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thriller
Series · thriller
Charlie Donlea
The Charlie Donlea series by Charlie Donlea has 10 known books (9 published; 1 announced) and is best read in publication order, starting with Summit Lake (2016). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Guess Again. The next announced book, Behind Every Face, is due 26 January 2027.
- Books
- 10 known books (10 novels)
- Published
- 9
- Announced
- 1
- First published
- 2016
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Thriller
- Last checked
Start here: Summit Lake (2016) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series. Announced future books are marked below.
- Book 1:
Summit Lake
Summit Lake, published in 2016 at 320 pages, is Charlie Donlea's Chicago-set debut, following a TV journalist picking apart the murder of a law student in a North Carolina mountain town. It launched a nearly annual run of twisty, cleanly-engineered standalone thrillers.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Summit Lake - Book 2:
The Girl Who Was Taken
The Girl Who Was Taken precedes Don't Believe It in Donlea's catalogue, published in 2017. A forensic pathologist autopsies her way toward the truth of her sister's abduction, one of the recurring cold-case hooks that define his work.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Girl Who Was Taken - Book 3:
Don't Believe It
Don't Believe It, running 400 pages, followed The Girl Who Was Taken in 2018. Donlea continues his focus on the machinery of true-crime media -- documentaries, podcasts, tabloid infamy -- that recurs throughout his catalogue.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Don't Believe It - Book 4:
Some Choose Darkness
Some Choose Darkness, the fourth book in Charlie Donlea's catalogue, sits between Don't Believe It and The Suicide House, arriving in 2019. It introduces his one recurring pair -- forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore and forensic psychologist Lane Phillips -- who return the following year.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Some Choose Darkness - Book 5:
The Suicide House
The Suicide House, running 368 pages, sits in Donlea's catalogue between Some Choose Darkness and Twenty Years Later, published in 2020. It brings back Rory Moore and Lane Phillips, and references the outcome of Some Choose Darkness, the one ordering rule in an otherwise standalone bibliography.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Suicide House - Book 6:
Twenty Years Later
Twenty Years Later, published in 2021 and running 368 pages, threads a 9/11 mystery through a modern murder case -- one of Donlea's most celebrated hooks and, for many readers, an ideal entry point into his catalogue.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Twenty Years Later - Book 7:
Those Empty Eyes
Those Empty Eyes, the seventh book in Donlea's catalogue, sits between Twenty Years Later and Long Time Gone, arriving in 2023. It follows a young woman acquitted of slaughtering her family and rebranded by the tabloids as 'Empty Eyes Alexandra,' continuing Donlea's obsession with the machinery of true-crime media.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Those Empty Eyes - Book 8:
Long Time Gone
Long Time Gone, running 352 pages, sits in Donlea's catalogue between Those Empty Eyes and Guess Again, published in 2024. Forensic detail and a dual timeline keep the pattern going that has made him, per reviewers, a reliable one-more-chapter machine.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Long Time Gone - Book 9:
Guess Again
Guess Again, running 353 pages, followed Long Time Gone in 2025, continuing Charlie Donlea's nearly annual pace of twisty standalone thrillers built around a final-act reversal that recontextualizes everything before it.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Guess Again - Book 10:
Behind Every Face
Behind Every Face, the most recent entry in Donlea's catalogue, is set for release in 2027 following Guess Again. It's a standalone unconnected to recurring characters Rory Moore and Lane Phillips, continuing Donlea's pattern of one irresistible hook per book.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Behind Every Face
About the Charlie Donlea series
Charlie Donlea writes twisty, cleanly-engineered standalone thrillers — the kind built around one irresistible hook and a final-act reversal that recontextualizes everything you've read. A Chicago native, he debuted with Summit Lake (2016), about a TV journalist picking apart the murder of a law student in a North Carolina mountain town, and has delivered a book roughly every year since. His recurring obsessions: cold cases reopened by outsiders, the machinery of true-crime media (documentaries, podcasts, tabloid infamy), and protagonists whose own pasts are tangled in the cases they investigate.
Highlights include The Girl Who Was Taken (2017), in which a forensic pathologist autopsies her way toward the truth of her sister's abduction; Some Choose Darkness (2019), which introduced his one recurring pair — forensic reconstructionist Rory Moore, brilliant and on the spectrum, and forensic psychologist Lane Phillips — who return in The Suicide House (2020); Twenty Years Later (2021), which threads a 9/11 mystery through a modern murder case; and Those Empty Eyes (2023), about a young woman acquitted of slaughtering her family and rebranded by the tabloids as "Empty Eyes Alexandra." Recent novels Long Time Gone (2024) and Guess Again (2025) continue the pattern: forensic detail, dual timelines, and endings engineered to be argued about in book clubs. For readers who devour Lisa Gardner or Riley Sager, Donlea is a reliable one-more-chapter machine.
Frequently asked questions
How many Charlie Donlea books are there?
Ten novels, from Summit Lake (2016) through the forthcoming Behind Every Face (26 January 2027).
What order should I read Charlie Donlea's books in?
Any order — they are standalones. The single exception: read Some Choose Darkness (2019) before The Suicide House (2020), which share the Rory Moore and Lane Phillips characters.
Are Charlie Donlea's books a series?
No — each is a self-contained thriller. Only Some Choose Darkness and The Suicide House are linked, through recurring investigators Rory Moore and Lane Phillips; every other title, including the forthcoming Behind Every Face, stands entirely alone.
Which Charlie Donlea book should I start with?
The Girl Who Was Taken and Twenty Years Later are the most popular entry points; Summit Lake is where his catalog begins.
If you like the Charlie Donlea series
Reading order last verified .