Customer Reviews

I'm Watching You

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Lindsey O'Neil has never forgotten the horror of growing up in a home with an abusive father, especially after discovering her mother's battered and lifeless body when she was a teen. She's reinvented herself and is committed to helping battered families get a second chance. When the body of an abuser is discovered behind her shelter, her estranged husband, homicide detective Zach Kier is on the case to find the culprit. They separated a year earlier when Lindsey could no longer deal with his alcoholism which went out of control when he was working as an undercover narcotics agent. But soon, one murder turns into two, and Lindsey discovers that the killer is stalking her and sending her the severed hands of the victims. Other key plot points include a friend on the run from her abusive and wealthy husband, a partner who doesn't want to work with Zach due to his alcoholism, and a pesky reporter who wouldn't know subtlety if it hit her over the head.

With crisp dialogue, an engaging plot, and plenty of well-developed secondary storylines to keep the plot moving, the story is suspenseful and never lets up until the culprit is identified. Burton's plot development is reminiscent of Karen Rose.

Now this is my personal opinion and in sharp contrast to all the glowing reviews I've seen here. This was not a great read. Having read Karen Rose's wonderful 'I'm watching you' (published in 2004), when I got this book by Mary Burton (of the same title but published in 2007), I was ready to love it based on the reviews. I was sorely disappointed. The plots are so similar it seemed to me that Ms. Burton read Karen Rose's book and just tweaked it a little bit to come up with this. She didn't even have the decency/courtesy of changing the title! I wish all the people writing these reviews could read Karen Rose's book and see for themselves.
Just a few examples:
1. Karen Rose's heroine (Kristen Mayhew) grew up in a house with a controlling/abusive father-so did Lindsay in Ms. Burton's book
2. Kristen was a victim of abuse-so was Lindsay
3. Abe Reagan, Kristen's love interest in Ms Rose's book used to be an undercover narcotics cop-so is Lindsay's ex-husband Zack . Both guys went from narcotics to homicide.
4. Abe gets to work with a reluctant partner who's lost her previous partner (whom she really loved) on the job, and is unwilling/not ready to work with Abe-same scenario for Zack
5. There's a pesky reporter in both books, who interferes with the cases and makes life difficult for the investigations
6. Here's the kicker-the serial killers in both books has a thing for the heroine, 'looking out for' her, sending her tokens of his admiration in the form of letters, clues (and hands) leading to the bodies, etc. Come on, Ms. Burton!
7. Even down to the families of Abe and Zack, there are similarities-in Karen Rose's book, one of the characters, Timothy is described as a fully functional independent guy with Down's syndrome. In Mary Burton's book, Zack has a sister with Down's syndrome-and she's also fully functional and independent.

The similarities just go on and on. Even giving Ms Burton the benefit of doubt, the plots were too similar for it just to be coincidence. Given that Karen Rose's book came first, I had to conclude that Mary Burton's research included Karen Rose's book and she just pretty much copied whatever she liked from Ms. Rose's book. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and I hate to put anyone's book down, but I couldn't let this slide cos I was so annoyed by the glaring similarities between the two books-I still can't get over the fact that Mary Burton didn't even change the title! How lazy is that?
I know serial killer plots have been done to death (pardon the pun) and there's bound to be some repetition but just a little pinch of originality is what keeps us buying the books.
Of course Karen Rose's book is the far superior book-anyone who's read Mary Burton's I'm watching you and thought it was a good book should read Karen Rose's and see what the real thing is like.

Lindsay O'Neil came from a home where she and her
mother endured a life of physical abuse at the hands
of her father. One day, she came home and found her
mother's brutally battered body. Her father had left
the scene and gone to a motel where he committed
suicide. Lindsay was seventeen. To avoid ending up
in a foster home. Lindsay ran away to California where
she assumed a new name and moved on with her life.
What had happened to her mother was something that
she could not overcome. While in California, she was
able to earn her college degree.

Lindsay return to Richmond, Va. where she grew up. She
is committed to helping battered families get a second
chance in life. When the body of an abuser is found behind
the shelter where Lindsay is the director, her estranged
husband, Homicide Detective Zach Kier takes the case, on the
condition that his partner Detective Jacob Warwick is the lead.
Lindsay and Zach are separated due to his alcoholism, he was
able to seek help, Lindsay was unable to trust him.

There is a deranged killer on the loose who kills men who
battered and abused their wives and leaving the bodies in
different locations. The killer sends Lindsay flowers with
a note "Lindsay, you are not alone anymore. The Guardian."
Detective, Warwick and Kier they realize that Lindsay is in
some way connected to the murders. She may not be the
killer The Guardian knows her.

I liked Lindsay and Zach. Their characters were well
developed as well as the secondary characters. It was
impossible to figure-out who the killer was until the
very end of the book. The plot line, about a serial
killer, was not described in a gross way, more of a
protector. The story line kept me captivated until the
last page. My first book, I've read by this author,
excellent writing, suspenseful and very little romance.
I'm Watching You it's the first in the series.
Mary Burton has a second book in the sequel
"Dead Ringer."

I highly recommend.

This book is set in Richmond, VA, and I always get a little extra thrill when I read something that's set in a place I am familiar with. It's like I'm in on a secret. Beyond that, I thought this was a decent book, with the twist of an extra bad guy. I could have stood a little more...something...between Lindsay and Zack. Some stronger push and pull, some more spark, just something. I just didn't feel the chemistry that was supposed to be between them, even when they were arguing. The relationship just seemed kinda flat. But, I would read more from Mary Burton, especially since I now know she's a local author. She has a sequel to this book (of sorts -- it features secondary characters) out in November.

This was a great romantic suspense novel. It will keep you guessing until the end. I couldn't put it down until I finished. I loved the romance between Zack and Lindsay. I hope we read more about them in Mary Burton's new novel, which according to her website will be about two other characters in this book. Great read-looking forward to more from her in the romantic suspence novels.

Nothing too exciting and it was pretty predictible. I figured out the mystery pretty early on. I will say the characters were definitely interesting and I will read her next book in this series just for that alone. I just hope the next one relays more chemistry between the two lead characters. I didn't feel there was any chemistry between Zach and Lindsey. If you like a good suspense novel, this will be good, but do not buy it if you want a good romance story as well - there really isn't one.

Lindsay O'Neil has been separated from her husband, police detective
Zack Kier, for a year now. The only thing left is for the divorce
papers to be signed. Zack's alcohol abuse coupled with his one night's
drunken mistake destroyed Lindsay's faith in him. So when a stalker
sets his sights on Lindsay, being forced to spend time with Zack just
makes things seem so much worse. Zack has never forgiven himself for
the pain he caused Lindsay and has spent the past year trying to clean
up his life. He's succeeded by taking it one day at a time and now
he's ready to try and put his marriage back together. He knows that
convincing Lindsay to take another chance on him is a long shot but
he's determined to do whatever it takes. But before they can move
forward, Zack has to protect Lindsay from the person stalking her,
otherwise he may lose the woman he's never stopped loving before he
can let her know how much she means to him.

I've read many of Mary Burton's historical romances but must admit
that this is my first contemporary romantic suspense written by her.
I'm Watching You is a well-crafted suspense tale with just the right
amount of romance to keep flipping the pages. Both Lindsay and Zack
are flawed characters that the reader quickly grows to care about. The
identity of the Lindsay's stalker is well hidden until the end and
keeps the reader guessing. While the storyline of Zack's betrayal felt
somewhat unresolved and left questions unanswered, the emotion between
Lindsay and Zack was palpitable. I'm Watching You made me hate
flipping the last page, wanting more of Lindsay and Zack. I'll
certainly be keeping my eyes out for more romantic suspense by Mary
Burton!

Melissa
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

The mystery is this book was good. It's just that there were questions left unanswered again. What did Zach say to Lindsey at the attorney's office that had her in tears? Why didn't Malcolm know what else Zach had done that caused the estrangement in his marriage with Lindsey? If he is going to set in judgement shouldn't he know more? And really if Zach cared that much for Lindsey why didn't he set his brother straight on the facts? He claimed to have told him mother what was wrong with telling his brother? What about this Sara, the other woman, she knew Zach was married and she still slept with him and then she still continues to try to have a relationship with him? Really her character wasn't too fleshed out. The other characters all seemed to be pretty decent it was just that there was so many of them. I wouldn't have minded if Lindsey and Warwick had hooked up though. I know that wasn't the point but really Zach was getting a bit irriating with his constant doubt of his estranged wife. Him even entertaining the idea that she would kill someone was very annoying! He acts like she lied to him in the past but all I could see that she lied about was her job and protecting her clients at the women's shelter. Really that wasn't any of Zach business. I'm sure he didn't tell Lindsey about things going on with his job. The whole mystery business was pretty good though I just think the romance could have used a little more work though.

Lindsay O'Neil comes from a haunted childhood. Her father beat her mother. Her mother ended up leaving him, but Lindsay came home one day from school to find he'd killed her mother and then committed suicide.

All grown up, Lindsay helps abused woman at a women's shelter. A body found right outside the shelter puts her back in contact with Detective Zack Kier, her soon-to-be ex-husband. She hadn't signed the divorce papers yet. When a killer, calling himself the Guardian, starts killing the abusive husbands of the woman at the shelter and sending Lindsay trophies of his kill, this threatens to ruin all that she's worked for. As Zack and his partner work on the case, he and Lindsay are given a second chance to try again.

I'M WATCHING YOU was my first experience with Mary Burton's writing. For me, this was as a serious page-turner. Her writing style was smooth! I can't wait to read more books by her.

This is a page turner from the moment you open the book. A good suspense with a little romance between lindsey and zack. She kept my interest that I had to force myself to put the book down so I could get some work done. This is the first Mary Burton book I've read and I plan to go check out and see what other books she has out. I put this author with my other favorites like Lisa Gardner, Mary Clark Higgins, Laura Griffin, Tami Hoag, Sandra Brown, just to name a few. Highly recommend this book.