The Secret of Charley Grace
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Pub Date 1 Sep 2026 | Archive Date 28 Oct 2026
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Description
Fourteen-year-old Charley Grace was raised in secrecy—trained in martial arts, fluent in Mandarin, and never told who she really was. When assassins storm her villa in Mexico, and her aunt dies defending her, Charley must flee with only a clue: she is “Alpha Girl.”
What she doesn’t yet know is that she is the first human genetically edited to be
immune to disease and destined for an extraordinary lifespan. But she is also a target.
Those desiring unimaginable profits seek her biotechnology secrets for themselves: Chinese intelligence, Russian agents, the Sinaloa Cartel, big pharma, rogue billionaires,
and even factions within the U.S. government. Her only ally is Ray Nelson, an emotionally-scarred truck driver on the run from his wife’s killers with his dog, Patsy. As they flee across the Arizona desert to the Las Vegas Strip and beyond, they enlist an intrepid band of outcasts who become Charley’s shield—and her family.
Building upon the success of Colin Kersey’s previous award-winning novel, Swimming with the Angels, The Secret of Charley Grace is a relentless page-turning thriller about greed, redemption, and a girl the world sees as a lab specimen—but who refuses to be anything less than fully human.
A Note From the Publisher
In addition to degrees from the University of Washington and Western Washington University, Colin studied with best-selling mystery writer Elizabeth George and earned a certificate in Novel Writing from Stanford University. He now lives on the Southern California coast with his wife, Vicki.
Advance Praise
"The Secret of Charley Grace combines the velocity of a crime thriller, the paranoia of a conspiracy thriller, the ideas of a biotech thriller, and the emotional pull of a found-family story into one ambitious, eventful ride." — Literary Titan
"Beautifully written [...] has all the elements of a great thriller that will stay with you long after you have finished reading." — Readers' Favorite
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Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9798901743799 |
| PRICE | $20.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 432 |
Available on NetGalley
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Buy on Bookshop.org Buy on WaterstonesAverage rating from 3 members
Featured Reviews
Reviewer 1531659
Relentless from the first page. Fourteen-year-old Charley Grace was raised in secrecy, trained in martial arts, fluent in Mandarin, and never told who she really was. When assassins storm her villa in Mexico and her aunt dies defending her, she has to flee with only one clue: she is "Alpha Girl." Cinematic and impossible to put down. 
Cheryl S, Reviewer
Quick moving thriller
This fast moving thriller starts off b**ls to the wall and the action doesn't let up. Charley Grace is a young 14 year old martial arts trained Chinese girl with what seems to be half the world after her. She's undergone genetic engineering to lengthen her lifespan and make her immune to disease and now everyone wants a sample of her blood, it seems.
Ray Nelson is a trucker who is on the run himself, looking over his shoulder for the Sinaloa Cartel but he helps Charley anyway, along with his extra special dog Patsy.
Soon a whole cast of motley characters is trying to help Charley escape the Chinese government, the cartels, the US alphabet agencies, other countries' biotech teams, human traffickers and more.
This was a fun, fantastic, fast story full of blood and carnage.
I received this Digital Review Copy from Atmosphere Press through NetGalley. Thank you.
Kathryn M, Reviewer
Colin Kersey always does a fantastic job in writing books and characters that are unique and worked in the story. This was a fascinating concept and I enjoyed getting to go on this journey and how it was used in thriller concept. The plot was everything that I had hoped for and thought the overall world building worked and getting to know the characters. I enjoyed the idea of genetically modifying humans in this setting and what that meant. It was everything that I had wanted from the description and enjoyed the previous books from the author.
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