ARC REVIEW Be Afraid by Mary Burton

Be Afraid book two in Mary Burton's Morgans of Nashville series is aptly named. I was so caught up in the storyline I forgot to make a guess on who dunnit, and it was surprising. Much like the first one it focuses more on the mystery and suspense over the romance aspect. This is a weird story and I love it! The bad guy, the puppet master working the strings of other killers helping them along to follow through on their psychopathic fantasies is obviously a split personality, similar to Jekyll and Hyde, one named Madness and one named Reason. They start off the book with the murder of a local real estate agent.

In the last book, which it really does not matter if you have read or not the only thing about it that pertains to this story is the introduction to the Morgan family and the fact that the name is legendary with the Nashville PD. Rick Morgan and his dog a police trained Belgian Shepherd, Tracker; were both shot in the line of duty and have had time off coming back Rick goes into homicide and even though Tracker has officially retired still comes into work with Rick. Together with his new partner Bishop, who has a chip on his shoulder the size of Boston which is where he is from originally; work are called in on a case where the remains of a child are found wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a trash bag at the bottom of a park fountain. Georgia Morgan the baby and only girl in the family and also the forensics expert for NPD wants this case solved, and since all the forensic artist have a backlog she asks visiting artist Jenna Thompson to do it.

Jenna Thompson is on voluntary leave from her own precinct after a case that hit to close to home for her. Now she is in Nashville researching her horrible past. When she was five Jenna's entire family was murdered only she was spared and taken by the killer and locked in a closet for nine days. She remembers the incident but there's one thing she is drawing a blank on and it has to do with a second man; a man she can draw except for his eyes she half thinks it's just a phantom someone her mind created. In helping Rick with the reconstructing she starts off a series of events that entwine everything and everyone.

Rick is automatically suspicious about Jenna she is hiding something but gives her the benefit of the doubt trusting her she will tell him in time, he is also very attracted to her. Jenna doesn't want to be attracted to Rick but its an attraction that can not be denied. Strange things are happening women are being murdered and then set on fire when one of the murders is found dead of an overdose it seems to be closed cut and dry but another happens and once again the murder is found dead. The key to the man behind it all was the one who got away.

This is one I could not put down. I would recommend this to any mystery thriller fan.