Twenty Years Later

Twenty Years Later is a crime thriller by Charlie Donlea, published by Kensington Publishing in 2022. Donlea is an international best-selling author of thrillers, and Twenty Years Later, his seventh novel, was praised by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal for Donlea’s fast-paced and unpredictable writing.

The novel addresses the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11) through the complications that arise when a former murder suspect’s remains are identified at Ground Zero. Addressing themes of Reputation, Truth, and the Search for Justice, The Lasting Effects of Traumatic Events, and Perceptions and Judgments of Sexuality, the novel explores how Avery Mason, an up-and-coming journalist, and Walt Jenkins, a former FBI agent, work to clear Victoria Ford’s name in the murder of her lover, Cameron Young.

This guide refers to the 2022 Kindle edition.

Content Warning: This guide and the source material contain references to terrorism and mass murder, infertility, death by suicide, alcohol addiction, and explicit descriptions of sexual acts and bondage play.

Plot Summary

Avery Mason begins hosting American Events, a news show, after the previous host dies. She improves the ratings and expands the audience, leading her to investigate more hard-hitting topics and negotiate a higher salary. She plans to investigate the identified remains of Victoria Ford, who was reported to have died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. At the same time, Walt Jenkins, a former FBI agent living in Jamaica, grapples with alcohol addiction and his past in New York. He receives an offer to return to the FBI to help Avery investigate the death of Cameron Young, a murder that Walt investigated in 2001. The main suspect was Victoria Ford, and the investigation ended with the 9/11 attacks. The FBI predicts that Avery will end up reopening the case, and they want Walt to help her while secretly investigating her connection to her father, Garth Montgomery, a notorious fraudster who has eluded law enforcement for three years.

On her way to New York, Avery stops in Wisconsin to visit the sailing camp that she attended as a child and spend time with Connie Clarkson, the camp instructor. In New York, Avery meets with Emma Kind, Victoria’s sister, who shows Avery phone messages Victoria left when she was trapped in the World Trade Center on 9/11. These messages convince Avery of Victoria’s innocence, and Emma asks Avery to prove it in her program. Avery agrees, and she contacts Walt for help in the investigation. Walt agrees, and he secretly begins following Avery to see if she visits her father. Avery visits a man called André, who promises to make a fake passport for Avery, and she also visits her mother and brother’s gravestones. Walt reports Avery’s movements to his boss at the FBI, and he receives listening devices to plant in Avery’s hotel room. As Walt and Avery review the Cameron Young case, they see that all the evidence points to Victoria, but Avery maintains her belief in Victoria’s innocence.

As Avery and Walt continue to investigate, Avery finds that Victoria wrote a series of manuscripts before her death, which match exactly with five novels published by Natalie Ratcliff, Victoria’s roommate in college. Additionally, Avery discovers that the remains identified as Victoria’s were only a single tooth, meaning Victoria may have survived the attacks on 9/11. Avery concludes that Victoria is still alive, and that Natalie’s novels are being written by Victoria. In the meantime, Avery and Walt begin a romantic relationship, which causes Avery to question her ability to be intimate with others after her father’s betrayal, and which leads Walt to decide to stop spying on Avery. However, André reveals to Avery that Walt has been following her when he provides the fake passport she purchased.

Confronting Walt about his surveillance, Avery and Walt concoct a plan to tell the FBI where Garth is hiding. Avery found Garth at a cabin in Lake Placid, and she calls him, telling him that she will meet him at the cabin in a few days. Walt and Avery record the phone call, then bring the recording to the FBI. Avery mails the passport to Wisconsin, sending it to the sailing camp she attended as a child, and Walt asks his ex-girlfriend, Meghan, to accompany a man named Aaron Holland on a cruise leaving from New Orleans. As the FBI raids the cabin and arrests Garth, Aaron Holland lands in Jamaica and reveals his identity as Christopher, Avery’s brother who faked his death years prior. Avery and Walt meet Christopher in Jamaica, and Avery and Walt become more serious about their relationship.

Avery airs her special on Victoria Ford, as well as a special on her father’s crimes and arrest, but she does not reveal that Victoria is still alive. Victoria and Natalie publish a new novel, in which the killer plants evidence of their own blood in order to make it look like they are being framed, indicating that Victoria killed Cameron, then planted her own blood and urine to distract investigators.