This is a good one! Charlie Donlea jumps on the Serial/Making A Murder train with Don’t Believe It, and boy does he deliver! This is a tightly wound, dark psychological thriller that kept me guessing! Sidney Ryan has a knack for creating enthralling true crime documentaries. Having successfully created two binge-worthy series, she now has a contract on a large tv network to create a third series. Her subject is quite controversial: Grace Sebold who was convicted 10 years ago for the murder o

4.5 Stars! This was a good one just the way I like my mystery/thrillers!DON’T BELIEVE IT by CHARLIE DONLEA is a gripping, fascinating, action-packed, and suspenseful psychological thriller novel that I was immediately drawn into and had me totally engaged in the storyline right up to that surprising and shocking ending. This book was so entertaining, enjoyable and extremely hard for me to put down. CHARLIE DONLEA delivers a well-written, detailed, unique and twisty read here that had me question...

5 well, shit, I didn't see that coming from a mile away stars!Well done Charlie Donlea. Can I get a slow clap!?This is one of the books of the month choices for the Traveling Friends group and what an amazing pick! I'll let you know right off the bat, my dog has not been fed yet, my laundry remains safely unfolded and I've done a good solid nothing since getting home but read. I.Had.To.Finish. Don't Believe It is a very well timed, pop-culture relevant tale about the conviction Grace Seabold in

Happy publication day to Charlie Donlea! This was a Traveling Sisters group read and we definitely all enjoyed this fabulous book.Just when you think that all new avenues of thrillers have been exhausted, an author comes out with a new format and blows it out of the water. This was a super entertaining whodunnit centered around a cold case which is being reopened for a documentary in the likes of Serial. This book gave me major Amanda Knox/Dangerous Girls vibes - these are all fascinating crime

*4 Stars* for shock-valueWell, that was a fun and twisty little shocker of a read!I have to admit, after not entirely loving this author’s previous novel, The Girl Who Was Taken, I went into this one a bit unsure of what to expect. However, this book proves that each novel an author produces should be treated as an isolated body of work, because there were so many elements of this book that completely blew me away! Don’t Believe It presents a layered story with exhilarating turns that keep t...

The light doesn't often penetrate into the darkest depths of the ocean.Kinda like that ol' shell game that slides and switches the hidden ball beneath. You thought you knew exactly where it was. Trust me.....you won't.Being a documentary filmmaker can have its occasional perks if the right story comes along. Just ask Sidney Ryan and her crew. It's feast or famine and very little in between. It's also a cutthroat business that depends on ratings. You gotta stay ahead of the bigger fish or you'll

Not bad Donlea... not bad at all!!! After having read Summit Lake by Charlie Donlea I became a fan quickly. This is my second book I've read by this author and again have been very impressed by his talent and writing style! Mr. Donlea has an excellent way of grabbing his readers from page one and taking them on one heck of a ride! I really really enjoyed this one! What I like most is his writing style. The use of symbolism and metaphors is ON point! Sidney Ryan is a documentary producer. She fin...

A destination wedding to a lovely tropical island. Good friends since childhood, all gathering to celebrate this joyous occasion. Picture perfect...until one unlucky member on the guest list is killed and another accused of the crime.Grace has been sitting in prison for over 10 years! She insists on her innocence and now pleads with her former friend Sidney for much needed help. Coincidentally, Sidney happens to be the successful host of a documentary series that reviews previous crimes. And in

Don't believe it, but Donlea pulled the wool over my eyes yet again!Grace Sebold has been incarcerated for ten years in a St. Lucian prison for the murder of her boyfriend, Julian. Julian was murdered while the couple were on the island for the wedding of Grace's friends. They appeared to be the perfect couple. They were happy, in love and going to attend the same medical school. They had a whole future ahead of them until that fateful night when Julian was killed. Grace has maintained her innoc...

"Don't Believe It satisfies our darkest curiosities as crime fiction readers."Admit it, you're just as intrigued in the wave created by the media of the onslaught of true crime documentaries today. Whether it's a TV show like Making A Murderer or a podcast like Serial, these investigations into convicts who claim their innocence are a huge hit among viewers (and listeners), young and old alike. Why should it be different for readers? Instead of leaving this to true crime books, authors have begu...

Don’t Believe it by Charlie Donlea is a 2018 Kensington publication. St. Lucia- The perfect place for a spring break excursion, weddings, or marriage proposals. Grace is positive her boyfriend, Julian, is about to pop the question, but their vacation quickly turns into a nightmare. Tragedy strikes before Julian has a chance to propose, and his death is ruled a homicide. Grace is swiftly arrested and convicted of his murder. The case was an open and shut slam dunk. But, in her letters to Sidney R...

The last 40% of this book is mind-blowing—I had to go back and reread passages to make sure I read what I thought I did!!!See my review here!This is my first book by Charlie Donlea, and what a fantastic introduction to this author!!! This book already drew me in with the premise, but the writing and the way the story was executed kept me engaged until the very last page. This is a book that is fueled by the plot. Some thrillers take place mostly in the minds of the characters, but this book is a...

4.5 stars! Oh wow - this was good!!!This story follows Sidney Ryan, an up and coming filmmaker who specializes in true crime documentaries revolving around old murder cases. She takes on the case of Grace Sebold, an acquaintance from school who was convicted of murdering her fiancé while on vacation ten years prior. Grace has been sitting in a St. Lucian prison for the last decade claiming her innocence. Sidney is determined to uncover all details relating to the case and present them in a ten e...

Sydney is an up and comer in the television business. She tackles legal cases with a questionable outcome. Her last three documentaries have proven that the innocent have been imprisoned, securing their releases. Grace Sebold has sat in prison in St. Lucia for the last ten years, convicted of the murder of her boyfriend. insisting all the while that she is innocent, she contacts Sidney. Sidney decides to investigate the case, and do so while making a new type of documentary. The audience will fi...

4 show stoppping stars to Don’t Believe It! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ My first read from Charlie Donlea was engaging and propulsive and a fabulous Traveling Sister group read to boot! The Girl of Sugar Beach is a popular documentary covering whether Grace Sebold murdered her boyfriend while on spring break in St. Lucia. When the book opens, Grace has been in prison for 10 years, and Sidney Ryan agrees to produce the documentary in an effort to (hopefully) prove Grace’s innocence. Sidney quickly becomes a pseu...

This contemporary mystery novel was IMPOSSIBLE for me to put down - I finished it in one evening. It's the fascinating story of a documentary maker digging to the bottom of a ten year old murder on St. Lucia in the Caribbean. We open with a chilling retelling of the murder itself, high up on a cliff overlooking the ocean, from the point of view of the murderer. The murderer is lying in wait for Julian Crist, who was planning a romantic meeting up on the bluff with his girlfriend, Grace Sebold. W...

Now here’s a book that kept me on my toes and in a state of constant surprise! Sidney Ryan has made a bit of a name for herself after producing two documentaries that ended up exonerating two separate people from prison...found guilty of crimes they never committed.When former classmate Grace Sebold reaches out to Sidney from a prison in St. Lucia, she is intrigued. She remembers hearing about the 10-year old case when Grace was accused, and ultimately convicted, of killing her boyfriend while a...

Julian Crist has made the hike up Gros Piton in St. Lucia, and set the scene for a beautiful proposal. The champagne is open, the flutes are chilled, the sun is setting...but he is killed before he can propose.His girlfriend, Grace is convicted and is still proclaiming her innocence, 10 years later. She, and a close friend, Ellie Reiser have been reaching out to filmmaker, Sidney Ryan for years, hoping that she would look into her case. As Sidney begins her research, she decides to film a docume...

Don't Believe It was a Traveling Sister Group read. Charlie Donlea boldly writes a well-layered entertaining fun story here with well-plotted twists and turns and he knows when to introduce characters just at the right time. I really liked the idea of the documentary being part of the story however for some of us in the group it did overshadow the mystery. Some of us who read The Girl Who Was Taken was very happy to see a character from that story cross over to this one and loved how they fit in...

EXCERPT: The blood was a problem. I knew it as soon as I felt it spit across my face. It streamed from his hairline and ran along his jaw until it dribbled onto the granite bluff, first in sporadic red blots like the leading raindrops of a coming storm, and then in a continuous stream, as though a spigot had been plugged into the spot on his head where I had struck him and had opened wide. It was an error in judgment and strategy, which was a shame because up to now I had been perfect. ABOUT THI...