Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
What She Saw by Mary Burton Narrator: Samara Naeymi, Andrew Eiden, Patrick Lawlor, James Anderson Foster
Published by Brilliance Audio on November 1, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 10 hours, 1 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible
Cold case reporter Sloane Grayson has come to a small mountain town in Virginia to solve a mystery.
Thirty years ago, her mother was one of four women who vanished during a music festival. The event’s promoter was eventually convicted of their murders, and Sheriff CJ Taggart closed the case. But for Sloane, it’s still open. Because the bodies were never found.
With Taggart now long dead, Sloane must make do with questioning the victims’ families and the few remaining witnesses once again. If they’re still willing to dredge up memories of a crime that made their town notorious. As for the incarcerated killer, he has always maintained his innocence. Sloane isn’t entirely convinced he’s lying.
Somewhere nearby, unmarked graves conceal the bones and secrets of the dead. Sloane will do anything to find them and unearth the truth, even if that means playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with someone determined to stop her…
What She Saw felt different than the other Mary Burton books I have read. It did have the same foundation of a serial killer who hurt women. One point of view, historical, was Taggert, the sheriff who investigated the case and caught the killer. The other primary view is Sloane who is the daughter of one of the missing victims. The bodies have never been found.
Sloane is a straight forward and perceptive person. She is suited to the research and interviewing because she doesn’t show emotions. She doesn’t have many emotions about it. Her sort of relationship with Grant is also weird. I found her odd and I’m not sure I liked her. She’s detached even more than most outsiders would be.
As an outsider, she could look at evidence and people with fresh eyes and ideas. She had Taggert’s files and read through them all carefully. She talks to people who were around 30 years ago, the remaining family members of victims, and those involved in the Festival where the young women disappeared.
I did not guess who the other perpetrator was. There were some very surprising twists. I was worried for Sloane since she was stirring the pot. I appreciated how she brought forth a satisfying conclusion.
Narration:
It felt like most of the narration was Samara Naeymi portraying Sloan and her thoughts. The male narrators were less frequent. Two only had one chapter each: one for Rafe Colton in the Prologue and one for Joe Keller. The other narrated CJ Taggert who had about a third.  The voices were all comfortable for easy listening. I listened at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:Â HERE
About Mary Burton
Mary Burton loves writing suspense, researching law enforcement and forensic procedures, morning walks, baking, books, and tiny dachshunds. She also enjoys hunting down serial killers, which she does in her and USA Today bestselling novels of suspense and romance. Library Journal has compared her work to that of Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner, and Fresh Fiction likened her writing to that of James Patterson.
Mary is routinely featured among the top twenty writers in Amazon’s Author Rankings for romantic suspense, and her recent novel The Last Move claimed the number ten fiction slot in the Kindle eBooks Store.
Research is a favorite part of Mary’s day. She never tires of learning more about police work, evidence collection and analysis. She’s known for taking a hands-on approach, whether it means interviews with professionals in the field, forensic seminars or lessons at the firing range.
A Richmond native, Mary has lived there for most of her life. She is a graduate of Virginia’s Hollins University and worked in marketing before she began writing full time. Her first book was published in 2000 and she’s now the author of thirty-four published novels, five novellas and four works of contemporary women’s fiction written as Mary Ellen Taylor.
A member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Novelists, Inc., and Romance Writers of America, Mary is known for creating multiple suspense stories connected by characters, such as her recent The Forgotten Files novels. Her new book, Her Last Word, and The Last Move, break that mold.
When not traveling for research or visiting with readers at bookstores, book festivals and conferences, Mary remains very much a homebody. She and her husband spend time alternately enjoying and lamenting their empty nest and spoiling their four-legged babies Buddy, Bella and Tiki.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Great review, Anne💜
Thank you!
I grabbed this on Kindle Unlimited. Wonder what I’ll make of Sloane.
I’ll be interested to hear what you think. It was different for me than some of her other books.
Oh, I love when I can’t figure out who did it and it’s a well-written conclusion (no Scooby Doo endings!).
yes I can’t say I liked the characters very much but the story was a good one.
I haven’t read this author before but I do like this genre.
Mary Burton has a lot of books, mostly romantic suspense and I’ve enjoyed them.
I love when I am stumped with who did it. Lovely review!
I could love a lot of books then because I am usually stumped. The character kept a lot close to the vest and we didn’t even know about the romance until the end.
Weeeeee! I love when the author stumps me!
It’s a good thing I do because I usually don’t know who did it.