Be Afraid was my introduction to Mary Burton, I came across her name on the Fantastic Fiction site, while I was searching the series order for another author. It’s a wonderful book site and worth checking out.

Be Afraid is a gripping tale of a woman seeking reason behind the murder of her family. She wants to understand why she was spared, and why she lost her entire family. It’s a fast story that will have you hooked from the start. This audiobook lasted me two days, but only because I had other family commitments that dragged me away from my ear pods.

I received a set of Sony, wireless ear pods with noise-cancelling – WF-1000XM3 – I find them a little uncomfortable, but the sound is amazing – looking forward to using them for a lot of audiobooks this year. (Sorry slight tangent)

Being new to Mary Burton, I was not sure what to expect when I started this book. The author has a clear, descriptive writing style that made it easy to follow the story. The narrator, Jennifer Van Dyck, performed this book perfectly. Her various voices made it easy to keep track of who was who and provided an entertaining listening experience. 

Jenna Thompson is a forensic artist, who after a difficult case takes leave and returns to Nashville in search of answers regarding her family’s murder and her abduction as a child.

She volunteers her services to assist with a local case, only to discover that Detective Rick Morgan is working a case with links to her family’s case. But the Thompson murders were solved twenty-five years ago – could it possible the same man?

I found myself deeply invested in this story very quickly, rooting for Jenna and Rick to find the bad guy. There were no giveaways along the way and the conclusion came as a surprise which made me enjoy the book even more.

Mary Burton created a range of interesting characters, all of whom were likeable. I found myself enjoying Georgia, Rick Morgan’s sister, she was quirky and entertaining. Jenna Thompson, however, stole my heart. Her sad back-story and desire for understanding had me feeling her unease and desperation through the story.

This was an extremely entertaining book, it fit right into my obsession for crime mysteries. Without a doubt a good start to my book year. I loved this story, and I will be adding Mary Burton to my list of authors to keep an eye out for.

This book would appeal to crime mystery enthusiasts if you enjoy Tess Gerritsen you really should check out Mary Burton.

This is a good book and well worth checking out – I am adding the rest of this series to my TBR for 2021.