Review – Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea
Published by Kensington Books on December 28, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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TWENTY YEARS LATER, to understand the present, you need to listen to the past…

In the gripping, fast-paced new thriller from USA Today, IndieBound, and #1 internationally bestselling author Charlie Donlea, a TV news host sets out to uncover the truth behind a gruesome tale of sex, betrayal, and murder twenty years after the investigation was abandoned in the wake of 9/11.

Fans of Lisa Unger and Allen Eskens won’t want to miss this thrilling new suspense novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girl Who Was Taken! Hiding her own dark past in plain sight, a TV reporter is determined to uncover the truth behind a gruesome murder decades after the investigation was abandoned. But TWENTY YEARS LATER, to understand the present, you need to listen to the past…

Avery Mason, host of American Events, knows the subjects that grab a TV audience’s attention. Her latest story—a murder mystery laced with kinky sex, tragedy, and betrayal—is guaranteed to be ratings gold. New DNA technology has allowed the New York medical examiner’s office to make its first successful identification of a 9/11 victim in years. The twist: the victim, Victoria Ford, had been accused of the gruesome murder of her married lover. In a chilling last phone call to her sister, Victoria begged her to prove her innocence.

Emma Kind has waited twenty years to put her sister to rest, but closure won’t be complete until she can clear Victoria’s name. Alone she’s had no luck, but she’s convinced that Avery’s connections and fame will help. Avery, hoping to negotiate a more lucrative network contract, goes into investigative overdrive. Victoria had been having an affair with a successful novelist, found hanging from the balcony of his Catskills mansion. The rope, the bedroom, and the entire crime scene was covered in Victoria’s DNA.

But the twisted puzzle of Victoria’s private life is just the beginning. And what Avery doesn't realize is that there are other players in the game who are interested in Avery’s own secret past—one she has kept hidden from both the network executives and her television audience. A secret she thought was dead and buried . . .

Accused of a brutal murder, Victoria Ford made a final chilling call from the North Tower on the morning of 9/11.
Twenty years ago, no one listened.
Today, you will.
TWENTY YEARS LATER, to understand the present, you need to listen to the past...

This was great! This was the first book by Charlie Donlea that I have read but it will not be my last. I was hooked by this book during the first few pages and it just got better and better the more that I read. There were twists and turns on top of twists and turns that really kept my interest level high. I am so glad that I decided to give this book a try.

This book is made up of a lot of different threads and two main points of view. At first, I couldn’t see how any of the different threads could possibly tie together but in the end, everything did. One of the threads takes us into the World Trade Center on 9/11. In today’s world, a lab working to identify all of the remains from 9/11 finds a new match. This new match happens to be a woman who was about to be indicted for murder. Avery, a journalist, wants to look into the story and once she realizes it is tied to a crime, she is determined to get to the bottom of things. Of course, Avery has a few mysteries in her own life to deal with.

I loved the way that this story was able to keep me guessing. I was able to guess a few of the twists but there were quite a few that took me by surprise. I was really curious about what really happened in that murder case from before 9/11. I was also very curious how both Avery and Walt would navigate the issues in their own lives. Avery and Walt were great characters and I liked them more and more as I made my way through this book.

I think that a lot of readers would really enjoy this fast-paced book that keeps the reader guessing. There was a lot going on in this story and I thought that the author pulled everything together very well. I cannot wait to try more of this author’s work soon.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley.

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