Audiobook9 hours
Before She Dies
Written by Mary Burton
Narrated by Johanna Parker
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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About this audiobook
In death, they are purified. Holding his victims under water, he washes away their sins as they struggle for their last breath. Then he stakes their bodies to the ground, exposing them for what they really are: witches, sent to tempt and to corrupt. No one knows about defence attorney Charlotte Wellington's murdered sister, or about her childhood spent with the carnival that's just arrived in town. For Charlotte, what's past is past. But others don't agree. And as a madman's body count rises, she and Detective Daniel Rokov are drawn into a mission that's become terrifyingly personal.
Author
Mary Burton
New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the popular author of twenty-nine published romance and suspense novels, as well as five novellas. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature dachshunds.
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Reviews for Before She Dies
Rating: 4.192771103614458 out of 5 stars
4/5
83 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***My Look:Defense attorney Charlotte (Grace) Wellington is not who everyone thinks she is, but her secrets are safe until the past comes bounding up to her present day door.Eighteen years ago, when she was a teen, Grace's mother died, and her sister was murdered by a ritualistic nightmare. Grace fled leaving her mother's infant and her baby sister, Sooner, to be adopted.Now, Charlotte has managed to turn her life into a picture of what it never was.She is a highbrow attorney who travels in all the right circles with all the right connections. Nevertheless, when her stepdad shows up at her expensive office, all bets are off on keeping her life the pristine image it has become. Emotions overwhelm her as memories flood from all directions, and the news he brings leaves her hollow.The problem was Charlotte has always had a hole inside anyway, but she thought she did the right think by her baby sister, Sooner. She pacified herself believing Sooner had a real family and was growing up far away from the carnival. But that didn't happen.Her stepfather raised Sooner, and now's she's been arrested. He's threatening to expose Charlotte's past, but Charlotte's problems are only just beginning.Meanwhile, Detective Daniel Rokov discovers the ice goddess isn't the queen of cold; in fact, she's hot, sexy, and sultry. Moreover, their no strings attached, clandestine relationship suited him fine, for a while, but now he wants more. Though they are burning up the sheets, she has her heart locked in an ice chest, and she will not change the no attachment part of their relationship. Daniel Rokov wants to know her secrets, and he wants to understand why she lives without emotional entanglements.Fresh from a hotel tryst, he's arriving on scene.A young girl has been murdered. Not news, really. Everyday something like this happens, and maybe some think he's cold at heart due to indifference. He isn't. Emotions will hinder his job.However, even a seasoned detective isn't ready for this crime scene.The young woman had been killed elsewhere, but her body had been brought to an abandoned building and staged in the most ritualistic way. The salt outline only confirms what he already knows to be true. Investigating this death leads him straight to the carnies in town, as death and this group seem to come as a package deal.However, he's not at all expecting what he unearths.My Take:BEFORE SHE DIES by Mary Burton is a read I recommend!Mary Barton lets us meet her killer on the first page, and you'll learn this will be his first kill of many more to come. In this read, you are in for a suspense filled ride through a romantic suspense tale where secrets are deadly but distrust can save a life.Her main characters are flawed but redeemable, and you'll be rooting for them to live long enough to come together.While this is a stand-alone title, you will want to read Mary Burton's other suspenseful reads such as MERCILESS (Zebra January 2011), SENSELESS (Zebra December 2010), and DYING SCREAM (Zebra December 2009).
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Excellent story, with multiple layers to it. The characters are believable and the story develops over the lifetime of the protagonist. Suspenseful to the end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This is the first of this authors book and it is very interesting and it is amazing about the killer. The writings was good ?and the writer leading the characters and confusing readers about who the killers was.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoyed this read.It was a pretty fast read and had me guessing until almost the very last of who it was.The characters pulled me in and had me pulling for them and talking to them about their decisions.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Before She Dies
3 Stars
At first glance, successful defense attorney Charlotte Wellington has nothing in common with the women being targeted by a killer obsessed with witchcraft and the occult. However, Charlotte is keeping a secret - a childhood spent with a travelling carnival and the death of her sister at the hands of a maniac. As Charlotte's past and present collide, she and Detective Daniel Rokov will have to join forces to catch a madman before he strikes closer to home.
The beginning is excellent with a gripping suspense story and an intriguing romance, but the book ultimately fails to live up to its potential.
At the start, Charlotte and Daniel are already in a sexual relationship, which is unusual for the romantic suspense genre. Nevertheless, it is also very compelling, especially since their professions have them working in close proximity, and there is an almost forbidden feel to their romance. Unfortunately, the physical intimacy never manages to evolve into a believable emotional connection mainly due to Charlotte's reticence.
In terms of the serial killer plot, Burton's research is accurate and the descriptions realistic. That said, the villain's identity is predicable, and there is insufficient foreshadowing. Moreover, some of the situations feel contrived, and the info dump at the end would not have been necessary if the details had been merged into the narrative properly.
All in all, worth a read for the action and suspense even though the romance is lacking. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Charlotte Welliington is your typical woman that has risen from nothing to achieve what most only dream about. She has become more then the carnie and the environment she was raised in. Having to put the past behind her but still not ever truly shaking her roots. She keeps herself hidden from everyone around her. A product of the grief of losing her sister and her mother. I was rooting for her to open up to Daniel and realize that who she was may not be an integral part of her life now, but it did shape her into the strong woman she became. I did have to snort at one point when she reveals she stripped her way through law school. I thought that was so cliche and that Charlotte would have been better served to hold down 3 jobs then to do something that seemed far and gone from her character. For his part, Daniel was a incredibly devoted and talented detective who was willing to do most anything to make his city safe again. I loved the way his mind worked and the thought processes he went through to come to his conclusions about the killer.
My problem came with the connection with each other. I didn't feel it and even though this is listed as a romantic suspense I'd say the actual romance part was lacking. Both Charlotte and Daniel were so busy with their own story lines that we didn't get much of a combined one. As a suspense I'd say "Before She Dies" was right on. As a romance, it definitely faltered.
The array of secondary characters really revved the book up for me. Daniels Russian grandmother was such a great addition. I loved her being a seer and thought she really fit in with the essance of the book. So many people claiming to have the sight and yet the only one that truly does is a unassuming Russian grandma. She was as mysterious as she was loving and for that I feel she stole the show.
I give it 5 stars for a great storyline, believable, mostly likable characters, (got to have the bad guys), and for not dragging out the ending. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5It seemed to read like a poor romance pulp fiction kind of thing. The characters seemed shallow and stereotyped. Only got through about 30% when this became too frustrating, so I can't really speak to the plot.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Charlotte Wellington is a damn good defense attorney. No one knows that she grew up in a carnival or that she left it at age 16, a week after her sister was murdered. However, 18 years later when the carnival comes into town and a woman is murdered, I didn’t need Madame Divine to tell me Charlotte’s past and present were about to collide.This book didn’t lure me in from the beginning with sweet words. It grabbed me by the collar, yanked me down a hall, tossed me in a room and sat on me until I just had to finish it. It forced me to ignore good hygiene, tune out a grumbling stomach, made my kids forage for food by themselves, rush the dogs on their potty breaks and barely let me go long enough to pack my husband’s lunch for work. It drove me crazy! It was as if it was glued to my hand AND I couldn’t figure out who the killer was! Gah! I loved it!Excellent plot, smooth-flowing, interesting well-developed characters. I couldn’t read it fast enough. The urge to peek at the end was off the charts for me. I so badly wanted to know who the killer was and yet I was determined to figure it out myself without cheating. I’m sad to say I made it about ¾ of the way before the urge to peek overwhelmed me. Although, that might just be a record for me. *shamefaced grin*How I have never before seen books by Mary Burton I’ll never know. Now that I’ve read one I need to find more!*The publisher provided a copy of this book to me for review. Please see my disclaimer page on my blog.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was my first book by Mary Burton and it won't be my last. I loved the pace of the action and the characters of Charlotte and Daniel seemed so real, like people you could know.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Before She Dies is a twisting and turning ride through a demented killers mind that is sure to leave you checking your windows and looking behind you as you walk. The characters will stay with you long after the last page and as a suspense, it holds its own.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Reviewed by UrsulaReview copy provided by Joan Schulhafer Publishing & Media ConsultingCharlotte is a strong, independent ball buster of an attorney. Time is money and work is everything...at least that is how Charlotte feels. She's viewed by others as a no nonsense, no holds barred defense attorney that was raised in high society. But she has secrets, big secrets! She prefers to be alone and not have to depend on or confide in anyone, but Rokov, a local detective wants to change that. The carnival has arrived in town, the one Grace, now calling herself Charlotte, grew up in and finally broke away at age sixteen. She has worked hard to leave her past behind her, but it's back with a vengeance. Now her step-dad, Grady, who runs the carnival, is knocking on her door to ask for her professional help to save Sooner, the only family Charlotte has left, the one person she thought had a chance to have a normal life. But Grady broke his promise and Sooner didn't have the life Charlotte had hoped she would. To top it all off, there is a ritualistic killer on the loose that has his eye on her. She will have to fight for more than her reputation...her life is at stake. Mary Burton has written a multi-layered, fast paced and high energy story. Before She Dies is well written and pulls you right into the story. You won't want to put the book down until you get to the last word...The plot is intricate and delivers raw emotions and fear that grabs hold and has you holding your breath waiting for the next turn of the page. I would have liked to have had a little more interaction between Charlotte and Sooner and between Charlotte and Rokov, but there was enough to get you hooked. I recommend Before She Dies to fans of Karen Robards and Lisa Jackson.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Though not technically part of a series, Before She Dies closes off a loosely connected trilogy that started with Burton’s Senseless and Merciless. I think it was on par with those two books. In some ways, it was stronger. The romance is there from the very beginning rather than materializing towards the end, so we get a chance to root for it a bit longer. I would have liked to see a little more wanting from Charlotte’s point of view, but overall I’m not disappointed in how it developed.I also thought Charlotte’s back story was more interesting than the female protagonists in the previous two books. The carnival makes for an unusual backdrop.When it comes to the villain, I find that I finished the book feeling somewhat confused about him. (SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD) His placement in the periphery of the story was a bit too obvious, because if he’s not the bad guy, what’s his purpose? Maybe I just read too many of these types of books. I also didn’t understand his ultimate motive. I understood the fixation part of it, I just didn’t get why he started in the first place. (END SPOILERS!)Overall, I did enjoy the read. I think Burton writes both strong female and strong male characters, yet is able to keep the male characters secondary. I will continue to keep Burton on my “to read” list!