Don't Cry [Paperback]

Young, dark-haired women are disappearing from the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. While the families of the missing persons wait in anguish and pray for the safe return of their loved ones, the police department works frantically to find the kidnapping victims. After the body of one of the women --- a relative of the mayor --- is discovered in a rocking chair in front of a busy Cracker Barrel restaurant, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is called in to assist.

Special Agent J.D. Cass is assigned to help the police find the murderer, who has been dubbed the "Rocking Chair Killer." J.D. is an intelligent and attractive agent with a strong sexual appetite who devotes himself to solving the case. But his personal life clashes with his professional one after his teenage daughter Zoe is picked up and taken to jail.

As more women are abducted and the body count rises, the investigation intensifies and takes a bizarre twist. After kidnapping and holding his victims for weeks, the deranged serial killer carefully positions the bodies in rocking chairs and places blue blankets and pillows in their laps. Wrapped inside the blankets is what appears to be dolls, but an even more grisly discovery reveals that the dolls are actually skeletal remains of infants.

After the infant remains are identified, they are connected to a series of murders committed decades ago --- the "Blue Baby" toddler abductions. More than 20 years earlier, over a five-year period, six blond-haired, blue-eyed toddlers had been abducted by an insane woman who murdered her own child, then took other infants to replace him. The missing toddlers were never found, dead or alive, except for one. Among them is the baby brother of Audrey Sherrod, a grief counselor and consultant with the Chattanooga Police Department. For decades, Audrey has lived with the pain and nightmares of the day her brother went missing. She has tried to put behind her how the devastating abduction destroyed her family, but the gruesome discoveries bubble her grief back to the surface.

While J.D. remains more determined than ever to catch the killer, Zoe finds an advocate in Audrey, who does not approve of his parenting skills. As J.D. gets closer to solving the case, Audrey's nightmares of the past collide with the present, becoming more terrifying and hitting close to home.

Set in historic Chattanooga, Tennessee, DON'T CRY is a suspenseful thriller with twists and turns and splashes of romance and down-and-dirty sex, sure to please Beverly Barton's countless fans. Strong characters, an engaging storyline and a powerful message of the debilitating grief over the loss of a child pack an emotional punch.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

I have read all of Beverly Barton's books and eagerly anticipate the next one. Usually they are very gripping, the romance is hot and you have quite a few possible suspects in mind. Don't Cry just did not measure up to her past books in any way: the romance was practically nonexistent, there was no suspense whatsover and I had the killer figured out about halfway through the book. Hopefully this book is no indication of whats to come in future books. Her last book "Dead By Midnight'' was riveting as well as all of the Griffin Powell agency books. Very disappointed!!

I am stunned by the good reviews this book has received. I had to put it down and pick it back up over and over again simply to slog through it. Superfluous story lines, characters and information abounded throughout this book. Does the reader really need to know the name of every street a character drives their car down?! The romance was ridiculously lacking, with two characters who manage to fall in love with virtually no contact or conversation. I am a true believer in love at first sight, but not loathing to love over the course of one dinner!!

All in all a stuttering, slow story that I would not recommend to anyone.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 18 reviews  3.6 out of 5 stars