When I go to the bookstore and see a new release from Beverly Barton, I know I'm going to be reading a deeply emotional and gripping tale of romantic suspense. Her latest release, DON'T CRY, is just what I have come to expect from Ms. Barton. DON'T CRY keeps readers captivated by its varied cast of characters, their relationships to one another, and the strong suspense around the identity of The Rocking Chair Killer. How many young women are going to become victims before he or she is stopped?

Audrey Sherrod was a young girl when her baby brother Blake disappeared. Was it his disappearance and her part in it that made her turn to a career as a grief counselor? Now that someone is kidnapping and killing victims then arranging them on a rocking chair, how will Audrey and her family handle the stress?

J. D. Cass, a special agent with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, intends to just observe as the police attempt to capture The Rocking Chair Killer. Soon, however, he's totally involved not only in the case, but with Audrey. He and Audrey are fighting their attraction to each other because of the case and because Audrey had started out as the therapist helping J. D. and his daughter (who he never knew until she was a preteen) establish a healthy loving relationship.

DON'T CRY is not as gritty as some of Ms. Barton's previous titles. After having recently met this gentle lady, I can't believe that she can write any type of murder. I personally have been a fan of Ms. Barton's since The Cherokee Point trilogy, but DON'T CRY ranks as one of my favorite reads of this year. I am anxiously awaiting the sequel that she hadn't intended, but is now promising.