The Hangman

Forgotten Files, Book 3

By: Mary Burton

Narrated by: Christina Traister

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Julia Vargas is a cop with a mission. When she's not chasing down bad guys, Julia dedicates her time to investigating the Hangman serial killer...the same unsolved case that her father, Jim Vargas, was working on when he supposedly shot and killed himself three decades before. While rumors continue to swirl around her father's death, Julia attempts to hunt down the truth.

The case once again hits dangerously close, however, when a woman's bones are discovered in a historic downtown home, together with a photograph of Jim and Julia as a young girl. As horrifying as this discovery is, it may just be the break Julia has waited for. Working alongside Tobias Novak, a homicide detective with whom she shares a complicated - and steamy - history, she's forced to confront her own past even as the Hangman looms in the shadows. But as the mysterious killer circles closer, Julia can feel her own noose begin to tighten...

©2017 Mary Burton (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

The trilogy is complete!

The Hangman is an excellent serial killer suspense mystery. The novels is set in Richmond VA. I've down rated this novel by one star because of the excessive time the author spends having Julia and Jim exploring each others bodies rather than working to find the hangman.

Great read and listen..

I really like books on serial killers but, man, I just hate when the story lets you KNOW the person being killed. I don’t want to hear her talk and beg and see her cry as she’s being killed. Just tell me he killed someone and then tell me how the police went about the solving of the case. He can even keep killing; I just don’t want to “meet” the “killee.” Ya’ know what I mean? I really didn’t need to know Rita Gallagher before he killed her in such a horrible way.

I did like Novak and Julia, and that there seemed to be a little more romance from the beginning of the story. Romance just gives you a break from the killer for a few minutes, that’s all I’m saying.

I liked that 25 years passed in between the Hangman’s first victims and his next ones. And I liked all the evidence that showed itself throughout the book, leading Julia and Novak in the right direction. And the deal with Julia’s father?, I never believed it for a second. I liked Andrews too. I wouldn’t mind seeing a story about him in the future. I liked Ken and Wendy and Riggs, too.

The bad guy? I didn’t see that coming, or his helper. He was one sick and vicious A-hole. You didn’t know who he was but it was easy to hate him. (My kind of bad guy.)

Again there wasn’t an ounce of desire or sexual tension in this book but there were 3 pretty explicit sex scenes. And the F-bomb was used 15 times.

My only complaint for this author is I think she’s a little lazy when it comes to her way of describing how someone is saying something. I’ve complained about this before but it’s usually with a male author. Ms. Burton used the word “said” 694 times. That’s way too many for a 350 page book, and it does become very noticeable after the first 400 times. A thesaurus will help find a word you can use instead of “said.”

As to the narration: Christina Traister did a very good job on all the male and female voices and the emotions. I would definitely listen to her again.

It was okay. Good Narration

Well, this wasn't my favorite in the series.

The story line and plot had potential but it seemed to drag on a bit too much for me. It also started to become confusing and a bit all over the place, not easy to follow along. This could have been a much better book. IMO.

The romance part was just okay. The chemistry between these two seemed forced and you really didn't get to know them very well. But it was a mystery story so I guess it didn't matter. The got the bad guy.

As for the narration. It was good. The only issue was that when she did Novak's voice it always seemed to be in a whisper. Strange, but at least he sounded like a man so there is that.

Good Story

the story was really good it took until the end of the book to figure out who done it.
my only complaint is when the narrator tried to do a man's voice not only did she lower the timber but also softened the volume of her voice which made it difficult to hear and very annoying

I can never get enough of Mary Burton

I’m so very glad that I found this author. She’s been so entertaining to read and has taken my mind off of my chronic pain, when possible. This was another great book in the series and I hope to continue on with listening to more of her! She’s a great romantic/suspense writer and her books are thrilling.

Great Plot Twists

I have continued to read this author's mystery/thrillers because I like the stories she tells, with plot twists diverting the reader enough to be surprised by that identity of the villain. The problem I had was in the characterization of the other players. I felt like I didn't have a real picture of them physically, psychologically or emotionally. This book featured more richly drawn characters, enhancing the storyline, an improvement .

GOOD STORY,BUT

Once again we are tortured with the stylish musings of the perpetrator & usually a long blow by blow of the brutal death of the women he tortures & kills, while IF a man is killed by the perp (or anybody else) it's a sanitary bullet or knife. The pathetic excuse for the supposed protectors of society (POLICE) being involved in the crimes is usually that the criminals threatened their family. Well my question is ,what happened to the brotherhood, the thin blue line, all that "we take care of our own". Doesn't that "our own" include the families. Guess not because they always act like they had no other recourse. This story of a daughter trying to find out the truth (good or bad) about her fallen detective father was really quite good except for the usual interruption of the perp & his pseudo sympathy while his victims beg. The addition of the suffering of the victims is disappointing because I know that after all he's done, the killers' end will be simple, almost peaceful & to have had to listen to him torture a women with his words & body (and anything else he chooses) before finally letting her die is brutal. While I know my perfect ending to one these psychos will never be written, I at least hope against hope that one of them will run into somebody who will give them a little taste of what they dished out. I believe I need to give up on these types of books for awhile, they are sickening.

Loved it!

Brilliant work and great story. Kept me guessing. Definitely worth the time. I would definitely recommend.

Favorite of all 3 in the series!!!

Loved all 3 in the series but this one was my favorite! The characters were great and the narrator was wonderful!

The Hangman

This book had its moments just not enough of them.I stuck it out but still not sure what the story was about . The narration was very bad,one of the worse I have listened to . Novak,a main character, sounded like a sick old lady,not a detective. A lot of potential was lost and the poor narration played the largest reason for it.

Mary Burton's style is enjoyable.

The third Forgotten Files story follows the same format of many of her other books. Female protagonist meets male protagonist, they work together and fall in love.

A wonderful uplifting listen - even if it is based around serial killings, unexplained deaths and other murderous themes.

The Hangman: Forgotten Files, Book 3

This book, The Hangman: Forgotten Files, Book 3 is a fantastic story and the audio was great to listen to.
I liked the characters and and the excitement all the way through. Very nice. A traditional beginning, middle and a very satisfactory ending.
I will be buying more books by Mary Burton. ✔️👍