A big Thank You to all the folks who helped make this book a reality. Especially to my family, who have for years dealt with the ups and downs of the emotional rollercoaster that is part of the writing process. I couldn’t do it without you, and wouldn’t really want to.

To Amy and Mary, my First Readers, you were instrumental in making this story what it is.

To my literary agent, Marlene Stringer, for her support and speed-reading skills.

To my editor, John Scognamiglio, for helping me get what’s in my head onto the page.

To Mark Desire, the assistant director of forensic biology at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York, for taking my calls and explaining so eloquently what you and your team do to honor the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks. Your efforts are heroic.

And to the readers—as always, I’m grateful that you have plucked my novel out of a sea of entertainment options.

Teaser Chapter

Turn the page for a sneak peek at The Survivor by Charlie Donlea

USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
CHARLIE DONLEA

THE SURVIVOR

From the #1 internationally bestselling author and master of modern suspense comes a brilliantly twisting and propulsive standalone novel about a woman whose dark past as the lone survivor of her family’s slaughter collides with present-day crimes.

Alex Armstrong has changed everything about herself—her name, her appearance, her backstory. She’s no longer the terrified teenager a rapt audience saw on television, emerging in handcuffs from the quiet suburban home the night her family was massacred. That girl, Alexandra Quinlan, was accused of the killings, fought to clear her name, and later took the stand during her highly publicized defamation lawsuit that captured the attention of the nation.

It’s been ten years since, and Alex hasn’t stopped searching for answers about the night her family was killed, even as she continues to hide her real identity from true crime fanatics and grasping reporters still desperate to locate her. As a legal investigator, she works tirelessly to secure justice for others, too. People like Matthew Claymore, who’s under suspicion in the disappearance of his girlfriend, a student journalist named Laura McAllister.

Laura was about to break a major story about rape and cover-ups on her college campus. Alex believes Matthew is innocent, and unearths stunning revelations about the university’s faculty, fraternity members, and powerful parents willing to do anything to protect their children.

Most shocking of all—as Alex digs into Laura’s disappearance, she realizes there are unexpected connections to the murder of her own family. For as different as the crimes may seem, they each hinge on one sinister truth: no one is quite who they seem to be . . .