The seller, Adriana Barrington had inherited the property from the family of her deceased husband Craig. A spoiled only child, Craig was the son of Adriana’s mother's best friend and it had been expected they would marry. She very nearly had not married him because she had fallen in love with local detective Gage Hudson. However, Adriana succumbed to the pressure of her mother and friend and some three years later is a widow with huge debts.

Craig had been severely injured in the same automobile crash that had taken Adriana’s unborn child. Technically brain dead and removed from life support systems, he had been hospitalized in an expensive care center for the past two years, when he suddenly died leaving behind the results of his poor financial judgments and other extracurricular activity, and towering medical bills.

In the opening pages Adriana receives a card on what would have been her third wedding anniversary with words of love from Craig. This is soon followed by flowers from him as well; both she believes to be a sick joke. Later that day, two unmarked graves are discovered in the cemetery and the police convert the area to a crime scene.

About the time of Craig and Adriana's marriage, a worker in the art gallery Craig owned had gone missing. Gage has always believed that Craig had known more about the affair than he would admit and decides to be present when the cemetery is relocated.

A former pro quarterback, Gage gave up his career to become a police officer focusing on missing persons. His climb from a southwest Virginia trailer park to his relationship with Virginia blue-blooded Adriana had added tensions to their relationship which had not been resolved when her mother interfered.  Gage thought he had put all of this behind him, only to find he is still in love with Adriana.

The remains in one of the shallow graves turn out to be the missing art gallery worker and events start spiraling out of control. Gage begins to realize that Adriana seems to be the focus of a killer who soon strikes again.

Mary Burton develops her characters very skillfully and fashions a novel that easily stands alone. Her dialog and story development reflects an accurate understanding of the socio-economic class she is portraying, adding an unusual sense of place to a modern romantic suspense story.

The most memorable part of Dying Scream is its very imaginative and unusual plot. It is extremely easy to get caught up in it, thinking you know what is truly going to happen, only to have the story twist and turn on you again. Other than the growing love story, to anticipate the ending of this story is a challenge that very few, if any, readers can meet.

--Thea Davis