Wow. What a ride. Kept me hooked from the first page to the last. Really enjoyed the storyline and had a couple of twists I didn’t see coming.

My Review:
Wow!!!!! Loved!!!!! Those are the first words that popped in my head when I first finished this book. This was another fabulous read by a fabulous author. Once I read one book by him I could not stop for the life of me. I am now on book number three and I have no regrets. I’m going to keep on going until I have I finished each and every one of his books. I love everything about this authors books. The characters are great, the story lines keeps you interested and the endings are shocking. I don’t know what else you can ask for in a book. This author and his books are by far my favorite for this year. I was so nervous to try a new author but I’m so happy that I did. I can’t wait to read more of his books.

In conclusion, the plot, the characters and all the twists in this book made this book an enjoyable read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

When in need of a great physiological thriller, who do you turn to? Charlie Donlea! Don't Believe It is twisty and suspenseful page turner.

I need to remind myself that I just do not find psychological thrillers exciting or surprising anymore. I figured out the ending to this long before I finished the book. It was a quick read and I think many will enjoy it, but this one was just not my cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.

Just when you think that all new avenues of thrillers have been exhausted, an author comes out with a new format and blows it out of the water.

This was a super entertaining whodunnit centered around a cold case that is being reopened for a documentary in the likes of Serial.
I have become a DIE HARD fan of Mr. Donlea. He hasnt failed me yet.

I recently read The Girl Who Was Taken and really loved it, so when I saw that this was also available on audiobook, I grabbed it. This was different from the last one in that this was a psychological thriller, but also a mystery. Grace Sebold has been in jail for ten years for the murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation. She insists she is innocent and that the St. Lucian police bent the evidence to fit the person they felt was guilty. She reaches out to film and documentary maker, Sidney Ryan. Sidney does some investigating and agrees. Grace becomes the subject of this season's documentary called "The Girl From Sugar Beach".

This was another gripping story by Charlie Donlea. He delivers a well-written, detailed, twisty read that had me questioning whether Grace was guilty or innocent of murder. The story is told in both the past and the present. Grace is able to track down people who were there during spring break and it seemed that this was one huge snow job. The more I learned about Grace and her family and friends, the more I changed my mind about who the murderer was. We follow Sidney as she investigates and produces the documentary, so have a front row seat as the evidence is uncovered. This helped get me invested in this story. Once again, Donlea shocked me with the final twists in this story that had me almost screaming, "not fair?' I am not saying anymore except read or listen to this book.

RATING: 4 STARS
2018; Kensington Books

I enjoyed The Girl Who Was Taken so much, I decided to download the next audiobook by Charlie Donlea. Don't Believe It didn't disappoint. While this is a standalone novel, there is a character from The Girl Who Was Taken that makes an appearance in this book. Reading this book reminded me of so many true crime docs/shows that have Americans either being murdered on holidays or being on trial in another country. So when you read this you wonder if it is based on A, B or C but really it could be anyone of those cases. Donlea does a great job in keeping the suspense and giving us a glimpse into the case through the documentary. It is a really cool concept that the documentary is filming each episode as it airs. Once you see where the ending is going, you still are in it for the ride. If you are looking for a book that will keep you hostage for a bit, this is the one! It may not be the best beach read as you will miss averting going on around you.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of Don’t Believe It!

What a great book this was! When I sat down earlier this week looking through my TBR pile this book kept coming up with a high average rating so I said what the heck and started reading... I was not disappointed! This is about an up-and-coming documentary producer, Sidney Ryan, who creates documentaries on potentially innocent people incarcerated. Insert Grace Sebold who was convicted in St Lucia ten years ago for killing her boyfriend. Sidney starts going through all of the evidence and reinterviewing those involved with the case and it is clear something went wrong here... but is Grace really innocent? If she is, who killed her boyfriend Julian? Maybe it was her brother, Marshall or her best friend, Ellie? Or Daniel, who is one of two people to visit Grace over the past 10 years even though he is married to someone else??? This whole book I had so many thoughts about who the killer was and while the outcome was a little predictable, the overall ending was not at all! I kept reading faster and faster because I just needed to know what happened and who was responsible. The ending of this book will show there really is no bond like that of siblings and/or best friends!!

I enjoyed reading this, it has everything which a thriller should have. The twist at around 75% was really unexpected. I did suspect the culprit so that wasn't surprising enough
Recommended for people who love thrillers

This book was so freaking good. Such a unique take on a thrilling suspense and one I couldn't put down. MUST read

In the world of television nothing is as it seems. And this book proves it. You can't believe everything you read or see. This made for an interesting read!! Hope there is a second book in the series to explain the ending of this one!

4.1 - definitely a page-turner, but felt like the ending was rather abrupt (not bad... just abrupt); delightfully twisty and turny

Great story loved how the author out this book together. I like how the book kept you on the edge of your seat wanting more. This book was truly a page turner from start to finish

Don’t believe it is an addictive psychological thriller which took me some time to get into. After almost 40% in the book I could not put it down. Edgy with lots of unexpected twists and turns this was one highly entertaining read and am definitely looking forward to what Charlie Donlea comes up with next.

I would like to thank Kensington Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

Do not start this book late in the afternoon. Give yourself plenty of time to read without petty distractions like having to go to work!!!! More mystery stories are setting their plots in blogs, tv series and podcasts since a huge section of people get their news through some sort of social media. I was pleasantly surprised that Mr Donlea found an original plot for his mystery. A very good original plot! I had not read his previous books, but they have now been added to my TBR list.
The book description will bring to mind Mary Higgins Clark's series. Do not mistake this for a copy cat, it is truly an original story that will keep you reading from start to finish. Loved the ending, cant wait to see where the author goes from here.

Don’t Believe it by Charlie Donlea is a 2018 Kensington publication.

St. Lucia-

The perfect place for a spring break excursion, weddings, or marriage proposals. Grace is positive her boyfriend, Julian, is about to pop the question, but their vacation quickly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes before Julian has a chance to propose, and his death is ruled a homicide. Grace is swiftly arrested and convicted of his murder. The case was an open and shut slam dunk. But, in her letters to Sidney Ryan, Grace swears she is innocent.

True Crime, ‘wrongfully convicted’, documentaries are all the craze. Capitalizing on this, Sidney Ryan, a freelance filmmaker, thinks the 'Sugar Beach' case will make a compelling story. Despite some doubts, the network gives her the green light. But, when Sidney arrives in St. Lucia, she uncovers evidence that Grace had never mentioned- evidence that points to her guilt- not her innocence. But, Sydney also sees the dubious way the investigation was handled. Was Grace guilty or innocent? Will Sydney’s documentary raise more questions than it answers? The ratings are through the roof, but has justice finally be done?

This brisk, and timely thriller, cleverly takes advantage of the current true crime documentary trend. Only in this case, there are a few hidden dangers our documentary filmmaker never counted on. Not only that, the secondary characters are all intertwined with Grace in surprising ways, exposing motives and resentments that never came out at the trial. But, niggling doubts linger about Grace’s innocence, while Sydney grapples with the magnitude of the documentary’s success against the personal risks she must take to find the truth.

The atmosphere is authentic and tense, nailing the true crime formula of these mega popular documentaries and crime shows with a realistic look at what goes on behind closed doors at the network studios. It also has the feel of a cold case, which is one of my very favorite mystery tropes. There are plenty of jaw dropping revelations, and a huge last minute twist, that left me breathless. I do hope this author writes fast, and is right this minute working on a follow up to this book!!

I’ve heard some great things about this author, but this is my first impression of his work. Needless, to say, it will not be the last. I will be looking up his other books, and impatiently awaiting his next release.

Another great read by Charlie Donlea. I loved the previous book (Summit Lake) and could not wait to get into this one. I enjoyed the writing - a very quick read - though I found the book a bit predictable (as to who the "killer" was). Despite this, I loved the ending. Perhaps a sequel? Thank you for the advance reader copy.

has been a surprisingly good read . I say surprising because I have not had much luck in terms of picking out thrillers which I  liked. I would have given this a full five stars if I had not figured out the ending and been proved right before the twist officially got rolling.

If you are not so impatient as me, this is a book that you would really enjoy. I remember having requested it long ago, after reading some very interesting reviews in the blogging world. I recollected that nugget of forgotten information a few chapters into the book. It was a blessing going in blind into the book and I will just skim over the salient facts while I recommend it to you in order to ensure you get the same effect. We follow Sidney as she is trying to make a documentary to look into a ten-year old conviction of a girl she sort of knew. The entirety of the process is fitted with some small detours with characters whose presence will be explained only at the end.This is one of the few books I have read of a male author writing a female perspective that I can actually get behind. Sidney is a very realistically ambitious woman who tries to hold on to some core principles. The ending may not be everyone's cup of tea but it did (strangely) wrap up the story for me.

P.S: I do not get the relevance of the cover, I wish it was something different

Is this the thriller of the summer? Oh yes.

Last year, I read and absolutely loved Charlie Donlea’s sophomore book: The Girl Who Was Taken (no, I still haven’t read his debut, forgive me!). When I saw this one was coming out, I was afraid that it would disappoint me, after all, I’ve had similar experiences these past few years. But that didn’t happen. On the contrary, I believe Don’t Believe It to be as great as TGWWT and it’s been weeks since I’ve been so excited about a mystery novel.

This summer hasn’t been my best reading season. As you might have noticed, I’m publishing fewer reviews these days and although I’ve read some books, I haven’t read as many as I would’ve wanted. I actually started Don’t Believe It about a week ago but didn’t read much because I have been watching tv shows obsessively. When I finally picked it up again, I finished it in about 3 hours. And then I told my boyfriend all about it. I’ve noticed that I only do that with books that I absolutely love.

Lately, we’ve seen shows and podcasts like Making A Murderer or Serial rise in popularity. This novel is exactly like those, but in a book format. Sidney is our main character, a documentary filmmaker that decides to focus her next project on Grace Sebold, a woman who was convicted of murdering her boyfriend ten years ago. I loved reading about Sidney’s career (damn Luke!) and, of course, the retelling of the events of Julian’s death.

I admit that my interest in Sidney had a lot to do with my love for this novel. I didn’t only care about the case, I also loved her as a character. My biggest surprise, though, was when the author brought a character from his last novel, which made me love the book even more. And I won’t forget about Gus. My hero.

All in all, Don’t Believe It is one of my favorite thrillers this year and I can’t wait for Charlie Donlea’s new novel. An addictive and twisty novel that couldn’t have ended with a better line.