Cover Your Eyes by Mary Burton
Mystery Suspense/Romance
E book, 416 pages
November 4, 2014
Zebra Books
Reviewed by Tori
Public defender Rachel Wainwright struggles to right a wrong when she takes a pro bono case from decades ago. Her client was accused of killing a beautiful singer and has sat in prison for 30 years. Rachel feels DNA evidence will exonerate her client but there are people out there who don’t want the case reopened.
Detective Deke Morgan’s father was the detective who investigated and put Rachel’s client behind bars. He doesn’t want to see his father proved wrong but a recent string of brutal slayings are eerily similar to the decades old murder. If the wrong man was convicted…then the killer is still out there. And still killing.
When the murders begin to strike close to home, Deke and Rachel forge a reluctant alliance and follow a twisted path of lies, secrets, and cover ups to a killer who won’t stop until Rachel becomes their final victim.
Mary Burton’s Cover Your Eyes is a dark engaging mystery suspense with a very low-key romance. Rich dialogue, complex characters, and a well plotted storyline provides us with a multi layered who dun it that twists and turns with deception and misdirection. Using a series of letters, Burton gives a voice to our original victim, alternating between the past and the present to slowly reveal the motivations and reasons behind a murder that shocked a town to it’s core. It does start out little slow as the storyline is set up and needed background given. Ms Brant shows considerable knowledge as she teases out the past and present investigation for us in a clear and concise manner. The running dialog between the characters is fast and smooth-allowing you to slip right into the story with them. As the plot picks up speed, the mystery and suspense follows suit leaving us ripe with tension till the very last page.
Our hero and heroine are a delightful mixture of contrasts, adding depth and background to the main storyline. The romance is considerably less involved than the main plot but Ms. Burton uses those scenes to flesh Rachel and Deke out. They are fabulous together-both prickly and stubborn as they butt heads repeatedly. The unvoiced sexual tension between them builds slowly as they get to know one another, seeing the similarities in their personalities that complement one another. Rachel is an intelligent, tenacious, strong-willed woman. She says what she means and challenges Deke in ways no one else dares to. Though she has some baggage from her past, it isn’t a relationship hurdle that needs to be jumped. Deke is not looking for a relationship, having just divorced his second wife. His stoic and secretive nature is a result of his childhood and job. Rachel fascinates Deke and he struggles with his feelings as this case has placed them on different sides of the courtroom As these two circle around their attraction, you slowly start to see them both lower the emotional walls they have built. Burton doesn’t make their relationship a competing subplot but does intertwine it with the main storyline; allowing it to merge naturally and enhance the ending.
The secondary characters are as rich and inviting as our protagonists. Each one adding personality, drama, and insight to the story. The dynamics between the characters are crisp and defined. The cast is a solid foundation in which our two protagonists work and build from. The villain(s) of the story are a compelling study in revenge, filled with deceit and deception; wrapped in a normal intelligent package. I never figured it out-Burton did a fabulous job of keeping me twisting and turning in the dark.
The ending comes fast and furious as Rachel makes the final connection between the past and present, placing herself in the killer’s sights. Loose ends are wrapped up, questions answered, and the wrongs of the past are made right and finally laid to rest. Burton once again pens a thrilling mystery though I was a little dismayed by the lack of heat and visibility of the romance in a book published as a romance suspense.
Overall Rating: B
Recent Reviews:
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