Silence of the Lambs meets Cruel Summer in GUESS AGAIN, as #1 internationally bestselling author Charlie Donlea dives into the long shadow of trauma on a small Wisconsin town, hybristophilia and the allure of evil, and the toll the truth can take on those who hunt for it... For fans of Riley Sager, Anna Downes, Alex Finlay, Ashley Flowers, Stacy Willingham, and Karin Slaughter. A missing girl: 17-year-old Callie Jones was the all-American sweetheart of her small Wisconsin community. No one could have guessed that one summer night at her friends' lake party would be the last time anyone would see her. A highly publicized search followed, but her body was never found. Callie's case went cold. A former renegade cop 10 years ago, Ethan Hall was the detective assigned to Callie's case. When all leads slipped through his fingers and the trail went cold, Ethan's guilt led him to leave law enforcement and the trauma of the child crime unit. But now, when Ethan's former partner requests his help on the 10th anniversary of Callie's disappearance, Ethan reluctantly agrees to be brought back into the fold. A twisted killer Serial killer Francis Bernard was sentenced to life behind bars--but he has no plans to stay locked up in his tiny cell. When cop Ethan Hall turns to him for information on Callie's case, Francis sees his chance. Twisting him into his psychological web, Ethan thinks he's safe with Francis locked up, but little does Ethan know, Francis has hands on the outside. And she's willing to die for him. A woman with a dangerous obsession Eugenia Morgan is lucky, she knows some people spend a lifetime trying to find their soulmate, but she's already got hers. She just has to break him out of prison first...
A very aptly named book! I was guessing and guessing again and again and totally wrapped up in the story that kept growing twists like tentacles every other chapter until it all came together at the end with an extremely tense climax with a storm and a killer out for revenge and to finish their plans. It was fun to follow Ethan Hall along as he searched for the long vanished Callie Jones, faced off with a serial killer (who also killed his father) in a strict correctional prison and did his best to find a kidnapped woman before the clock ran down on her. There were players of a wicked plan playing the long game and so many switcheroos (which was part of why I had to keep revising my guess about who and why) that it was hard to take breaks from listening to this thrilling ride of a novel, especially when it all unraveled and the bodies started piling up! It was great to get the viewpoints of not just the people racing to find out the truth, but also the villains which really upped the tension. It also jumps back and forth from Callie's last days and the present so we can find out what actually happened to her (very heartbreaking!) The last secret was a real doozy as well and left a shocking sting but still hope for the good guys like Ethan and his partner Maddie to track down the killers together! And maybe a sequel soon to finish out the story?
The narrator, Vivienne Leheny, did a great job of bring yet another Charlie Donlea thriller murder to life and this was a great twisty world to get lost in as the truth of a missing girl and how the killer Francis was able to twist everything until it was upside down and backwards (thank goodness for Ethan and some handy friends!). Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this unstoppable audiobook that I will be listening to again and again!
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