Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea is my first book by him, and I truly enjoyed it. The mystery is top notch and kept me guessing throughout. Each thread was pulled together seamlessly. The likable characters also had me rooting for them, especially Alex. I really can't wait to read more by Donlea.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by Charlie Donlea - 4 stars!

Alex is the only survivor of an attack on her family, where she was accused of the crime and vilified in the press.. After a much-publicized trial against the city, she changed her name and her look and moved to London. Ten years later, she's back in the US, working as an investigator for a law firm. Her latest client is the boyfriend of a missing college journalist, who was about to break a story about rapes and their coverups on campus. During her investigation, Alex discovers some weird connections to her own family.

Charlie Donlea knows how to write thrillers and keep you guessing, and this book is no exception. It did seem to be a bit convoluted and over the top at times, but still kept me intrigued. You won't be able to put it down when all the different plot points come together. I definitely never saw that ending coming!

WoW!!!!! Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea was a book that just took my breath away and was brilliant from the start to the very end, especially as it was a great page turner with superb twists and turns throughout! I loved it, and I could not put this book down. This was a book that will keep you up all night

I can not recommend Those Empty eyes enough. Just superb book!

Biggest thank you to Kensington Books for my advanced copy to read.

From its gripping and captivating opening, Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea is an engrossing mystery thriller novel. The narrative moves back and forth over time, starting in 2013, with a home invasion and subsequent court trial. An array of characters and seemingly unconnected events unfold, leading to a surprising climax, a decade later in 2023. Each of the seemingly miscellaneous strands of the story – a campus party, holiday camp for children and Supreme Court nominee – are interwoven into an unexpectedly riveting tale. With its gory opening and a disturbing subtheme, a content warning is necessary; however, it’s not overtly gothic but a nuanced crime mystery thriller. An absorbing read with a five stars gem rating. With thanks to Kensington Books and the author for an uncorrected proof copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

This is another great twisty read by Donlea. The book opens with the murder of a family; the parents obviously the targets, but their teenage son is in the wrong place at the wrong time. And unfortunately for the killer, another family member escapes. (Though given the killer was using a shotgun, it's not exactly surprising they were warned!)After the shocking opening sequence – written incidentally from the point of view of the killer – we’re introduced to 18 yr old Alex who survived her family’s slaughter but – because she was found holding the shotgun – originally a suspect in their murder and spent time in juvenile detention. She’s successfully sued law enforcement for her treatment after the murders but struggling to move on. The crime remains unsolved and many still think she was involved.

She’s taken in by the lawyer who represented her in her lawsuit and seemingly has a natural instinct for investigation so changes her name and starts working for him.

I found it a smidge weird that there was no reference to the motive for the murders in the early part of the novel and it's only when Alex stumbles on some information from her parents' business that she starts to wonder. Given the profile of the murders I would have expected a little more focus (from true crime buffs as well as the police, Alex and her lawyer) as time passed.

Donlea jumps forward in time a bit here - a few years initially, and then a decade. It probably meant I had more questions than I normally would have - wondering why Alex hadn't been discovered during that time given her proximity to the one person who would have known her whereabouts (ie. her lawyer). And when she does cross paths with someone from her past, despite some changes, they recognise her quite easily.

And there were a few coincidences here that help Alex make some leaps in deduction and draw links between present cases to her own past.

We do eventually find out 'why' her parents were targeted but it almost felt a little unfair as if they were very harshly judged... though perhaps the killer knew they were less concerned about the work they'd become involved in ... and we get no insight into them or their lives so I would have like a little more about them perhaps.

There's also an interesting twist at the end but for me it led to a few more questions.

All of that said, I enjoyed this and easily read it in a sitting and NEEDED to know why young Alex's life was upended. 

3.5 stars

Years ago, Something Bad Happened to Alex' family: they were all murdered by an armed intruder. Alex was initially charged but it clearly wasn't her - of course, that doesn't stop the public from believing the initial report that it was her. In the present, she's convinced that the killer is still out there and has killed others... and away we go into a well-written thriller. The final twist eluded me, which was a pleasant surprise.

eARC provided by publisher via Netgalley

One of Donlea’s best thrillers! Those Empty Eyes kept me guessing and with an ending that totally caught me off guard. As someone who reads a lot of thrillers, it’s hard to find those that truly wow, but this one sure did!

It's nearing the 10 year anniversary of the murder of Alex's parents and brother when she finds a significant similarity between their murder and the murder of an individual who Alex was investigating on behalf of the law firm she works for.
On the night of her family's murders, Alex was dubbed Empty Eyes due to her blank expression when she was led out of her home in handcuffs, accused of executing her family with a rifle. Alex was eventually able to clear her name and was successful in a lawsuit against the sheriff's department and the prosecutors office for wrongful accusations. In doing so, Alex becomes close to her lawyer and eventually finds herself as an investigators for his office. When Alex's family was murdered, photographs were found around their bodies and now a recently murdered client of the law form where Alex works is found in a similar manner with photographs. What is the significance of the photographs found around her parents murdered bodies to the current murders? Is vigilante justice at work here? How much danger will Alex find herself in before finding out the truth?


Empty Eyes pulled me in from the beginning! The story of Alex is heartbreaking, from the loss of her family to running from the watchful, accusatory eyes of the press to her desire to find who murdered her family to watching her be a successful investigator, you'll be rooting for her throughout! The story continues to build on itself following a current timeline with a mix of a story from a youth camp from years ago and it all ties together with a twist that you won't see coming!

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The start pulled me in right away! I felt for Alex and wanted to see how it would pan out. Later on I felt like it was a totally different story and not sure where this was all going to come together. The last part had me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen and the ending did make me gasp.

Thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for a arc in exchange for my honest review.

Publish date: Out Now

I LIVE for a well done prologue and/or epilogue. Knowing this about myself, I still thought at 2am that I could just read the prologue and take myself to bed. Ha! That was as easy as eating just one potato chip. The next thing I knew, it was 3:30 and my eyes were forcing sleep. I obliged but quickly got back to it after a few hours sleep and finished before nightfall.

Fast-paced, mysterious, and full of suspense, 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙀𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙮 𝙀𝙮𝙚𝙨 will easily be one of my top reads for April, if not the year. There are a few different story lines which are expertly woven to provide an ending I never saw coming! I love the main character, Alex. She provides a perfect example of how to rise above a tragedy instead of letting it define you. If you love thrillers that cross multiple sub-genres, this one definitely needs to go on your list!

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Donlea is my go-to thriller writer now that I've read his gripping latest. There are twists and turns, serial killers, a life ruined by a mistaken arrest, and a complex protagonist that you can't help but root for. And that shocking ending ... wow! Perfect for thriller lovers who adore stay-up-all-night reads.

This is a really tough review to write, because I am a huge OG fan of Charlie Donlea, and I’ve enjoyed every book he’s written up until now. THOSE EMPTY EYES feels like something that was pieces together by a ghost writer under the author’s name, as it lacks his style and tone of writing, while also managing to be so chaotic and over the top that I felt pulled from the narrative constantly. I will always remain a fan, but this one just didn’t hold a candle to his traditionally crime fiction.

LOVED this, it was super complicated IMO but overall good = however, the ending/ characters confused me. Buck, Garrett & Jacqueline all seemed intertwined. Who was the brother? Buck? But Garrett was also involved? The last chapter totally threw me and I can't tell if it was an editing error or what happened.

I adored this book! It was more than I expected it to be based on the description alone. The multi-layered plot made for an extremely engaging read and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end! Will highly recommend for book discussions at my branch as this book feels like a perfect book for my group.

4.75 stars, rounding up to 5!!!

This one was pretty much near perfect and I was obsessed after the first chapter.
The story immediately hooked me and jumped right into the good stuff.

I enjoyed this story so much that I found I was just going along for the ride and not dissecting every character & situation like I often do- trying to figure out where things were going to end up…and I looooved that. The twists came as major surprises to me and I never saw the wild ending coming!

The main character, Alex, was interesting, smart, complicated, determined and I was always routing for her. Her character development was phenomenal and it was fun learning how her inner circle worked.
There were quite a few characters but they all worked together and I didn’t find anything confusing or random like I usually do when there are more then 3 people (personal problem).

The shifts in time and different storylines were really really well written and made this a fast paced read- a few of the transitions made me wonder what was going on and how it would all end up relating but it all ended up making sense…it was just that intricate web of people & plots.

This is the first Charlie Donlea book and I immediately went to see what else I need to read!

Those Empty Eyes
By Charlie Donlea
Pub Date Mar 28
Kensington
Excellent thriller with a shocking twist
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ArC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This novel includes these different storylines and this turned out to be a dealbreaker for me, it took too long for me to connect with each piece of the puzzle. I would have preferred if the book focused on Alex’s case. Many thanks Kensington!
4 stars

This book had me hooked from the very first page. I have heard such great things about this author and I dived right in. The only bad thing I could say it kind of lost its spark half way through.

Charlie Donlea has done it again, writing another excellent thriller.. I can’t express how much I love his writing style. This story kept me on the edge of my seat. I highly enjoyed it, and I do recommend it to crime thriller readers.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. This was a tricky one to review because I was hooked immediately but it kind of fell apart in the middle for me because it felt like a completely different book. That said, I’m happy I kept reading because the twist at the end was too good!

Alexandra Quinlan has changed everything about herself—her name, her appearance, her backstory. She’s no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation. In the ten years since, Alexandra has continued to search for her family’s killer. She uses her job as a legal investigator and her connections through that job to follow any and all leads to get the answers she’s looking for.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was able to read an ARC of this book through NetGally. The description intrigued me and I was sucked in within the first two chapters. The book kept my interest and I loved reading through Alex’s point of view. I was confused at times, when the POV switched to other random characters, and when it switched from past to present without much of an easy transition between them. The twist at the end of the book shocked me! I would recommend this book to others.