Those Empty Eyes

De: Charlie Donlea

Narrado por: Vivienne Leheny

Fans of Harlan Coben and Linwood Barclay have a new must-listen in this deviously clever, skillfully plotted suspense novel from the #1 internationally bestselling author of The Girl Who was Taken, The Suicide House, and 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 . . .

©2023 Charlie Donlea (P)2023 Recorded Books

Ehhhh - I think the narrator made it not so great

It’s hard to get past the narrator’s Siri like voice. It’s monotone and a bit robotic in the way she starts and stops or puts emphasis on words.

There was also quite a few instances in which the narrator’s accent was extremely off from what one would think it should be. British was American, Swedish was Eastern European etc. The story was hard to follow based on that alone. I’ll update the review once I’ve managed to make it all the way through.

This is definitely one of those books in which I’d highly recommend listening to a sample before buying.

This was excellent! A must-read!

I read a couple hundred mystery suspense thriller books per year, and have only given a few five star ratings. This was captivating from beginning to end, and very well written. Enjoy!

Satisfying!

I enjoyed this book, thought it was interesting, and definitely kept my interest. Ended up hitting the timer button several times last night, to find out what happened next. Felt that the author did a very good job of going from past to present and back, as well as from different characters and scenarios. I had no difficulty following. Will look for other books by this author, as well as the narrator, who is great!

First Review Ever

Couldn’t stop listening. So easy to follow. Kept my interest from the beginning. Best book I’ve listened to in a long time. Will definitely search out books by Charlie Donlea soon.

4.25 Stars 🌟

4.25 Stars

This was a brand new author to me that I found because I think it was the "Audible Book of the Day". It actually even started playing on its own directly after a book I was listening to finished....odd, I know.

Regardless, because of all of that, I had absolutely NO idea what the story was about or even what to expect. Though, to be honest, it ended up exceeding my expectations.

What I liked about the story was that it kept going back and forth as the story unfolded. It starts with informing the reader about the murder of a family, and how there was one person who managed to escape the carnage. The reader gets to see the murder as it unfolds....

Then, the actual story begins with the trial and we learn that it was a teenage girl who was the one who managed to survive the slaughter of her parents and brother. But, not without consequences. She was then charged with the murder of her family. So yes, things start off with a bang.

After that, I wasn't really sure what to expect. We get to follow her (the female MC) through the following years and there are things that happen that are interesting, but I kept thinking, "how does this relate?"

Then, everything starts to tie together and that is when things get interesting. I loved following along and getting to realize what tied with what, who tied with who and how things all seemed to be tied together. I will admit that I was a bit disappointed at the ending because it felt like everything was not tied off with a bow. It makes me want to go and find out if there is another book following this one because obviously the story is not finished.

BUT....since this entire book was a basic surprise to me, at this point I'm clueless with anything else and only have this story to deal with. So, it is what it is.

I enjoyed every moment of it and it held my interest from beginning to end. I didn't figure out WHO the bad guys were and for me, that is a really big deal. So, maybe I will just go and peek around and find out if there is more to this story......

Complex

The midpoint I truly wondered how all the disparate pieces were going to come together, but of course they did, wonderfully

I wish I could give it 100 Stars!

I'm writing this review literally within a minute of finishing it. I'm still sitting here with my mouth agape. I just.....I umm. WOW. I can't say enough about how amazing this story is from beginning to end. It was like 3 books in one to be honest! HIGHLY recommend to anyone who loves a great mystery!

Fabulous!

This is my first book by Donlea and I loved it. I was hooked from the beginning and loved the characters and story.

GOOD BOOKS

It’s unfair that I rarely gives reviews to good books. I should be good about and make it a habit.

This was a great book! Please read it, you’ll enjoy it

WOW…..

That was good! None of my predictions were remotely close, well done! I’ll be reading more from this author!