"Twenty Years Later"--by Charlie Donlea--in this gripping, fast-paced new standalone thriller, a TV news host sets out to uncover the truth behind a gruesome tale of sex, betrayal, and murder twenty years after the investigation was abandoned in the wake of 9/11

 

Twenty Years Later

TWENTY YEARS LATER, to understand the present, you need to listen to the past...

Avery Mason, host of American Events, knows the subjects that grab a TV audience's attention. Her latest story--a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy, and betrayal--is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner's office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence.

Emma Kind has waited twenty years to put her sister to rest, but closure won't be complete until she can clear Victoria's name. Alone she's had no luck, but she's convinced that Avery's connections and fame will help. Avery, hoping to negotiate a more lucrative network contract, goes into investigative overdrive. Victoria had been having an affair with a successful novelist, found hanging from the balcony of his Catskills mansion. The rope, the bedroom, and the entire crime scene was covered in Victoria's DNA.

But the twisted puzzle of Victoria's private life belies a much darker mystery. And what Avery doesn't realize is that there are other players in the game who are interested in Avery's own secret past--one she has kept hidden from both the network executives and her television audience. A secret she thought was dead and buried...

Accused of a brutal murder, Victoria Ford made a final chilling call from the North Tower on the morning of 9/11. Twenty years ago, no one listened. Today, you will... 

 

PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF CHARLIE DONLEA
 
SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS
 
“In Donlea’s skillful hands, this story of obsession, murder, and the search for truth is both a compassionate character study and a compelling thriller.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Engrossing. . . . Donlea smoothly mixes red herrings and genuine clues. Readers who relish a good puzzle will be rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly
 
“Part 1970s serial-killer thriller and part contemporary Chicago crime novel, this deceptively quick read has something for everyone.”—Booklist
 
“Suspense builds, clues mount and dangers lurks seemingly everywhere as the story nimbly toggles between then and now in Donlea’s twisty-turny mystery.”—Bookpage
 
DON’T BELIEVE IT
 
“You can’t blame Charlie Donlea if the ending of his novel makes your jaw drop. The title alone is fair warning that his characters are no more to be trusted than our initial impressions of them.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN
 
“A fast-moving page-turner. . . . Donlea skillfully maximizes suspense by juggling narrators and time all the way to the shocking final twists.”—Publishers Weekly
 
SUMMIT LAKE
 
 “Donlea keeps readers guessing throughout. The whodunit plot is clever and compelling . . . for fans of nonstop mysteries with a twist.”—Library Journal 

 

Charlie Donlea

 

Charlie Donlea is the USA TODAY and #1 Internationally bestselling author of SUMMIT LAKE, THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN, DON'T BELIEVE IT, SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS, and THE SUICIDE HOUSE. He resides in Chicago with his wife and two young children.

He spends a part of each year fishing with his father in the far reaches of Canada, where the roads end and lakes are accessible only by floatplane. These majestic trips to “God’s Country” inspired the setting for his first novel, Summit Lake.  

http://www.charliedonlea.com