Book Review: Don’t Believe It | Charlie Donlea

The last 40% of this book is absolutely mind-blowing!!! I had to go back and reread passages to make sure I read what I thought I did!!!

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 action driven. There are no slow points—every single chapter is moving you towards the shocking conclusion. You’ll want to pay attention, because a LOT happens in this book!

About the Book

10 years ago Grace Sebold was convicted of murdering her boyfriend…

Grace’s life was on the right track. Grace recently found out she was accepted in the medical residency she wanted in NYC with her boyfriend Julian, who is unbeknownst to her about to propose marriage to her at the top of a gorgeous bluff at Sugar Beach in St. Lucia. But before he can propose, Julian falls to an untimely death. Or was he pushed? The prosecution believes Grace was the one who pushed him, and they have a mountain of forensic evidence to back it up!

Grace claims she didn’t do it…

When documentary film-maker Sidney Ryan is hired by network television, she finds herself craving the independence and meaning of wrongful conviction cases she has worked on in the past. After reading years’ worth of letters from Grace and Grace’s best friend Ellie proclaiming her innocence and the issues with Grace’s case, Sidney gets the network to greenlight her investigation into Grace’s conviction for a real-time television docuseries. Sidney hopes to discover whether Grace is guilty, or whether she is a victim of a corrupt prosecution.

With evidence piling up, Sidney has a hit on her hands…

The public is enamored with the story of Grace Sebold, but as Sidney gets closer to the truth, she feels pressure by the network to deliver them the outcome they want. Sidney isn’t sure what the truth is, but she knows she has to deliver one slam-dunk of an ending! Can she find enough evidence to uncover the truth?

Reflection

This is truly un-put-downable by about 60% in. I raced home from work to finish it! This is an action-driven book, not a character-driven book. Similar to the documentary viewers, the readers is uncovering the evidence along with Sidney as she races to finish the 10-part docuseries as it is already filming. I found myself questioning everything along with Sidney. Did Grace do it? Or was she innocent all along? Donlea does a fantastic job of leaving the suggestion of either scenario there, even as evidence is uncovered.

I really enjoyed the scene breaks with the summary of the documentary episodes. All of the settings and characters were so vivid, and I could really envision the scenes of the documentary as I read them. I found myself curious about so many of the characters! We see them all the way a viewer might—with snippets of knowledge about their relationships to Grace, to Julian, and to each other. In the same way a detective uncovers evidence, we begin to hear multiple perspectives on Grace and Julian, and with each new lead the puzzle gets even more complicated.

Throughout the book there is the feeling that you are almost to the truth, if you can just put the right pieces together in the right way. I’m sure this is how Sidney, and the detectives, and even Grace’s loved ones feel. I think fans of true crime documentaries and series will love this aspect to the book! It’s a mystery for the reader to solve, because you get the information the same time Sidney does.

This was a traveling sisters read, and the first I’ve participated in where every sister really loved the book! We had an awesome time reading and discussing this one, and I think other readers will love it as well. I cannot wait to read more by this author!!!

Thank you to Kensington Books, Charlie Donlea, and to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.