Christina  McDonald

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Christina McDonald

Goodreads Author


Born
in Seattle, The United States
Website

Twitter

Genre

Influences

Member Since
June 2010


About this author
Christina McDonald is the award-winning, USA Today and Amazon charts bestselling author of What Lies In Darkness, The Stranger At Black Lake, These Still Black Waters, Do No Harm, Behind Every Lie and The Night Olivia Fell, which has been optioned for television by a major Hollywood studio. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she now lives in London, England, with her husband, two sons, and their dog, Tango.

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Christina McDonald Hi Belinda, thank you so much! I'm so excited for All That Is Broken to be released next year! :) I'm just finishing up edits in the next few weeks, s…moreHi Belinda, thank you so much! I'm so excited for All That Is Broken to be released next year! :) I'm just finishing up edits in the next few weeks, so hopefully in a few months we'll have a cover to put on Goodreads. I'll definitely announce it on my Facebook page, if you're following me there - @christinamcdonaldauthor. Thank you!(less)
Christina McDonald The idea for Night Olivia Fell came when I read a story about a teenage girl in California who was declared brain dead after a routine tonsillectomy w…moreThe idea for Night Olivia Fell came when I read a story about a teenage girl in California who was declared brain dead after a routine tonsillectomy went wrong. There was a lot of talk at the time about the legal and moral implications. I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t weigh in on this, but I am a mother, and my first thought when I read this story was for the girl’s mother and the heartbreak she must’ve been feeling.

Losing your child is every parent’s worst nightmare, and I imagined myself in her circumstances. Being the person I am, I started asking myself what if? What if the teenage girl had been pregnant? Would that be a comfort or a curse to her mother? What if the mother had suffered her own tragedies? What if she was a single parent? What if she thought something more sinister had happened? What if she’d been murdered, but nobody would listen to her?

I had a very specific scene flash through my mind and I wrote a rough draft of it right then. The entire book then developed around that.(less)
Average rating: 3.88 · 57,898 ratings · 7,913 reviews · 12 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Night Olivia Fell

3.89 avg rating — 31,430 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions
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These Still Black Waters (J...

3.88 avg rating — 9,417 ratings — published 2023 — 10 editions
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Behind Every Lie

3.84 avg rating — 7,759 ratings — published 2020 — 9 editions
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Do No Harm

3.63 avg rating — 5,690 ratings — published 2021 — 8 editions
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What Lies in Darkness (Jess...

4.30 avg rating — 2,498 ratings — published 2024 — 5 editions
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The Stranger At Black Lake ...

3.96 avg rating — 927 ratings2 editions
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All The Lies We See (Jess L...

4.72 avg rating — 43 ratings — expected publication 2026 — 2 editions
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No One Quite Like Me: A chi...

4.24 avg rating — 46 ratings3 editions
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Zoe Zebra Loses Her Z

4.27 avg rating — 45 ratings2 editions
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Living Abroad in Ireland

3.96 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2012 — 4 editions
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More books by Christina McDonald…

The Younger Woman by Cate Ray

The Younger WomanThe Younger Woman by Cate Ray
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely loved this book! A fascinating insight into the deterioration of a marriage and what happens when love turns to hate. Vivid, with exquisite prose and wonderfully drawn characters, The Younger Woman is breathtaking and wildly original. An eerie, elegant thriller.

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Published on June 13, 2025 06:36
These Still Black Waters What Lies in Darkness All The Lies We See
(3 books)
by
3.97 avg rating — 12,884 ratings

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Christina’s Recent Updates

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The Lies I Tell by Julie   Clark
The Lies I Tell
by Julie Clark (Goodreads Author)
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Julie Clark is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller authors! I read The Ghostwriter and loved it so much I'm working my way through her backlist, and loving every single book.

This one follows Meg a con artist and chameleon who becomes whoever
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The Teacher by Freida McFadden
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Light, quick and bingeable, this is an easy read, despite its dark themes. With crazy twists and unhinged characters, this one is a wild ride with a surprising ending
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The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North
The Man Made of Smoke
by Alex North (Goodreads Author)
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A haunting story of trauma, grief and ultimately redemption, The Man Made of Smoke is a serial killer story with a human twist. Danie Garvie has been haunted by the moment in a rest stop men's toilet when he didn't help a terrorized boy who was ultim ...more
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The God of the Woods by Liz    Moore
The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore (Goodreads Author)
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The God of the Woods by Liz    Moore
The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore (Goodreads Author)
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Five Survive by Holly  Jackson
Five Survive
by Holly Jackson (Goodreads Author)
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Cinematic and gripping, I literally couldn't put this book down! A locked in mystery in which six friends are stuck in the middle of nowhere in an RV with a sniper outside and no way to get in touch with anybody on the outside. But why are they being ...more
Christina McDonald rated a book it was amazing
Too Old for This by Samantha  Downing
Too Old for This
by Samantha Downing (Goodreads Author)
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Told in Samantha Downing's typical dry, sharp wit, this book is a clever, cheeky, dark game of Cat and Mouse that is absolutely unputdownable. A loveable serial killer sounds like an oxymoron, but Lottie is one of best protagonists I’ve read in ages. ...more
Christina McDonald rated a book it was amazing
In the Woods by Tana French
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An absolutely wonderfully written literary thriller, but man, was I let down by that ending! But still, I was blown away by everything else. The writing is exceptional, the character building truly a masterclass, the plot intriguing. I couldn't put t ...more
Christina McDonald rated a book really liked it
I Came Back for You by Kate White
I Came Back for You
by Kate White (Goodreads Author)
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Despite the dark subject matter (grief, trauma, justice), I Came Back For You was somehow light enough to be fairly bingeable. It's dark, twisty and devastating, although not so much it will make you cry (if that's what you like). It's a slow-burning ...more
Christina McDonald rated a book it was amazing
Please Enjoy Your Stay by Tara Goedjen
Please Enjoy Your Stay
by Tara Goedjen (Goodreads Author)
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Perfect for Halloween! I absolutely loved this creepy, compelling story about a true crime podcast that reopens a murder from a woman’s childhood. The murderer is now appealing his conviction, and to stop him getting out of prison, Mia must go back t ...more
More of Christina's books…
Quotes by Christina McDonald  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“He had the air of someone who imagines he can negotiate with gravity.”
Christina McDonald, The Night Olivia Fell

“But there are no redos in life. You can’t go back and make things better. All you can do is live with it and move forward.”
Christina McDonald, The Night Olivia Fell

“You don’t have to be right one hundred percent of the time to show you love someone.”
Christina McDonald, The Night Olivia Fell

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Crazy Challenge C...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Pssst .... whatcha reading? 2018 313 75 Dec 30, 2018 11:57AM  
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Goodreads Librari...: Wrong Author? 2 227 Mar 12, 2019 07:01PM  
Aussie Lovers of...: Autumn Reading Challenge 1st March - 31st May 2019 170 71 Jun 09, 2019 08:05PM  
A Million More Pages: June Word Hunt - announcement msg 37 46 68 Jul 04, 2019 04:24PM  
“How far should a person go in the name of true love?”
Nicholas Sparks, The Choice

“I'm in love with you," he said quietly.

"Augustus," I said.

"I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.”
John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

“Parents can be narrow-minded when it comes to the dreams they have for their kids.”
Barbara Delinsky, Before and Again

“So many books, so little time.”
Frank Zappa

1003230 Behind the Pages with The Traveling Sisters — 218 members — last activity Sep 01, 2021 02:53AM
Brenda and Lindsay from The Traveling Sisters Book Reviews host the Q & A with authors Our Blog https://travelingsistersbookreviews.com We invited e ...more
891757 Traveling Friends special group read for The Night Olivia Fell — 16 members — last activity Apr 01, 2019 09:02AM
Discussion for The Night Olivia Fell
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Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
85538 Oprah's Book Club (Official) — 86431 members — last activity 32 minutes ago
Welcome to the official Oprah's Book Club group. OBC is the interactive, multi-platform reading club bringing passionate readers together to discuss i ...more
345436 Reese's Book Club x Hello Sunshine — 175078 members — last activity 5 hours, 38 min ago
Hey Y’all, We’ve been reading together for awhile and we don’t know about you, but we’re ready to hear your thoughts and opinions. This group is a pl ...more
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