Book Review: Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea

My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

In 2013, seventeen-year-old Alexandra Quinlan was the only member of her family found unharmed after her parents and younger brother are gunned down by an unknown assailant in their own home. Unfortunately for her, Alexandra was treated as a suspect and taken into custody. An over-ambitious journalist remarked on her "empty eyes" when she was being escorted out of her own home by the police in a state of shock. “Empty Eyes” was a name that stuck as did the rumors of her guilt, despite the police having found no solid ground to convict her and her winning a defamation case against the State. The police branded it a home invasion gone wrong and never pursued the case much further. Alexandra eventually left town but never stopped looking for the person who killed her family, meticulously searching for any leads that shed a light on what happened that night. She eventually returns after her past comes to haunt her resulting in a messy situation abroad. Fast forward to 2023, and we have Alexandra, now Alex Armstrong, working as a legal investigator for Garrett Lancaster, the same lawyer who represented her in her defamation case and has been a guardian, friend and well-wisher. Alex’s work involves investigating potential clients for the firm, and finding any evidence proving their guilt means the firm does not accept said client’s case. An investigation into a client accused of embezzlement triggers a sequence of events that eventually is found to have a connection with what happened to Alex’s family.

Having read and enjoyed "Twenty Years Later" by Charlie Donlea, I was excited to be able to read an advance copy of his latest offering. Those Empty Eyes starts strong and I did enjoy how the story was progressing up until the 30% mark after which several sub-plots (at least one of which was completely unnecessary and served no purpose other than distracting the reader’s attention from the central plot) are introduced into the story. With so many threads and tropes (ripped from the headlines gets tiring after a point!), the plot got convoluted and farfetched. I continued with this story because I really wanted to know who the murderer was and I liked a few of the strong female characters in the mix. The ending took me by surprise, proving my predictions wrong (I love it when that happens, so points for that!). I enjoy complex and intricately plotted thrillers but this one just felt like several books somewhat haphazardly squeezed into a single narrative, which detracted from my overall reading experience. Overall, though I didn’t completely dislike Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea, I was a tad disappointed.

Many thanks to author Charlie Donlea, Kensington Books and NetGalley for the much-appreciated digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. This novel is due to be released on March 28, 2023.