Burn You Twice

By: Mary Burton

Narrated by: Melissa Moran

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

Fire can destroy the past. It can also uncover secrets in this novel of searing suspense by New York Times best-selling author Mary Burton.

Ten years ago as an undergrad, Joan Mason escaped an arsonist’s fire. Shaken, she fled the small collegiate Montana town, leaving behind friends and not looking back. Now a Philadelphia homicide detective, Joan’s trying to put her traumas to rest. It’s not easy. Elijah Weston, the classmate who torched her house, is out of prison and returning to Missoula. Gut instinct tells Joan he’ll strike again. To stop him, she must return to the past as well. To face not only the man she fears but Detective Gideon Bailey, too. The man she loved and left behind.

When a local woman dies tragically in another fire, it can’t be a coincidence. Can it be Elijah? He has a solid alibi for the night of the blaze. Reunited by the tragedy, Joan and Gideon have their doubts. So does Gideon’s sister, Ann - Joan’s old college roommate.

The investigation draws Joan and Gideon together, but it also sends them down a dangerous path - into a troubling history that Joan, Elijah, and Ann all share. As more lives go up in flames in Missoula, this town’s secrets are just beginning to rise from the ashes.

©2020 Mary Burton. (P)2020 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Well written and narrated murder mystery

Any mystery that keeps me guessing until the final hour of the novel deserves a 5 star rating. BURN YOU TWICE did just that.

Unthrilling

I know I am in the minority in this but this book did absolutely nothing for me. I am not discouraging anyone from reading it but merely stating my opinion. Some may agree and many more will not. The plot was bland, the characters annoying, and the thrills were just not there. I guessed early on who the sneaky pyro was even with all the herrings being thrown at the other guy. The female characters, Joan and Ann, were disturbing in some ways, secretive and illogical in others. Most of the time we don't know their motivations and when we do they are weak and immature. Joan has a penchant for running away when things get hot but yet becomes a homicide detective. She runs from the guy she loves and yet he wants to start something back up 10 years later? Sure there were things that happened in between. But would you risk your heart and son on someone with as many issues as this woman has?

Joan's relationship with Elijah was disconcerting. It was a pseudo friendship dancing around suspicion and vigilance. I can't elaborate much on this point without giving away a part of the plot. Ann is annoyingly secretive and a liar by omission. I could not connect in any way with these women. So I really did not care what happened to them. The men in the story were just as lackluster. Gideon, the main male character, felt like a secondary prop. Just there to move the plot along and interact with Joan.

If you think that the romance might add any interest and fire to the story, well there wasn't any. The relationship between Joan and Gideon was as interesting as tuna salad and just as cold. They do make an effort towards the end but by then I didn't care if they got together or not. The epilogue, usually a story saver, was as emotionally charged and riveting as watching my front loader struggle with a load of towels. That is it. This was just not for me but it may be for you especially if you are a Mary Burton fan.

Ruined by narration

The story could have been good, if predictable. Truth is, I couldn’t enjoy it because the narration was soooo bad. Clipped and monotonous.

Great thriller!

Philadelphia detective, who specializes in arson investigations, is suspended after a high profile case goes bad. When she receives notice that the arsonist, who was responsible for the fire that almost killed her and her college roommate, has been released from prison, Joan decides to head to Missoula, MT to keep tabs. A reunion with her roommate and her college sweetheart, the roommate’s brother, is marred by an arson/murder. With the arson fires escalating, it quickly becomes obvious that not everyone is happy that Joan is back in town and she may be a target! Great thriller that keeps you guessing and leaves you wanting more.

Just don’t!

Don’t waste a credit on this book, I love Mary Burton but this one missed the mark and the narration was awful. It sounded like the narrator was reciting a fix it manual and you couldn’t tell when she went from one character to the other.

Nicely done

Well written. Fun to listen to. My kind of tale. a real page turner. ok

Worst Reader

The reading distracts from the story. I couldn’t finish, the stilted reading was so annoying!

Disappointing for Mary Burton

This was definitely not one of my favorite books by Mary burton. The story “mystery” was pretty obvious early in the book. The narration was pretty bad I. That there was very little difference between the women characters and it was hard to know which character was talking. I won’t be listening v to a book by this narrator again unfortunately. On the positive side of this is that Mary used a lot less sex “ scenes” and very little foul language which made the story easy to listen to.

Really liked Gideon and Joan..

Another good book by Mary Burton. This one is about a fire starter and murderer and the wrong man being accused of it*******

No romance and the F-bomb was used 10 times*******

As for the narration: I don't believe I've ever listened to Melissa Moran before, and she was okay. There were times when her men sounded too feminine and other times they sounded just like men. Over all, I'd listen to her again. She can only get better.

Great Story

I didn't see that ending coming until the very end. I enjoyed the writing and narration.

Fairly tedious

Somehow none of the characters really came to life, so I struggled to care about what happened to them. There were some half decent twists, but the overarching storyline was tediously predictable.