Twenty Years Later
Ratings22
Average rating4
15
Ratings22
Average rating4
In this gripping new thriller from #1 international bestselling author Charlie Donlea, a TV news host sets out to uncover the truth behind a brutal, decades-old murder . . .
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 Ford 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 belies a much darker mystery. 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 . . .
Reviews with the most likes.
Another thriller book club pick, I went with the audio by Vivienne Lehany. It was done pretty well overall.
The elephant on the page for me, was that this is the first experience I have ever had with 9/11 being a plot point in a fictional story. I didn't think it was misused or advantageous or anything like that, it just feels weird seeing something I lived through used as history. In some respects, it's even a brave undertaking as it's something that's bound to draw scrutiny.
A famous novelist is found dead. The woman likely to be indicted for the killing, goes missing the day of 9/11, last seen inside one of the towers. Right before the 20th anniversary, with new technology, a piece of DNA is identified and is a match for the missing woman, Victoria. This leads the novel down a winding path of twists and turns surrounding the supposed guilt.
Enjoyable and engaging, but does feel like there is a bit too much thrown in. I love thrillers, but I don't feel there needs to be an entire melting pot of ideas. If done well, not everything needs to be a twist.
Personally a 4/5*.
Rating: 4.25 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Story: 4.5/5
Writing: 4.5/5
Genre: Crime/Mystery/Detective
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes
Want to first thank Netgalley and publishers for giving me the chance to listen to this book. I will be honest, I am not a big fan of detective books and the beginning was a bit rocky for me. The descriptions sometimes tended to go on way too long. I did listen to this and towards the end I was ready to give this a negative review but the TWISTS this book makes is... wow. There is something that other writers can take notes on when writing.
Honestly, Charlie could have made this a series and I would have followed it.
I have so much to say about this book, but I'll keep it short(ish) and spoiler-free. The best compliment I can give is that I wish one of my friends would read this book so we could discuss it. This leaves so much to dissect. I'll probably read this book again just to see how it was leading to the ending.
There are two main storylines: Victoria Ford and Avery's past. Each one is an interesting story and could probably be fleshed out into a full book, but putting them together makes each one better. My only complaint is that these two storylines meeting feels too coincidental. There's no real reason for them to both happen together and that bothered me a bit.
About 80% through the book I thought I had the ending figured out and wasn't too happy with that ending. Then both stories took an unexpected twist and I love the resolution in both cases.
