Very good

This had some definite holes, but was very good. A girl is woken by the sounds of her family being murdered. She manages to hide behind a grandfather clock, but is arrested as the killer. Freed by an attorney who takes her under his wing, she later takes a job being an investigator for his firm.

One implausible event was when she goes back into her house long after the killings. She wants to take one thing - her brother's prized baseball card collection., Which for some reason is stored in the attic. And happens to not really be the cards, but Swiss bank account statements. I don't know any kid who who store his collection in the attic, especially one who loved it enough that it was the one thing his sister wanted to take to remind her of him.

But the plot was very good and the story flowed well. The main character, Alex, was well-written. I read part of the book and listened to the audio for the last quarter. The audio version was also done well.

SYNOPSIS:
- Alexandra Quinlan is the only survivor the night her parents and brother are killed in their family home. The media nicknamed her “Empty Eyes”, when she was accused of the killings. She fought to clear her name, and later, she took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation.
- She works as private investigator & she lives under the radar. After 10 years, she still doesn’t know who killer her family & is looking for answers.
- More plots exist within the book, but frankly, too convoluted to summarize briefly here.

MY THOUGHTS
- I read another book by Donlea, Don’t Believe It, that I really enjoyed & gave 4 stars.
- The plot, structure of the story, & the writing are all very M E S S Y.
- The ending isn’t worth the read. It was very predictable
- PLOT: It’s a mess. There are far too many characters, perspectives, tangents, & subplots, which lead to a chaotic, convoluted plot. There are so many unbelievable moments. I’ll bite my tongue for MOST of the unrealistic legal/courtroom moments as well, but I have to mention: (a) really? her attorney is married to the main witness (a police officer) in her defamation case, but no conflict of interest & totally okay to question, (b) her attorney and the main witness (a police officer) are not only married, but they are Alex’s guardians!!! no conflict of interest?? totally fine for her attorney to be her “dad”?? her “dad” is representing his “daughter” and questioning his “wife”?!? like what???
- THE STRUCTURE: I really wasn’t a fan. The book alternates between Alex’s perspective & lots of other random characters’ perspectives are peppered in throughout the book.
- WRITING: There is no character development here. I felt no investment or connection to any characters. The writing is also extremely verbose, boring, slow, & repetitive. I also felt like Donlea didn’t know what direction he wanted to go, and he tried to throw everything in the mix. No cohesion & nothing flows.
- POP CULTURE REFERENCES: The book feels familiar because Donlea borrows many plots from real life events, which I was not a fan of. For starters, the entire “Empty Eyes” idea is ripped right from Amanda Knox’s nickname coined by the media. For those unfamiliar, Knox was put through the media circus, while facing murder charges in Italy, and one of the aspects the media focused on was her "crazy eyes”, which they claimed showed her guilt. Thus, Donlea’s use feels unoriginal, and frankly, dehumanizing to borrow the titular characteristic for the novel from a real life situation. Next, Donlea inserts an entire situation that is Jeffrey Epstein’s story under a different name. Again, feels really cheap to use this in the book. Finally, the Lane Phillips character appears to stem from real-life retired FBI agent John E. Douglas, who wrote the 1995 non-fiction book, “Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit”, and inspired the Netflix show. Major eye roll. Come up with an original idea!

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️2 stars / The plot, structure of the story, & the writing are all very M E S S Y

Thanks to Kensington Books & NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. It's due to be published on March 28, 2023.

Charlie Donlea returns following Twenty Years Later with his latest crime thriller, THOSE EMPTY EYES —a teen who has lost her family due to a brutal murder and must reinvent herself.

2013, McIntosh, VA: Alexandra Quinlan's parents, Dennis and Helen, accountants, and thirteen-year-old brother, Raymond, have been murdered by a shooter.

When the police arrive, Alexandra is in her parent's bedroom with the shotgun in her lap. She saved herself by hiding behind the grandfather clock in the hallway.

She was dubbed "Empty Eyes" as she was being handcuffed and accused of the murder by the media. She was initially charged with the killings. Her name was cleared after filing a lawsuit and won.

In 2023 Alex Armstrong changed her name, appearance, and everything about herself. She was exonerated from the crime. Now she is a legal investigator for a prominent law firm for Garrett Lancaster, the same lawyer who represented her in her defamation case.

As a legal investigator, Alex seeks justice for her clients. Her current client, Matthew Claymore, is under suspicion in the disappearance of his girlfriend, a student journalist named Laura McAllister.

Laura was about to break a powerful story about rape and corruption on her college campus. Alex believes Matthew is innocent and unearths stunning revelations about the university's faculty, fraternity members, and influential parents willing to do anything to protect their children.

As Alex digs into Laura's disappearance, she realizes there are unexpected connections to the murder of her own family. No one is quite who they seem to be . . .

Part One The Final Witness 2013
District Courthouse, McIntosh, VA

Part Two The Escape 2015
Paris, France
Zurich, Switzerland
Cambridge, England
London, England

Part Three The Return 2023
Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains
Manhattan, New York
Washington, DC

Part Four A Missing Persons Case 2023
Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains
Washington, DC
Manhattan, NY

Part Five Revelations 2023
Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains
Washington, DC

Part Six The Profile of a Killer 2023
Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains
Washington, DC
Wytheville, VA

Part Seven Full Circle 2023
Washington, DC
McIntosh, VA
London, England
The Appalachian Mountains

As you can see, the book moved worldwide with numerous characters and side plots, which did not add to the overall story. It was too much, which took away from the main storyline. However, it kept you reading to find out the killer's identity, which was surprising.

From vigilantes, murders, abuse in a youth camp, campus rapes, a sex trafficking ring, assault on children, child pornography, the legal industry, financial misdeeds, exploitation, corruption, entitlement, embezzlement, and more.

The best was when Dr. Lane Phillips appeared (one of my favorites from the Rory Moore/Lane Phillips series, Some Choose Darkness.

A fan of the author and an excellent thriller writer, and have read all of his books, but this one was too complex and could have been simplified without all the sidetracks. It could have been several books.

Looking forward to seeing what comes next from Donlea.

Thank you to Kensington Books via NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: March 28, 2023
My Rating: 4 Stars

This book was a quick read. It had several different storylines that were intertwined. I loved every minute of it.

I really enjoyed trying to figure out who was good, who was bad and all the different motives for their behaviors.

The part of the book about the Supreme Court nom definitely reminded me of some real life stuff that happened in the media, not too long ago, but wasn’t so heavily politicized in the book so it didn’t take away from the overall story which I liked. I hate when books get too political but you don’t have to worry about that with this book.

This was a story about revenge and righting wrongs, but it was also about how things can sometimes go too far and how innocent people get hurt.

This was entertaining from start to finish with excellent character depth, and a perfect ending, which wrapped everything up nicely. This would make a great movie.

This was my second book by this author, and I can’t wait to read more in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC of Those Empty Eyes in exchange for my honest review.

This one didn’t really work for me, mostly because it felt like a few books smashed into one. At about the 30% mark it seemed like everything was going off the rails, which was unfortunate since the beginning started off so strong! The perspective changes disrupted my enjoyment of the book because I felt like I was being pulled in a lot of directions for almost no reason.

I have heard that the author’s other books are extremely well written and don’t have the same plot confusion, so I will still check those out even if I don’t recommend this one!

The last chapter and an answer I NEED to know makes up for a rambling book with more characters than I can keep track of. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Did I get lost and wonder if I was reading four books? Also yes.

2023 is the year of the completely bingeable smart & layered thriller. THOSE EMPTY EYES is the story of an infamous teen girl who was accused of gunning down her family in the night.

The story strikes a perfect balance between propulsive plot and a tangled web of nuanced characters. I had no idea where this book would take me and I was happy to be along for the wild ride. I’d recommend you do the same, but with the full knowledge that topics such as childhood sexual abuse and the #metoo movement are sensitively broached.

THOSE EMPTY EYES is much more than your standard popcorn thriller. This is an interesting social commentary on exploitation at the hands of the media as well as our societal fascination with true crime stories. This was my first book by Charlie Donlea and I was thrilled to see he has an extensive backlist of books I look forward to binging.

RATING: 4.5/5 (rounded up to 5)
PUB DATE: 3/28/23

4/5⭐️

This is a page-turning, true-crime/suspense novel that begins with a heart-pounding sequence of events.

Later, we read about various characters, but aren’t told how they relate to the initial crime. At first, I was confused by these seemingly unrelated POVs, then things started to come together in the second half.

The short chapters and propulsive plot made for a quick and compelling read.

I did find a couple aspects of the ending far-fetched, and I did have suspicions about the killer. These things kept this from being a five star read for me.

Thanks to @netgalley and @kensingtonbooks for my digital ARC!

⚠️Profanity: 2/5 (infrequent)
Sexual content: implied but not explicit
TW: murder, pedophilia (not explicitly described), date rape

3.5⭐

Featuring ~ multiple 3rd person POV, 7 part story, timeline ~ 2013 - 2023, murder, crime thriller, references to se*ual assault & r@pe

Alexandra's parents and 13 year old brother were killed while she hid behind a grandfather clock. We hear about said grandfather clock a bazillion times throughout the entire book....fine, like 50, but it felt like a bazillion. You know how some words or songs just stick in your head and you can't stop hearing it, well that was how I felt about grandfather clock.

The police and public think she killed her family and call her empty eyes and they are relentless, so she goes into hiding. 10 years later and she's working with her lawyer and savior, Garrett, on a case that has nothing to do with anything or does it? She's trying to solve her own parents murder as well.

Overall, this was good, but there was a lot going on that I'm not really sure was necessary which made it move along slowly at times. There were some suspenseful moments and I am very pleased with the surprise ending.

I was fortune enough to have a kindle copy and an audio copy. Both were fine formats.
Narration:
Vivienne Leheny ~ 10 hours 28 minutes ~ she did a fine job.

My first observation while reading this was that it’s super weirdly written. Everything was stated very straight-forwardly and to the point. Also, a lot of things were explained twice which I thought was annoying and over-explained. Throughout the story there was A LOT going on (some would say too much) and new characters were introduced left and right and not explained until later which in my opinion would leave a lot of readers confused. But the most confusing part was the ending… where I was left wondering whether I misunderstood something or if the author made an oopsy 😂 Overall I still found this a very fast-paced and interesting read and I probably would have given it 3 stars if the ending hadn’t left me so perplexed 🤔

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books, and Charlie Donlea for this ARC ebook. Those Empty Eyes will be published tomorrow, March 28, 2023.

Thank you to the author, Kensington Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This suspense thriller is meant to be gulped down, and the bones of a good story are here. However, there were way too many side plots that contributed nothing beyond distracting from the narrative, and the twists and turns were too foreseeable by far. Quite a bit of the story stretched the limits of credulity as far as I was concerned, and it felt as though the author rushed this one through and served up a half-baked mess.

One other point: Research helps. If you're going to make one of your main side stories two Swiss-German characters that are meant to speak poor English, then FFS don't name them Laverne and Drew. I'm Swiss-German, and never were there characters that were less Swiss-German than these, including the peculiar expression the author had both of them use.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
*
You know her name.
You know her face.
You know those eyes…

Wow! This book draws the reader in and keeps the reader invested throughout the entire book! Especially the first chapter, it was just so intense and just grabs your attention. This was my first book by Charlie Donlea but I have head such good things about Twenty Years Later so I definitely need to go back and read that book!

Those Empty Eyes takes you on a journey and there were times that it definitely felt like a slow burn. There are two different storylines (or at least at times it felt like they were different) and it does take a little bit of time to figure out how the two storylines interconnect, but once they do, it blew my mind! Overall, if you are looking for a longer book that you are willing to invest the time into, this is a good one! But don’t get discouraged by the slow burn. Just know that if you push through it, the connections make it worth it!
*
This review will be posted to my Instagram blog (read_betweenthecovers) in the near future!

A fantastic and propulsive thriller. If my schedule had allowed, I think I would have read it all in one sitting. Unfortunately, I had obligations elsewhere.

There are a lot of characters and a lot of threads – but go with it. Trust me. It all works and is a great ride.

Thanks to Net Galley and Kensington for a free review copy of this book!

Review to be posted on Instagram @fromsarahsbooknook on release day.

✨Pub Day Review✨

Those Empty Eyes
By Charlie Donlea
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Rating: 4/5⭐️
Pub day: 3-28-23

Four months ago I read Twenty Years Later by Donlea and thought it was fantastic. Both of these books start so strong with incredibly intense first chapters that draw the reader in. There were a lot of different dates to keep track of and because of that I think a physical copy of this would be the best mode for reading.

I enjoyed this mysterious journey even though I did have a few of the twists figured out early on. I also liked that there was a little nod to characters from her previous book. There’s something about connecting characters from other books that always makes me happy and adds that extra something to my reading experience.

Thank you Kensington Books for the Netgalley #arc in exchange for an honest review!

Alex Armstrong is the only survivor of what is presumed to be a home burglary that resulted in the death of her parents and brother. After being falsely accused as the killer, Alex is exonerated and attempts to move on with her life but still ends up trying to find who the actual murderer was. She becomes a legal investigator and ten years later, finds a case that seems very similar to her family's. She finally makes some headway and is able to eventually figure out the killer's identity. As with other books by Charlie, there's always one final twist in the end of the book. Overall, an interesting mystery but there are a lot of different plotlines that can make it feel like you're reading multiple books though it does come together in the end.

Based on the book summary, it’s kind of hard to determine what’s the primary storyline for this book. Is it Alex finding the killer who murdered her family when she was 17? Is it finding Laura McAllister? Is it clearing Matthew Claymore’s name in Laura’s disappearance? For the record, the part of the story around Laura and Matthew is only a short part in the second half of the book, not enough to even be a storyline. However, there is a secondary storyline about a kid’s summer camp called Camp Montegue. This secondary storyline is weaved in and out of the whole story.

The story starts with the killing of Alex’s family when she was 17. She survived by tricking the killer and hiding from him. For the rest of the first half of the story, it covers the aftermath of that night, her arrest for the killings and the defamation suit and case she filed against the police dept after she was cleared of the murders. It also covers the following two years where Alex basically disappears in order to search for leads to her family’s killer based on documents she found in her family’s home.

The second half of the story starts eight years later, and Alex has changed her name, looks and residence. She now works for the attorney who represented her in the defamation case as an investigator while still keeping a low-profile so as not to attract the attention of the media and/or true crime fanatics that are still looking for her. It’s during one of her cases (not the Matthew Claymore or Laura McAllister cases) that she discovers a link to the case of her murdered family.

The murder of Alex’s family is most certainly the primary storyline. In the last 15-20% of the story, the two storylines begin to merge. After being contacted by an FBI agent regarding the investigation of Laura and Matthew, Alex negotiates a quid pro quo deal to help the agent if she helps Alex with her investigation of her family’s murders. After sharing all the evidence that she has on her family’s case, Alex is introduced to a former FBI profiler in order to put together a profile of the killer. The ending comes quick after that and it’s an intense and scary scene. However, it’s the last few pages of the book that TOTALLY threw me for a loop! OMG!!! Never saw that coming, I had actually pegged it as someone else!!!

A very enjoyable story and Charlie Donlea is a good writer and storyteller. It’s only the second book I’ve read by him but I’ve really enjoyed both of them and have gone and added another one to my to-read shelf. I like Alex too, she’s an interesting MC, in spite of her ridiculous coffee snobbery. Good grief!!! Enough already, Mr Donlea!!! We get it!!! Alex is a humungous and obnoxious coffee snob!!! Do we really need to hear anymore about the perfectly vacuumed siphoned coffee with the perfectly timed vapor pressured water and the perfect amount of Americano ground beans. Seriously??? Can we just move on about all the nonsense of why anything less than a perfect cup of coffee is a complete waste of her time as well as a fate worse than death? Pleeeaaassseee😊

Anyway, if this ever becomes a series, I would check out the next installment. I want to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

@NetGalley @KensingtonBooks @ThoseEmptyEyes

Empty eyes

Donlea always takes us on such a journey with his writing. It’s beautiful and complex and full circle! There is so much going on and he never leaves anything undone! It amazes me how all of the different characters and storylines are kept straight and then begin to intertwine in the most unbelievable ways! Even at the end, when I think everything has been tidied up and the book is finished, the last chapter SHOOK me! I truly did not see that coming, at all! I may just be saying this because I finished Daisy Jones last night, but I could see this book making an amazing series!

This book started off with a BANG, in the middle of the night, a scared teenage girl hides as her family is brutally murdered. I mean, that got my attention! We waste no time getting into the thick of it. I was immediately invested in this book and Alexandra as she is going through an unthinkable event. Donlea does a great job of introducing all of the characters and giving them depth and lasting impact. At times I was confused on who certain characters were and their importance to the book, with multiple storylines, but I knew if I stuck with it, the reveal would be worth it! And it was!! I can’t imagine the amount of detail and thought that goes into creating stories like this, but I appreciate it! Cannot wait to see what he comes out with next!

Thank you to Kensington books for the ARC! I read a combo of the hard copy and listened to the ALC thanks to RB Media. The audio was very well done, I stayed engaged with the story and enjoyed listening. But I always love to hold the physical book and read it, I feel like it connects me to the story and characters.

Loved the synopsis and think this could have been fantastic, but the story lost momentum with all of the side plots and repetition. It all ties together in the end, but it took too long to get there - it felt like I was reading a 500 page book, not 300.

I’d read another book by this author, unfortunately this one didn’t work for me.

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea is a thriller you'll want to add to your summer reading list.

"It's been ten years since Alexandra Quinlan was arrested for killing her family. When evidence pointed to her not being the killer charges were dropped. Alex testified at her highly publicized defamation lawsuit against the police department. With the help of her lawyer, a family friend, she won a large judgement.
Alex changes her name and moves away because the True Crime junkies all believe she got away with murder. But Alex never stops looking for the person responsible for killing her family. Now she's an investigator for a law firm and finds similarities with one of her cases to that of her parents. Will she finally have the answers she's looked for?"

Donlea grabs you from the very beginning. You are mesmerized by the trial and the events of the evening where Alex's family was gunned down. Donlea eventually jumps to Alex as an investigator while also filling in the background of the story. It all leads to a wild ending. And a twist you feel coming but never believe he'll actually go there.

The middle third of the book is slower than the beginning and end but still worth it. I did not want to stop reading this book.

Another great thriller to add to the beach bag this year.

Charlie Donlea writes a hell of a story with unforgettable characters. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I was completely invested in the outcome. I was also left guessing until the end. This one takes readers on a winding trail for answers through seemingly unrelated cases. I'm never disappointed by this author and this book is an excellent example of why. I couldn't put it down. This should be at the top of your must reads!