She Treads Softly: Guess Again

Sunday, July 13, 2025

Guess Again

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea
7/29/25; 352 pages
Kensington

Guess Again by Charlie Donlea is a very highly recommended mystery/thriller that held my complete attention from start to finish.

Ethan Hall is an ER doctor who previously was a special agent with the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation. His former partner, Pete Kramer, is dying and comes to Ethan with a request. Ten years ago 17-year-old high Callie Jones disappeared and the case was never solved. Pete was the original investigator on the case and now he wants Ethan to take a look at the case and hopefully find some clue Pete missed to bring closure for the family. Ethan agrees to look at the case files but is pulled into investigating.

This well written thriller amps up the suspense and tension with each short, fast-paced chapter. The narrative jumps between the past and present and in the present between Ethan and a unknown woman. This structure works well to enhance the uneasiness and highlights the twists as the investigation continues.

The plot is complex and ties into Ethan's past in an unexpected way. It also requires some assistance with current technology to assist in the investigation. This is a novel that contains multiple mysteries along the way. Clear out some time as you will want to read it in one sitting.

Ethan is portrayed as a likable, fully realized character, with both strengths and weaknesses. You will know, as Ethan does, that he is being guided into an evil man's twisted scheme, but Ethan is intelligent and not easily deceived.

Guess Again is an excellent choice for those who enjoy fast-paced, twisty mysteries. Thanks to Kensington for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

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John Updike's six rules for reviewing:

1. Try to understand what the author wished to do, and do not blame him for not achieving what he did not attempt.

2. Give him enough direct quotation--at least one extended passage--of the book's prose so the review's reader can form his own impression, can get his own taste.

3. Confirm your description of the book with quotation from the book, if only phrase-long, rather than proceeding by fuzzy precis.

4. Go easy on plot summary, and do not give away the ending.

5. If the book is judged deficient, cite a successful example along the same lines, from the author's oeuvre or elsewhere. Try to understand the failure. Sure it's his and not yours?

To these concrete five might be added a vaguer sixth, having to do with maintaining a chemical purity in the reaction between product and appraiser.....Review the book, not the reputation.... Better to praise and share than blame and ban. The communion between reviewer and his public is based upon the presumption of certain possible joys in reading, and all our discriminations should curve toward that end.