Merciless - Softcover

Burton, Mary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1420110209 ISBN 13: 9781420110203

Publisher: Zebra, 2011

Synopsis

No Pity

Each 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 Compassion

When 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

About this title

About the Author

Mary Burton is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of suspense novels including No Escape, You're Not Safe, Merciless, and Dead Ringer. She is a Romance Writers of America's RITA Award finalist and a RT Book Reviews' Critics Choice Award nominee. A Virginia native, she is a graduate of the Henrico County Citizens Police Academy, the Richmond FBI Citizen's Academy, and the Sisters in Crime's Forensic University program. Readers can visit her website at maryburton.com.

Reviews

Burton's feverish sequel to Senseless sets up a series of homicides clustered around troubled attorney Angie "The Barracuda" Carlson, who is privately wracked by guilt for successfully defending sadistic Dr. James Dixon against Lulu Sweet, the prostitute he'd tortured. When heaps of polished bones begin appearing around the city, their grisly provenance relentlessly described in alternate chapters by two psychopathic killers, hunky yet domestic Det. Malcolm Kier investigates and predictably falls for Angie, gradually revealed as the killers' ultimate target. Burton's dialogue occasionally jars, and she injects rather too many red herrings; taken as a macabre unit, the two villains, one a rapist and the other a necrophile, smack of watered-down Hannibal Lecter. But convincing detective lingo and an appropriately shivery murder venue go a long way, and Malcolm is pleasingly revealed to be a toothsome contemporary romantic Galahad who can believably tame a Barracuda. (Feb.)
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Edition details

• Publisher: Zebra
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1420110209
• ISBN 13: 9781420110203
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 416