Sujoya(theoverbookedbibliophile)'s Reviews > Long Time Gone

Recently accepted into a prestigious fellowship program in forensic pathology, twenty-nine-year-old Dr. Sloan Hastings is assigned the topic of forensic genealogy as her research project. To enhance her knowledge and gain a better understanding of the field, she submits her DNA to a genealogy website. She has always known she was adopted but little did she know that the results of her DNA analysis would result in a shocking revelation about her real identity – a revelation that connects her to the mysterious disappearance of three members of an influential family in Cedar Creek, Nevada in 1995 - a young couple and their two-month-old daughter, Charlotte.

As Sloan embarks on a quest to find out more about the cold case, her biological family and the mysterious circumstances surrounding her adoption, she travels to Cedar Creek where she meets members of her biological family who are overwhelmed to be reunited with “Charlotte” after all these years. She finds an ally in the local Sheriff who has a personal interest in the cold case but finding out what happened to her biological parents after all these years won’t be easy and whatever information she does gather leaves her with more questions than answers. Complicating matters further is the media frenzy brought on by “Charlotte” being found and the fact that there are people who would resort to any means to prevent Sloan from discovering the truth.

The narrative is presented in dual timelines – the present day where we follow Sloan as she pursues her search for the truth and 1995, wherein the events that led to the disappearance of Charlotte and her parents are slowly revealed.

Charlie Donlea’s Long Time Gone is UNPUTDOWNABLE! It’s been a while since I found a thriller that kept me glued to the pages and I couldn’t be more pleased. With an intriguing premise with a solid mystery at its core, interesting characters and dual timelines that are equally absorbing and seamlessly woven into a fast-paced, suspenseful narrative – this book checks all the boxes!

I paired my reading with the audiobook narrated by Vivienne Leheny, which made for a riveting immersion reading experience. I finished this one in a single day!

This is my third time reading Charlie Donlea and I can’t wait to explore his backlist while I wait for his next book!

Many thanks to Kensington Books for the digital review copy and RB Media for the ALC via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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