The Last Move by Mary Burton

In this gripping stand-alone from bestselling author Mary Burton, an FBI agent must catch a copycat killer. The only difference this time: she’s the final victim.

Catching monsters helps FBI agent Kate Hayden keep her nightmares at bay. Now an urgent call brings her back to San Antonio, the scene of her violent past. A brutal new murder shows hallmarks of a serial killer nicknamed the Samaritan. Tricky part is, Kate already caught him.

Either Kate made a deadly error, or she’s got a copycat on her hands. Paired with homicide detective Theo Mazur, she quickly realizes this murder is more twisted than it first appeared. Then a second body is found, the mode of death identical to a different case that Kate thought she’d put behind her.

Now Kate and Detective Mazur aren’t just working a homicide; the investigative pair is facing a formidable enemy who knows Kate intimately. While Mazur is personally trying to protect Kate, the closer they are drawn to the killer, the clearer it becomes that in this terrifying game, there is only one rule: don’t believe everything you see…

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/F Thriller
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Kate Hayden is a linguistic FBI agent. She is amazing at her job and has caught a lot of bad people. However, she is still slightly haunted by the fact that she was a victim early on in life. She was stalked, harassed, and traumatized when someone in her life turned out to be a psychopath. When she finds herself hunting someone who is hurting women, she can't help but identify with the victims. She is tough, smart, and slightly closed off, but she gets the job done.

Theo Mazur is trying to be a good father to his teenage daughter. He has picked up and moved in order to be near her. His ex-wife is selfish and I really have a difficult time understanding how he was ever with someone who is such a shrew to both him and their daughter. When he is paired up with Agent Hayden, he sees what she's trying to hide, but also sees that when she lets her guard down, she's genuine and caring.

These two hunt for the bad guys and what they discover is that sometimes, if you let it, the good guys can win. I really enjoyed their banter and their relationship was very organic. I can't wait to see if they get more.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is yet another thriller from Mary Burton that I couldn’t put down until I finished it. And once again, I couldn’t quite put all the ‘whodunnit’ pieces together until the very tense final scenes.

Kate Hayden is wonderful as the FBI agent chasing a killer who is replicating murders she already solved. Her partner, recently transplanted homicide detective Theo Mazur is equally compelling as a recently divorced single dad trying hard to work with his new department. I loved the energy between these two – their personal lives quickly become as interesting as their investigation. I love the strong women in Mary Burton’s thrillers and Kate Hayden might be my favourite character yet.

The actual investigation had my attention from the start. I loved the twists, turns, and complications. The victims and the suspects are interesting and I think I suspected everyone at one point. As always, the pacing of this story is brilliant. It starts out tense and just gets more exciting.

I can’t praise Mary Burton’s murder mysteries highly enough. She’s currently my favourite crime/thriller writer and I look forward to each new book she writes.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the highly praised author of twenty-six romance and suspense novels and five novellas. She lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature dachshunds.

Connect with Mary

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Last Move by Mary Burton to read and review.