Mary Burton's "I See You" is a whodunit with well-paced suspense and drama. The primary characters are fairly well developed while the secondary players read flat in some scenes. In a few scenes, an additional sentence or two would have given greater depth, creating a full picture for the reader of both the scene and the characters. There are unanswered questions and unresolved issues, but they are either minor or may perhaps be picked up in another book. There are some repetitive phrases, factual inconsistencies, and errors in grammar. which may be distracting to readers. Those inconsistencies and errors stand out to a reader who tries to solve the crime before the detectives do. Overall, it is an entertaining and well-written novel.

I See You by Mary Burton is the second book in the thrilling romantic suspense Criminal Profiler series. Each of the books in this series and others by the author change the main characters of the book giving readers a whole new romance plot while loosely connecting the cases. The characters in the first book of this series actually came from another Mary Burton series but even with all the crossover book to book or series to series these can be read as a standalone or out of order and understood if choosing to do so.

I See You introduces special agent Zoe Spencer with the FBI who not only works cases bit is often used as a skeletal reconstruction specialist when there is not another way to identify a victim. Zoe had just finished up reconstructing a skull which led to finding it belonged to a teenage girl from an old cold case.

As Zoe heads to the girls hometown and begins to investigate she finds herself crossing paths with homicide detective William Vaughan. The two have a history together being what some would call friends with benefits and diving into the case brings those moments to light. In the middle of the cold case investigation the pair also discover they may have an active serial killer on their hands to track down.

One of the things I love with a Mary Burton title is that while they are romantic suspense she still has a great grasp on the thrilling side of the story instead of letting the steamier side take over. These characters also had an established beginning which I enjoy too so we don’t dive into an uncomfortable insta-love area and just let things grow as the focus stays on the crime at hand for a good portion of the story making this another solid installment to the series.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

This mystery did keep me on my toes and guessing until the end. I enjoyed the creepy who-dunnit vibes it had throughout but I wish I’d liked it more. The MCs felt too disconnected for me. Of the two, I liked Vaughn best. He was a gruff detective, a bit stubborn in places but he seemed to be more relatable than his counterpart and love interest, Zoe.

As a platonic/work related team, these two were great. They each brought their own strengths into the investigation and worked cohesively. As a romantic couple though . . . I wasn’t feeling it. And that ultimately knocked down a few stars. In this case, I think leaving out the romance would have helped this a lot more. There just wasn’t enough there to warrant a romance between Vaughn and Zoe and it felt too forced.

If you like less romance and more mystery/suspense in your reads, check this one out. It was a strong and memorable read.

Intriguing. I didn't know who the killer was.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Mary Burton writes murder/thrillers that start the action on page one and roll through the last page. In I See You, the title comes from an investigators who uses her skills to recreate skeletal remains of murder victims so they can be identified. She's very good at her job, but tends to get emotionally involved with her victims' lives and deaths. As she works with another investigator to solve the latest victim, they will find themselves directly in the killer's path. Burton's books all fall in the category of "losing sleep because you can't put it down" with an extra side of "you'll never see THIS coming". Another winner from one of my go to authors.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

I’ve become a huge fan of Mary Burton in the last year, so when I received an invitation from the publisher, via Net-Galley, to read and review I See You in advance of publication, I eagerly accepted. My opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.

I See Youis a spin chilling romantic thriller with plenty of action. The pacing is fast as with most novels in this sub-genre. There is a great mystery to solve, and for me, I was quite surprised when I discovered who the villain was at the end.

Zoe Spencer’s character is a jack-of-all-trades. She’s an FBI criminal profiler, and a talented artist who has the ability to create an image that reveals the identity of bones found in an old trunk. She sets out to avenge the death of the young woman who had disappeared over ten years ago. I liked her zeal for her work and determination to solve the crime and find justice for the victim.

William Vaughan is a great hero. He’s a hardened professional who will leave no stone uncovered when trying to solve the case. He’s also the father of a teen who has recently left for college. That gives his character more dimension and shows his softer side. He shows great passion for his work and for Zoe, the woman who has titillated his senses for quite some time.

As with many romantic thrillers, the romance takes second place to the mystery that must be solved. However, there is plenty of chemistry between Vaughan and Zoe, and I wanted them to find their happy ending.

If you enjoy romantic thrillers with plenty of suspenseful scenes and compelling characters, then you will love I See You as much as I did. Mary Burton has yet to disappoint me. Happy reading!

5 stars for I See You! This one left me guessing until the very end with lots of twists and turns. Full disclosure, I’m not usually a fan of detective books. You know the kind, agents and long hours, cases that consume them and all. But, I immediately became interested because of the fascinating way that this story unfolded and the main character’s ability to recreate the first victim’s face based on studying the bone structure of the skull. When the FBI team sees the face made of clay, they remember the face, and the case comes back to life, bringing with it more victims.

Like so many of the books we all love, there was the typical troubled marriage, the sassy teenage daughter, lust, revenge, and multiple victims. You know how you think it is going to go, with the teenage daughter getting away with things under the radar because her parents are so caught up in their own misery, but it doesn’t go that way at all.

Mary Burton releases secrets, one at a time in such a practiced way. Breadcrumb after breadcrumb, each chapter counts the hours that have passed since the original 911 call. Body after body turns up, sharing similar wounds and everyone seems to have alibis. Like a singer who knows precisely when to release the note, when to pause, when to breathe, Mary Burton leaves nothing on the table.

This one is a great one to snuggle up with for a few hours at a time. The weather is turning colder here in NC (finally) and the only thing that would make this book more of a joy to read is a nice mug of your favorite warm beverage. It’s waiting…..

This was my first Mary Burton book. I had so high hopes for it and she didn't leave me hanging! I really enjoyed the suspense with this one. I am not familiar with the series and I was able to jump right into this one!

Huge Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake Romance for this opportunity!

A wild ride that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It twists and turns over and over again. By the time you finish your head will be spinning in a good way.

I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait for the next in the series.



** I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review**

This is the second book in the criminal profiler book

I have read the first novel, but I do think that they can be read as standalone novel.s

I really enjoyed this book. It was filled with suspense and was fast paced. It didn’t take me long to read it as I really wanted to find out who it was!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

This is an exciting, fascinating suspense novel. The action starts in the first chapter and doesn’t end until the last page. I found the police procedure parts of this book absorbing. It offers great insight into how detectives investigate murder.

This story starts out with the discovery of an old human skull. Zoe Spencer is an FBI special agent who can recreate a face using skeletal bones. In this case, Zoe discovers that the skull belongs to a teenage girl who had been missing for ten years.

Zoe visits the victim’s hometown to investigate how this young girl died. This is a small town where everyone knew the girl, but no one had any idea what had happened to her. Zoe brings the skull to William Vaughan who is a homicide detective in this small town. During this investigation, the detectives discover the killer is still around and killing young women. Zoe and William work together to find the killer.

This book is an absorbing page-turner that grabs your attention and doesn’t let up until the end of the book!

This was such an interesting read. I am a romance reader, under (almost) any forms. If you have a book that is mixing a little bit of something with a little bit of Romance, I’m sold! Mary Burton gives us an interesting case, with interesting characters and a creepy atmosphere, with “creepy” being used in a positive way, if that makes sense.

“I See You” is a thriller, bringing us forward a case from long time ago. This case resurfaces when someone sends a tip to a blogger about some remains being hidden in a specific place. Detective William Vaughan and FBI agent Zoe Spencer come together to solve a murder that seems more complex than any could have imagined. When the victim’s family not as willing to help as they were expecting, the two main characters will have a difficult time identifying the killer.

I was intrigued by the plot and I got quickly into the story. Zoe is a profiler, so I was anxious to discover this side of the story. Her relationship with Vaughan is complicated a little. I felt the indecision in both at the beginning and, besides finding out who did it, I was also curious to see if and how will they solve their differences. I believe the author did a great job with the atmosphere and with all the clues we have here and there. It’s no surprise I went through it quickly.

Now, there are some things that made me not give a full rating. One is my expectation to see more profiling from Zoe. I love this job and, when I was little, I wanted to become one. I wanted to find my childhood wish in Zoe much more and to see how she excels at what she’s doing. There are also some items which I believe were a bit rushed (especially in regard to the reveal of the killer and the reasons) and other items that could have been better developed (for example the relationship between the murders).

But with all my comments, I did enjoy my time with the story and, if you enjoy thrillers, with a dose of romance, this may be the book for you. With detectives, profilers, killers and secrets, “I see You” truly delivers the proper atmosphere. I’m awarding 3.5 stars, rounded to 4, with my intention to follow up on the series and the author soon !

I SEE YOU (Criminal Profiler Book 2) by Mary Burton is the second romantic suspense in the Criminal Profiler series. This book focuses on two suspense plots, a cold case and a present day serial killer case while still managing to give you a believable romance intertwined with the investigations.

FBI Special Agent Zoe Spencer is a profiler and a forensic artist who can use skeletal remains or eye- witness testimony to build or draw a visual representation for law enforcement. As she works on the reconstruction of a recently found skull, she brings back the face of a missing teenage girl from 19 years ago.

Alexandria homicide detective William Vaughan has been called to the scene of a brutally murdered teenage sex worker. Just as he begins investigating, he gets a call to assist on Zoe’s cold case. He is interested in the case and is happy to once again work with his on-again, off-again lover.

As William and Zoe reconnect with the sister of the cold case victim, they are shocked to get a call that the sister’s husband has been stabbed and the sister and her daughter have been abducted. There are deep secrets in this family and as the investigation heats up, more bodies are being found. Can William and Zoe find out who and what connects the past with the present and if they are connected stop the killing spree?

I love all the layers in these suspense plots from the past and present and how they were tied together. Ms. Burton kept me guessing and changing my mind on who was guilty with an ending that satisfies, but also leaves a scary question mark for the future. William is a steady, strong hero who does not overshadow Zoe, who is a very strong heroine on her own. The romance was believable because they were both at a point in their lives where they were both ready to move on. The sex scenes are steamy and intimate, but not gratuitous.
I highly recommend this romantic suspense and author. Ms. Burton always gives me intriguing cases to solve, strong and intelligent heroes and heroines and a romantic HEA.

Thanks very much to Montlake Romance and Net Galley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.

I was provided a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I See You is a compelling murder mystery. Taking place over about a one week span immediately before and after a murder, you’ll be flipping the pages eager to know more in this Law and Order type story. Like any great suspense novel, just when you think you’ve solved the murder, another twist is thrown at you.

Wowza! This story kept me on the edge of my seat. A suspenseful thrill ride that kept me engaged from start to finish. The author certainly knows how to keep a reader guessing. The only reason this story is getting 4 stars instead of 5 is that I felt there was something just out of reach with the connection between Zoe and Vaughn that I was missing. Perhaps it was from a past book but there is already history between the two. I'll have to see if I can track it down.

An interesting read overall with an interesting protagonist, but not quite the riveting plot I was hoping for.
Zoe is an FBI agent who uses her artistic talent to reconstruct the face of a charred corpse and identify the victim and then unravel her story to find her killer. An interesting idea but although I did enjoy it I felt that the characters are not as well developed as I would have liked and at times the plot felt a little formulaeic.
Not a bad read but not one of Mary Burton's best.

I loved this book and read it in two days. It was suspenseful and kept me guessing. According to Goodreads, it's the second in a series but it works as a stand-alone book. I will definitely be reading the first in the series now.

* Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

3.5/5.0

I really debated between rounding up to a four or down to three stars. Honestly could go either way but a few personal views dragged it down.

The book was a solid read. The “who-did-it?” part was pretty straight forward with no real twists and turns. The red herrings were pretty obvious and one can easily guess who didn’t do it even though they stayed in the running throughout. There were only three real contenders so it wasn’t a big stretch no matter how it went. Nothing really to tax the brain at all but a decent read getting there.

One thing I REALLY didn’t like was the completely clinical nature of the sexual relationship. To spend time describing the sex when the participants have no emotional connection and are only hooking up here and there when convenient is a total waste of page space. There was absolutely nothing at all but take the clothes off, describe the deed and get back to work. No feelings, no emotion... clinical sex, making one dimensional, cardboard characters. I could get as much out of a doctor’s how-to manual.

There was also never any real depth behind the motivations of the characters, especially the killer(s?) There were very vague explanations but nothing that allowed the reader to close the book with any real true grasp of understanding.

SO overall....solid murder mystery/suspense, so-so characterization and depth.

The second book in Criminal Profiler, I see you, is a compelling, suspense driver read. Well developed characters and a storyline steeped in layers of intrigue makes this is must read. I am loving this series and strongly recommend you pick up a copy.