Review: Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea

Title: Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 304 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

From acclaimed author Charlie Donlea comes a twisting, impossible-to-put-down novel of suspense in which a filmmaker helps clear a woman convicted of murder—only to find she may be a puppet in a sinister game.

The Girl of Sugar Beach is the most watched documentary in television history—a riveting, true-life mystery that unfolds over twelve weeks and centers on a fascinating question: Did Grace Sebold murder her boyfriend, Julian, while on a Spring Break vacation, or is she a victim of circumstance and poor police work? Grace has spent the last ten years in a St. Lucian prison, and reaches out to filmmaker Sidney Ryan in a last, desperate attempt to prove her innocence.

As Sidney begins researching, she uncovers startling evidence, additional suspects, and timeline issues that were all overlooked during the original investigation. Before the series even finishes filming, public outcry leads officials to reopen the case. But as the show surges towards its final episodes, Sidney receives a letter saying that she got it badly, terribly wrong.

Sidney has just convinced the world that Grace is innocent. Now she wonders if she has helped to free a ruthless killer. Delving into Grace’s past, she peels away layer after layer of deception. But as Sidney edges closer to the real heart of the story, she must decide if finding the truth is worth risking her newfound fame, her career . . . even her life.

Review:

Don’t Believe It by Charlie Donlea is a compulsively readable mystery about a documentary filmmaker’s latest project that could exonerate a convicted killer.

Sidney Ryan has made a name for herself with her true crime documentaries that have exonerated three people wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit. So after months of letters from Grace Sebold, who is convicted of killing her boyfriend, Julian Crist, Sidney heads to St. Lucia to begin filming for an upcoming project. Grace’s claims of innocence are compelling and as Sidney revisits the ten year old case, she quickly discovers some troubling information about the original investigation.  Sidney soon wonders if Grace’s claims of innocence might just be true which raises the intriguing question about who, in fact, killed Julian.

Sidney is quite tenacious as she re-examines Grace’s case. She is not certain that Grace is innocent but she is not convinced she is a murderer either. She reviews the case files with an open mind but she is nonetheless surprised by medical examiner Dr. Livia Cutty’s findings after she looks at Julian’s autopsy report. This shocking discovery is a huge turning point in the documentary and Sidney doggedly continues searching for exculpatory evidence that could clear Grace’s name.

In the meantime, Gus Morelli is in a rehab facility where he is recovering from recent surgery. He stumbles across the documentary as it is airing on TV and he is very interested in the information that Sidney is uncovering. With the help of his physical therapist, Gus contacts Sidney and what he tells her about Grace is incredibly explosive and threatens to derail her entire project. Needless to say, Sidney is dismayed by these revelations, but she cannot in good conscious ignore this stunning information.

Don’t Believe It is an incredibly riveting mystery that is impossible to put down.  All of the characters are well-drawn and engaging with plenty of depth and relatable strengths and weaknesses.  The chapters weave back and forth between excerpts from Sidney’s documentary and the events unfolding in the present. With plenty of clever red herrings and cunning misdirects, Charlie Donlea brings the novel to a twist-filled and shocking conclusion that is completely unexpected.  Fans of the genre do not want to miss this spellbinding mystery.