I was very excited to read this book - the plot sounded fantastic and I was not dispointed! I loved how the story weaved together elements of both true time and mystery. Also excellent character development, I enjoyed reading about Alex throughout the different phases of her life and how she deals with the tragedy. The different character perspectives were unrelated in the beginning but the author brought them together seamlessly in the last 1/4 of the book. The ending was excellent - did not see it coming!

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a multilayered story that at times I found myself kind of wandering. The first part of this was by far my favorite with the murder and the defamation trial. The next small part was where I lost interest a bit, but found it picking back up shortly after. I enjoyed the different perspectives to a point but it seemed to draw away from the original story at times a little too much. Overall this was a good, twisty mystery with likeable characters. I'll rate this three and a half stars rounded up.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

“Those Empty Eyes” includes three different storylines introducing us multilayered, inspiring heroines coming from different backgrounds, ages and motives.

One of them is Alexandra Quinlan ( Armstrong) might be considered as main character/ survivor/ tormented soul/ outcast/ tough fighter/ smart detective of the book. She found her parents and her brother massacred at their own house at the age of 17 and she outsmarted the killer by hiding behind grandfather clock. But at the same night, the police officers misunderstood her situation as she was holding a gun into her lap, sitting in her parents’ bedroom where they were lying in blood pool.
The officers thought she killed them and one of the officers: Donna Koppel understood something was wrong, calling her hotshot lawyer husband Garrett Lancaster ( that’s why Donna doesn’t carry his past name) to defend her. Because she was only 17 and officers jumped the conclusion that she was the murderer without investigating any further.

After spending months at detention center, Alex takes a stand during her highly publicized defamation trial and she gets acquitted, earned 8 million dollars as a result of misconduct and unserved justice!

But she has no chance to live a peaceful life as the reporters lurking around her old house, true crime fans who think she got away with the murder. Tracy Carr: another hotshot reporter gave her name “Empty Eyes”, holding her mic to her after catching her off guard, handcuffed, taking into custody after few minutes later she’s found entire family dead!!!

10 years later, Alex still works with her lawyer and also guardian Garett Lancester’s law firm as an investigator, using unethical methods, getting hands dirty to bring out the justice, with a new image reminding you of Lisbeth Salander.
In the meantime Tracy Carr posts special videos on her channel to remind her fans of 10th anniversary of Quinlan murders, challenging Alex to come out from wherever she’s hiding.

Alex finds herself representing Matthew Claymore whose girlfriend has gone missing. Her investigation pushes her to dig out more about the missing girlfriend :a popular student journalist Laura McAllister, radio host of McCormack University who also gets invited to NBC’s morning show, followed by millions of fans. Laura was working on the rapes in the campus site related with a fraternity house members who use a raping drug to hunt the innocent girls. Her latest episode may be political threat to Larry Chadwick who is getting ready for Supreme Court nomination. His son Duncan is a member of the fraternity house that is gonna be mentioned on the episode. The connection can ruin his political career and his son’s life!

That’s the exact time we meet with Annette Packard, another tough, powerful heroine, FBI agent who is specialized finding the dirt and exposing it!

All those characters’ paths get crossed. Could Alex’s parents’ death be connected with those other cases?

I could give this book five stars if it didn’t contain so many storylines! All of them are impressively good and well written but I think it takes too much time to connect with each piece of puzzle. When I concentrated on Alex’s story, I realized I got introduced new and powerful heroines and their storylines. Even though all of them got connected in the end, i felt a little exhausted to put the pieces together. The mysterious bludgeoning murder, the abuse in the youth camp, the campus rapes, political fractions, the embezzlement cases…. Oh boy, there are so many materials to write three more books.

I decided to cut only one star and giving my extra intelligent, riveting psychological and political and also legal thriller stars! I preferred that book was focused on Alex’s case but I loved the entire storylines and creative writing. It would be not fair to grade this book with less than four stars!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

10 years ago her entire family was murdered in their home. Only 17 year old Alexandra Quinlan was left unharmed holding the murder weapon in her lap. The press dubbed her Empty Eyes.
She was wrongfully accused of the crime and even though she sued the Police Department and won, she will always be known as Empty Eyes by the public.
10 years later she is now known as Alex Armstrong and she works as an investigator for a law firm. She is still trying to find out who killed her family so long ago.
This story started off strong for me but it seemed to veer away from Alex's story. It did all tie together in the end though.
This was not my favorite book by this author but I would still highly recommend any of Charlie Donlea's books.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 5 stars for DNF as I cannot comment on the overall quality of the book. This included one of my favourite tropes (familicide) so I was very excited to be approved. Unfortunately, after part 1 (primarily courtroom scenes and flashbacks), my interested waned as the writing felt rushed and shallow. I also wasn't a fan of the writer using the character's name in every sentence AND switching between full gov name and just the first name... it read as very basic and choppy.

This was so good right up until it changed from Alex’s perspective to someone else and then I got bored. This doesn’t read like a typical true crime thriller. This felt more like a psychological thriller and after the first half. It just bored me to tears.

I’ve read 3 thrillers this week looking for one that really captivated me, and per usual, Donlea lives up to the expectation. Despite the bleh title (to me), I was instantly pulled into this story and wanted to know more. That being said, a few questions remained (though not enough for me to not be impressed with those clever twists);

1. Why did Jacqueline use Alex for the missing person’s case - it’s made clear she often used her brother and at that point, she couldn’t suspect Alex of anything, so it just seemed like a lazy plot device in an otherwise meticulously thought out novel

2. Spoiler ahead… I don’t understand how Garrett would’ve been the one Jacqueline was partnered with. Wouldn’t the detective have told Alex Garrett also went to the camp? Did he? What about Buck, Jacqueline’s actual brother?? A bit messy to me, but perhaps I missed something.

Nonetheless, looking forward to Donlea’s next. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea An engrossing fast paced story that is presented as part true crime and a murder/missing person mystery. The details seem disjointed at times but are skillfully woven together by the author to a satisfiying conclusion. Did not expect the ending, but was pleased that Alex received closure.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book

I do not think this book was for me. Based on the description, I was expecting more of a focus on Alex, but the story was kind of all over the place. It was also way too technical to enjoy.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Kensington Books and #NetGalley. Thank you to the publishers, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

A thrilling read with an end you’re bound to remember.

That ending though!!! Whew! I was worried that I was going to have to give a Charlie Donlea book less than 5 stars! I know, right? In the beginning there are SO many moving parts that I had difficulty keeping up. But WAIT! Suddenly I made one connection, then another and they just kept coming until WOW! AWESOME ending! I thought there was a glaring loose end, but that got cleared up too! I swear, this guy cannot write a bad book! Now, as for the story, Alex was a really cool main character. She has never given up trying to figure out what really happened to her family and why. It was cool to reconnect with Lane Phillips also. I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, so I am just going to say READ THIS! You are always in good hands with Charlie Donlea!

Thak you to #NetGalley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington Books for tis much appreciated ARC! All opinions are my own.

Well, this is definitely a book I would recommend to everyone. It is very enticing and straight to the point. I could not put it down.

Charlie Donlea is the author of 20 Years Later which I highly recommend. I was excited to read this very twisty thriller!

In Those Empty Eyes, we meet Alex Armstrong, a girl on the run. approximately 10 years ago her entire family was massacred and when she was filmed answering reporters in shock she was nicknamed ":Empty Eyes" and assumed the killer. It takes a caring police officer and her lawyer husband to untangle the events that prove that she was not. Years later, the killer is still unknown and ALex is searching for answers. When when begins to unearth connections, a cascade of secrets comes tumbling down around her. If you like twisty thrillers, this is a book for you! .#Kensignton

this was a great combination of true crime and a mystery novel. The story was what I was hoping for and really enjoyed how well it was written. The characters were interesting and did feel like real people. Charlie Donlea has a great writing style and I really enjoyed how well this was in the mystery genre. It left me wanting more in from the author.

“You’ve become the epitome of making a small voice heard, and heard loudly. The Scoop broadcasts from a tiny studio on the campus of a tiny university. You and McCormack University were kind enough to allow our crew into the studio last week to take some footage. But despite the small size of your microphone, a lot of people are listening to what you have to say.”