The House Beyond the Dunes is a suspenseful, thriller that did not disappoint. Amazing writing with believable characters.
Lane McCord's life is busy with work and school. She starts seeing a new guy and they decide to go to his beach house for their first romantic getaway trip. She wakes up in a hospital having survived a near-fatal fall, however Kyle was less fortunate. Lane heads back to the beach house to help remember the events that lead to the fall.
This fast-paced story was captivating and hard to put down. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and Mary Burton for an ARC of "The House Beyond the Dunes".

After surviving a fall that took the life of her boyfriend, Lane McCord returns to Kyle’s beach house to collect her things. A winter storm keeps her trapped at the house and her only neighbors are childhood friends of Kyle’s. With nothing else to do, Lane searches the beach house for clues about the man she was dating for only a few days before his fatal accident. The deeper Lane digs, the more she discovers about Kyle’s possible criminal past. She is aided by a local detective and from a mystery person who keeps sending her passages from a journal belonging to a woman named Stevie. Stevie was also investigating Kyle, and she provides Lane with some of the answers she is seeking.

THE HOUSE BY THE DUNES is a thriller with a slow build. The reader meets Lane in the hospital just after the accident. With Lane’s foggy memory, the reader is constantly left asking whether Lane was responsible for Kyle’s fatal fall. There are a lot of twists, turns, and red herrings throughout the novel to keep the reader guessing as to previous events. The big twist at the end—and Stevie’s real identity—fell flat for me. After that, the rest of the novel dwindled to a less-than-satisfactory ending.

I’m a bit undecided about this book. I found the story interesting and did not see the twist coming, but I also found it a little slow and did not really connect with the main characters Lane. Lane goes on what she thinks will be a romantic weekend with a new boyfriend but things take a disturbing turn. When she and Kyle end up at the bottom of a set of stairs, her injured and him dead it sets off a series of events that set Lane on a road to discover why she feels like something is wrong and knows that something bad happened in this place in the past. I think this is classed as romantic suspense but really wasn’t for me. The relationship between Lane and the Detective just seemed a little strange to me.

What really happened? Lane needs to know why Kyle died and she ended up in the hospital after something, something happened during their weekend getaway at his beach house. She didn't know him well but now she knows she didn't know him at all. Things get really confusing when she goes back to the house. There's a neighbor, a contractor, and who is Stevie? This alternates perspectives and time lines in an effective manner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

Lane wakes up in the hospital to find that she survived a fall down some stairs but her boy friend died in the fall. She has no memory of the fall, but is compelled to go back to see if she can remember what happened. This book is a mystery with several twists at the end, one that came completely out of the blue for me. This is definitely a page turner. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This book is definitely suspenseful, and Mary Burton did a wonderful job of setting the scene. I love the rainy, dreary, yet beautiful location. You can really feel the tension as you're reading through the "current" timeline. However for me the sections where we are at a different timeframe, and how they interspersed throughout the story made the pacing feeling a bit choppy. For me it was pretty clear how it would all come together in the end, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of reading for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review!

4 1/2 STARS!

Diabolically addictive! Mary Burton is pouring on the angst like never before with a non-stop dive into the unknown that will have you following along page after page to uncover the riveting answers to all we seek to find. I was not expecting the outcome, but I was hooked!

Lane McCord is a complex character. We think we know what happened to her, but layer after layer of mystery add to questions of what happened and why. As she's drawn into another mystery playing out behind the scenes, we wait with baited breath while two worlds collide.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a multi-faceted mystery with lots of questions to find answers to along the way.

Burton’s suspense novels are all fantastic but these last few releases have just kicked it up a notch! House Beyond the Dunes had me stumped for most of the novel. Which I love. What’s the back story with Lane and Kyle? Who is Devon, Reece… Stevie? So well written keeping me guessing and throwing some really fabulous wrenches to the story! Well done!

I must say this was a surprise for me. I don't usually read MB, but this snagged my eye and kept me hooked. I loved this; I love a good thriller that keeps me guessing and this one sure did. I definitely don't think I'd classify it as a romance if that's what you're looking for here.

Holy wow, can this lady ever spin a yarn! I was eager to get my hands on this and devoured it in one sitting. As much as I love returning to the picturesque North Carolina coast, it was the driving plot and compelling storyline that grabbed my attention and kept me reading. I went into this blind, without reading the synopsis, and I highly recommend it. If you want the full effect, stop reading my review now and start reading this phenomenal novel.

Lane McCord grew up in foster care but she’s worked hard to make something of herself. She's months away from finishing her PhD when she meets a charming, accomplished man at the coffee shop where she works. She’s only been dating psychologist Kyle Iverson for a short while and has agreed to a weekend away from the city with him at his beach house.

Before their weekend can really get started at his very secluded home, a tragic accident happens and Kyle is dead. Injured in the same fall, Lane leaves the hospital only to be confronted by Detective Decker, who's asking questions not only about the accident, but about two missing women, Stevie Palmer and Nikki Kane.

Lane returns to the beach house to collect her belongings left behind when the EMTs transported her to the hospital. She's hoping for a quick in and out but she gets stranded by the weather. She meets two people who knew Kyle throughout their childhood, Reece, a contractor, and Devon, Kyle's house manager, who seem welcoming and offer help, should Lane need it. Lane also starts receiving texts with pages from Stevie's diary and begins asking questions she might be better off not knowing the answers to. People aren’t as they seem, loyalties run deep, and secrets are closely guarded.

Told through both Lane's viewpoint and Stevie's diary entries, this riveting, convoluted story captivated me and kept me on the edge of my seat. In classic Mary Burton style the shocking twists kept coming, driving towards a fascinating, unexpected conclusion. If you’re at all a fan of riveting psychological suspense with a touch of romance, you'll absolutely love this one!

Twisty and creepy read!

Lane and her new boyfriend Kyle take off for a long holiday weekend at his beach house, but Lane wakes up in the hospital after a terrible fall, and Kyle wasn’t so lucky.
Lane returns to the beach house to collect her belongings and to try to gain some closure and clarity about what happened. A storm hits and she’s trapped in the house. A nosy neighbor across the street, a very present property manager and a detective digging around was heightened by the isolation and storm and made for a very creepy read at times! I was really intrigued with all of the journal entries and flash backs to missing girls and a mystery from then entertained with the current timeline.

At times the story seemed a little disjointed and I was trying to figure out where certain details came from out of nowhere, but all was explained later in and it came together in a much more clear picture. This was definitely an entertaining read, and I always enjoy Burtons twisty stories.

Thank you NetGalley and Montlake for my ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

When a thriller begins with two people falling down a huge staircase and only one of them surviving, you know it’s going to be a wild read. This 100% lived up to that expectation.

The characters were revealed bit by bit, and until the very end, I had really only figured out one person’s relationship to the secondary timeline. The final twist? Shocking. And unique. I’m here for it.

I loved the setting on the Outer Banks…such a gorgeous place, but I’ve never considered how alone and sketchy it could be once you get beyond the touristy towns. This book made it abundantly clear that Mary Burton has spent a LOT of time thinking about exactly that.

A VERY solid 5-star read for me!

A romantic getaway turns tragic. A hunt to find the truth about what happened. A very suspenseful novel that keeps you guessing.

I love, love, love Mary Burton's books and this book is one of those reasons!!! I am always drawn in from the very first chapter to the very last word!!!

There is a lot going on in this book! But you can always count on Mary to mess with your mind, having you believe one thing then BAM everything is turned upside down and inside out!

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up, you won't be disappointed.

#Lane #Kyle #Burbon #Becker #NetGalley

I’m not always a fan of psychological thrillers but I have to say that I was really drawn into the mystery surrounding these characters. Stevie Palmer was definitely my favorite. The ending - I never saw it coming. I was shocked. I really enjoy that in a book.

Lane and Kyle head out for a romantic weekend at the beach. They have only been dating three weeks, and Lane is excited to figure out her feelings for Kyle. An accident happens and Kyle is dead. Lane wants to figure out if it was an accident or if there is something more sinister going on. I enjoy Mary Burton’s books because they remind me of Mary Higgins Clark. A little bit of romance and suspense tied up together. A quick read.

3.5 stars. TRIGGER WARNING: sexual abuse


I liked this book but didn’t love it. It had a good eerie feeling with being stranded with the tide and the storm. The story was predictable at times though I wasn’t sure where it was going to end which kept me wanting to read it. I saw the twist of the Lane/Stevie thing not too long into the diary chapters. I missed the fact that Sully was the “detective”, not sure how since I guess the Lane/Stevie split personality. Overall this book was good but just not great.

Thanks you NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. I think my main issue was all that Lane was doing to get to know Kyle who was a person she knew for about five weeks. I also felt like there were repetitive conversations throughout the book between Lane and the other characters. The twist at the end was good but by that point I was ready to be done with the novel.

Quick thriller read with a narrator who can't remember what exactly happened when she and her almost boyfriend take a fall down the stairs. I went into this one pretty blind and was pleasantly surprised by the twists and turn and to be honest was not entirely sure where it was heading. Since I didn't totally figure out what the final twists would be I would rate it a little over 3 stars. Solid read and would recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and Montlake for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

The House Beyond the Dunes by Mary Burton

This psychological thriller is definitely hard to put down for a good night’s sleep! The story revolves around Lane McCord’s tragic accident at her new boyfriend’s house overlooking the dunes on the Outer Banks close to the Virginia line.

Lane grew up in a foster home and is one semester away from PhD’s in psychology and counseling. While working as a barista, she meets the captivating and handsome Kyle, a PhD psychologist who showers her with gifts, dinners, and promises a quiet holiday weekend at his secluded house. One hour after arriving via driving on the beach, their stay is mired with tragedy as they fall 21 steps to the marble floor. His death is caused by a broken neck and cracked skull, and she landed on top of him. Her memory is impaired, and the cause of the fall is lost to her. Did he push her, did she push him, were they arguing? Was there something in the champagne she drank before heading upstairs? Kyle’s contractor friend working across the street heard screams and called the paramedics. He and the house manager Devon view her with suspicion and blame. At home after release from the hospital and later at the dunes house, she is accounted by Detective Baker who also thinks she is responsible for Kyle’s death.

When Lane finds her purse and sleep walking pills were not transported to the hospital with her, she returns to the house only to be trapped there for a week due to storms. She begins receiving e-mailed excerpts from a diary of Stevie Palmer, a local bartender who is missing who had been searching for a fellow employee who disappeared. Stevie suspects her friend might have been murdered as other girls in the area have gone missing. Lane worries
that both women are either in danger or have been murdered. She begins to suspect that Kyle and his dangerous brothers who are now dead might have been involved. She asks neighbors about Kyle, his family, and goes through the dark forest to the house where he grew up. People living in the forest are menacing and protective of Kyle’s memory.

The intensity builds due to Lane’s entrapment in the area, the sinister behavior of Kyle’s friends, and her quest for the truth. The plot thickens and melds until an unbelievable situation evolves. This is truly a cliff hanger which keeps the reader guessing until the end! It is the best psychological thriller this reviewer has read in a long time.

Charlotte Rubush