![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/SeventhVictim.jpg?resize=183%2C300&ssl=1\")
by Mary Burton\nKensington Publishing, Inc. \u00a9 2013
\nISBN 978-1-4201-2505-4
\nMass Market Paperback, 362 pages, $7.99<\/p>\n
by Mary Burton
\nKensington Publishing, Inc. \u00a9 2013
\nISBN 978-1-4201-2505-4
\nMass Market Paperback, 362 pages, $7.99<\/p>\n
When Texas Ranger JAMES BECK arrives at the crime scene, the details\u2014victim clad in a home-made white dress, blonde hair fanned out around her head, and a penny clutched in one hand\u2014seem familiar somehow. It\u2019s only after Beck begins to investigate that he suspects the Seattle Strangler, who was never caught but who has been MIA with no further attacks for seven years, is once again on the prowl.<\/p>\n
Questions abound: the Strangler? In Austin<\/em>? Why now, after so long a silence? The biggest unknowns surround the Strangler\u2019s last Seattle victim, LARA CHURCH, the only one who survived. Beck knows the key to catching the killer is to find out why the Strangler left her alive and why, after six prior victims, the Strangler\u2019s modus operandi changed. Surely she carries some clue that might stop the killer from striking again, and now that Lara\u2019s living in Austin, Beck\u2019s determined to find out what she knows.<\/p>\n The problem is that Lara can\u2019t remember a thing. Oh she\u2019s tried; Seattle police, certain she could be pressured into recalling details that would help them catch the killer, put her through the wringer again and again until she finally says, \u201cNo more.\u201d Seattle detective MIKE RAINES, the lead investigator in the series of murders, didn\u2019t believe her then. And he doesn\u2019t believe her now. He\u2019s as determined as Beck to find out what she remembers and to catch the murderer. But Lara\u2019s just starting to build a new life. She wants nothing to do with the police or their investigation, and she\u2019s not about to allow them to order her around, even if it is<\/em> for her own good.<\/p>\n Author Mary Burton weaves a good tale, drawing the reader into the minds of her characters, then taking them along for the ride. Palpable tension hangs on every word in the exchanges between Raines, who travels to Austin to help solve the crimes, and Beck, who bristles at the outsider\u2019s intrusion into \u201chis\u201d investigation. Lara\u2019s interactions with Beck aren\u2019t exactly friendly either\u2014at least, not at first. She\u2019s no shrinking violet; I\u2019ve always liked strong female characters, and I think I would like Lara Church in real life.<\/p>\n Burton also does a decent job of writing young women and characters who haven\u2019t had the easiest life and are a bit jaded as a result. One young female character, DANNI, plays a key role, especially later in the book at about the same time the last plot twist is taking shape. It\u2019s her action that turns the tide in the end.<\/p>\n I have to point out that in my opinion, The Seventh Victim<\/em> is tried-and-true formula. I figured out both the killer\u2019s identity and the final twist long before the end; but that did not stop it from being an entertaining read, and sometimes that\u2019s just what I\u2019m looking for. Burton\u2019s got a plethora of other mystery titles. I\u2019m sure I\u2019ll be checking those out too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Mary Burton Kensington Publishing, Inc. \u00a9 2013 ISBN 978-1-4201-2505-4 Mass Market Paperback, 362 pages, $7.99 When Texas Ranger JAMES BECK arrives at the crime scene, the details\u2014victim clad in a home-made white dress, blonde hair fanned out around her head, and a penny clutched in one hand\u2014seem familiar somehow. It\u2019s only after Beck begins…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-3I","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5180,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/08\/claws-of-death\/","url_meta":{"origin":230,"position":0},"title":"Claws of Death","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"January 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By Cathy Wiley \u00a9 July 29, 2023 194 pages ASIN: B0C6FJ8HN3 What a fun little cozy mystery! 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