Silent killer, qu'est-ce que c'est?

Beverley Barton only appeared on my radar earlier this year, when I read the re-issued "The Fifth Victim". As I mentioned in the review of that book, she hasn't crossed my path because she is best known as the author of around 60 romance novels, and that's not my favourite genre. However, she does stray into the suspense/thriller genre from time to time, and Silent Killer is another such foray. Here's what happens:-

Cathy Cantrell witnessed her husband, a preacher, burn to death on their doorstep. When it happened to another preacher, she had a nervous breakdown, and checked in to a facility to help her recover. She's back in town and ready to take back custody of her son Seth. But something else from the past is lurking in Dunmore. Her first love, Jack Perdue. He has his own ghosts from the past to bury, and how will he react to seeing Cathy again? 

And how will Cathy react when "Fire and Brimstone Killer" strikes again? Which of the clergy in the area are next on the list? Who has secrets to hide? The killer is doing God's good work in punishing the evil...

This was another of those books that falls into the so-so category. There are some nice moments here, and the build up of the killer is very good. A little is revealed each time the narrative returns to the killer, and there are some nice clues dotted around the book. But as with the other Barton book that I read, there was a bit more romance than normal, and a few sections could have been trimmed away for pacing. In fact there's a whole story arc involving Jack's sister which just goes nowhere, and that should have been dropped completely. I can only assume that some kind of sequel will appear at some point to help sort this out...

Overall it was a fairly enjoyable and quick read. If you enjoy authors like Karen Rose and P.J. Tracy then you'll probably find something here to like. I enjoyed it enough to want to keep my eyes open for other books from Barton.