Don't Look Away
- Judith D Collins
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
By: Daniel Kenitz
Narrators: Nancy Linari, Fred Sanders, Gary Tiedemann
Simon & Schuster Audio
ISBN: 9781668208656
Publisher: Scribner
Publication Date: 07/07/2026
Format: Other
My Rating: 5 Stars (ARC)
From the author of The Perfect Home comes a harrowing domestic crime thriller where a former defense attorney is forced out of retirement to defend her husband—now the prime suspect in the serial murder case terrorizing Florida’s Gulf Coast.
Leslie Woodhouse’s most exciting days should be behind her. In a past life, she was a defense attorney with a reputation for finding loopholes in high-profile cases. Now, she’s enjoying a modest retirement in Florida in a seaside condo with her mild-mannered husband, Robert. The only things that get her heart rate up now are late-night coffees, playful banter with her beloved older sister, and the news: the serial killer ravaging Florida’s Gulf Coast has just made his first mistake. An eight-year-old girl has seen his face and lived.
To Leslie, the murderer is little more than a morbid fascination—until she comes home to flashing police lights. Robert is arrested, accused of being the Gulf Coast Killer. Leslie is convinced of his innocence, and despite warnings not to represent her husband, she starts work on his defense. But as she unravels the facts, she can’t shake the unanswered questions. What was Robert’s DNA doing at the scene of the crime? And if she’s right to defend Robert, then who is the real Gulf Coast Killer, and why is he framing her husband?
Don’t Look Away is a twisty, compulsively readable thriller that asks: what do we owe one another— and what are the consequences of ignoring the truth?
My Review
"A razor-sharp domestic drama where a retired defense attorney must navigate the treacherous inner circles of a serial killer investigation, hitting too close to home."
BLIND MARITAL LOYALTY VS. UNDENIABLE FORENSIC EVIDENCE.
In DON'T LOOK AWAY, thriller author Daniel Kenitz delivers a deeply atmospheric, tension-soaked Gulf Coast, modern psychological crime mystery.
Elevator Pitch
A peaceful seaside retirement turns into a high-stakes, paranoid nightmare when a former defense attorney is forced out of retirement to represent her own husband after he is arrested as a notorious Gulf Coast serial killer.
Setting
(Madre Island, FL) The sun-drenched, deceptively peaceful seaside landscape of Florida’s Gulf Coast, moving between a quiet retirement condo and a high-stakes, media-frenzied courtroom.
Vibe
Claustrophobic, high-tension, and deeply paranoid.
Genre
Domestic Crime Thriller / Psychological Suspense / Courtroom Drama
Themes
~The Blind Spots of Marital Loyalty and Devotion
~The Consequences of Deliberately Ignoring the Truth
~The Heavy Burden of What We Owe the People We Love
~The Dark Secrets Hiding Under the Glare of Paradise
Standout Characters
~Leslie Woodhouse: A fierce, retired defense attorney whose brilliant mind becomes her own worst enemy as she fights to save her husband.
~Robert Woodhouse: Her seemingly mild-mannered husband, whose arrest for a string of horrific serial murders exposes a lifetime of hidden layers.
~The Gulf Coast Killer: A calculating, faceless predator terrorizing Florida who may be hiding right under Leslie's roof.
Author Writing Standout
Daniel Kenitz excels at delivering a rich, incredibly twisty narrative structure packed with relentless psychological pacing. He captures the legal arena with total authenticity while maintaining an ever-present sense of domestic dread that makes you question every character's innocence.
Takeaway
The truth doesn't care about your loyalty—and looking away from it will only ensure your own destruction.
Title Significance
Don't Look Away serves as a literal, haunting warning to Leslie and the reader alike; once you uncover the first thread of a lie, you cannot close your eyes to the horrifying reality of who is standing right next to you.
Metaphor
Leslie’s late-night coffees—brewed to keep her awake through mountains of defense files—perfectly symbolize her desperate fight against the darkness trying to swallow her marriage, pushing her mind to the absolute brink of exhaustion.
Why You Should Read
A fiercely captivating, edge-of-your-seat contemporary thriller that blends high-stakes courtroom mechanics with a deeply intimate, devastating marriage-in-crisis plot.
My Thoughts
Don't Look Away by the brilliant Daniel Kenitz is a total five-star domestic thriller masterpiece!
It turns into this incredible, fast-paced, high-stakes psychological cat-and-mouse game where Leslie has to figure out if she's protecting an innocent man or walking straight into a trap. The tension is top-tier, the legal writing is flawless, and it's the ultimate popcorn thriller!
The narrative tension is a total psychological adrenaline rush that keeps you turning pages at a breakneck clip. Kenitz crafts an exceptionally clever, dark puzzle where the protagonist is an unforgettable, fiercely competent woman caught in an impossible emotional vise. The dialogue is sharp, the Florida atmosphere is palpable, and the final sequence of reveals will completely floor you. As a long-time Florida resident, I always enjoy thrillers set in my backyard.
Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
"A stellar, five-star crime thriller that firmly establishes Daniel Kenitz as a top-tier voice in modern psychological suspense."
Recs/Read Alikes
If you enjoyed the fast-paced, high-stakes suspense of Don't Look Away by Daniel Kenitz, you will love these thrillers, combining complex marital secrets, legal or investigative angles, and shocking twists that keep you questioning who to trust.
~The Perfect Home by Daniel Kenitz: If you love the author's writing style, his debut novel features the same intricately plotted domestic tension and dark, multi-layered family secrets.
~Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
~Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
~Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
~The Perfect Marriageby Jeneva Rose
~Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
~Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
Special thanks to Scribner and NetGalley for sharing an advanced reading copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 7, 2026
My Rating: 5 Stars
July 2026 Must-Read Books
Praise
A rattling ride... [Kenitz's] characters reap the bloody consequences of their long-ago actions, and the narrative culminates in a terrifying climax.” —Publishers Weekly
“What a book! A propulsive crime novel with fascinating, well-drawn characters and an original, unexpected story. Don't Look Away is aptly named, because you won't be able to stop once you start.” —J.T. Ellison, New York Times bestselling author of Lie to Me and You Know Why
“In Don't Look Away, Daniel Kenitz expertly balances compelling crime plotting with family drama for a fresh take on a serial killer thriller. Rich characters—anchored by a savvy lawyer determined to defend her accused husband—twist and turn through a gauntlet of manipulation, shocking reveals, and secrets to deliver a truly satisfying ending.” —Darby Kane, #1 internationally bestselling author of Pretty Little Wife and Such a Clever Girl
“Brilliantly written. A tale that will keep you up well past your bedtime.” —Kat Martin, New York Times bestselling suspense author
“A multi-layered examination of how well we know the ones we love and what has the power to change these relationships.”
—Crimespree Magazine
“A climactic chase... suspenseful…[Kenitz] makes skillful use of alternating first-person points of view.”
—Kirkus
About the Author
Daniel Kenitz is a freelance writer and the author of the thriller The Perfect Home, published by Scribner on January 7, 2025. He has also published several short stories, including the Pushcart Prize-nominated A Hand to the Plow (2022, Red Rock Review), Tickleneck (2022, Spotlong Review), The Cycle (2021, Evening Street Review), Seen (2020, Every Day Fiction), The Parent License (2020, The Virginia Normal), and Sunset 9037 (2013, Strangelet Magazine). His freelance work has appeared in blogs like Skillshare (Here’s Exactly How to Start a Story), Atlassian (Empathy is the Antidote: Conflict resolution at work), and Big Cartel (Don’t Be Like da Vinci: The Pitfalls of Losing Your Focus). To the Wall Street Journal, he is an expert on apostrophes. WEBSITE
