Don't Believe It

April 9, 2018
New York producer Sidney Ryan, the heroine of this riveting if flawed novel from Donlea (The Girl Who Was Taken), is producing a documentary TV series about Grace Sebold, an American medical student who has spent 10 years in prison in St. Lucia for the murder of her boyfriend, Julian Crist. As Sidney becomes convinced of Grace’s innocence, fans of her show, The Girl of Sugar Beach, pressure authorities to exonerate Grace. One viewer, however, has a different opinion: a retired police detective who investigated a similar death in Grace’s past. Racing to meet weekly deadlines, Sidney grapples with whether Grace is guilty—a conclusion that will infuriate network executives, devastate fans, and hurt her career—or whether she can identify the killer among Grace’s circle. Donlea splices Sidney’s investigation with excerpted scenes from the documentary and jury room, creating a fast-paced narration that mimics TV shows’ frequent scene shifts but doesn’t encourage in-depth character development. A risky late plot twist will frustrate some readers while thrilling others, and a few loose ends hint at a potential sequel. Agent: Marlene Stringer, Stringer Literary Agency.

May 1, 2018
With three successful documentaries under her belt and three innocent prisoners set free as a result, Sydney Ryan is allowed some latitude with her new project, a real-time documentary. Each week's show will present the results of that week's investigative work. The hopeful convict this time is Grace Sebold, an American who's been locked up for 10 years for the murder of her boyfriend on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. Sydney's work quickly becomes watercooler fodder as the did-she-or-didn't-she conversation starts to involve more and more exonerating details. Is Grace innocent? If so, the question of who did it has the ratings skyrocketing and will keep readers engrossed as well. Donlea's framing of the story as documentary research proves an effective device, and his work reads like the best nonfiction: clear, crisp, and fast moving. Viewers of Making a Murderer and The Jinx, documentary series that are frequently name-dropped by Donlea (The Girl Who Was Taken, 2017), are a natural audience for this title.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)