4.5 / 5 stars

A serial killer who has served 32 years for killing a police officer seems to be active again while in a maximum security prison.

Ethan Hall, now an ER doctor, gets dragged back into homicide investigations when the serial killer's new victims begin to appear..

A very complex series of twists and turns kept this moving quickly.

• Short chapters, dual timelines, and multiple
points of view
• Book picks up after rather slow first third
• Rather unrealistic plot with several unforgettable
characters thrown in
• Disappointing ending -perhaps in preparation
for a sequel?
• Not his most brilliant book, but definitely
entertaining and readable
• Just a bit soapy compared to the author's
previous reads

leave it to the last book I read in may to be the most captivating, thrilling read!! charlie donalea writes so fast-paced it makes my head spin, and those twists? remarkable 👏🏼

when I first started this story, I truly thought this was a sequel & I missed the first one because it jumped right into the characters and recapping information from their pasts 🤔 I wanted more backstory from them in a showing manner rather than just telling what happened to them…

however, the format of the plot itself was brilliant! a retired detective is pulled back into the throng of a missing person cold case to dig up any details & new information… and boy, was it full of surprises! it kept me on my toes the entire time!

even when it seemed all of the pieces were scattered and different (how does a former 🥣 killer who unalived the detective’s dad link up with the governor’s missing daughter from ten years ago?!), they all fit together! not as neat as a jigsaw puzzle, but a messy collage (which I loved) 😳

and that ending? those last chapters? FLOORED

this story is super dark and depressing, especially for those suffering from child and parent losses, so take that into consideration when picking this one up! but it’s definitely a shocker and winner from me!

#gifted by kensington press

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: napa valley merlot

This book brought me out of my funk so thank you @netgalley for letting me read this ARC. Charlie Donlea's books are always so well written and just sucks you into the story and this one is no different. This whole book is full of twists and turns that just left me shook. The book is written in different POV of the characters and it gives you a good view and background of all of them. I read this in one sitting because this book really does suck you in. Make sure you mark August 5th on your calendar because you're going to want to read this.

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea kept me up in to the late midnight hours reading. I’ve read all of the previous books by this author and loved every one of them and was excited to read this one. It did not disappoint. An emergency room doctor is called backed to his former life as an investigator to help solve an old crime. This book is full of twists and turns as the old crimes are investigated. I highly recommend reading this new thriller by Charlie Donlea.

GUESS AGAIN is a diabolical and haunting tale that features a perfect blend of characters, setting, and story. You can’t help but appreciate the unique and lovely Wisconsin setting.

The story is gripping and gut-wrenching, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Author Charlie Donlea weaves a clever narrative full of action and suspense. It is carefully plotted, and you can watch the ground shift as the story unfolds.

Ethan’s character propels the narrative and makes you feel like you're part of the team every step of the way. Each character is engaging and wonderfully well-developed. One of my favorite female characters is the determined Maddie Jacobson, a detective with the Milwaukee Police Department and Ethan's significant other. She was the victim of a horrific attack many years ago and lived to tell the tale. Her attacker is serving time in prison but is somehow connected to the current cold case. It’s a tantalizing tangled web!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance reading copy of this book. All opinions expressed here are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Charlie Donlea definitely knows how to weave a mystery that you can’t put down! I enjoyed how he is always able to leave you guessing and throws turns & twists in often. 3.5⭐️ rounded up!

Charlie Donlea is one of my favorite authors so I was excited to see he has a new coming book out. This was my 7th book out of his 9 books he’s written and I always enjoy his thrillers. Guess Again was action packed from the beginning and being told in multiple time lines, I found myself confused with the many different characters. I was hoping it would get better, but I just kept getting more confused. Do I want to start over? No. I’m definitely in the minority with my 3 star rating as others have devoured it and loved it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

I have read every single one of Charlie Donlea's books and he does not miss! He finds a way to create these extremely engaging stories that make you want to read another chapter and another chapter and another chapter. (Shoutout to the most perfect chapter length too!) Guess Again is your typical Charlie Donlea book in the best way. I struggled with trying to piece together how the different POVs could possibly come together in the end, but it synced together seamlessly. The end had me literally gasping at the twist. I can't wait to (hopefully) see more of this main character!

The only reason I rated this four stars instead of five was because I absolutely devoured Long Time Gone and was by far my favorite book of Charlie Donlea. Guess Again was incredible, but for me personally, Long Time Gone was better!

I like almost all Charlie Donlea books as they are well crafted and written and keeps you guessing and this was no different.

Here we have our main character detective turned doctor Ethan Hall, years after working at kids crime division he was down with that life but when his ex work partner comes to him for help he can’t say no, especially when his ex partner is dying.

So our detective start investigating a cold case of a young girl Callie Jones’s disappearance whose body was never found. Ethan comes across many twist and turns and he realizes it’s not gonna be as straightforward. Absolutely loved the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for providing me with an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own honest opinion!

Clear your calendar - you're going to read this all in one go! Twist and turns and unexpected connections - this book comes together, then flips what you thought you knew and reassembles it again. It's a fun read and addictive, leaving you waiting for what comes next! Can't say enough good things about this - if you haven't, pick it up. Right now. Go!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ – Another gripping winner from Donlea
Guess Again delivers exactly what I’ve come to expect from Charlie Donlea—sharp plotting, layered characters, and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the final page. This book pulls you in fast and doesn’t let go, weaving past and present timelines in a way that’s both seamless and suspenseful. Just when I thought I had it figured out—guess again.

As always, Donlea proves himself a master of the genre. If you’ve loved his previous books, this one will absolutely satisfy.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC copy—I was thrilled to get an early look at another fantastic read!

4

setting: Wisconsin
Rep: n/a

Short chapters and several perspectives make this a propulsive read that kept me guessing; I didn't predict the twists, which is always nice with a thriller, but the writing itself left something to be desired. it's very typical middle aged dude writing a mystery kind of writing - choppy, more tell than show, pretty basic and surface level. but I didn't expect more from this kind of book. I'd be open to checking out more of the author's work.

Donlea's best since The Girl Who Was Taken! I could not believe all of the twists and turns this one took. It gave me Silence of the Lambs vibes with the ending and the cliffhanger. I didn't see half of this coming and kept wondering what was going to happen next and now I am dying for the sequel !

My fourth book by Charlie Donlea and it's another win! I just love his writing style and the stories he creates. Full of unexpected twists and fast paced, exactly what I love in a thriller.

Ethan was a crime investigator in Wisconsin but that career had gotten to him, and now, 10 years later, he's a Dr. in the ER. He is surprised when his old partner shows up asking for his help investigating a cold case. Callie went missing 10 years ago, at 17 years old. Her body was never found. Her father is the mayor now and wants the case to be re-opened, and wants Ethan's help, as seeing he was one of the best. Ethan reluctantly accepts.

There is a lot going on in this one. There are a lot of characters and moving parts. Told through the past and present, the chapters are very short and the plot was gripping. I thought it was clever to read how Ethan's own life had connections to this case. A great mystery that I flew through!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

Another 5 star thriller from Charlie Donlea that kept me fully immersed in the story from page one. A missing child cold case resurfaces when new evidence shows up. Ethan Hall, a former detective turned ER doc has a track record for solving cold cases like no one else. His former partner, Pete Kramer, pleads with him to take on the case to which he agrees.

This kept me on the edge of my seat and I read it all in one day that is how good it is. Charlie Donlea can do no wrong in my book. If you like psychological thrillers this is one not to miss!

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing | Kensington for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another 5 star read by the amazing Charlie Donlea! A ‘go-to’ author for me and I’m always blown away. The setting and characters were fantastic and hooked me from start to finish. So many red herrings yet I was grasping for more! Excellent storytelling.
Thank you NetGalley, Charlie Donlea and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this gem of a book.

You can always rely on Charlie Donlea to deliver a gripping story with a thought-provoking premise, and Guess Again is no exception in this regard.

But in a story dealing with a violent serial killer jailed for life, the son of the policeman whom he killed, the one woman who survived his attack, and a diabolical plot woven around a cold case surrounding the missing daughter of a newly elected governor, the twists come so thick and fast that the reader is left almost breathless. There are also some descriptions of violence that may not be for the squeamish.

But the story is gripping, complex, and fast paced. My only objection is that It Ends on a cliffhanger of sorts. But this just makes me keen to read the next one!

I thought this was a completely average thriller. Nothing super exciting, but nothing to really take away from it. The characters were solid as well. Three stars.

After his fathers murder, Ethan has left his job as a detective and started his career as an ER doctor, but when the Governor makes him an offer he cannot refuse to solve a cold case he accepts. When the cold case and his fathers murderer, now in prison, have a connection, it brings back memories and new information he never thought he’d learn.

Fast pace and a page turner, Donlea is a genius when it comes to twisting a story. He also left room for a follow up novel. I’d love to see him do more character building in the sequel. Defiantly will read the next one.
4.5⭐️. Thanks to Kensington publishing and NetGalley for this ARC