Charlie Donlea Books in Order: The Complete Reading Guide

If you enjoy psychological thrillers packed with buried secrets, cold cases, forensic clues, unreliable perspectives, and endings that make you question everything you thought you knew, Charlie Donlea is an author worth adding to your reading list.

But finding the correct Charlie Donlea books in order can be slightly confusing. That’s because his novels are mostly standalone thrillers rather than one traditional series, yet characters, locations, professional connections, and other details occasionally carry from one book into another.

The good news is that you don’t need to follow a complicated chronological timeline. Publication order is the best way to read Charlie Donlea’s thrillers, especially if you want to notice the connections between his books as they developed.

As of 2026, Donlea’s official bibliography includes nine thrillers, beginning with Summit Lake and continuing through Guess Again.

Charlie Donlea Books in Order at a Glance

Here is the recommended publication order for Charlie Donlea’s nine thrillers:

1. Summit Lake (2016)
2. The Girl Who Was Taken (2017)
3. Don’t Believe It (2018)
4. Some Choose Darkness (2019)
5. The Suicide House (2020)
6. Twenty Years Later (2022)
7. Those Empty Eyes (2023)
8. Long Time Gone (2024)
9. Guess Again (2025)

These are the nine thrillers currently highlighted in Donlea’s official biography and book listings.

There is also Before I Go, published in 2022 under the name Brian Charles. I’ll explain where that book fits later because it isn’t part of Donlea’s nine-book thriller bibliography.

Is There a Charlie Donlea Series?

Not exactly.

This is one of the most important things to understand before deciding how to read his books.

Most Charlie Donlea novels are standalone thrillers. You don’t have to read Summit Lake before The Girl Who Was Taken to understand the latter’s central mystery.

However, Donlea has deliberately created connections between his novels.

Characters return.

Locations reappear.

Professional relationships cross between stories.

And familiar names sometimes make appearances in later books.

In fact, Donlea himself has explained that although his first three novels aren’t a series, they have strong connections. He also describes Some Choose Darkness and The Suicide House as connected through Rory Moore and Lane Phillips.

His official character guide makes those connections even clearer. Livia Cutty, for example, appears in several books, while Lane Phillips connects Some Choose Darkness, The Suicide House, and Those Empty Eyes.

That’s why publication order is the safest and most rewarding reading order.

1. Summit Lake (2016)

Summit Lake is Charlie Donlea’s debut novel and the natural starting point for anyone who wants to explore his thrillers.

The story takes readers to the picturesque North Carolina town of Summit Lake, where law student Becca Eckersley is brutally murdered at her family’s lakeside home.

At first, the crime appears almost impossible to solve.

Becca came from a wealthy and influential family. She was successful, ambitious, and seemingly had a bright future ahead of her.

Then she was dead.

Investigative reporter Kelsey Castle arrives in town to cover the murder. What initially looks like a routine assignment quickly becomes something much more personal as Kelsey begins digging into Becca’s life and the secrets surrounding her death.

Donlea’s official description emphasizes the contrast between Summit Lake’s beautiful setting and the brutal murder that has shaken the community.

Why start with Summit Lake?

Because this is where Donlea’s interconnected thriller universe begins.

Kelsey Castle is introduced here, and the town of Summit Lake itself later reappears in Don’t Believe It. Donlea has also described Summit Lake as his first novel and explained that the setting was inspired by beautiful places he had seen.

If you enjoy:

• Small-town mysteries
• Murder investigations
• Investigative journalism
• Hidden secrets
• Multiple suspects
• Psychological suspense

this is an excellent place to start.

2. The Girl Who Was Taken (2017)

Next comes The Girl Who Was Taken, Donlea’s second novel.

The story revolves around two teenage girls, Nicole Cutty and Megan McDonald, who disappear after a beach party in North Carolina.

But only one of them comes home.

Megan returns.

Nicole doesn’t.

The case becomes a major media story, and years later, the mystery surrounding Nicole’s disappearance still refuses to disappear.

The novel follows the investigation while moving between different perspectives and periods of time, gradually revealing information about what happened.

Donlea’s official site describes it as a story of two girls—one who returns and one who doesn’t.

Why this book is important

This is the book that helped establish Donlea as a major suspense writer.

It’s also where readers meet Dr. Livia Cutty, a forensic medical examiner who becomes one of the author’s most recognizable recurring characters.

According to Donlea’s character guide, Livia later appears in Don’t Believe It, Twenty Years Later, and Long Time Gone.

So while The Girl Who Was Taken is absolutely readable on its own, reading it early makes later Donlea books more rewarding.

3. Don’t Believe It (2018)

Don’t Believe It takes Donlea’s storytelling in another direction.

The novel revolves around Grace Sebold, a woman convicted of murdering her boyfriend.

But the story isn’t presented like a conventional police investigation.

Instead, it uses the framework of a true-crime documentary.

A documentary filmmaker becomes convinced that Grace may have been wrongly convicted and begins investigating the case, uncovering information that could change everything.

The title itself provides a warning:

Don’t believe everything you’re told.

Donlea has explained that true-crime documentaries such as Serial and Making a Murderer helped inspire the novel.

A returning character

This is also where readers meet Gus Morelli, a retired detective who becomes an important recurring character.

Donlea’s official character guide notes that Gus began as a secondary character in Don’t Believe It but became important enough to return in The Suicide House.

There’s another fun connection here too: Summit Lake itself appears in the novel.

That means readers who started with Donlea’s debut will recognize an important location.

4. Some Choose Darkness (2019)

Some Choose Darkness introduces one of Donlea’s most memorable characters: Rory Moore.

Rory is a forensic reconstructionist with an unusual ability to reconstruct crime scenes and understand victims by studying the smallest details left behind.

The story involves a decades-old murder case and a modern investigation that begins to uncover connections between past and present.

It’s a darker, more character-focused thriller and marks an important development in Donlea’s connected universe.

Rory Moore and Lane Phillips

This is the first book in the Rory Moore/Lane Phillips sequence.

Rory is introduced here alongside Lane Phillips, an FBI profiler.

Donlea’s official character guide identifies Some Choose Darkness as the first appearance of Rory and Lane.

Do you need to read it before The Suicide House?

Yes, if you want the most satisfying character experience.

You technically don’t have to.

Donlea has deliberately written the books so that readers can pick them up independently. He specifically notes that The Suicide House can be read first without leaving readers lost.

But for readers who want to experience Rory and Lane’s development naturally:

Some Choose Darkness → The Suicide House

is the better order.

5. The Suicide House (2020)

The Suicide House is the second book connected to Rory Moore and Lane Phillips.

The story revolves around a mysterious house, a disturbing history, and a group of deaths that raise questions about what really happened.

Rory’s unusual forensic abilities once again become central to the investigation.

Lane Phillips also returns, creating a direct connection to Some Choose Darkness.

Donlea’s character guide explicitly identifies The Suicide House as the second book in the Rory Moore/Lane Phillips series.

Can you read The Suicide House first?

Yes.

But I’d still recommend Some Choose Darkness first.

You’ll have a better understanding of Rory’s personality, her unusual approach to forensic reconstruction, and her relationship with Lane.

The official author site even notes that Some Choose Darkness provides background on Rory’s character for readers who encounter her first in The Suicide House.

6. Twenty Years Later (2022)

Twenty Years Later jumps into another complicated mystery involving the past, the present, and a murder investigation with unexpected historical connections.

The central character is Avery Mason, who works to clear the name of a woman accused of murder before dying in the September 11 attacks.

Avery’s investigation requires forensic expertise, which brings her into contact with Dr. Livia Cutty.

That means readers familiar with The Girl Who Was Taken will immediately recognize an important connection.

Donlea’s character guide specifically identifies Avery as the protagonist and explains Livia’s involvement in the story.

Why read this after The Suicide House?

You don’t strictly have to.

The novel stands on its own.

But by this point, you’re starting to see what makes Donlea’s books fun to read in publication order: the stories are separate, yet the author’s fictional world keeps overlapping.

Characters don’t necessarily take over the next book.

Instead, they may appear briefly, provide expertise, or connect one investigation to another.

7. Those Empty Eyes (2023)

Those Empty Eyes follows Alex Armstrong, a woman who has spent years trying to escape her past.

Ten years earlier, Alex was known to the public as “Empty Eyes” after she was accused of murdering her family.

She was eventually exonerated.

But being declared innocent doesn’t mean the mystery is over.

Alex has changed her name, appearance, and personal history while continuing to search for the truth about the night her family was killed.

At the same time, she becomes involved in another disappearance involving a student journalist.

Donlea’s official description centers on Alex’s attempt to uncover the truth about the massacre that destroyed her family.

A major connection to earlier books

This is where Donlea’s fictional universe becomes especially interesting.

Alex encounters Lane Phillips, the FBI profiler first introduced in Some Choose Darkness.

Donlea confirms this connection in his official character guide.

So if you have already read the Rory Moore/Lane Phillips books, Those Empty Eyes offers an extra layer of familiarity.

8. Long Time Gone (2024)

Long Time Gone introduces Sloan Hastings, a young woman who discovers something shocking about her identity after submitting her DNA to an online genealogy service.

Sloan already knows she was adopted.

What she doesn’t know is that her DNA appears to identify her as Charlotte Margolis, also known as “Baby Charlotte.”

Charlotte disappeared nearly thirty years earlier along with her affluent parents.

The case has remained unsolved for decades.

Now Sloan has a reason to investigate.

And someone clearly doesn’t want her asking questions.

Donlea’s official description explains that Sloan’s forensic genealogy research unexpectedly connects her to the famous disappearance, sending her to a small Nevada town filled with secrets, power, and corruption.

Another Livia Cutty connection

Sloan studies under Dr. Livia Cutty, the forensic pathologist readers first met in The Girl Who Was Taken.

Livia also appears in Don’t Believe It and Twenty Years Later.

That makes Long Time Gone another excellent example of Donlea’s approach to interconnected standalone thrillers.

You don’t need to know Livia’s history to understand the story.

But longtime readers get an extra reward.

9. Guess Again (2025)

Guess Again is currently the newest Charlie Donlea thriller.

The novel begins with a teenage girl who disappears without a trace.

Ten years later, her disappearance still haunts the small Wisconsin community where she lived.

Callie Jones, a 17-year-old high school volleyball star, vanished a decade earlier.

Her body was never found.

Her case went cold.

Now Ethan Hall, a former detective who left law enforcement and became an emergency-room doctor, is pulled back into the investigation when his former partner asks him to help solve the mystery before it’s too late.

The investigation eventually leads Ethan into a psychological game involving a convicted serial killer.

Donlea’s official synopsis describes the story as a standalone thriller, while noting that one familiar face appears for particularly attentive readers.

Is Guess Again part of a series?

No.

Donlea’s official character guide explicitly calls Guess Again a truly standalone story. There is, however, a familiar face hidden inside the novel for longtime readers to discover.

That makes it perfectly accessible to a first-time Donlea reader.

Still, I’d recommend reading his books in publication order if you want to catch all of those little connections.

Are Charlie Donlea’s Books Connected?

Yes—but not in the way a traditional series is connected.

You won’t find one giant storyline running continuously from Summit Lake to Guess Again.

Instead, Donlea has created what you could think of as a connected thriller universe.

Characters and locations occasionally return.

Some books have direct relationships.

Others simply contain small references that reward longtime readers.

For example:

• Kelsey Castle is introduced in Summit Lake.
• Livia Cutty is introduced in The Girl Who Was Taken and appears in later books.
• Gus Morelli begins in Don’t Believe It and returns in The Suicide House.
• Rory Moore and Lane Phillips begin in Some Choose Darkness.
• Lane later appears in The Suicide House and Those Empty Eyes.
• Summit Lake itself appears in Don’t Believe It.

These connections are exactly why publication order works so well.

Charlie Donlea Books by Series and Connection

If you prefer to organize the books by their strongest connections rather than publication date, here’s a simpler breakdown.

Standalone/Connected Thriller Universe

These books are generally standalone mysteries but share characters, locations, or references:

1. Summit Lake
2. The Girl Who Was Taken
3. Don’t Believe It
4. Some Choose Darkness
5. The Suicide House
6. Twenty Years Later
7. Those Empty Eyes
8. Long Time Gone
9. Guess Again

Rory Moore and Lane Phillips

The most clearly defined character series is:

1. Some Choose Darkness
2. The Suicide House

Donlea’s official character guide specifically identifies The Suicide House as the second book in the Rory Moore/Lane Phillips series.

However, Lane Phillips also appears in Those Empty Eyes, so readers interested in the character should eventually read that book as well.

Do You Have to Read Charlie Donlea’s Books in Order?

No—but publication order is recommended.

This distinction is important.

Most of Donlea’s books are designed so that a reader can pick up one novel and understand its central mystery without reading anything else.

The author himself has said that readers won’t necessarily be lost if they start with a later book.

But reading in publication order gives you two advantages.

First, you experience Donlea’s development as a thriller writer.

Second, you catch recurring characters, locations, and small references as they appear naturally.

So if you are asking:

“Can I start with any Charlie Donlea book?”

Yes.

If you’re asking:

“What’s the best order for a first-time reader?”

Publication order wins.

Can You Read The Suicide House Before Some Choose Darkness?

Technically, yes.

Donlea intentionally made The Suicide House accessible as a standalone.

But I’d still recommend:

Some Choose Darkness → The Suicide House

The reason is simple: Rory Moore and Lane Phillips are introduced in Some Choose Darkness, so reading that book first gives their later story more context.

Can You Read Long Time Gone Without Reading The Girl Who Was Taken?

Yes.

Absolutely.

You won’t need to read The Girl Who Was Taken to understand Sloan Hastings’s story.

But Long Time Gone features Dr. Livia Cutty, a character introduced in The Girl Who Was Taken. Donlea deliberately uses these recurring characters as connective tissue between otherwise independent thrillers.

So if you enjoy discovering those connections, read The Girl Who Was Taken first.

Can You Start With Guess Again?

Yes.

In fact, Guess Again is one of the easiest Charlie Donlea books to recommend to someone who has never read him.

It’s a standalone story, so there is no complicated backstory you need to learn first. Donlea’s official site explicitly describes it as a standalone.

However, there’s a fun little reason longtime readers may prefer to save it for later: Donlea says that a familiar face appears in the novel.

If you don’t want to miss that connection, read the earlier books first.

What Is the Best Charlie Donlea Book to Start With?

There are two good answers depending on what you want.

For the complete Donlea experience: Summit Lake

Start with Summit Lake.

It’s his debut and the beginning of his publication history.

You’ll see how the author’s interconnected world develops from the beginning.

For a standalone entry point: Guess Again

If you simply want a fast, modern Charlie Donlea thriller without worrying about previous books, Guess Again is an excellent option.

It is explicitly described by Donlea as a standalone story.

For Rory Moore: Some Choose Darkness

If the Rory Moore character interests you, start with Some Choose Darkness and then read The Suicide House.

What Genre Are Charlie Donlea’s Books?

Charlie Donlea primarily writes psychological thrillers, crime thrillers, mystery, and suspense.

His books frequently use:

• Cold cases
• Murder investigations
• Forensic science
• Missing persons
• Criminal profiling
• Family secrets
• True-crime culture
• Multiple timelines
• Multiple perspectives
• Unreliable information
• Unexpected twists

For readers who enjoy authors such as Karin Slaughter, Lisa Gardner, Mary Kubica, Shari Lapena, or Riley Sager, Donlea can be a natural author to explore.

His books are especially appealing if you like thrillers where the central mystery keeps changing as new information comes to light.

Charlie Donlea’s Books in Publication Order

For easy reference, here is the complete list again:

The publication sequence is consistent with Donlea’s official bibliography and author materials. His official biography identifies Guess Again as his ninth thriller, released in August 2025.

What About Before I Go?

Here’s the important exception.

Before I Go appears on Charlie Donlea’s official website, but it isn’t presented as one of his Charlie Donlea thrillers.

It was written under the pen name Brian Charles.

The book was released in September 2022 and is a very different type of story: a love story dealing with grief, loss, life after death, and the connections between people.

So I would not insert it between Twenty Years Later and Those Empty Eyes when creating a Charlie Donlea thriller reading order.

Instead, think of it as:

Charlie Donlea’s thriller bibliography: 9 books

Additional novel written under the Brian Charles name: Before I Go

That distinction prevents readers from assuming it is another crime thriller in the Donlea universe.

How Many Charlie Donlea Books Are There?

As of 2026, Charlie Donlea’s official site lists nine thrillers under his name:

1. Summit Lake
2. The Girl Who Was Taken
3. Don’t Believe It
4. Some Choose Darkness
5. The Suicide House
6. Twenty Years Later
7. Those Empty Eyes
8. Long Time Gone
9. Guess Again

There is also Before I Go, but that book was written under the pen name Brian Charles and should be treated separately.

Are Charlie Donlea’s Books Worth Reading in Order?

Yes, particularly if you’re the kind of reader who enjoys discovering connections between standalone stories.

You don’t have to worry about a complicated chronological timeline.

You don’t have to read every book before understanding the next mystery.

And you won’t be completely lost if you start with a later title.

But publication order gives you something extra.

You’ll recognize Livia Cutty when she appears again.

You’ll notice Lane Phillips outside the Rory Moore books.

You’ll recognize Summit Lake when it comes back into the story.

You’ll catch recurring names and fictional institutions that casual readers might overlook.

Those details make the books feel like pieces of a much larger world.

Final Thoughts

The best way to read Charlie Donlea’s books in order is to follow their publication sequence, beginning with Summit Lake and continuing through The Girl Who Was Taken, Don’t Believe It, Some Choose Darkness, The Suicide House, Twenty Years Later, Those Empty Eyes, Long Time Gone, and Guess Again. Donlea’s novels are primarily standalone thrillers, but recurring characters, locations, and subtle connections make reading them in order more rewarding.

If you want the strongest character continuity, pay particular attention to Some Choose Darkness and The Suicide House, which form the clearest two-book sequence around Rory Moore and Lane Phillips.

And don’t worry if you’ve already started somewhere else. Unlike a tightly serialized mystery series, Donlea’s books are designed to work independently. The real advantage of reading them in order is not understanding the plot—it’s discovering all the little connections that make his thriller universe feel bigger with every book.

One final note: if you come across Before I Go while researching Charlie Donlea’s bibliography, don’t assume it’s another thriller in the sequence. It was written under the name Brian Charles, and its romantic, supernatural story is quite different from Donlea’s crime and suspense novels.

For a brand-new reader, though, the simplest answer remains:

Start with Summit Lake.

Then keep going.

Once you get hooked on Donlea’s particular combination of forensic detail, hidden secrets, shifting perspectives, and last-minute revelations, you may find yourself wanting to read all nine.

Written by

Emon Anam

Hi, I’m Emon. I’m the voice and heart behind Whimsy Read. After nine years in the world of banking, I followed my passion for storytelling into the world of SEO and content strategy. Now, I blend that analytical eye with a deep love for literature to bring you book reviews that are thoughtful, honest, and always focused on the stories that stay with you. When I’m not reading or writing, you’ll find me enjoying joyful chaos with my wife and three kids, getting lost in a new series, or revisiting my old loves: theater, music, and gaming. At the end of the day, I believe great books are meant to be shared, and I’m so glad you’re here to share them with me.