CHARLIE DONLEA
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Charlie Donlea
Those Empty Eyes
A Novel
#1 International
Bestselling Author
A quiet suburban home
An unspeakable crime
A child accused...
"Excellent...Donlea tells a propulsive tale."
—The New York Times
Ten years after she was exonerated for the slaughter of her family, the girl the tabloids called “Empty Eyes” is the only one looking for the truth in this propulsive thriller from #1 internationally bestselling author Charlie Donlea.
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Twenty Years Later
Alex Armstrong has changed everything about herself—her name, her appearance, her backstory. She’s no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, Alexandra Quinlan, nicknamed Empty Eyes by the media, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation.
It’s been ten years since, and Alex hasn’t stopped searching for answers about the night her family was killed, even as she continues to hide her real identity from true crime fanatics and grasping reporters still desperate to locate her. As a legal investigator, she works tirelessly to secure justice for others, too. People like Matthew Claymore, who’s under suspicion in the disappearance of his girlfriend, a student journalist named Laura McAllister. Laura was about to break a major story about rape and cover-ups on her college campus.
Alex believes Matthew is innocent, and unearths stunning revelations about the university’s faculty, fraternity members, and powerful parents willing to do anything to protect their children. Most shocking of all—as Alex digs into Laura’s disappearance, she realizes there are unexpected connections to the murder of her own family. For as different as the crimes may seem, they each hinge on one sinister truth: no one is quite who they seem to be . . .
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INSPIRATION
In TWENTY YEARS LATER, FBI agent Walt Jenkins is lured out of retirement to go undercover and spy on a television journalist who the Feds believe is hiding secrets. Walt has spent the last three years as a recluse in Jamaica after a messy exit from the FBI. He's enjoying a drink at Rick's Cafe, watching the locals dive from towering trees, when his old Bureau boss shows up with an offer he can't refuse...
This is a video of my time at Rick's Cafe in Jamaica, which inspired part of the setting for TWENTY YEARS LATER.
This is my own daring attempt at cliff diving at Rick's Cafe in Jamaica...
INTERVIEW
Listen to Charlie Donlea’s interview with David McClean about writing Twenty Years Later
Interviews
A Mighty Blaze
Listen to Charlie's interview on Desideratum podcast
Australian Edition
The terror attack that shocked the world ... A decades-old murder about to be solved ... A gripping new thriller from the author of the bestselling The Girl Who Was Taken.
UK Edition
Two decades after an event that shook the world, a chilling cold case murder is about to make the headlines all over again.
An explosive and compulsively readable crime thriller that will keep you turning the pages late into the night. Perfect for fans of Mary Kubica, Riley Sager and Rick Mofina.
6 January 2022
