Book Review:
Vulnerable by Mary Burton
Kensington Books, 29th March 2016
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis:
Years ago, three Nashville teenagers went into the woods for a hike—and only one came out. While her two friends disappeared without a trace, Amber Ryder was discovered at the bottom of a ravine with a broken arm, head trauma, and zero memory of the horror that put her there. With no leads, the investigation hit a dead end.

Now another woman’s body is found it the woods. When the trail leads to the missing teens’ remains, the cold case becomes a fresh hell for forensic technician Georgia Morgan. But while Georgia works with Amber to try and reawaken her memories, her gut tells her the worst is yet to come.

Homicide Detective Jake Bishop can’t be sure whether Amber is an expert manipulator or the killer’s next target. Either way, he’s determined to protect Georgia. Because the more she digs into the past, the more deadly secrets emerge. And a nightmare years in the making is about to come to a bloody, terrifying end.

Review:
This fourth and final book in the Morgan of Nashville series is another psychological thriller that pulls together threads from the past, linking the long ago disappearances with Amber's mysterious survival.

The pace is good, the characters well written and plot defined, but the book feels unpolished, like the final proofreading step was skipped, which really lets it down.

Overall, Vulnerable is a good read, with well thought out reasoning and enough twists to hold the reader's interest throughout.

*I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley; this is my unbiased review.

#BookReview #Vulnerable #MaryBurton #KensingtonBooks #NetGalley

Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. The Romance part of this book didn't grab my attention but I did enjoy the suspense part. I found this book to be a light read - great for the beach or a road trip read. I will recommend this author as a good light reading author.

4.5

Book source ~ NetGalley

Three teens went into the woods and only one came out. Amber Ryder was found with a broken arm, a concussion, and no memory about what happened. Nashville forensic technician Georgia Morgan has been assigned the five year old cold case because the father of one of the victims is rich and connected. He keeps pushing for more investigation even though the police haven’t managed to find anything in five long years. Georgia has read all the files and has contacted Amber who now resides in Texas, but before she can really get going on interviews another body is found in the woods - a body that leads Georgia and her team to the missing teens. What fresh hell is this?

There are twists and turns and revelations both surprising and icky in this suspenseful murder mystery. I’ve read one other book by Mary Burton and I like her writing style. She woos with words and coaxes you to keep looking for answers all while dropping breadcrumbs to follow. Sometimes you think you have it figured out only to doubt yourself with the next revelation. It’s frustrating, but in a good way. There is plenty of science involved without it overwhelming the story and there’s even more foot work involved by Detective Jake Bishop. Police work is a collaborative effort between beating the bushes and science and I’m glad this story shows that. I look forward to reading more stories by Mary Burton.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in return for an honest review.)

Three went in; one came out. For five years, no trace has been found of two high-school friends who went hiking in the woods near Nashville. The third teen, Amber Ryder, was discovered at the bottom of a ravine with a broken arm, head trauma--and zero memory of the horror that put her there.
What started as a cold case has become a fresh hell for forensic technician Georgia Morgan. Another woman's body is found in the woods, and it leads to the missing teens' remains. But while Georgia works with Amber to try and reawaken her memories, her gut tells her the worst is yet to come.
Homicide Detective Jake Bishop can't be sure whether Amber is an expert manipulator or the killer's next target. Either way, he's determined to protect Georgia. Because the deeper she digs into the past, the deadlier the secrets that emerge, and a nightmare years in the making is about to come to a bloody, terrifying end…

*2.5 stars*

This is the 4th book in the Nashville series. I have read the first two books and quite enjoyed them so it made sense that I read more...

This book, however, should have been labelled simply as a crime thriller novel as the romantic element just wasn't really there. I said in previous reviews that a lesser focus on the romance suited me nicely...and also that the relationship between the two main characters didn't feel real - the kind of relationship that, if it were real life, you would tap one of them on the shoulder and say "this isn't for you"...

And nothing has changed my opinion of those two things. However, by book 4 of a series, I would have expected that to have changed a little bit. And that's what affected my rating of this book.


Paul
ARH

Unfortunately, when I was given this book to read (I didn't request it), I didn't realise it was part of a series, so I haven't read this book, so can't give a review.

Five years ago, three girls went hiking in the woods. One was discovered, injured, with no memory of what happened. The other two were never found.

Georgia Morgan, forensic technician, works with the survivor, Amber, on the cold case to try to recover some of her memories the events. Another woman is found dead in the area, and the remains of Amber's friends are discovered. Detective Jake Bishop isn't sure if Amber is a victim or a perpetrator, but he is determined to keep Georgia safe.

The storyline for this one was suspenseful and kept me thoroughly interested. I enjoyed what romance there was, but thought that it definitely took a backseat in this one.

Vulnerable is a good addition to the Morgans of Nashville Series.

I consider this more on the romance side than mystery. It was still interesting and I love Mary Burton books.

Awesome book, held my interest, and I never guessed the killer till the very end. A good read.

Thank you Netgalley the Publisher and author for a copy of this book