This is my first Charlie Donlea book and I loved it. A fast paced crime thriller with great twists. Loved the characters, plot, everything . Will read more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Publishing for ARC.

4 ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

First of all love Charlie Donlea and this one didn’t disappoint. I was so excited to read it early! This one starts with a bang and ends with a twist! For sure a page turner I was hooked from the first page. The characters were likable and I had to keep reading to find out what happened! Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC!

Guess Again is a twisty, fast-paced cold case thriller with all the hallmarks of a Donlea novel including short chapters, clever misdirection, and a final twist that’ll make your jaw drop. This one follows Ethan Hall, a former detective-turned-ER doc, who gets pulled back into the case that’s haunted a small Wisconsin town for a decade: the disappearance of teen athlete Callie Jones.

The timeline jumps a lot from past to present and town to town which took some getting used to, but once the pace picks up, it’s hard to put down. Ethan is a solid lead, and the emotional hook of reconnecting with a dying former partner adds depth to the procedural beats.

The mystery has plenty of curveballs, maybe one too many, but Donlea keeps you invested until the final page. It’s not quite a five-star read for me, but it’s a solid thriller with serious series potential. I'll continue picking up any book Donlea publishes.

This is actually my first Charlie Donlea book and I wasn’t disappointed. If you’re looking for a fast, entertaining, and at times twisted read, you won’t be disappointed. If plot holes bother you and you can’t look past them, you may not enjoy the book as much. If you’re in it just for thrills, by all means read the book!


Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

This is actually my first book by Charlie Donlea. I have heard really good things about his writing and this book did not disappoint.

I really enjoyed the police procedural side of it, it wasn't too heavy on true police. Procedural, just enough to make it seem believable. The twists and turns throughout this book between different cases that need to be solved and how they intertwined was so well written and very interesting. It took me a little longer than normal to read this book, but not because it wasn't interesting or well written. I love a well-written serial killer or prison trope.

I think the thing that bothered me the most was that this guy, all those smart, spent 10 years as a detective then changed careers to go back to med school and 10 years later he's the head of the ER emergency medicine. Feel like years of med school and residency seem less believable if after 10 years he's already in charge. But I digress.

The characters were interesting and complex. I really did enjoy this book

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Great book. So fast paced, intriguing characters and a really good ending. I couldn’t put it down and was very sad to come to the end!

I would say this is Charlie Donlea’s best book so far and I look forward to his next.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for this advanced reading copy to review.

Seventeen year old Callie Jones vanished and her body was never found making her case go cold. Now the detective who worked the case is dying and begs his old partner, turned doctor, Ethan Hall to investigate. News of his involvement in the case is released and Ethan finds himself in a game of cat and mouse with a serial killer, meanwhile another girl goes missing.
The story grips you from the start and keeps you there until the very last page. The ending blew me away and I was stunned. What a story this was. The twists were surprising and had me glued to the pages. Thanks t netgalley and Kensington Publishers for the chance to review this taunt thriller. Charlie is now a go to author for me.

Charlie Donlea has a gift for writing thrillers that don’t just twist — they turn inside out. Guess Again is razor-sharp, emotionally precise, and unsettling in the best way. It’s not just about who did it — it’s about how easily the truth hides in plain sight when no one’s really looking.

This isn’t your typical popcorn thriller. Sure, it’s got the short chapters, the bingeable pace, the late-night “just one more” pull. But underneath all that is something more sophisticated — a layered exploration of justice, memory, and the slippery nature of truth. Every time I thought I had a handle on where things were going, Donlea pulled the rug out — but never unfairly. Every twist lands for a reason.

I haven't read this intricately woven of a thriller in a long time, I was impressed! I read and enjoyed TWENTY YEARS LATER by Donlea, so I was looking forward to reading another of his books. It took me until about the halfway point to really feel invested in this story, but once all the storylines started merging together, I realized what a smartly written novel it was.

Overall, I think anyone looking for a mystery that has you puzzling to put it together will really enjoy this one. I'm looking forward to reading more of his books!

This book had it all. Mystery, thrill, and intrigue were packed into each page. Told across multiple timeliness, this story will keep you captive from page 1. The ending left me shook.

A must read of the summer!

I mean, it's Charlie Donlea so of course it's a banger!

This is book #9 of his I've read so far and while isn't my new favorite it's still jaw dropping and so good!
(If you're curious about my fave it's 20 Years Later and Summit Lake respectively).

I don't even know what to say without potentially spoiling anything but if you are into cold case mysteries and wild ride thrillers with some heartfelt moments thrown in this book guys!!!

Charlie never fails to surprise me with his endings and this one definitely left it open for a sequel that I'm so excited to get my hands on!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy ! All thoughts are my own.

ARC Review. Thank you so much NetGalley & thank you Charlie Donlea! What an honor

Thrilling, gripping & anxiety inducing. This book had short chapters {which I love} and I read it in a day. It’s so damn good.

The writing is phenomenal and I LOVE the main character development.

A must read for anyone who loves plot twists in multiples, heart pumping cliff hangers, and a genuine classic thrill. I needed processing time after the twists. I never would have guessed all of them. Cudos to that.

This was fantastic! Bravo.

Goodreads-https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7663349294

You got me, Mr Donlea! Never saw that ending coming!

Okay, this book has lots of moving pieces, more than one storyline, and several twists. Told with dual timelines, past vs. present, it's a bit tricky cause you have to pay attention to the dates.

On top of it all, there are a lot of characters, and it isn't always obvious who is pertinent and how they tie into the overall story. More than once, I found myself thinking, "Who is this person again? Oh yeah, now I remember!"

All this to say, pay attention, and the author shall reward you for your due diligence!

Great pacing, keeps your guessing again and again, and could there be another book???? Fingers crossed 🤞

I recommend this one!

Donlea has become an autobuy author for me. I've never been disappointed by a book of his and Guess Again has become my new favorite of his. If you like fast paced thrillers with less than perfect heroes this book is for you. If you are a fan of cold cases this book is for you.

It's been ten years since Callie disappeared and her body has never been found and no clue on who took her. Ethan, a ex detective turned doctor has been tasked by his old partner to take a look at the case. Can Ethan solve the case that no one has been able to for 10 years? Eventually Ethan learns there is someone out there that still believes there are secrets worth killing for.

I give this 5 stars! I loved it! Release date 7/29/25!

First of all thank you for allowing me to read an advanced copy! What a book!! I didn’t see the multiple plot twists coming at all. This book kept me engaged and anxious, wondering what would happen next.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨- 4.25 stars.
Charlie Donlea does it again! 🔥 Guess Again is another solid thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. He has such a talent for building suspense and weaving in just enough twists to keep you turning the pages.
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Ethan is a former detective who left the force to become an ER doctor, in hopes of escaping the darkness of his past cases. But when his old partner pulls him back to help solve a cold case, Ethan uncovers far more than he expected… including secrets tied to his own father’s mysterious murder.
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Thank you to @kensingtonbooks and @netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Guess Again by Charlie Donlea hits shelves on July 29, 2025!
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Charlie Donlea has become one of my favorite authors. I find his thrillers to be page turners, regardless of the storyline, so I was excited to get an early copy of his latest, “Guess Again.”

Set in Wisconsin, Ethan Hall’s a former detective. He retired to get away from the horrors he encountered regularly in his work and went to medical school. Now an ER doctor, Ethan enjoys the life he’s built. Unfortunately, his former partner, Pete Kramer, asks him to come out of retirement and investigate a 10 year old cold case. Pete has been diagnosed with ALS and he wants the case to be solved before he dies. He feels Ethan is the best person for the investigation because Ethan retired with a 100% solve rate.

Ethan ultimately agrees to look into the cold case involving the disappearance of Callie Jones. She was a 17 year old high school star volleyball player who disappeared one July night. As Ethan begins to look into Callie’s disappearance, he gets pulled into another case. There’s a female who disappeared a month prior and it’s somehow related to Callie’s case, but Ethan’s trying to figure out why.

There were several narrators in this book. The reader heard from Ethan, an unnamed female, and the man who killed Ethan’s father over 30 years ago. This was a solid book from the author, but it wasn’t my favorite of his. I was not a fan of the ending, but to say more would reveal spoilers. I may also be in the minority with how I felt about the ending.

Overall, I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC.

I really really liked this book, Charlie has a great writing style and gets to the point well.

However, there are so many characters and storylines that it just became so busy and I struggled at points to figure out who I was reading about and what timeline.

Overall 3.5 rating.

Ok Charlie Donlea. Why are you doing this to me? I started Guess Again and couldn't stop until I finished it! I had things to do today...but obviously reading took their place. Guess Again is Donlea's latest work, and may just be the best one yet. Each new novel is just improving on the thriller formula that Donlea has mastered. I really enjoyed the intricate plotting that shows throughout this mystery about the 10 year anniversary of a teenage girl's disappearance and how an imprisoned killer is possibly connected. I highly recommend this one.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for graciously providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a solid 3.5 stars for me; I didn't want to put the book down, I felt compelled to keep reading and find out what happened. However, I thought there were a lot of characters and different storylines going on; sometimes the book jumped around and it was hard to keep everything straight. I also felt like this was pretty depressing. I like suspense/thriller books when there's the thrill of the chase: you don't know how, but you know the good guy is going to catch the bad guy. In Guess Again I felt like the bad guy kept winning. I agree with other reviews that suggest that there will be a sequel, it seems like it's perfectly setup for one at the end of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.