Beverly barton jim norton

Jim's new boss, Sheriff Bernie Granger, immediately lets him step forward and lead the murder investigation. Bernie Granger is a level headed woman who appreciates and utilizes Jim's experience as a detective. She immediately likes Jim, a former college football player and the object of her youthful crush, and finds him very attractive. When another young woman goes missing, it quickly becomes apparent that Jim's suspicions of a serial killer are on the mark.

While investigating, the discovery is made that the victims received notes of admiration, gifts, and sketches of themselves before disappearing. As the investigation proceeds, the "Secret Admirer Killer" is found to have sent sketches that escalate in violence to the victims. While the killer continues to kidnap, torture, and kill young women in the county, Jim discovers that several other murders across the south appear too similar for coincidence.

Finally, the killer hits close to home and targets someone close to Sheriff Bernie Granger. Jim and Bernie work seamlessly together to stop this brutal killer. Over the course of the investigation, Jim and Bernie become trusted friends and finally lovers. I enjoyed the experience of reading this book. It was fast paced and difficult to put down. The suspense was well done, and although I quickly guessed the serial killer, I doubted myself numerous times.

The brutality of the killer was intense and graphic, and will bother some readers. I enjoyed the brief mentions of Griffin Powell, who is a minor character in several other Barton novels. I look forward to reading his story. The only aspect of this book that I didn't totally enjoy was the initial attraction that the hero, Jim, has to the heroine's sister. Over all, I thought that it was a great book, and Beverly Barton has definitely become a "must read" for me. View all 8 comments. Shelves: reviewed-books , mystar-books.

This is the first Beverly Barton book I have read-I had never heard of her but someone I knew was reading it and I thought it sounded good so I gave it a go. I looked on Beverly Barton's website and saw that she writes books under the 'Silhouette' label-I thought 'oh no' because I thought these were similar to Mills and Boon. Luckily this didn't put me off because I was very pleasantly surprised by the quality of her writing and I will definitely read another of her books.

I have read all Richar This is the first Beverly Barton book I have read-I had never heard of her but someone I knew was reading it and I thought it sounded good so I gave it a go. I have read all Richard Montanari's books and I would put it on a par with those-it's that good. The few days I was reading this book it kept me thinking who the suspects could be and it seemed obvious at one moment it was a certain person-next minute it couldn't be him then another red herring put me on yet another track, it really did keep me guessing.

There is also a bit of a love story in the book and this provides a good balance to the gory scenes. I think this book was an excellent read and I enjoyed it immensely Apr 02, Lat Leigh rated it really liked it. I truly enjoyed this book. My first by Beverly. I was taken aback by some of her phraseology.

Especially the term 'Whores bath'! I enjoyed her style of writing the wonderful adages and vernacular of the south. She never shied away from her plot, some of it hard to read, which made it an experience. I will be reading more of her! Dec 09, Kathrynn rated it it was amazing Shelves: , own , reviewed , romance-suspense , fiction-thriller.

I found this to be a wonderful suspense-thriller with a dash of romance. There are some intense and rather graphic scenes, so this may not be for the faint of heart. It was a page turner for me. Feb 13, Vicky rated it did not like it. Predictable, outdated and unoriginal.

I picked this book up on a whim, read the rather corny blurb and decided to give it a go. I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's certainly not what I would call good either. One of the biggest problems for me was the lack of strong female characters. There were bits of it which made me wonder when this book was written, because apart from Bernie, the lead character, all of the women in this book were objects whose sole purpose was to be with a man.

Even Bernie at Predictable, outdated and unoriginal. Even Bernie at times, who is a strong, independent and smart sheriff, still had some cringey thoughts such as "Don't you dare vomit.

Neither one of these big strong men is sick to his stomach" which just made me groan. All of the other female characters were obsessed with men, either getting a husband, finding someone else a husband or just getting laid.

Bernie's mother, Brenda, in particular drove me crazy, especially because her some of her views, such as how Bernie needed to lose ten pounds, had no reason to be in the book at all. When she wasn't cooking or serving food, Brenda was setting up her daughters with men or worrying about the fact that they didn't have husbands yet, "Both girls were equally disappointing to a mother who longed to see her daughters happily married and producing some grandchildren for her Brenda felt it motherly duty to do what she could to help both girls find the proper mate.

As for the whodunit part of the book, it was interesting to hear about the various criminal investigation procedures, and you can tell Barton did her research, but I found some of the sex scenes a bit explicit and the murderer was not difficult to guess.

At the end of the book, all loose ends were tied exceptionally neatly that was that. I guess if you want a simple whodunit with some romantic suspense, then Barton provides. However, I think that there are so much better books out there in this genre which are more worth your time. Feb 02, Theresa rated it did not like it. I'm mad at this book. It improved dramatically over the previous ones in the Griffin Powell series in that the mystery was pretty good even if I did guess the killer right off the bat, but I'm pretty good at that.

HOWEVER, the whole thing is ruined by the fact that the main male character is a total sleaze -- seriously, how many times can a character view spoiler [almost sleep with or want to sleep with his romantic lead's sister hide spoiler ] and get a free pass? Also, ironically en I'm mad at this book. Also, ironically enough, despite having a female character as a sheriff which was exciting , the author continually demeans the female lead to the point where it's almost a PSA on "why women shouldn't be sheriffs".

I've never read a book where the main MALE character takes himself off the case due to personal interest conflicts even if he should. The result is an unlikeable male lead and a weak female lead that overshadow the improvements the author's made in the mystery aspect in this book. Oct 24, Michelle rated it it was ok.

My biggest frustration with it was I'd figured out the "who dunnit" part of the book very quickly, and ended up just page turning to see if indeed my prediction came true--and it did. I also felt there were to many victims. Nine Months Part 2.

Nine Months Part 3. Most Likely To Die. Sugar And Spice. Don't Cry. Other Books in This Series. The Dying Game. There was a very strong romance in this book and while the speed in which Quinn and Annabelle got together seemed a bit quick given the circumstances, the way it was written worked for me. Annabelle is strong having had to carry the weight of family problems on her shoulders but I did feel she was a bit too trusting.

I have read a few of Ms. I am missing big gaps of his story and am keen to find out what they are. Ms Barton is a superb storyteller and this is another great romantic suspense. I started this one and was unable to put it down — there went my housework day again! But now, someone has brutally slaughtered one of them, and Qu 4. But now, someone has brutally slaughtered one of them, and Quinn has no memory of the night he was found in her home.

Annabelle Vanderley wants justice for her murdered cousin, and if Quinn Cortez swears he can find the true killer, she's willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Now, consumed by dread, Annabelle wonders just how close she may be to a twisted psychopath for whom pain would be the ultimate pleasure. I loved this book when I first read and then again on my second reading of it. I liked Annabelle and Quinn yet it was the secondary characters and friends Griffin Powell and Jim Norton were the ones to catch my interest. Barton is good at giving hints to the men's lives so that you want to read the next book.

You may figure out who the murderer is but the storyline and characters keep you interested so you can see how it unfolds. Oct 14, Jane rated it liked it. To be honest, I'm a huge big fan to suspense thriller genre book. I've been in love since I was a kid. And never never once I'll flip through the ending of the book and justify my answer to the mystery.

But this book actually make me flip to the last 2nd chapter. Yes, I've suspected that particular person. And thank you, I'm right. I did not guess who's the culprit until nearly the middle of the book I think. Yes, this book does hook me to the end.

The characters are.. And you may coun To be honest, I'm a huge big fan to suspense thriller genre book. And you may counter incest relationship. Who's with who I won't spill the beans, but you may know sooner than you think. I think the book clearly left out the police who leak out the information to the press. Actually, I'm looking forward to know the punishment but this book did not mention any aftermath at all. So I'm kinda sad. Yes, I don't like that cop. I don't know what else to say but you may find this book intriguing or you may find this book a bit boring.

Depend how you view the plot. Sep 09, Susan K. But, I hadn't Who is the serial killer? A Real Page Turner that will keep you guessing until the last page.

Feb 22, Jay Jessmer rated it really liked it. A very well written book. Excellent pacing, nice dialogue, intriguing characters and plenty of suspense.

Barton has a knack for keeping the reader guessing every step of the way, and I love trying to figure out her endings along the way. Every time I thought I had this one figured out, I changed my mind in the next chapter. I wasn't completely sold on Quinn, but I really liked Annabelle.

Having already read the "Dead By" series, it was fun to see the first glimpses of Griffin Powell. A "note to A very well written book. A "note to readers" at the end lets us know that her next work features Jim in the lead, which should make for a good book, as I liked his character and think she can do good things with him. A really good stand-alone book that really doesn't require reading any of her previous works to enjoy.

Wasn't very keen. When I looked Beverly Barton up I see she did write a lot in those romance series so that's probably why. The premise was good-women who all had relationships with one particular lawyer are all being murdered yet he has holes in his memory at the times each were killed.

One of the relations of his latest murdered girlfriend believes in his innocence so d Wasn't very keen. One of the relations of his latest murdered girlfriend believes in his innocence so decides to help him find out what's going on. I had had one of her books before and had that marked as given to charity also so I had had reservations but I don't think I'll try anymore. Sep 24, Lori rated it really liked it Shelves: rom-suspense , read-in , september I guess this is really a 3.

I really like Barton's books. I guessed the whodunnit here, but I loved how she kept all the characters guessing if Quinn was really guilty of the crimes. The main thing I didn't quite like was that Annabelle seemed so quick to jump on Quinn's bandwagon.

She knew what she wanted and went for it. But her undying immediate faith in Quinn's innocence gave me pause. I understood that she recognized her cousin's faults, but still thought she should wonder abou I guess this is really a 3. I understood that she recognized her cousin's faults, but still thought she should wonder about Quinn more than she actually did. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. She was far from slender. Her hair was okay, she supposed. Thick, shiny and shoulder length.

Just a plain old medium brown. And her eyes were nondescript. Except for the gold flecks. She studied her facial features. It was a pleasant face, her features all medium in size, working quite well together. Bernie heaved a deep sigh, turned from the mirror and walked over to her closet.