disappeared so many years ago.

Writing that grabs your attention from the start. One to add to your summer reading list!

Reading Between the Wines book review #41/130 for 2024:
Rating: 4 🍷 🍷 🍷 🍷
Book: Long Time Gone
Author: Charlie Donlea
Available now!

Sipping thoughts: I love it when books can reflect things that are happening or have recently happened like DNA solved mysteries. I love how Donlea writes and every book that I have read by him makes me wish it was a series. I could see Dr. Livia Cutty as a Chief Medical Officer in future books. There were not many characters in this book so it seems as if the reader will guess the guilty party. While this may be true, there are so many elements to the reveal and what happens after. I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for his next release.

Cheers and thank you to @RBMedia and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of @LongTimeGone.

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Spot on, As usual. Charlie Donlea never disappoints! Great plot, rich storyline. Couldn't stop listening!