I M Watching You [Paperback]

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.

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