What do you think?
Rate this book
Alexandria Novels #2
Merciless
No PityEach skeleton is flawless--gleaming white and perfectly preserved, a testament to his skill. Every scrap of flesh has been removed to reveal the glistening bone beneath. And the collection is growing. . . No CompassionWhen bleached human bones are identified as belonging to a former patient of Dr. James Dixon, Detective Malcolm Kier suspects the worst. Dixon was recently acquitted of attempted murder, thanks to defense attorney Angie Carlson. But as the body count rises, Kier is convinced that Angie is now the target of a brutal, brilliant psychopath. No Escape Angie is no stranger to the dark side of human nature. But nothing has prepared her for the decades-long legacy of madness and murder about to be revealed--or a killer ready to claim her as his ultimate trophy. . . Praise for the novels of Mary Burton"A twisted tale. . .I couldn't put it down!" --Lisa Jackson on Dying Scream "Taut, compelling. . .delivers a page-turner." --Carla Neggers on I'm Watching You"A chilling thriller." --Beverly Barton on Dead Ringer
416 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 2011
673 people are currently reading
1376 people want to read
About the author
Mary Burton
68 books4,102 followersMary Burton, whose latest novel is THE LIES I TOLD, loves writing suspense, getting to know her characters, keeping up with law enforcement and forensic procedure, morning walks, baking, and tiny dachshunds. She also enjoys hunting down serial killers, which she does in her New York Times and USA Today bestselling novels. Library Journal has compared her work to that of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner, and Fresh Fiction likened her writing to that of James Patterson.
Mary is routinely featured among the top ten writers in Amazon’s Author Rankings for romantic suspense, thriller and mystery. Upon publication, her novels, including NEVER LOOK BACK and BURN YOU TWICE, consistently rank high on the Kindle eBooks Store Bestseller List. Her novels CUT AND RUN and YOU'RE NOT SAFE were nominated for the Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award for Romantic Suspense.
A Richmond native, Mary is the author of forty-five published novels and five novellas as Mary Burton and as Mary Ellen Taylor.
A member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., and Romance Writers of America, Mary is known for creating multiple suspense stories connected by characters and/or place.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
January 28, 2016
This is a re-read for me. It's been over a year since I read it, but I kept it on my shelves knowing I wanted to read it again sometime.
Merciless is the sequel to SENSELESS and is the story of Angie Carlson and Detective Malcolm Kier.
Young women are disappearing and they happen to be clients of Angie, who is a defense attorney. The bodies are found a few days later .. well, actually, it's only their bones that are found, usually artfully arranged in very public places.
Angie and Malcolm are no strangers to the things that human monsters can do. The story really gets interesting when the thread seems to lead back to murder and madness 20 or so years in the past. And the closer Angie gets to the truth, the more danger she's in, and the more protective Malcolm gets.
Lots of twists and turns in this one ... with a major one that's explosive. I enjoyed the characters of Angie and Malcolm. Malcolm does not like her at all. She's a defense attorney who got a vicious rapist set free. He's always sniping at her, but she's got thick skin and gives as good as she gets.
The bad guys are just plain evil! And just when I thought I had it all figured out, up would pop another of those twists to send me down a different road.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes a good mystery/thriller or a Romantic Suspense.
Merciless is the sequel to SENSELESS and is the story of Angie Carlson and Detective Malcolm Kier.
Young women are disappearing and they happen to be clients of Angie, who is a defense attorney. The bodies are found a few days later .. well, actually, it's only their bones that are found, usually artfully arranged in very public places.
Angie and Malcolm are no strangers to the things that human monsters can do. The story really gets interesting when the thread seems to lead back to murder and madness 20 or so years in the past. And the closer Angie gets to the truth, the more danger she's in, and the more protective Malcolm gets.
Lots of twists and turns in this one ... with a major one that's explosive. I enjoyed the characters of Angie and Malcolm. Malcolm does not like her at all. She's a defense attorney who got a vicious rapist set free. He's always sniping at her, but she's got thick skin and gives as good as she gets.
The bad guys are just plain evil! And just when I thought I had it all figured out, up would pop another of those twists to send me down a different road.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes a good mystery/thriller or a Romantic Suspense.
September 14, 2025
8.5/10: 4.25⭐️’s
Someone get me a badge, you can call me Detective Marta. 2 for 2 with this series. This one was quite a bit more obvious, but I still had the Other figured out relatively early after their entry in the book.
This is the second book in the series, and while I read the 3rd one first (because my desperate yesterday self didn’t pay attention to the fact Libby had book two…it did not have book one, I looked before starting this one) I didn’t find it necessary to read either the first or second book to understand what was going on. It wasn’t necessary in order to follow along with this one either, but if you read book 2 before book 1, you really don’t need to read book 1 because it’s pretty much all covered in book 2. Everyone follow that? Book 2 is a definite spoiler for book 1.
Good suspense. Likeable mc’s. And that side dish of romance, I want to say barf, but it was cute. There I said it. It was cute, not corny, but just cute. And there was homemade pizza involved. I think that might have been what won me over. I was rooting for Mr. Cranky pants and Ms. pencil skirts and buns. Even though he had an inappropriate boner🙄. Dude, you are in your 30’s eating at a restaurant with your partner discussing murder, control it. What if you had had to stand up when she walked over? Geez. Pretty soon you are going to be the creepy perv.
Anyways….i am really quite tired….oh but here is one of those situations where it’s like, how do these terrible people spot other terrible people and connect with them? I guess they can spot the darkness within eachother. But honestly, baffles the crap out of me how a person would approach someone and be like hey, let’s become murder pals. And not worry that the other person would be like ‘whoa, back off you crazy ass fool.’ And then run straight to the police. I just don’t get it. It can’t be like finding someone who has other similar interests as you and forming some sort of bond, like people who like art meeting at an art class. Or you start chatting with someone at a book store about a book they are holding that you have read and loved. You know, like not evil stuff. It’s easier to spot those shared interests. But the darkness murder thing….
Did I mention how tired I am? I am very tired. It’s well past my bedtime. Hoping I wrote something about the book! This has been another addition of Marta Rambles while really tired so who the heck knows if anything she said made sense🤷♀️🤦🏼♀️.
Good book. Worked quite well to distract me again.
Original rating and ramble posted: 9/13/25 at way past bedtime o’clock.
Additional note: 9/14/25
I have nothing against pencil skirts and buns….i just needed a nickname for Angie since I gave one to Mr. Crankypants. And skirts…pants….and then i guess I added in the buns. I personally am jealous of people who wear pencil skirts because I can’t pull off the professional look without looking like I am trying to play ‘I’m a grown-up’ and I never can get my hair in a bun that actually looks good. I reread my rambles, thought that part sounded a little rude and decided a rambling explanation was needed 13 hours later. Even though I am sure no one who wears pencil skirts and buns who read this was offended by it.🤦🏼♀️. I am still very tired. And apparently still very rambly. Both of which are usually my current state of being so not really noteworthy things.
Someone get me a badge, you can call me Detective Marta. 2 for 2 with this series. This one was quite a bit more obvious, but I still had the Other figured out relatively early after their entry in the book.
This is the second book in the series, and while I read the 3rd one first (because my desperate yesterday self didn’t pay attention to the fact Libby had book two…it did not have book one, I looked before starting this one) I didn’t find it necessary to read either the first or second book to understand what was going on. It wasn’t necessary in order to follow along with this one either, but if you read book 2 before book 1, you really don’t need to read book 1 because it’s pretty much all covered in book 2. Everyone follow that? Book 2 is a definite spoiler for book 1.
Good suspense. Likeable mc’s. And that side dish of romance, I want to say barf, but it was cute. There I said it. It was cute, not corny, but just cute. And there was homemade pizza involved. I think that might have been what won me over. I was rooting for Mr. Cranky pants and Ms. pencil skirts and buns. Even though he had an inappropriate boner🙄. Dude, you are in your 30’s eating at a restaurant with your partner discussing murder, control it. What if you had had to stand up when she walked over? Geez. Pretty soon you are going to be the creepy perv.
Anyways….i am really quite tired….oh but here is one of those situations where it’s like, how do these terrible people spot other terrible people and connect with them? I guess they can spot the darkness within eachother. But honestly, baffles the crap out of me how a person would approach someone and be like hey, let’s become murder pals. And not worry that the other person would be like ‘whoa, back off you crazy ass fool.’ And then run straight to the police. I just don’t get it. It can’t be like finding someone who has other similar interests as you and forming some sort of bond, like people who like art meeting at an art class. Or you start chatting with someone at a book store about a book they are holding that you have read and loved. You know, like not evil stuff. It’s easier to spot those shared interests. But the darkness murder thing….
Did I mention how tired I am? I am very tired. It’s well past my bedtime. Hoping I wrote something about the book! This has been another addition of Marta Rambles while really tired so who the heck knows if anything she said made sense🤷♀️🤦🏼♀️.
Good book. Worked quite well to distract me again.
Original rating and ramble posted: 9/13/25 at way past bedtime o’clock.
Additional note: 9/14/25
I have nothing against pencil skirts and buns….i just needed a nickname for Angie since I gave one to Mr. Crankypants. And skirts…pants….and then i guess I added in the buns. I personally am jealous of people who wear pencil skirts because I can’t pull off the professional look without looking like I am trying to play ‘I’m a grown-up’ and I never can get my hair in a bun that actually looks good. I reread my rambles, thought that part sounded a little rude and decided a rambling explanation was needed 13 hours later. Even though I am sure no one who wears pencil skirts and buns who read this was offended by it.🤦🏼♀️. I am still very tired. And apparently still very rambly. Both of which are usually my current state of being so not really noteworthy things.
October 19, 2017
A great follow up to Senseless and definitely if you read the first book, you need to read this one.
Although not in the series, Before She Dies picks up with some of the same characters (which I really liked) and recommend reading it after this one.
Although not in the series, Before She Dies picks up with some of the same characters (which I really liked) and recommend reading it after this one.
March 24, 2013
I can't seem to get enough of Mary Burton. Her books are so thrilling and you really have to pay attention to put the clues together. This book was no different. I loved it, and I was shocked at the bad guy (which I like). So many twists and turns, lots of great action and a couple you can't help but want to see end together.
Read
December 1, 2020Em “Merciless” (sequela de “Senseless”) deparamo-nos com um serial killer que anda a assassinar pessoas e a remover toda a carne e músculos dos corpos, deixando apenas os esqueletos, completamente preservados.
Quando os restos mortais da primeira vítima são identificados como pertencendo a uma antiga paciente do Dr. James Dixon, o Detective Malcolm Kier suspeita o pior. Dixon foi recentemente ilibado de uma acusação de tentativa de homicídio, graças à advogada de defesa Angie Carlson. À medida que as vítimas não param de aparecer, Kier fica convencido que Angie é o alvo de um brilhante psicopata.
Angie está familiarizada com o lado negro da natureza humana, mas nada a preparou para um legado de loucura e para um assassino que a escolheu para ser o seu troféu.
Já tinha tido um vislumbre de Angie e Malcolm no anterior livro da duologia. Gostei bastante de voltar a encontrá-los e de ficar a conhecê-los melhor, quer como indivíduos, quer a nível profissional. Neste género de enredos os personagens são sempre mais do que aparentam à primeira vista, facto que vim a confirmar com esta leitura. Agradou-me, também, certos aspectos das suas vidas pessoais e profissionais serem aprofundados de forma a justificar algumas decisões/comportamentos que me tinham deixado anteriormente um pouco “de pé atrás”. Outro dos aspectos que me satisfez neste livrinho foi poder, ao mesmo tempo, acompanhar a evolução e as vidas dos protagonistas de “Senseless”.
Quanto ao enredo, considerei tudo muito bem estruturado. Admito que suspeitei de um detalhe que se veio a confirmar, mas que esse aspecto não influenciou em nada a minha apreciação global desta leitura.
Fiquei novamente agradada com a escrita da autora, com os pormenores e descrições macabros, com os personagens criados, com o desenrolar da acção. Tal como referi em relação a “Senseless”, o único aspecto que gostava de ver um pouco mais explorado é a relação entre os protagonistas. No entanto, tenho bem presente que estamos perante um thriller e não perante um romance.
Gostei bastante de ler este livrinho e fiquei com curiosidade para continuar a acompanhar a autora.
02-07/11/20
Quando os restos mortais da primeira vítima são identificados como pertencendo a uma antiga paciente do Dr. James Dixon, o Detective Malcolm Kier suspeita o pior. Dixon foi recentemente ilibado de uma acusação de tentativa de homicídio, graças à advogada de defesa Angie Carlson. À medida que as vítimas não param de aparecer, Kier fica convencido que Angie é o alvo de um brilhante psicopata.
Angie está familiarizada com o lado negro da natureza humana, mas nada a preparou para um legado de loucura e para um assassino que a escolheu para ser o seu troféu.
Já tinha tido um vislumbre de Angie e Malcolm no anterior livro da duologia. Gostei bastante de voltar a encontrá-los e de ficar a conhecê-los melhor, quer como indivíduos, quer a nível profissional. Neste género de enredos os personagens são sempre mais do que aparentam à primeira vista, facto que vim a confirmar com esta leitura. Agradou-me, também, certos aspectos das suas vidas pessoais e profissionais serem aprofundados de forma a justificar algumas decisões/comportamentos que me tinham deixado anteriormente um pouco “de pé atrás”. Outro dos aspectos que me satisfez neste livrinho foi poder, ao mesmo tempo, acompanhar a evolução e as vidas dos protagonistas de “Senseless”.
Quanto ao enredo, considerei tudo muito bem estruturado. Admito que suspeitei de um detalhe que se veio a confirmar, mas que esse aspecto não influenciou em nada a minha apreciação global desta leitura.
Fiquei novamente agradada com a escrita da autora, com os pormenores e descrições macabros, com os personagens criados, com o desenrolar da acção. Tal como referi em relação a “Senseless”, o único aspecto que gostava de ver um pouco mais explorado é a relação entre os protagonistas. No entanto, tenho bem presente que estamos perante um thriller e não perante um romance.
Gostei bastante de ler este livrinho e fiquei com curiosidade para continuar a acompanhar a autora.
02-07/11/20
February 15, 2019
Merciless is book two in the Senseless series by Mary Burton. In Alexandria, Virginia young women's bones are turning up all over town. Detective Malcolm Kier and his partner Deacon Garrison caught the case and their prime suspect is Dr James Dixon due to the latest victim was one of his patients and his acquittal of attempted murder of a young girl. Angie Carlson, still haunted by her defending Dr James Dixon and for this reason, she took on LuLu Swift who wanted her son back and the victim that got Dr James Dixon's charged. Detective Malcolm Kier and Angie Carlson joined forces when LuLu Swift went missing. The readers of Merciless will follow the twist and turns with Detective Malcolm Kier and Angie Carlson to find who killing young women and leaving their bones has a piece of art.
Mary Burton knows how to engage me with her plots that I am unable to put the book down. I like the way Mary Burton keeps me in suspense throughout Merciless. I love Mary Burton portrayal of her characters, and the way intertwine with each other throughout this book. Merciless is well written and researched by Mary Burton and the way she describes her setting is well done.
The readers of Merciless will learn about the consequences of keeping mental illness secret. Also, the readers of Merciless will learn about the consequences of stress for defence lawyers.
I recommend this book.
Mary Burton knows how to engage me with her plots that I am unable to put the book down. I like the way Mary Burton keeps me in suspense throughout Merciless. I love Mary Burton portrayal of her characters, and the way intertwine with each other throughout this book. Merciless is well written and researched by Mary Burton and the way she describes her setting is well done.
The readers of Merciless will learn about the consequences of keeping mental illness secret. Also, the readers of Merciless will learn about the consequences of stress for defence lawyers.
I recommend this book.
May 12, 2011
Complicated spider web of mystery lacking some logic. Not much romance. Smart heroine was stupid for no good reason.
STORY BRIEF:
Defense attorney Angie is known as The Barracuda by cops. Dixon was guilty of brutalizing and beating prostitutes. He hired Angie to defend him and she got him off. Dixon formed a partnership with The Other. The Other would kidnap a victim while Dixon had an alibi. Then Dixon would rape and beat the victim. When Dixon was done, The Other would kill them, strip their bones, and carve chess pieces from the bones. The Other later began taunting the police by leaving the bones in public places. The next two victims were two of Angie’s clients.
Homicide detective Malcolm dislikes Angie. But he interacts with her due to links with the recent murders. Angie’s parents are dead but there is a mystery about her parents’ past which is later solved.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is primarily mystery suspense. The bad guys are really bad and cause pain and fear for the reader. It’s gory with thoughts of beetles eating flesh and decaying smells. I was ok with that but some readers may not be. It’s a police procedural with the good guys doing a thorough investigation and slowly uncovering more and more clues about the past and what’s going on. This is a spider web. There are a lot of lines drawn among the various characters and their relationships and motives. When I charted out all the interactions, some things weren’t logical or believable. Parents commit sins. Offspring and/or acquaintances commit similar sins years later. Too many red herrings and the connections were not logical enough (for me). The positive is that all becomes clear by the end of the book. The uncovering of clues and solving the mystery is done well. But I wasn’t really captivated or entertained. At best the characters were “interesting.”
The book is labeled romantic suspense, and it fits that definition because a couple does get together at the end. But the relationship wasn’t romantic. He dislikes her at first, but finds himself liking her by the end. Their relationship is like coworkers, and then all of a sudden there is a sex scene. I didn’t see any romantic attraction or physical desire building up before that scene. Don’t expect passion. The ending is satisfying and happy.
The heroine is smart throughout the book except when she gets caught by a bad buy. She knew she was in danger. She had police security with her whenever she was not at work. But she snuck away from her security guard to go visit someone, while the bad guy followed her. There was no reason to sneak away. Her guard would have gone with her. Then on another occasion after her guard left, she went outside alone - again. Of course she got taken. That bothered me.
DATA:
Story length: 410 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. One sex scene 1 ½ pages long. Setting: current day mostly Alexandria, Virginia. Copyright: 2011. Genre: Mystery Suspense With Minimal Romance.
STORY BRIEF:
Defense attorney Angie is known as The Barracuda by cops. Dixon was guilty of brutalizing and beating prostitutes. He hired Angie to defend him and she got him off. Dixon formed a partnership with The Other. The Other would kidnap a victim while Dixon had an alibi. Then Dixon would rape and beat the victim. When Dixon was done, The Other would kill them, strip their bones, and carve chess pieces from the bones. The Other later began taunting the police by leaving the bones in public places. The next two victims were two of Angie’s clients.
Homicide detective Malcolm dislikes Angie. But he interacts with her due to links with the recent murders. Angie’s parents are dead but there is a mystery about her parents’ past which is later solved.
REVIEWER’S OPINION:
This is primarily mystery suspense. The bad guys are really bad and cause pain and fear for the reader. It’s gory with thoughts of beetles eating flesh and decaying smells. I was ok with that but some readers may not be. It’s a police procedural with the good guys doing a thorough investigation and slowly uncovering more and more clues about the past and what’s going on. This is a spider web. There are a lot of lines drawn among the various characters and their relationships and motives. When I charted out all the interactions, some things weren’t logical or believable. Parents commit sins. Offspring and/or acquaintances commit similar sins years later. Too many red herrings and the connections were not logical enough (for me). The positive is that all becomes clear by the end of the book. The uncovering of clues and solving the mystery is done well. But I wasn’t really captivated or entertained. At best the characters were “interesting.”
The book is labeled romantic suspense, and it fits that definition because a couple does get together at the end. But the relationship wasn’t romantic. He dislikes her at first, but finds himself liking her by the end. Their relationship is like coworkers, and then all of a sudden there is a sex scene. I didn’t see any romantic attraction or physical desire building up before that scene. Don’t expect passion. The ending is satisfying and happy.
The heroine is smart throughout the book except when she gets caught by a bad buy. She knew she was in danger. She had police security with her whenever she was not at work. But she snuck away from her security guard to go visit someone, while the bad guy followed her. There was no reason to sneak away. Her guard would have gone with her. Then on another occasion after her guard left, she went outside alone - again. Of course she got taken. That bothered me.
DATA:
Story length: 410 pages. Swearing language: strong, including religious swear words. Sexual language: mild. One sex scene 1 ½ pages long. Setting: current day mostly Alexandria, Virginia. Copyright: 2011. Genre: Mystery Suspense With Minimal Romance.
October 11, 2019
I don't know where to start when my experience with this book is so vastly different from everyone else's. But I guess we'll start with the biggest issue first.
The villain of this book was obvious if you read the previous one. There's a tepid attempt to pin it on Robert - the random AA guy/reporter mole - or Pool Guy - who turns out to be Martin, the MC's half-sister's half-brother - but it goes down like a wet fart. It's obvious from the beginning it's the leftover bad guy from the last book, Micah.
But it gets even more stupid. Because Micah isn't Micah at all, turns out he was his twin! All! Along! Because this book is just an extension of the last story, up to and including...
Eva and Deacon's pointless surprise pregnancy subplot! 🎊 This subplot exists purely to insert these characters into the story needlessly, and to use my least favorite trope in the world: woman who can't have babies, but yearns after them endlessly. It's stupid and demeaning and I hate it.
So, how do you solve the problem of giving a baby to a woman who can't have a baby? (because this is necessary for stupid romantic plot reasons to talk about next.) Why you have her adopt a random baby in the most unlikely string of occurrences ever. Yay, now she has a baby, which makes her perfect for the baby loving man of her dreams.
Except they aren't. Perfect. And he definitely isn't the man of her dreams - or even her stray thoughts until well over half the book has passed. This isn't a slow burn or enemies to friends to lovers - this is a romantic subplot where the feelings just spring up on (let me check) page 142. Where detective Malcom Loves-Babies-Needs-a-Wife springs up a surprise boner. Ahh, Romance. Suddenly, he has feelings, and falls in love with her, with no hint of even a smidge of squishier feelings before. It's just so forced.
TL;DR: Obvious bad guy - with bonus evil-er twin, unnecessary romantic subplot, offensive barren woman trope, and whimpering romance.
The villain of this book was obvious if you read the previous one. There's a tepid attempt to pin it on Robert - the random AA guy/reporter mole - or Pool Guy - who turns out to be Martin, the MC's half-sister's half-brother - but it goes down like a wet fart. It's obvious from the beginning it's the leftover bad guy from the last book, Micah.
But it gets even more stupid. Because Micah isn't Micah at all, turns out he was his twin! All! Along! Because this book is just an extension of the last story, up to and including...
Eva and Deacon's pointless surprise pregnancy subplot! 🎊 This subplot exists purely to insert these characters into the story needlessly, and to use my least favorite trope in the world: woman who can't have babies, but yearns after them endlessly. It's stupid and demeaning and I hate it.
So, how do you solve the problem of giving a baby to a woman who can't have a baby? (because this is necessary for stupid romantic plot reasons to talk about next.) Why you have her adopt a random baby in the most unlikely string of occurrences ever. Yay, now she has a baby, which makes her perfect for the baby loving man of her dreams.
Except they aren't. Perfect. And he definitely isn't the man of her dreams - or even her stray thoughts until well over half the book has passed. This isn't a slow burn or enemies to friends to lovers - this is a romantic subplot where the feelings just spring up on (let me check) page 142. Where detective Malcom Loves-Babies-Needs-a-Wife springs up a surprise boner. Ahh, Romance. Suddenly, he has feelings, and falls in love with her, with no hint of even a smidge of squishier feelings before. It's just so forced.
TL;DR: Obvious bad guy - with bonus evil-er twin, unnecessary romantic subplot, offensive barren woman trope, and whimpering romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2011
Okay, I can pretty much cut and paste my review for the first book, Senseless, and put it here. Same thoughts on this one. Great suspense, but needed more romance. There were also a few typos in this one that just bothered me (for instance in one scene where Angie was resting after a swim, in one sentence it states she removes her goggles from her head, places them on the side of the pool and then two sentences later it states she pushed her goggles up on top of he head) - that stuff just bothers me when I'm reading a book.
Still a great read, but I would definitely recommend reading the first one before you read this one. Too many things that happened in the first book are brought up in this one. The author does a good job explaining everything, but you will have a better understanding of what is going on if you have read the first one.
Still a great read, but I would definitely recommend reading the first one before you read this one. Too many things that happened in the first book are brought up in this one. The author does a good job explaining everything, but you will have a better understanding of what is going on if you have read the first one.
May 6, 2013
Sorry not my cup of tea (being English of course) I do enjoy thrillers and crime but this by Mary Burton is a tad dull and too fluffy for my tastes; I would of prefered more story rather than relationship and more crime solving.
To others I know that they will enjoy it especially if you enjoy Karen Rose, Nicki French.
To others I know that they will enjoy it especially if you enjoy Karen Rose, Nicki French.
November 10, 2025
3½⭐ - this mystery/detective series is good. I like them because they are not OVERLY long, as so many of the more recent mystery books tend to be, the characters and storylines have me hooked and wanting to see what comes next.
June 8, 2021
Wow! Great story written by a great author. Wonderful followup to Senseless.
December 29, 2021
This was a little gruesome …. Wonder how they come up with these crime scenes.
April 25, 2011
The saying “Never make a deal with a scorpion, it will sting you every time” proves to be very true for Angie Carlson. “First One” and “Other” target Angie for their diabolical scheme. They are merciless--a terrifying pair.
Angie, called the barracuda by some because of her tactics as a defense lawyer, pulls out all the stops to get her clients cleared of all charges. The idealism of her youth has faded but her dedication to her clients holds strong. However, she comes to question her wisdom in getting Dr. James Dixon set free as a new series of crimes start.
After Detectives Malcolm Kier and Deacon Garrison rescue her half-sister Eva from a tortuous death, Angie is more inclined to help them when the bones of young women start showing up for all to see. When one of the victims turns out to be one of her clients, Angie becomes totally involved in the search for the criminals.
Malcolm Kier is more cynical and brusque than his partner and makes no bones about hating Angie Carlson for getting Dr. Dixon set free. Some of the names he calls her are harsh but she ‘gives as good as she gets’. In time, Kiser’s hate morphs into an entirely different emotion that subtly weaves its way into their shaky-truce relationship. They like to spar, talk, and make love, but a permanent relationship seems impossible. Their strong attraction to each other has to duck, dodge, and sometimes hide as the bone-chilling crimes create a dangerous, terrifying environment with suspects galore.
Many of the characters in Senseless along with additional characters from Angie and Eva’s past ratchet up the terror, suspense, and horrifying happenings as every aspect of law enforcement in Alexandria, Virginia works around the clock to find who is killing young women and cleaning their bones to pristine condition then displaying them in a prominent place.
Other characters like baby David and his grandmother Vivian Sweet add a new dimension to this complex story. They give Angie a different perspective on life.
Mary Burton’s writing style with its realism, strong sense of place, and diverse characters makes Merciless throb with life. The twists, turns, surprises, horrors, and vast range of emotions make this story breath-taking, heart-pounding, super reading.
originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
Angie, called the barracuda by some because of her tactics as a defense lawyer, pulls out all the stops to get her clients cleared of all charges. The idealism of her youth has faded but her dedication to her clients holds strong. However, she comes to question her wisdom in getting Dr. James Dixon set free as a new series of crimes start.
After Detectives Malcolm Kier and Deacon Garrison rescue her half-sister Eva from a tortuous death, Angie is more inclined to help them when the bones of young women start showing up for all to see. When one of the victims turns out to be one of her clients, Angie becomes totally involved in the search for the criminals.
Malcolm Kier is more cynical and brusque than his partner and makes no bones about hating Angie Carlson for getting Dr. Dixon set free. Some of the names he calls her are harsh but she ‘gives as good as she gets’. In time, Kiser’s hate morphs into an entirely different emotion that subtly weaves its way into their shaky-truce relationship. They like to spar, talk, and make love, but a permanent relationship seems impossible. Their strong attraction to each other has to duck, dodge, and sometimes hide as the bone-chilling crimes create a dangerous, terrifying environment with suspects galore.
Many of the characters in Senseless along with additional characters from Angie and Eva’s past ratchet up the terror, suspense, and horrifying happenings as every aspect of law enforcement in Alexandria, Virginia works around the clock to find who is killing young women and cleaning their bones to pristine condition then displaying them in a prominent place.
Other characters like baby David and his grandmother Vivian Sweet add a new dimension to this complex story. They give Angie a different perspective on life.
Mary Burton’s writing style with its realism, strong sense of place, and diverse characters makes Merciless throb with life. The twists, turns, surprises, horrors, and vast range of emotions make this story breath-taking, heart-pounding, super reading.
originally posted at http://longandshortreviews.blogspot.c...
January 31, 2013
A definite 'read in the bath' book. Not particularly taxing, formulaic and if you drop it in the water you won't really mind. I eyerolled so hard at the conclusion. Read this book if you don't want to think.
March 7, 2020
really good mystery
August 26, 2025
Merciless is book two of Mary Burton’s Alexandria duology! Book one, Senseless, was freaking spectacular and even with it being in the romantic suspense genre the mystery took center stage, far more than the romance aspect. Luckily it was the same with Merciless. The romance was kept more on the back burner until its obligatory aspect was brought about.
I was shocked by how much of the storyline from book one came back to help tell this story and it worked so damn well! In book one we’re in the POV of Eva Rayburn. Newly released from prison after being charged with a murder she didn’t commit, she’s targeted by the antagonist as they believe she’s responsible for what happened to the person that was murdered all those years ago and doesn’t deserve to live.
This time around we’re in the POV of Eva’s sister, Angie Carlson. A defense attorney who helped the police with their investigation in Senseless. The main detectives in both stories, Deacon Garrison and Malcolm Kier, aren’t the biggest fans of Angie because she had represented James Dixon, a man who is charged with abusing women he hires. Angie does her job, rips apart Lulu Sweet, the plaintiff, on the stand and gets all charges against Dixon dropped. Despite the high profile win Angie no longer wants anything to do with Dixon.
This story’s prologue introduces us to a sick new killer. One who savors witnessing the act of death and even more so obsessed with stripping the flesh from the bones. They keep a piece for themselves and afterwards proudly displaying the bones out in public, a way to taunt what they’re capable of doing. Before the first chapter we learn that the killer has a partner which helps fuel suspicions when new characters are introduced.
Let me go back to how surprised I was that elements from book one came back to help propel the story forward in this book. Book one was focused on the characters of Eva Rayburn and Deacon Garrison. This time around based on the description I knew we’d be in the POVs of Angie Carlson and Malcolm Kier. What I didn’t expect (but wholly welcomed) was how much of a presence the other characters would have in this story!! Eva makes more appearances than I expected, Garrison and Kier define the term partners with their investigating, and a handful of other characters return to add to the world building of this universe.
I’ll admit this story took a little while to get into because the start and hook of Senseless was just so damn good. Senseless dealt with Eva, a damaged character, rebuilding her life after what became known as the Sorority House Murder. This time around the character of Angie was a little bit harder to connect with but in time, and especially with her and Eva’s frequent interactions in this book, she got to be awesome!
Eva asks Angie for a favor and that’s when she knows it’s serious as Eva has never asked for favors. She’s hoping Angie will be counsel for Lulu Sweet, the same woman she tore apart on the stand, and the request for Angie happens to come from Lulu herself because “there is no meaner bitch alive.” Shortly after the Dixon v. Sweet trial last year Lulu got pregnant. After the pregnancy she fell back on using but is more serious than anything now that she wants full custody of her son, David. Her mother, Vivian, is capable of taking care of David but is elderly and her own health is not the best.
Like all books tend to do, by the halfway point the story flew by. After discovering more bones and finding how the victim fits into the giant web of connections that even manages to link back to a case from nearly thirty years ago, the stakes to stop this killer get to be at an all-time high. Senseless had a knockout story and the fact that this served as a brilliant sequel speaks volumes of Mary Burton’s writing! There’s delving into untouched family history, comeuppance, antagonists with vital information and a surprise so jaw-dropping that it touches back to book one. To fully benefit from it I highly recommend that you do NOT read this first. Do yourself a favor and read Senseless first. It’ll help make more of an impact with the storytelling because you’ll get a massive amount of backstory and information that’s (in my opinion) vital to smoothly understand the happenings in Merciless!
I see there’s a third book in this Alexandria series that does the same thing where characters featured in the previous installments are brought to the main character stage. From the description it sounds as if it will be more of a loose sequel but I’m sure some familiar characters will be brought into the fold! With Mary Burton you can’t go wrong!!
I was shocked by how much of the storyline from book one came back to help tell this story and it worked so damn well! In book one we’re in the POV of Eva Rayburn. Newly released from prison after being charged with a murder she didn’t commit, she’s targeted by the antagonist as they believe she’s responsible for what happened to the person that was murdered all those years ago and doesn’t deserve to live.
This time around we’re in the POV of Eva’s sister, Angie Carlson. A defense attorney who helped the police with their investigation in Senseless. The main detectives in both stories, Deacon Garrison and Malcolm Kier, aren’t the biggest fans of Angie because she had represented James Dixon, a man who is charged with abusing women he hires. Angie does her job, rips apart Lulu Sweet, the plaintiff, on the stand and gets all charges against Dixon dropped. Despite the high profile win Angie no longer wants anything to do with Dixon.
This story’s prologue introduces us to a sick new killer. One who savors witnessing the act of death and even more so obsessed with stripping the flesh from the bones. They keep a piece for themselves and afterwards proudly displaying the bones out in public, a way to taunt what they’re capable of doing. Before the first chapter we learn that the killer has a partner which helps fuel suspicions when new characters are introduced.
Let me go back to how surprised I was that elements from book one came back to help propel the story forward in this book. Book one was focused on the characters of Eva Rayburn and Deacon Garrison. This time around based on the description I knew we’d be in the POVs of Angie Carlson and Malcolm Kier. What I didn’t expect (but wholly welcomed) was how much of a presence the other characters would have in this story!! Eva makes more appearances than I expected, Garrison and Kier define the term partners with their investigating, and a handful of other characters return to add to the world building of this universe.
I’ll admit this story took a little while to get into because the start and hook of Senseless was just so damn good. Senseless dealt with Eva, a damaged character, rebuilding her life after what became known as the Sorority House Murder. This time around the character of Angie was a little bit harder to connect with but in time, and especially with her and Eva’s frequent interactions in this book, she got to be awesome!
Eva asks Angie for a favor and that’s when she knows it’s serious as Eva has never asked for favors. She’s hoping Angie will be counsel for Lulu Sweet, the same woman she tore apart on the stand, and the request for Angie happens to come from Lulu herself because “there is no meaner bitch alive.” Shortly after the Dixon v. Sweet trial last year Lulu got pregnant. After the pregnancy she fell back on using but is more serious than anything now that she wants full custody of her son, David. Her mother, Vivian, is capable of taking care of David but is elderly and her own health is not the best.
Like all books tend to do, by the halfway point the story flew by. After discovering more bones and finding how the victim fits into the giant web of connections that even manages to link back to a case from nearly thirty years ago, the stakes to stop this killer get to be at an all-time high. Senseless had a knockout story and the fact that this served as a brilliant sequel speaks volumes of Mary Burton’s writing! There’s delving into untouched family history, comeuppance, antagonists with vital information and a surprise so jaw-dropping that it touches back to book one. To fully benefit from it I highly recommend that you do NOT read this first. Do yourself a favor and read Senseless first. It’ll help make more of an impact with the storytelling because you’ll get a massive amount of backstory and information that’s (in my opinion) vital to smoothly understand the happenings in Merciless!
I see there’s a third book in this Alexandria series that does the same thing where characters featured in the previous installments are brought to the main character stage. From the description it sounds as if it will be more of a loose sequel but I’m sure some familiar characters will be brought into the fold! With Mary Burton you can’t go wrong!!
September 22, 2020
This is another one of those Hate turns to sudden lust type books that don't make much sense if you look at them with any sort of logic.
Malcolm spends the first 26% of the book flat out hating Angie because she got a murderer off by tearing apart a questionable witness on the stand. People started calling her the Barracuda. He calls he things like a Child of the Night (vampire reference) and all sorts of other things, to her face. She takes it all and tolerates him mostly because of her sister, Eva, who is dating his partner, Garrison. These shots they take at each other, while not out right hostile, are to reinforce who much they hate each other. Then suddenly Malcolm starts idly thinking about taking her clothes off, and other "guh" worthy things. Just out of the blue. The man has a girlfriend he's content with, but it doesn't stop him from being a slimeball.
Conveniently the perfect girlfriend dumps him because after 9 months of dating he's not thinking of marrying her in the near future.(This is perfectly okay in my books. 9 months. That's it?) And Malcolm is free to continue fantasizing about Angie. Angie, shortly after he starts fantasizing, starts doing her own daydreaming about him. The man who obviously dislikes her to the point he occasionally almost seems to snarl at her and she's dreaming about his hands on her? Sadist maybe?
Anyhow, if you can suspend that disbelief and then suspend the disbelief you will feel when they hook up, which is basically is a split second decision on Angie's part to go sleep with Malcolm, you'll be fine. Never mind that she hasn't dated anyone since Connor got in her pants in order to get a story. Never mind she seems to have all but vowed to not hop into bed with any ol' man again. Never mind that, just go with the flow for convenience sake.
Moving on...the author is a serious breast person, which is fine, I guess. In all the books I've read, Mary Burton always has the guy go for the boobs and the boobs get most of the scene. There's never a part where he squeezes some booty, it's always to boobie. lol, sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyhow, the actual deed is pretty glossed over, which is fine cause I was 100% here for the mystery.
The mystery, Merciless picks up right where Senseless left off in that regard. In fact, I was so confused when I first started reading this I got the title messed up with her other book and thought maybe I was reading the same thing. But no, after a few chapters I figured it out even though the beginnings are ridiculously similar. While I enjoyed the investigating, I found it was another fight to suspend my disbelief that Father, Mother, and children all turned out to be murderous crazy people. The misdirects were weak to comparison to Burton's other thrillers. But I did quite 'enjoy' how much more time we got to spend seeing things from one or the other killer's point of view. But while I really enjoyed a duology mystery, my suspicions way back from book one were merely confirmed in book two.
To Sum it up
I liked Angie's spine. I enjoyed their snarling at each other and Malcolm giving her all these vampire references and Angie letting it roll off her back or even playing along. I didn't enjoy the sharp romantic turn that had absolutely no catalyst to start it. There has to be a reason people suddenly stop hating each other.
The mystery wasn't too much of a mystery for me but I still enjoyed it because it's way better then a lot of Suspense Romances out there on the market. Honestly, how hard it is to write a decent suspense, mystery, romance genre without something suffering for it?
Mary Burton STILL has someone flicking a card a cop gave them. It's becoming her signage move in all her books...and it annoys me to no end because I feel like she copy and pastes it from other books and then just changes the names. I mean, there's formula writing, and then there's copy and paste writing.
All in all it's not a bad read. It only took me a couple of days to get through as a fluff read, but it certainly wasn't memorable or mind blowing. Ask me about this book in a month and I'll probably not even remember the title.
Malcolm spends the first 26% of the book flat out hating Angie because she got a murderer off by tearing apart a questionable witness on the stand. People started calling her the Barracuda. He calls he things like a Child of the Night (vampire reference) and all sorts of other things, to her face. She takes it all and tolerates him mostly because of her sister, Eva, who is dating his partner, Garrison. These shots they take at each other, while not out right hostile, are to reinforce who much they hate each other. Then suddenly Malcolm starts idly thinking about taking her clothes off, and other "guh" worthy things. Just out of the blue. The man has a girlfriend he's content with, but it doesn't stop him from being a slimeball.
Conveniently the perfect girlfriend dumps him because after 9 months of dating he's not thinking of marrying her in the near future.(This is perfectly okay in my books. 9 months. That's it?) And Malcolm is free to continue fantasizing about Angie. Angie, shortly after he starts fantasizing, starts doing her own daydreaming about him. The man who obviously dislikes her to the point he occasionally almost seems to snarl at her and she's dreaming about his hands on her? Sadist maybe?
Anyhow, if you can suspend that disbelief and then suspend the disbelief you will feel when they hook up, which is basically is a split second decision on Angie's part to go sleep with Malcolm, you'll be fine. Never mind that she hasn't dated anyone since Connor got in her pants in order to get a story. Never mind she seems to have all but vowed to not hop into bed with any ol' man again. Never mind that, just go with the flow for convenience sake.
Moving on...the author is a serious breast person, which is fine, I guess. In all the books I've read, Mary Burton always has the guy go for the boobs and the boobs get most of the scene. There's never a part where he squeezes some booty, it's always to boobie. lol, sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyhow, the actual deed is pretty glossed over, which is fine cause I was 100% here for the mystery.
The mystery, Merciless picks up right where Senseless left off in that regard. In fact, I was so confused when I first started reading this I got the title messed up with her other book and thought maybe I was reading the same thing. But no, after a few chapters I figured it out even though the beginnings are ridiculously similar. While I enjoyed the investigating, I found it was another fight to suspend my disbelief that Father, Mother, and children all turned out to be murderous crazy people. The misdirects were weak to comparison to Burton's other thrillers. But I did quite 'enjoy' how much more time we got to spend seeing things from one or the other killer's point of view. But while I really enjoyed a duology mystery, my suspicions way back from book one were merely confirmed in book two.
To Sum it up
I liked Angie's spine. I enjoyed their snarling at each other and Malcolm giving her all these vampire references and Angie letting it roll off her back or even playing along. I didn't enjoy the sharp romantic turn that had absolutely no catalyst to start it. There has to be a reason people suddenly stop hating each other.
The mystery wasn't too much of a mystery for me but I still enjoyed it because it's way better then a lot of Suspense Romances out there on the market. Honestly, how hard it is to write a decent suspense, mystery, romance genre without something suffering for it?
Mary Burton STILL has someone flicking a card a cop gave them. It's becoming her signage move in all her books...and it annoys me to no end because I feel like she copy and pastes it from other books and then just changes the names. I mean, there's formula writing, and then there's copy and paste writing.
All in all it's not a bad read. It only took me a couple of days to get through as a fluff read, but it certainly wasn't memorable or mind blowing. Ask me about this book in a month and I'll probably not even remember the title.
April 12, 2021
Good Story, Annoying Repetitious Phrases
I read the first of these three books and noticed a few phrases that became increasingly more annoying as I kept seeing them over and over and over. I have noticed this in several of her books, but in this earlier set it borders on obnoxious....
* business cards (or paper) being flicked with a finger. The detectives can not hand out a card without the person flicking it with their finger. And they hand out a lot of business cards, unfortunately. I can see it happening once or twice in a book, but I lost count in the first two books. I have noticed it in other books of hers, so I finally had to say something. It's driving me nuts.
* everyone in this book has a 'slash of cheekbones'. I have never heard that phrase before, but I can go a lifetime without hearing it again.
There was a third phrase, but it has escaped me, thank goodness. I guess my point is, Mary Burton creates an easy, mildly suspenseful read that I don't really have to think about. But it is enjoyable. I read about 100 books per year. In that year there are several authors that find a new word, like "sluice", and over use it until I want to puke. I think it detracts from the enjoyment of the story and is just annoying. I am all for learning a new word every day, building your vocabulary. Just don't be so repetitious. Please.
I read the first of these three books and noticed a few phrases that became increasingly more annoying as I kept seeing them over and over and over. I have noticed this in several of her books, but in this earlier set it borders on obnoxious....
* business cards (or paper) being flicked with a finger. The detectives can not hand out a card without the person flicking it with their finger. And they hand out a lot of business cards, unfortunately. I can see it happening once or twice in a book, but I lost count in the first two books. I have noticed it in other books of hers, so I finally had to say something. It's driving me nuts.
* everyone in this book has a 'slash of cheekbones'. I have never heard that phrase before, but I can go a lifetime without hearing it again.
There was a third phrase, but it has escaped me, thank goodness. I guess my point is, Mary Burton creates an easy, mildly suspenseful read that I don't really have to think about. But it is enjoyable. I read about 100 books per year. In that year there are several authors that find a new word, like "sluice", and over use it until I want to puke. I think it detracts from the enjoyment of the story and is just annoying. I am all for learning a new word every day, building your vocabulary. Just don't be so repetitious. Please.
October 16, 2020
This was certainly an engrossing and thrilling read right from the start. There were definitely a number of chilling and creepy scenes involving the killer. That is not to say that watching the snarling between Angie and Malcolm is any less entertaining, especially when we get to know Angie beyond her "Barracuda" persona and her interactions with her current and former clients.
As a I recently read "Dead Ringer" by Mary Burton, I did find that the storyline and characters share a number of similarities. So it was fairly easy to predict some parts of the story. I think it would help to read the previous book to have a better understanding of what is going on but it's not necessary. I'm not sure if Eva's story really added to this book that much, could have done without.
As a I recently read "Dead Ringer" by Mary Burton, I did find that the storyline and characters share a number of similarities. So it was fairly easy to predict some parts of the story. I think it would help to read the previous book to have a better understanding of what is going on but it's not necessary. I'm not sure if Eva's story really added to this book that much, could have done without.
September 11, 2017
I hadn't realised this was book 2 in a series but I don't believe it mattered at all unless you really want to read it all from the absolute beginning and in order. It could easily be read as a standalone book given the amount of detail about the previous story and I had no idea throughout that it was actually a book 1 story, until I went to post my review.
I found the book full of twists and turns and every time I thought I knew who the killer was ...well I just didn't! The characters developed well and I could really picture them in my mind. I didn't find the descriptions too wordy - I find endless pages of descriptions a bore, so if you like that sort of thing, this isn't that.
I marked down a star because I did predict a few of the other conclusions to the story and found the ending a bit too cliche and obvious. But I was ready for it and was happy it was over in a few pages.
Great overall story and could see it being an episode or two on a crime show.
I found the book full of twists and turns and every time I thought I knew who the killer was ...well I just didn't! The characters developed well and I could really picture them in my mind. I didn't find the descriptions too wordy - I find endless pages of descriptions a bore, so if you like that sort of thing, this isn't that.
I marked down a star because I did predict a few of the other conclusions to the story and found the ending a bit too cliche and obvious. But I was ready for it and was happy it was over in a few pages.
Great overall story and could see it being an episode or two on a crime show.
October 19, 2025
Red Herrings, twists, serial killer... I thought I had it all figured out early and I was pretty on track, until the end came with another twist. I'd advise you to definitely read 'Senseless' first, as this will really round out the complete duet and enhance your reading experience.
Merciless works ok as a standalone, but there are lots of spoilers for the previous story, so be warned. There's great writing as usual by this author. There is a romance wound in, plus the continuation of the romance in book one. There's nothing very steamy or explicit on the pages regarding the romances though, as the murder investigation is the star. There is a third book in this series starring a side character, but I'm not sure if the main characters will continue on in that story.
Merciless works ok as a standalone, but there are lots of spoilers for the previous story, so be warned. There's great writing as usual by this author. There is a romance wound in, plus the continuation of the romance in book one. There's nothing very steamy or explicit on the pages regarding the romances though, as the murder investigation is the star. There is a third book in this series starring a side character, but I'm not sure if the main characters will continue on in that story.
July 18, 2025
I enjoyed this,it was easy to read and had some gore in it. I liked Angie and her no nonsense attitude,I enjoyed the chemistry she had with Malcom. Having some of the killers viewpoint was interesting and there were a few red herrings. I like a happy ending and was satisfied at the end. Having the past connect up to the future was good but I wasn’t that shocked who the killer was. What was annoying was these characters didn’t sigh or breathe deeply,they shoved out a breath every single time! Even in the same paragraph. Switching from Malcom’s first and second name confused me at first and it was a little cheesy in places. I will read more of this authors work though.
February 27, 2018
Hadn’t realized this was a sequel and wondered, most of the way through, why there were so many references to previous incidents! My excuse is: I was reading this one late at night, only book available from the online library! Oh well.
I enjoyed the plot line. It kept me awake and engaged but I did figure out who done it early on.
A little romance, a little mystery, interesting characters and some “Ah!” factors.
All in all a good read. I shall have to go back and read the first one!
I agree with other comments: could have been better editing; definitely some continuity issues.
I enjoyed the plot line. It kept me awake and engaged but I did figure out who done it early on.
A little romance, a little mystery, interesting characters and some “Ah!” factors.
All in all a good read. I shall have to go back and read the first one!
I agree with other comments: could have been better editing; definitely some continuity issues.
March 28, 2022
A definite must read thriller
This was an intense, complex, and intriguing story that had many unique twists. It's certainly a story that will keep you guessing until the very end. I strongly recommend that you read the first book in the series, Senseless, prior to starting this one. It will give you the background information on the characters involved, connections, and the dynamics between them. It's also a fantastic story, and you won't be disappointed.
I would definitely recommend this book, series, and exceptional author.
This was an intense, complex, and intriguing story that had many unique twists. It's certainly a story that will keep you guessing until the very end. I strongly recommend that you read the first book in the series, Senseless, prior to starting this one. It will give you the background information on the characters involved, connections, and the dynamics between them. It's also a fantastic story, and you won't be disappointed.
I would definitely recommend this book, series, and exceptional author.
September 29, 2024
Solide, gute Thriller Unterhaltung. "nur" 3 Sterne, weil ich mich gut unterhalten gefühlt habe, aber wenn ich ehrlich bin, werde ich mich in ein paar Jahren nicht mehr an die Handlung erinnern. Muss ich aber auch nicht. Ich wollte für den Moment gute Unterhaltung und die habe ich bekommen.
Sehr guter Plot, gut geschriebene Charaktere, ich bin total Team Angie, sie ist richtig cool.
Der Täter war mir sehr schnell klar, es kam noch eine Überraschung am Ende, richtig gut gemacht.
Alles in allem ein Thriller, der sich lohnt zu lesen oder als Hörbuch zu hören.
Sehr guter Plot, gut geschriebene Charaktere, ich bin total Team Angie, sie ist richtig cool.
Der Täter war mir sehr schnell klar, es kam noch eine Überraschung am Ende, richtig gut gemacht.
Alles in allem ein Thriller, der sich lohnt zu lesen oder als Hörbuch zu hören.
August 31, 2019
"A Very Scary, Thriller Novel"
This is another amazing story by a very prolific author. In this insane killer novel, the killer makes sure each and every skeleton is all white perfectly preserved. He has no compassion, and Detective Malcolm Kier is determined to find the killer ... but there is also fear that Angie Carlson will be a future target. Readers just can't put this story down or any others by Mary Burton. They are all so very well written and captivating. Highly recommend.
This is another amazing story by a very prolific author. In this insane killer novel, the killer makes sure each and every skeleton is all white perfectly preserved. He has no compassion, and Detective Malcolm Kier is determined to find the killer ... but there is also fear that Angie Carlson will be a future target. Readers just can't put this story down or any others by Mary Burton. They are all so very well written and captivating. Highly recommend.
September 10, 2021
Good suspense not a romance. The heroine ditches the police protection right when she needs it most. This is all too typical and this author can do better than use this tired story line. There were also inconsistencies in the story line. At one point the character opened the car door twice. I liked the way this author sets up the suspense and develops characters, she just needs to work on building relationships between the supposed love interests.
November 28, 2021
It's a good book. I just thought it was a bit predictable and of course a bit hallmark at the end.
Drama ✔
Suspense ✔
Mystery ✔
Classical who done it ✔
Thriller 4/5
Heart pounding 4/5
Happily ever after 5/5 at the end.
Like I said, not a bad book just figures Angie, Eva's sister would be the next one targeted. And of course BOTH sister get a husband and a kid. Of course lol. Classical.
Still a decent book though 3/5 stars for me
Drama ✔
Suspense ✔
Mystery ✔
Classical who done it ✔
Thriller 4/5
Heart pounding 4/5
Happily ever after 5/5 at the end.
Like I said, not a bad book just figures Angie, Eva's sister would be the next one targeted. And of course BOTH sister get a husband and a kid. Of course lol. Classical.
Still a decent book though 3/5 stars for me
February 16, 2022
An interesting story but all of the same issues I've had with the author's other books... Repetition, overuse off certain descriptive words and phrases, a few sloppy details, lots of typos in the Kindle version... I also don't understand why she calls some characters by their last name, others by their first, and or flip flops around between the two: in one sentence, he's referred to as Keir, but in the next sentence, he's referred to as Malcolm. It's irritating.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews