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Charlie Donlea

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Charlie Donlea

Goodreads Author


Born
in Chicago, The United States
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September 2014

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Charlie Donlea is the USA TODAY, IndieBound, and #1 Internationally bestselling author of critically acclaimed, propulsive thrillers including THE GIRL WHO WAS TAKEN, DON'T BELIEVE IT, TWENTY YEARS LATER, and THOSE EMPTY EYES. His ninth thriller, GUESS AGAIN, is out now.

Published in 40 countries and translated into twenty-five languages, his books have sold nearly 3 million copies in the U.S. alone.

He spends a part of each year fishing with his father in the far reaches of Canada, where the roads end and lakes are accessible only by floatplane. These majestic trips to “God’s Country” inspired the settings for his novels Summit Lake and GUESS AGAIN, coming in August 2025.

He resides in Chicago with his wife and two children.

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Charlie Donlea I'm honored to have been interviewed by Writer's Digest Magazine on this exact topic. The interview will run in the February 2016 edition, and a more …moreI'm honored to have been interviewed by Writer's Digest Magazine on this exact topic. The interview will run in the February 2016 edition, and a more detailed answer is there. But my quick advice for aspiring writers is two things: One, ignore all the negative stuff out there about how hard it is to break in. Understand the challenge, for sure, but be confident that you can make it. Without belief in yourself and your writing, the mountain just gets taller. And two, decide never to give up. Some writers make it with their first manuscript on their first try. Others have to bang out multiple stories before they find success. Whichever path you find yourself on, decide never to stop writing. (less)
Charlie Donlea Hi Susan. Brilliance Audio has purchased the rights to SUMMIT LAKE, so you will be able to listen to it on CD or MP3 format. The audio version will be…moreHi Susan. Brilliance Audio has purchased the rights to SUMMIT LAKE, so you will be able to listen to it on CD or MP3 format. The audio version will be available the same day the hardcover comes out -- January 26th. (less)
Average rating: 4.15 · 758,574 ratings · 60,876 reviews · 28 distinct worksSimilar authors
Twenty Years Later

4.17 avg rating — 181,665 ratings — published 2021 — 46 editions
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The Girl Who Was Taken

4.16 avg rating — 177,940 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions
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Don't Believe It

4.10 avg rating — 98,251 ratings — published 2018 — 37 editions
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Those Empty Eyes

4.15 avg rating — 95,041 ratings — published 2023 — 29 editions
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Summit Lake

4.11 avg rating — 60,500 ratings — published 2016 — 5 editions
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Long Time Gone

4.17 avg rating — 39,824 ratings — published 2024 — 23 editions
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Some Choose Darkness (Rory ...

4.23 avg rating — 37,626 ratings — published 2019 — 39 editions
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Guess Again

4.18 avg rating — 33,973 ratings — published 2025
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The Suicide House (Rory Moo...

4.14 avg rating — 30,624 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions
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Twenty Years Later: Sneak Peek

4.30 avg rating — 597 ratings — published 2021
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More books by Charlie Donlea…

My New Thriller

Guess Again releases on July 29th. It has been described as The Silence of the Lambs meets Cruel Summer. I wrote it so that each chapter contains clues for the reader to discover so they can work side by side with the main character to figure out the final twist before they get to the last page.

If you read closely, maybe you'll guess the surprise ending correctly. Good luck...

Guess AgainCharlie D Read more of this blog post »
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Published on July 28, 2025 03:44
Some Choose Darkness The Suicide House
(2 books)
by
4.19 avg rating — 68,207 ratings

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Charlie Donlea wrote a new blog post

My New Thriller

Guess Again releases on July 29th. It has been described as The Silence of the Lambs meets Cruel Summer. I wrote it so that each chapter contains clue Read more of this blog post »
Charlie Donlea is accepting questions on their profile page.
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Quotes by Charlie Donlea  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“No suspects. No persons of interest. Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next.”
Charlie Donlea, Summit Lake

“A life might end, but sometimes their case lives forever.”
Charlie Donlea, The Girl Who Was Taken

“My parents wanted their daughter back, and I haven't had the courage to tell them she's long gone. Haven't found a way to break it to them that that girl doesn't exist anymore.”
Charlie Donlea, The Girl Who Was Taken

Polls

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I need your help deciding the next books we should read for Night Shift Reads group read and chat. Pick the book you would most like to read and the 3 books with the most votes will be the October, November, and December Night Shift Reads books. If you haven't joined in yet, think about trying it out.

 
  10 votes 37.0%

 
  5 votes 18.5%

 
  4 votes 14.8%

 
  3 votes 11.1%

 
  2 votes 7.4%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  1 vote 3.7%

 
  0 votes 0.0%

 
  0 votes 0.0%

27 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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NetGalley Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Books read in 2016 - Target 50,000 1059 431 Jan 12, 2017 01:11PM  
Around the Year i...: Bethie's 2017 Plan 1 21 Jan 28, 2017 02:50PM  
J.D. Robb : May Book of the Month Nominations - Closed 9 40 Apr 20, 2017 03:46PM  
“No suspects. No persons of interest. Just a girl who was alive one day and dead the next.”
Charlie Donlea, Summit Lake

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