Why we’re excited
Ollie Whitaker runs a news site read by millions, and his brother Lucas leaves him a cryptic voicemail before being tortured and killed. A missing flash drive full of blackmail material puts Ollie and Lucas's fiancee, now in witness protection, on the same hit list.
Donlea is the author of Summit Lake and Some Choose Darkness, thrillers known for late reveals. This one is a standalone, so anyone can start here. Fans of conspiracy plots built around the media and the very rich should take note.
On our most-anticipated list since 22 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about Behind Every Face
Guess Again is the one Charlie Donlea book we have reviewed, at 4 out of 5.
Readers have saved it often enough to put it at No. 7 on our list of January 2027’s most-anticipated releases. At 416 pages it is about the usual length for a thriller release this month.
From the publisher
Dark secrets, dangerous threats, and jaw-dropping twists for readers of Riley Sager, Jeneva Rose, and Alex Michaelides.
Millions of readers click onto The Whitaker Report every day. Politics, crime, pop culture—Oliver Whitaker’s wildly popular website covers it all, breaking stories ahead of other news outlets. Ollie’s investigative skills have made him a media legend and a multimillionaire. But as the biggest story of Ollie’s life unfolds, his profession becomes deeply personal.
A cryptic last voicemail from his brother, Lucas, hinted at an explosive scandal. Lucas was tortured and murdered before Ollie could reach him, and now Ollie, too, is running for his life.
Piece by piece the explosive truth comes together—a sordid blackmail scheme involving Lucas’s billionaire employer and a missing flash drive that implicates dozens of rich and influential players. Ollie isn’t the only one being pursued by those who want that damning flash drive. So is Lucas’s fiancée, Andi Vonn, who’s been moved to a new town with a new identity to keep her safe until she can testify.
It may not be enough. As a frantic news media searches for answers and the FBI fights to protect its star witness, enemies are closing in. Ollie and Andi realize that neither can outrun this web of power and influence as a chilling reality settles in: there is no safe haven . . .
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read Behind Every Face yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
