Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of Guess Again by Charlie Donlea due to be published July 29, 2025.

Ten years ago, 17-year-old high school volleyball star Callie Jones vanished from her quiet Wisconsin lake community, and her body was never found. On the tenth anniversary of Callie’s disappearance, Pete Kramer asks his former partner turned ER doctor to help solve her case. Will he be able to solve it after all this time?

Oh, my, this was a great thriller – fast paced with back-and-forth timelines to keep you guessing who was partners with whom – good guys or bad guys! And the twists – enough to keep my interest the entire time. It was a fantastic read!
#NetGalley #CharlieDonlea #KensingtonPublishing #GuessAgain

WOW now this was a thriller! I loved the heart racing moments and honestly it kept twisting in the best ways. So many different ways this book could have gone and it didn't go the way I guessed, which is also my favorite! This was such a great book to get me out of my thriller slump. I can't wait to read the rest of Charlie Donlea's catalog. I'll always remember the genuine, true thrill I felt while reading Guess Again.

Guess Again💠
By Charlie Donlea‼️

Review📝

The book gods blessed me with an advance copy of this, which I devoured as quickly as I could. I'm not exaggerating when I say that this book is perfect. My favorite thriller of the year, by far. I couldn't put the book down since it was so engrossing and fast-paced! I loved how the two timelines shifted back and forth. The story, characters, and overall plot were fantastic. Don't even get me started on the twists—they were amazing. I cannot recommend this book enough.

Mystery⁉️
Thriller🔪
Plot twists🌀
Murder🩸
Dual timelines⏰

5 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The whiplash from page one to page two set the tone of this book- I knew I was in for an absolute ride.

I love Donlea’s writing style and I love that I’m guaranteed a twisty story with super likeable characters.

I just know that this story isn’t over, so I can’t wait to see what happens with Ethan, Maddie, and Francis next!

This is the second novel by Charles Donlea that I’ve read and, just like the other one, it did not disappoint.

Ethan Hall is a retired detective turned doctor. As a favor to the governor and his old partner he agrees to help with the 10 year unsolved disappearance of the governor’s daughter Callie Jones. The stakes are raised when this case and trauma from his past collide.

With plenty of twists and turns, Guess Again stayed true to its name by keeping me guessing until the end. Just when I thought things were wrapping up, he throws one last curveball.

This fast-paced thriller is a must read for anyone who enjoys the genre. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea is an INCREDIBLE fast paced thriller I absolutely inhaled!

I have read and loved all of this author's novels, but this one is next level!

The story alternates timelines between 2015 to present time.

Ethan Hall is an ER physician; well, he is now. He retired from being a special agent with Wisconsin's' Division of Criminal Investigation after working there for ten years with get this a 100 PERCENT solve rate!

When his former partner who very ill comes to him with a request to help solve a 10-year-old case of a 17 year old gone missing Ethan reluctantly agrees.

I love the different point of views and different timelines that give such a complete, or maybe misleading picture of the story.

Talk about twists, not one but many mind-blowing twists!

This thriller was so engaging and addictive.

Ethan is a complex, well developed, but flawed character who I really LOVED reading.

The author has done it again! And THAT ENDING!!!!

WOW! Highly recommend!

Charlie Donlea has done it again and I swear, each new book only solidifies why he’s one of my all time favorite thriller authors. Guess Again is officially in my top 10 reads of the year, no contest. This one had everything I love in a psychological suspense: a cold case that refuses to stay buried, a small town buzzing with buried secrets, and a plot twist so jaw-dropping it deserves a standing ovation (and maybe its own round of applause,chef’s kiss).

Every clue felt like a breadcrumb leading me deeper into a forest of doubt, and just when I thought I had it figured out? Nope. Donlea pulled the rug out from under me in the best possible way.

Twisty, smart, emotionally layered, and just plain addictive. Guess Again proves yet again that no one crafts a cold case quite like Donlea.

Charlie, please never stop writing. I’ll be over here guessing again…and again…and again.

Guess Again will have you guessing again and again as you try to keep straight who and how all of the characters are involved not only in the current investigation of a missing woman but also in the disappearance of a teenager 10 years earlier. You have among the many characters, all of whom are very important to the story, a burned out detective turned ER doctor, his girlfriend a current detective and also the only survivor of the WI massacres 30 years earlier, a convicted killer who has been in prison for 30 years for the WI massacres, A world renowned psychiatrist who was the missing teens best friend, a onetime high school volleyball coach, a kidnapped woman who was the coach’s last girlfriend, and the current Gov. of WI. Together these characters interact in ways you could never imagine giving a chilling and suspenseful tale of pure evil.

This book reeled me in from the start and I didn’t want to put it down. Fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat. My favorite so far by this author! Great mystery thriller!!

I LOVED this book so much! The different parts fitting together so perfectly! I knew part of the ending but that final twist!?! I am in love!

This is somehow only my SECOND Donlea book and I’ve already gone ahead and ordered a handful more. I don’t know how he flew by my radar for so long. THIS is police procedural/suspense done right. I haven’t been this excited about a potential new series since Will Trent. I love how Donlea interconnects seemingly wildly different storylines while unweaving the tangled web of the case. I have lived in this specific area of Wisconsin, so that was an extra fun layer added to the story. Our main cast of characters, especially Hall and Maddie, were complex and captivating. You can’t help but root for them. They’re tenacious and tender.

Ten years ago, 17 year old Callie Jones went missing from her small Wisconsin town. Present day, as a favor to his former partner, retired detective Ethan Hall, who once boasted a 100% clearance rate on his cases, has agreed to take a look at the case. When an unlikely source provides a vital clue, the once cold case turns hot. Guess Again is a masterpiece in suspense from author Charlie Donlea, who pushes all the right buttons in this frantic, taut thriller that was absolutely impossible to stop reading once you start. Weaving together several different plot lines, the reader knows that they all will figure into the main story, and that suspense to discover the missing links propels the book and totally ensnares the reader, all told at a breathless, manic pace. The less revealed here the better, but this is a can’t miss winner in all respects. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie Donlea is in a class all his own. Nobody else has perfected the art of weaving together multiple story lines quite like he does it. This is probably my favorite Charlie Donlea read to date. The writing is unpretentious, yet the plot and twists are incredibly complex. Although I did guess one of the major twists very early on in the book, there were still lots of elements that took me by surprise. Fingers crossed for this one to become the first of a series.

This is an easy to read but complicated story about a cold case from ten years prior and how it might relate to a killer who is in prison and a current missing girl. I think my students will like the main two characters and their pursuit of the truth no matter what it costs them

Overall a very good read. Lots of characters that don't seem connected to the main storyline yet........ will they all tie together.. the main character Ethan, former DCI turned ER doctor to get away from what he had to deal with , despite his 100% solve ratio, takes on a cold case from 10 years ago. He and his girlfriend, both survivors of a killer, one who killed his father, who attempted to kill Maggie and was suspected of killing many other women. He is now "forced" to deal with him and grant him a massive favor in exchange for time sensitive info. Lots going on and he all ties together. Somehow, the author didn't have as strong a connection to the main character is my guess as I didn't feel as involved as I usually do 4.5

Guess Again is everything I want in a psychological thriller—gritty, emotional, and steeped in the haunting atmosphere of a small town with big secrets. The story kicks off with a chilling premise: Callie Jones, a 17-year-old volleyball star, vanished a decade ago without a trace. The case went cold, but its shadow never left Cherryview—or Ethan Hall.

Ethan, a former detective turned ER doctor, is a compelling protagonist. His reluctance to return to the world he left behind adds a rich emotional tension to the narrative. The layers of trauma he carries, especially from his time in the kid crime division, feel authentic and heartbreaking. When Pete Kramer, his old partner, asks him to solve the case before his own time runs out, it sets the stage for a truly gripping journey.

The pacing is near perfect—taut, but with enough room to breathe and really feel the weight of each revelation. The sweltering heatwave that settles over Cherryview acts like a second character in the book, raising the stakes and amplifying the tension in every scene.

The twists are sharp, the emotional beats land, and the conclusion is both satisfying and haunting. Guess Again is one of those books that lingers after the last page, and I already want to reread it just to catch everything I missed the first time.

Highly recommended for fans of Sharp Objects, The Dry, or The Silent Patient. You won’t want to put it down.

Think you don’t need another thriller author on your must-read list?
Guess Again. If you haven’t cracked open a Charlie Donlea novel yet, now’s the time. Seriously.

Think I stumbled onto Donlea by chance?
Guess Again. I have been hooked since his debut—back when the Traveling Sisters were just kicking off—and he’s been on our auto-read list ever since.

Think we occasionally recommend his books?
Guess Again. We’ve basically made it a full-time hobby. At this point, our reputations might actually depend on it.

Think we wait patiently for his new releases?
Guess Again. Now the Witches Words group, a new Donlea book means everything else gets shoved aside. TBR? Reshuffled. Snacks? Secured. Eyes? Glued to the page.

Think I am done gushing?
Oh Friends—Guess. Again.

Hot diggity dang, Guess Again is GOOD. Twisty, clever, just the right amount of darkness, and packed with that signature Donlea punch that makes you flip pages like your fingers are on fire.

Oh, you think you can keep track of all the characters without needing a flowchart?
Guess Again. This one moves fast, and Donlea loves keeping you on your toes—throwing so many characters and twists your way, you'll be dizzy just trying to keep up. Don't even think about taking a break; you'll miss something vital.

Think you know where it’s going because it feels straight forward and predicable
Cute but Guess Again

Think you can predict a Donlea ending?
LOL—Guess. Again.

So, if you think you can figure out that jaw-dropping final reveal good luck with that because Donlea just might flip your predictions on their head—and probably laughed while doing it.

A Witches Word group read with Norma, Debra, Carolyn and Mary Beth.

4.75 stars for this thriller! This one kept me at the edge of my seat and I finished it in one day - it's that good. All the books I've read by Charlie Donlea have been great - intriguing, smart and well written with very short chapters that add to this fast-paced book. And if the first chapter doesn't draw you in . . . nothing will.

A man has in prison for the murder of a police officer for 30+ years. A girl disappears 10 years ago and was never seen again. Today a woman goes missing and has been missing for a month. How are all of these related?

Don't read too much about this book as I think it's better to go in not knowing much - that way the story builds and there are some crazy twists and turns and "oh my gosh" moments that you don't know about if you don't read the synopsis.

Another fantastic book for sure. Thank you to NetGalley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and also thank you for keeping me up late at night finishing this book.

First off, thank you so much @netgalley for this ARC. I have loved all of Charlie’s books. However, I think this maybe my least favorite, that being said it was a really fast read.

Brief synopsis: Ethan a retired DCI who becomes an ER doc instead of a cop because he feels a need to save people instead of investigating deaths, gets sucked back into the cop world when a 10 year old missing person case is opened by the governor. Ethan is thrust into an investigation that includes his father’s murderer. From this point, the book takes off and there is a lot of action. I wouldn’t say the twist is very easy to pick up and it was about the last 50 pages when you find out exactly what was going on.

Honestly, one of the reasons this was not my favorite is because I don’t think Charlie built up Ethan like he did his other main characters. Maybe it’s written to not fall in love with him but when you have characters like Rory and Dr.cutty in other books, I feel like you expect to love the main characters.

Also, Pittsburgh was misspelled. It has an H

Charlie writes a book, I will read it! I love the short chapters, the multiple points of view, the constant surprises, EVERYTHING. I thought all the twists happened and then BAM - one more. I might have to re-read this again to see if I can pick up on anything. Absolutely loved!!!