Charlie Donlea's Blog - Posts Tagged "suspense"

A New Book. A New Website.

A new thriller by Charlie Donlea.
A tropical island. A grisly murder.
And a documentary filmmaker looking for answers…

Dear Friends,

I’m excited to share the news with you about my third novel, Don’t Believe It , to be released on May 29, 2018. In the tradition of Serial and Making a Murderer, my latest thriller follows the journey of Sidney Ryan, a filmmaker who looks into a ten-year-old murder and creates a hit documentary around her findings. But as ratings soar and Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career . . . even her life.

Along with my new novel, I’m also eager to announce the launch of my new website and blog!

One of the best parts of writing Don’t Believe It, was deciding to place the setting on the beautiful island of St. Lucia, where I was lucky enough to visit while putting the final touches on the manuscript.

Now, my website allows me to share some of my experiences with readers. I will be including photos and stories about my adventure to Sugar Beach Resort, the site of the grisly crime in the novel, and offering some behind the scenes details about how this picturesque resort where Matt Damon flew his Hollywood friends to celebrate the renewal of his wedding vows ended up being the perfect location for murder. Read More

The Setting: Sugar Beach l St. Lucia Eastern Caribbean Jalousie Plantation
March 29, 2007 l A Murder




From the Author

Don’t Believe It might be my favorite novel out of the three I’ve written. I’m a True Crime junkie. I loved listening to the podcast Serial, got hooked on Making a Murderer, and I’m a sucker anytime 48 Hours or Dateline taunts me with a murder case that seems open-and-shut, but is really anything but. My gripe about some of the most popular True Crime documentaries is that the endings rarely satisfy. They tend to raise more questions than they answer. And that’s because the filmmakers are dealing with real life, they’re not making it up.

As I quote in Don’t Believe It

“In feature films, the director is God. In documentary films, God is the director.”

But rest assured, the ending of my fictional take on a True Crime documentary provides closure—and, I hope, some jaw-dropping surprises. I hope you love this one as much as I do!

Charlie Donlea

Check Out My New Website!

My New Book: DON'T BELIEVE IT Coming May 29, 2018 (US) April 30, 2018 (AU)

From acclaimed author, Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game. Read More


Advance Praise

"Riveting"
—Publishers Weekly

“[A] timely thriller that builds into a shocking conclusion. Don’t Believe It is sure to appeal to fans of true crime docu-dramas, along with readers of Mary Kubica or Shari Lapena.”
—Library Journal

“Fast-paced, gripping and addictive, this one will feed your true crime obsession and then some."
—POPSUGAR Book Club: 5 of May's Best New Reads

“Donlea’s framing of the story as documentary research proves an effective device, and his work reads like the best nonfiction: clear, crisp, and fast-moving.”
—Booklist

“A perfectly executed and entirely satisfying read, Don’t Believe It is a gripping thriller that will blow readers away, from the first page right up to the very last words. Charlie Donlea’s best book yet!”
​—Mary Kubica, New York Times bestselling author of The Good Girl and Every Last Lie

“Chilling and suspenseful. I was gripped from the first page.”
—Candice Fox, bestselling author of Crimson Lake ​

“It’s easy to get hooked on the book’s heady cocktail of highly rated television and high-stakes subterfuge...a highly topical thriller." 5 Stars
—Foreword Reviews

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Unlock the Truth with Charlie Donlea.

Follow the Clues from 5/15-5/22 to discover a thrilling surprise.

Keep your eyes peeled!

Look for the image on my BLOG online below; from 5/15-5/22 and collect the clues each day to reveal a secret phrase. With five clues total it’s up to you to put them together.

On 5/22 you will have the chance to use your secret-phrase and enter to win a thrilling sweepstakes, and get an exclusive first look at Charlie Donlea’s DON’T BELIEVE IT.

What to Watch

We’ll help you get started with our game! On 5/15 our very first clue will be revealed in our Mystery & Thriller eNewsletter. Sign up to receive the eNewsletter here→ http://bit.ly/2Jsuoye

The remaining four clues will be revealed daily on one of the below sites. Be sure to stay tuned and keep watching each day to find them!

Charlie Donlea’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Facebook Page
Kensington’s Twitter
Charlie Donlea’s Website
Kensington’s Instagram (Stories)


Don't Believe It Coming May 29, 2018

From acclaimed author, Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.

The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence.

As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence, additional suspects, and timeline issues that were all overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. But as the show surges towards its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she got it badly, terribly wrong.

Sidney has just convinced the world that Grace is innocent. Now she wonders if she has helped to free a ruthless killer. Delving into Grace’s past, she peels away layer after layer of deception. But as Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career … even her life.

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Charlie Donlea: A Rising Suspense Writer Who Delivers What Your Favorite Podcasts Can’t



REVIEW: LibraryJournal

Were you obsessed with Serial? How about Making A Murderer?

If so, you are not alone. Twenty-million people were hooked, including USA Today bestselling author—and rising suspense star—Charlie Donlea. The addictive true crime docu-dramas were the catalyst to crafting his third novel,Don't Believe It.

But unlike those series, Donlea made it his mission to finally provide the satisfaction millions missed from those docu-dramas—and he is just the writer to do it.

Charlie Donlea is a writer on a meteoric rise.




It takes years for writers to achieve the level of acclaim he is experiencing. Most suspense and thriller authors must publish for years until they gain enough traction to hit a bestseller list; Donlea landed on the IndieBound bestseller list with his debut novel, Summit Lake (2016) and hit the USA Today bestseller list with his second, The Girl Who Was Taken(2017).

Donlea’s first two books established him as an author who delivers high-concept suspense with timely premises, and his novels always deliver shocking plot-twists and explosive endings.

In addition, he creates strong female leads—not the typical detective or main protagonist usually found in a book about murder investigations.

His latest novel Don't Believe It is no exception. The female protagonist, Sidney Ryan, is a no-nonsense TV producer of the hit true crime docu-series “The Girl of Sugar Beach”—which has become the most-watched documentary in television history.

The show is a riveting, true-life mystery that asks the fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend while on vacation, or is she merely a victim of poor police work, circumstantial evidence, and ultimately, failed justice?

Unlike your favorite murder podcast, in Don’t Believe It, you will get an answer.

Donlea says, “My biggest complaint about these shows is the endings rarely satisfy, they tend to raise more questions than they answer. So I decided that a story about a documentarian who’s investigating and making one of those shows not only provided a great premise for a timely novel, but also gave me the ability to create as wild an ending as my imagination could conceive.”

Reading like a juicy behind-the-scenes exposé of the crime shows or podcasts millions of us binge upon, Don’t Believe It is sure to appeal to fans of true crime docu-dramas, along with readers of Mary Kubica or Shari Lapena.

It certainly does not hurt that the murder is set in an exotic location that much like the main character, you will want to return to again and again. Even Donlea found himself lured by the pull of the Caribbean Sea.

He said, “The setting is a tropical resort in St. Lucia called Sugar Beach Resort my wife and I discovered on Spring Break vacation with our kids. I thought it would make the perfect location for my novel. So much so that my wife and I returned to Sugar Beach the following year to celebrate our anniversary and do some much-needed research.”

Merging high-concept suspense with all the binge-worthy intrigue of true crime docu-dramas, Don’t Believe It is a timely thriller that builds into a shocking conclusion you will never see coming, plus it comes with a satisfying ending most of us only wish we could get from true crime TV and podcasts.

In the hands of other suspense writers, this might be a tall order, but with whip-smart writing and strong female leads, acclaimed author Charlie Donlea has proven he lives up to the hype… that you can believe.

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—Visit
Charlie Donlea's Blog

Interview with Author Charlie Donlea





1) Some authors like to make an argument or address an issue when they write. Is there an issue that you're addressing with your book? If so, what is it?

My novels are meant for pure escapism reading, so I don’t see them as tackling social issues in any grand form. However, a common theme between all three of my novels is society’s obsession with missing person cases and unsolved murders.

Pop-culture magazines frequently feature on their covers missing girls, some of whom have been found after being missing for years. The common questions include how they were taken, why they didn’t escape sooner, and how they are readjusting to freedom.

My first novel, Summit Lake, dealt with a father’s attempt to keep his murdered daughter out of the tabloids as a tenacious investigative reporter arrives in the small town where the murder took place to look for answers.

The Girl Who Was Taken tells the story of two abducted girls, one who returns and another who does not. The girl who makes it home goes on to write a bestselling memoir that thrusts her into the public’s eye and draws attention to parts of her story she wants to keep secret.

My latest novel, Don't Believe It, taps into the public’s obsession with true crime documentaries and tells the story of a filmmaker creating a weekly-serialized documentary that delves into the grisly details of a decade-old murder that took place in the Caribbean, and which explores the enigmatic woman who has been convicted of the crime.

A common thread among all three stories is the public’s unquenchable thirst for the morbid details of disturbing stories.







2) What gave you the idea for your book?

I’m a true crime junkie. The podcast Serial hooked me and Making a Murderer gave me an affliction. Since then, I’ve binge-watched just about every true crime documentary on Netflix. My biggest complaint about these films is that they tend to raise more questions than they answer. So I decided the story of a documentary filmmaker uncovering the secrets of ten-year-old murder not only provided a great premise for a timely novel but also gave me the ability to create as wild an ending as my imagination could conceive.

I hope readers feel that the finish of Don’t Believe It not only ties up loose ends in a way real documentaries seldom do but also provides a shocking ending that will have them ripping back through the pages to see how they missed it.



3) What are the most important things about you that you would want prospective readers to know?


I am a true believer that in order for a novel to be successful, it has to call a reader back to it after they put it down. If a book is easy to put down and hard to pick up, most readers (including myself) will give up on it. I’m hyper-aware of this fact when I write. I know there is fierce competition out there from other books, television, movies, and more. So, I try to make it hard for readers to put my books down. And I make damn sure to include in the pages enough reasons for readers to pick them up again after they do.



4) Are there other things you'd like readers to know about you or your book?


The setting of Don’t Believe It is a tropical resort in St. Lucia called Sugar Beach Resort. It’s a resort on the Jalousie Plantation that Matt Damon commandeered to renew his wedding vows. My wife and I discovered the resort while visiting the island on Spring Break with our kids. I thought it would make the perfect location for my novel. So much so that my wife and I returned to Sugar Beach the following year to celebrate our anniversary and do some much-needed research to boot.


My Matt Damon connection comes from a St. Lucian guide who worked for Sugar Beach. I hired him to take my wife and me on a tour of the island for my research. We asked if he drove Matt Damon or any celebrities around the island. No, he told us. But he did transport Damon’s photographer back to the airport after the vow renewal. Close enough.



5) What’s the craziest/funniest/most enjoyable thing you’ve ever done in the name of research?


My most enjoyable bit of research was visiting Sugar Beach Resort for Don’t Believe It. My craziest was visiting a morgue to view an autopsy for The Girl Who Was Taken. Let’s just say that noodled legs and a fuzzy head made the experience less than stellar.
​

Read More Chalie Donlea Blog

Dangerous Disappearing Acts, With Killers in Pursuit. New York Times Book Review CRIME. Roundups of crime novels by Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times Book Review.

A version of this article appears in print on June 10, 2018, on Page 9 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: No Safe Haven

You can’t blame Charlie Donlea if the ending of his novel makes your jaw drop.



The title alone — Don't Believe It (Kensington, $26) — is fair warning that his characters are no more to be trusted than are our initial impressions of them.

This much we do know:

In 2007, a vacationing medical student named Julian Crist was pushed to his death from the top of Gros Piton on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Julian’s girlfriend, Grace Sebold, has spent 10 years in prison for the murder when Sidney Ryan gets the green light to make a TV series about her called “The Girl of Sugar Beach.”

Now here comes the twist:

Sidney’s documentary will follow in real time her personal investigation of the murder and will end, she hopes, in Grace’s exoneration. But by the eighth installment of the show, which has been wildly successful, Sidney is beginning to suspect she’s been deceived, and that her great coup was actually a con job. On the one hand, her career could be mud; on the other hand, you can’t argue with those ratings.

Learn more about Charlie Donlea's DON'T BELIEVE IT. Available NOW in Hardcover, Paperback, and audio format. US and AU editions. Website

Other Books Included: John Connolly The Woman in the Woods, Charlton Pettus Exit Strategy, and Pamela Wechsler The Fens.

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Add Don't Believe It to Your Goodreads List.

—Charlie Donlea
June 10, 2018

Charlie Donlea on Writing the Fictional, Literary Answer to True Crime Docu-Dramas with BookTrib

Over the past few years, podcasts and television shows like Serial and Netflix’s Making A Murderer have taken over the country, if not the world. Thousands of people tune in every day to find out what happened next in these real-life cases where the question of did they or didn’t they pervades throughout the entire trial and beyond.



Now, in a thriller unlike any other out there, Charlie Donlea has provided us with the book we didn’t even know we could have.

Don't Believe It is basically the literary answer to those true crime dramas: Sidney Ryan is a filmmaker, whose ongoing docu-drama The Girl of Sugar Beach has taken over the country. Ten years previous in St. Lucia, Grace Sebold was arrested and convicted for the murder of her boyfriend Julian while on Spring Break vacation. But for Sidney, all she wants to know is whether Grace really is a cold-blooded murderer, or just the victim of bad police work, and a sloppy investigation. Each week, people sit down to watch the next episode in the series, which Sidney is putting together as her investigation is going on, giving her audience an almost real-time look into her investigation. But as the investigation moves to a close and the series goes into its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she’s got it all wrong… really wrong.

BookTrib got to talk with Charlie Donlea about our mutual love of true crime podcasts, the key to writing a good thriller, and what it was like trying to write a real-time investigation and television show at the same time.


BookTrib: This book is a very different take on the amateur sleuth/investigative journalist genre, as the investigator is actually a TV producer making a crime docu-series. What was it like writing in this format? Did you run into any difficulties with planning?

Charlie: Because I love True Crime documentaries, I had a great time creating the protagonist in Don’t Believe It.

But, yes, I ran into many snags as I was writing! In the book, Sidney Ryan is an up and coming filmmaker who signs on to create a real-time television documentary (Serial-style) about a grisly, decade-old murder that took place in the Caribbean. The difficulties I ran into with plotting the novel were the same difficulties Sidney ran into creating the series, specifically with the timing. I knew what was going to happen, who the killer was, what they used as the murder weapon, etc. Sidney was trying to figure it all out, and she was chronicling her discoveries week to week in each new episode of her serialized documentary. Trying to pace the discoveries correctly to keep Sidney (and the reader) hooked, was a challenge. But when everything fell into place, it was beautiful!

BookTrib How did you first get the idea to write this book?

Charlie:I’ve become a cultish fan of True Crime series like Serial, Making A Murderer, and S-Town.

I love the “did-he-or-didn’t-he” themes that run through these documentaries. After watching enough of these stories, I came up with the idea of a haunting murder on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, a medical student accused of the crime, and the documentary filmmaker looking for answers ten years later.

The documentary series she produces, which plays out week-to-week, captures the attention of the country the way Serial did. Millions tune in each week to see what new evidence our protagonist has discovered and whether it will point to the accused is guilty or innocent. A lot of twists and startling revelations each week keep the audience hooked, and a shocking ending should have readers flipping back through the pages to see how they missed it.

BookTrib: What books would you say really inspired you as a writer?

Charlie:I never read books as a child, and never had any aspirations to write. I actually made it through my entire academic career without reading an assigned novel (lots of Cliff’s Notes).

It wasn’t until college when I read John Grisham’s The Firm, which immediately hooked me and caused me to skip classes while I raced through the story, that the idea of writing my own novel planted itself in my mind. For a guy like me—with no creative writing experience and no life-ling love for reading—who thought that maybe I could write a book someday, John Grisham provided a lot of inspiration. He, too, never dreamed of writing, had no formal training, and only accidentally decided to write his first novel after witnessing a harrowing story in the courtroom.

The writing community is saturated with woe-is-me stories about how hard it is to break in, how difficult it is to earn out, and what a battle it is to find an audience. Everything about those stories is true, but I always tell aspiring writers not to listen to those stories. Don’t read about them. Don’t pay attention to them. Don’t dwell on them. Instead, pick a successful author whose career you admire, and learn everything you can about their story. For me, that author is John Grisham. He never dreamed of writing, and once stood in a bookstore staring at the packed shelves wondering how his stories would ever get noticed. Since that day in the bookstore, his books have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

Booktrib: Instead of spending the book trying to prove that someone committed a crime, Sidney Ryan spends the book trying to prove that someone didn’t commit the crime they’ve been in prison for. As an author who has written several thriller novels, what was it like changing up this narrative?

Charlie: It’s always fun to find a way to put a unique spin on your story.

This structure was especially exciting because the cards are so badly stacked against Sidney. Just like an actual true crime documentary, every single finding seems to point to the accused guilt, and it is up to Sidney to figure out the truth. The problem, of course, comes when the truth she finds isn’t exactly what she was expecting.

BookTrib: Not only is Sidney Ryan, the protagonist of the book, one of the greatest characters ever created, but so is Grace Sebold. How do you find your characters? Do you base them off of anyone?

Charlie" CD: Sidney and Grace make this story.

They are, in different ways, the heart and soul of Don’t Believe It. Sidney is a tenacious filmmaker looking for answers. She’s the antithesis of a damsel in distress. Quite frankly, she gets sh*% done and doesn’t allow anything or anyone to get in her way, including network suits who have a different vision of her documentary that she has. Grace, who is the focus of the series, was once a promising fourth-year medical student with her whole life in front of her. Now, she’s reduced to a woman approaching middle age whose only hope for freedom rests on Sidney’s ability to find new evidence that will exonerate her. Grace’s character is shrouded in mystery—dare I use the now-cliché term “unreliable narrator”?

Sidney and Grace are very different from one another but have just enough in common to link them to a common goal of winning Grace’s freedom. Both women will do anything to this end, which becomes one of many problems as the documentary gets further along in production.

BookTrib: This is one of the most gripping books I’ve read in a long time – what do you think the secret is to writing this kind of realistic, impossible-to-put-down thriller?

Charlie: CD: The secret to a great thriller is building anticipation.

A great opening hook is important, and an explosive, the surprise ending is key. But to keep readers engaged through the middle and stop them from putting the book down, you need to make them anticipate what might happen next.

If a reader is constantly guessing what will happen in the next chapter, predicting where the story might go, and wondering about the fate of the characters, then when they put the book down to attend to life, the story will continue to run in their mind. If a reader thinks about the book all day, then they’ll anxiously pick it up again as soon as they get home. And there’s nothing better than a book you can’t wait to get back to.

I’m very proud that so many readers have told me they couldn’t put Don’t Believe It down. And when they had to, they couldn’t wait to pick it up again!

BookTrib: You end this book on a huge cliffhanger! Do you have plans to continue this as a series, or are you happy with leaving us all in suspense?

Charlie: I love leaving you all in suspense! I also love causing you to throw the book across the room after you turn the last page! In a good way, of course

Every time I publish a novel, I hear from readers who ask the same question: Will this story continue? Will we see these characters again? Is this the beginning of a series?

I love that readers connect with my characters enough to want to see their stories continued. It means, on some level, I’ve done my job well.

But my answer to whether a storyline will continue, or if a character will show up again in a future book, has always been that we’ll all (myself included) have to wait and see. I write one story at a time. When I’m done, I take a nice long break and then start thinking of a new one. I’m sure one of these days a character from a previous book will start yelling at me from the shadowed corners of my mind, I’ll listen, and they’ll tell me about a new grand adventure they want to go on. When that happens, I’ll bring them back in another novel. So far, none of my characters have yelled loudly enough for me to hear… the gang from Don’t Believe It included.

DON'T BELIEVE IT is now available for purchase.


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—Charlie Donlea

Dear Readers,

As 2018 comes to a close, I wanted to say Thank You for making it such an exciting twelve months. Your dedication to my novels not only sent me on an international book tour but gave me the thrill of seeing my books on many bestsellers lists—including the surreal week when my audiobook elbowed past my writing idol, John Grisham, to take the #1 spot. Much, much appreciated!



Looking to 2019, the paperback of Don't Believe It with its new cover.

It will hit shelves on March 26th —just in time for Spring Break. Available for Pre-Order Now.


And my new novel, Some Choose Darkness, (US) edition

Available on May 28th. It’s dark and moody, and I hope you love it! Available for Pre-Order Now.


(AU) Edition: The Woman in Darkness coming April 2nd.

For those readers in AU (same book as Some Choose Darkness).
Available for Pre-Order Now.


Links above. Read more details here: Dec. Blog Post That's A Wrap

Or if you missed my Dec Newsletter— Sign up to receive the latest News and Inspiration behind Some Choose Darkness. Many more details and events to come in the new year.

Happy 2019 New Year!


—Charlie Donlea



Some Choose Darkness

Book Summary:

A modern master of suspense, critically acclaimed author Charlie Donlea returns with a taut, gripping novel about the deadly secrets hiding in plain sight . . .

The truth is easy to miss, even when it’s right in front of us. As a forensic reconstructionist, Rory Moore sheds light on cold-case homicides by piecing together crime scene details others fail to see. Cleaning out her late father’s law office a week after his burial, she receives a call that plunges her into a decades-old case come to life once more.

In the summer of 1979, five Chicago women went missing. The predator, nicknamed The Thief, left no bodies and no clues behind—until police received a package from a mysterious woman named Angela Mitchell, whose unorthodox investigation skills appear to have led to his identity. But before they could question her, Angela disappeared. Forty years later, The Thief is about to be paroled for Angela’s murder—the only crime the DA could pin on him. But the cryptic file Rory finds in her father’s law office suggests there is more to the case, and Angela Mitchell, than what was fed to the public, the details of which have been buried for four decades.

Rory’s talents are tested as she begins reconstructing Angela’s last days. Making one startling discovery after another, Rory becomes helplessly entangled in the enigma of Angela Mitchell and what happened to her. Drawing connections between the past and present, Rory uncovers dark truths about the reclusive victim, her father, and the man called The Thief that sends her down a twisting trail where things may not be as they appear. As she continues to dig, even Rory can’t be prepared for the full, terrifying truth that is emerging . . .

Slow Reveals, Twists and Turns, and Other Tricks of the Trade" for CRIMEREADS

June 3, 2019

CHARLIE DONLEA

At the heart of every great thriller is an unforgettable climax. This pinnacle moment in a thriller is what defines the genre. It’s where the action takes place, where the reveal is laid bare, and where the twist is sprung on us. But there is an art to creating the climax. If it’s dumped too abruptly upon the reader, even if it checks all the right boxes, it can be a let down—like waking up to discover it’s Christmas morning without having enjoyed the holiday season that preceded it. Sure, it’s fun to open the presents, but without the lead up to the big day, something’s missing. Before the best reveals, in front of the most stunning twists, and ahead of the greatest unveilings of a killer’s identity, is a staircase. Climbing it is where the real fun happens, because it is with each successive step up this staircase where readers find the suspense in a thriller.

When I wrote the draft of my debut novel, I began with a brutal murder in the first chapter, then jumped back a year in the next. Through the rest of the book, I followed the victim through her life leading up to its violent end, dropping clues along the way as to who killed her and why. Then in one quick chapter at the end, I revealed everything in a few quick pages—what she was hiding, who killed her, the twist, the shock, the reveal, the getaway and the aftermath. I confidently turned my novel over to my editor and awaited his notes.

My editor’s comment: “You turned the staircase into a stoop.”

I went back to work. Under my editor’s watchful eye, I revised the novel so the big reveal unfolds over a few well-paced chapters that create an elaborate staircase to catapult the reader into the final, climactic scene. And with each subsequent novel I’ve written, my editor has continued to remind me that with thrillers, just like life, it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Here are ten thrillers that produce chest-tightening suspense by leading us up some impressive staircases.

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"Inspiration Behind Some Choose Darkness"



I grew up in Chicago, and like many in my generation, I did things as a kid that are unfathomable today.

My friends and I walked everywhere. And if we didn’t walk, we rode our bikes for miles to reach our destination. In the city, these miles took us across busy streets, over dangerous bridges, and through questionable underpasses. We did all of this unsupervised and without cell phones.

Our mothers simply assumed we made it to our intended endpoint; there was no checking in once we arrived. The greatest tab my mother kept on me was expecting me home “when the street lights came on.” It was part of growing up in the city. I knew no other way of life.

I played baseball in the street. Our main intersection offered a perfect combination of four sewers as bases, and a fifth manhole coved in the middle of the street as a pitcher’s mound. Playing in the street kept us off lawns and was welcomed by the neighbors who lived next door.

We put a Slip n’ Slide on the sidewalk, and used a swimming pool cover for padding. Why? Because there was not a strip of grass large enough to handle the twenty feet of slippery plastic.

The above ground pool in my postage stamp backyard was filled each year by fire hoses borrowed from the local firehouse and attached to the corner hydrant. The hydrant was opened with a huge monkey wrench the firemen gave us when they handed over the hoses. Since the power of the water was tremendous, the stream would topple the side of the pool if sprayed directly at it.

To avoid this catastrophe, three volunteers would climb into the empty pool with a card table that they’d use as a shield and break the force of water shot from the fire hose, which rested across the shoulders of three other volunteers as they aimed the rush of water into the pool and held on for dear life. This routine worked every year, and if any adults supervised the process, I don’t remember them. Alas, I survived the miles of bike travel, the street ball, and my swimming pool.

Things are much different today. Technology and hyper-parenting (of which I’m guilty beyond a reasonable doubt) have allowed us all to keep much greater tabs on our own kids. Is this good?

I’m not so sure. But one thing is for certain: my kids are living a different existence in the suburbs today than I led at their age.

This became startlingly obvious to me when I took my kids on a tour of my Chicago neighborhood—something my friends and I call the “old neighborhood.”

Everyone who grew up in the city has an “old neighborhood.”

Many of my childhood friends still live there. As we drove through the neighborhood, my kids asked some interesting questions:

“Why are the houses so close together?”

“Because they’re bungalows. Long, narrow homes with barely enough room to ride your bike between them. They make up many Chicago neighborhoods. And if you’re lucky enough to live next door to your best friend, simply opening the window at midnight gave you instant access to each other.”

“Why are the front yards so small?”

“Because they’re in front of bungalows, I just explained this. And you don’t need a big yard when you have a perfectly good street to play ball in.”

“What happened when a car drove down the street while you were playing baseball?”

“You played around it, and sometimes caught the Wiffle Ball when it ricocheted off a windshield. It still counted as an out as long as it never hit the ground.”

“Did the drivers get mad?”

“Sometimes, but not usually. They’d blow their horn a lot, but were usually gone before the next pitch was thrown.”

I fielded these questions with great delight as I showed my kids where I grew up. But when I drove up to my childhood house, my kids asked a bizarre question that caught me off guard. They pointed to the alley behind the house.

“Why is there a little road behind the house?”

Dear God, I thought. My children don’t know what an alley is.

“It’s an alley,” I answered in a dejected voice.

I didn't know how to explain that it was a little road, but it was so much more, too.

Alleys were the quintessential part of my upbringing.

They were where my friends and I hung out. They were where we hid during games of tag (chase, as it was called in the old neighborhood). Alleys were shortcuts and hiding spots and escape routes. Alleys were where our garage doors opened to, and where our father’s hung out on Saturday mornings completing projects that were perpetually unfinished and occupying the garage. And alleys were where we kept our garbage cans, and where kids had to venture at night (always at night!) to deposit black plastic bags filled with trash.

I suddenly realized my kids had a lot to learn about the place where I grew up. It occurred to me then that I needed to set a novel in Chicago.

Rory Moore
So, to kick off the launch of Some Choose Darkness, and a new character named Rory Moore—a forensic reconstructionist who specializes in cold cases—I thought I’d describe a few of the landmarks that made it into the book.

Maybe my kids will read it when they’re old enough and decide that the dark, dangerous city isn’t so bad after all. Actually, this is a thriller and parts of it are creepy as hell, so my idea of this book turning my kids on to the city will likely backfire.

Alley
As opposed to eastern cities, Chicago is organized in a grid pattern of city blocks. These blocks are divided by narrow lanes called alleys. In New York, garbage is piled on street corners, in Chicago, it is placed in the alley. In Some Choose Darkness, Rory Moore looks for clues in the alley where a character disappeared forty years earlier and starts down a road of no return.

Bungalow
A common architectural design of many Chicago homes in the Bungalow Belt neighborhoods. These homes are long, narrow, and spaced close together. They were constructed this way to house the ballooning middle class that was expanding the Chicago population.

Rory Moore lives in one of these Chicago bungalows, and it is in her home office where she pins photos of victims of the cold cases she investigates. It’s also where she keeps her antique china doll collection—broken dolls that she restores to perfection and keeps flawlessly lined on shelves. It’s a creepy hobby, but keeps Rory balanced and suits her perfectly.

Grant Park
Grant Park encompasses more than 300 acres and is located in the Loop. The park's centerpiece is Buckingham Fountain, where park-goers can sit and enjoy breathtaking lakefront views. The Park is also home to baseball diamonds, tennis courts, and acres of gardens. It is in one of these gardens, hidden in a shadowed corner of Grant Park, where a body is found. The mystery surrounding the death sends Rory Moore on the hardest case of her career.

Starved Rock
Starved Rock State Park is a wilderness area on the Illinois River about an hour or so outside of Chicago. Sandstone canyons provide the backdrop for beautiful waterfalls and hiking trails. One of these trails leads to Lover’s Leap Overlook, with views of the river and Starved Rock Dam. In Some Choose Darkness, another one of these trails leads to a creepy cabin isolated in the woods. I mean, come on, what would one of my thrillers be without a creepy cabin in the woods?

3 Floyds Brewing Co.
3 Floyds Brewery is actually located in Munster, Indiana, but their beer is a popular adult beverage for many Chicagoans.
Some of their lagers and ales have produced a cultish following. Rory Moore’s favorite is Dark Lord, an imperial stout that weighs in at 15% alcohol and can knock even a seasoned beer drinker on their butts.

Rory drinks it often. It helps her think, especially when she’s staring at the face of a victim whose case is as cold as a Chicago winter night.

I hope you love Some Choose Darkness, and the city in which it is set. It’s a thriller that’s dark and moody, like the beer Rory drinks, the hobby that balances her life, and the haunting cold cases she takes on.

—Charlie Donlea



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Some Choose Darkness Available NOW!

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SOME CHOOSE DARKNESS.
OTHERS ARE CHOSEN BY IT.
Available NOW!

Dear Friends,

My latest thriller, Some Choose Darkness, was released on May 28, 2019. An early surge of purchases in the first week of release is an author’s best friend, so please consider either pre-ordering the book today or picking it from your local bookseller next week.

Some Choose Darkness has been described as “dark and moody.” It introduces a new character named Rory Moore, a forensic reconstructionist who specializes in solving cold case homicides that have stumped all the best detectives.

Her many “flaws”—like her OCD and her nervousness, her lack of close relationships, and her general avoidance of life— likely explain why she’s so good at what she does. She’s an introvert and a recluse who finds that she’s closer to the victims whose murders she solves than to any person in her life.

The case she falls into in Some Choose Darkness has to do with five women who went missing in 1979, and the mysterious woman who tried to find them before she suspiciously disappeared herself. A strange discovery in her father’s law office becomes Rory’s first lead to finding her...

I hope you love this one!

—Charlie Donlea





Newsletter Originally Published
May 24, 2019

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PRAISE
"In Donlea's skillful hands, this story of obsession, murder, and the search for truth is both a compassionate character study and a compelling thriller." —Kirkus Reviews

“Donlea smoothly mixes red herrings and genuine clues...readers who relish a good puzzle will be rewarded.”
—Publisher's Weekly

“Part 1970s serial-killer thriller and part contemporary Chicago crime novel, this deceptively quick read has something for everyone.”
—Booklist

“Donlea’s cinematic style puts readers squarely into the scenes, and his skillful prose takes his work to a higher level.”
—NY Journal of Books

"Named one of the most anticipated thrillers of Summer 2019."
—SheReads

“A harrowing ride full of twists and turns.”
—Press-Republican

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