Mary Burton Books in Order

Mary Burton is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling American author of crime thriller and romantic suspense novels, with stories involving serial killers set largely in Virginia and the American South. Library Journal has compared her work to Lisa Jackson and Lisa Gardner, and Fresh Fiction to James Patterson. She has published more than forty novels as Mary Burton and has sold over one million copies, which is a milestone recognized with the 2019 Montlake Romance Diamond Award.

Her seven crime/suspense series take place in Richmond, Alexandria, Texas, Nashville, and Montana, with protagonists ranging from homicide detectives and FBI profilers to forensic specialists and state troopers. Mary Burton has attended the Richmond FBI Citizen’s Academy, completed the Henrico County Citizens Police Academy, trained at the firing range, and attended forensic seminars, background which shows in the details of each series.

This page lists all Mary Burton books in order, including all seven suspense series, standalone thrillers, novellas, and short stories. Mary Burton also writes contemporary women’s fiction under the pen name Mary Ellen Taylor.

Latest Mary Burton Books

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Richmond Series (Books in Order)

The Richmond series follows members of a homicide unit in Richmond, Virginia who are investigating related cases. Each member is the main character of their own book, although the cases are related, and there are several supporting characters that appear in all books.

• I’m Watching You, 2008
• Dead Ringer, 2008
• Dying Scream, 2009

Alexandria Series (Books in Order)

The Alexandria series, also called the Senseless series, follows Eva Rayburn, who is still haunted by what happened a decade ago at a sorority party, and who is connected to the victims in an investigation case about a serial killer who brands the women he picks before he kills them. The series is set in Alexandria, Virginia.

1. Senseless, 2011
2. Merciless, 2011
3. Before She Dies, 2012
4. Christmas Past, 2013

Texas Rangers Series (Books in Order)

The Texas Ranger series follows Texas law enforcement members who solve cases, with each member being a main character in their own book. In The 7th Victim, a woman had escaped a serial killer years ago and now she realizes that he’s back in the city where she currently lives in.

1. The 7th Victim, 2013
2. No Escape, 2013
3. You’re Not Safe, 2014

Morgans Of Nashville Series (Books in Order)

The Morgans of Nashville series follows different members of the Morgan family, each being part of the law enforcement, as they investigate murders around Tennessee. In each book, one of the Morgan siblings has their own story and investigation.

1. Cover Your Eyes, 2014
2. Be Afraid, 2015
3. I’ll Never Let You Go, 2015
4. Vulnerable, 2016

Forgotten Files Series (Books in Order)

The Forgotten Files follows three cases set in Virginia that involve survivors, and investigators of cold-case crimes that were left unanswered for many years. Each book has its own main character, story and case they’re investigating, and several supporting characters can be found in all books.

1. The Shark, 2016
2. The Dollmaker, 2016
3. The Hangman, 2017

Criminal Profiler Series (Books in Order)

The Criminal Profiler series follows members of the FBI’s elite profiling unit, each member being the protagonist of their own book, as they hunt down extremely methodical killers across the whole country.

1. The Last Move, 2017
2. Her Last Word 2018
3. Cut and Run, 2018
4. Hide and Seek, 2019
5. I see You, 2019
6. Never Look Back, 2020

Montana Series (Books in Order)

The Montana series follows two main protagonists, each solving cases in Missoula, Montana in their own book of the series. While the books are separate from each other, they do share the same setting and secondary characters.

1. Burn You Twice, 2020
2. Near You, 2021

Standalone Novels

• A Bride for McCain, 2000
• The Colorado Bride, 2001
• The Perfect Wife, 2002
• Rafferty’s Bride, 2002
• The Lightkeeper’s Woman, 2004
• The Unexpected Wife, 2004
• Heart of the Storm, 2005
• In Dark Waters, 2005 (also titled Keep You Close)
• The Tracker, 2005
• The Arsonist, 2006 (also titled Playing With Fire)
• Wise Moves, 2006 (also titled Find You)
• Cold Case Cop, 2007
• Don’t Look Now, 2021
• The Lies I Told You, 2022
• The House Beyond the Dunes, 2023
• Another Girl Lost, 2024
• What She Saw, 2025
• Trust No One, 2026

Short Story Anthologies

• Cold-Blooded: Killer Nashville Noir, 2015
• Deadly Southern Charm, 2019 with Mary Miley

Mary Burton Biography

Mary Burton is an American crime thriller and romantic suspense author who has published more than 40 novels under the name Mary Burton, and more than a dozen contemporary women’s fiction novels under the pen name Mary Ellen Taylor.
Official website: maryburton.com

Mary Burton was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, which is the setting of several of her novels. She graduated from Virginia’s Hollins University with a degree in English. She also lived in Alexandria for four years.

Her first main job, before becoming a writer, was in sales, marketing, and public relations. She knew, however, that she wanted to tell the stories she had buzzing in her head, as she was raised up in a family of storytellers, where her grandfather would always tell stories.

When she left her career in marketing, she needed to stay home to take care of the kids, so being always at home, started writing books. Her debut, A Bride for McCain (2000), was a historical romance published by Harlequin Historicals, which she followed with eleven more historical titles before shifting to romantic suspense around 2005.

Later she started writing romantic suspense books with a darker, more procedural theme. To get the details of the investigations right, Mary Burton completed the Richmond FBI Citizen’s Academy and the Henrico County Citizens Police Academy, attended the Sisters in Crime Forensic University program, and since then, she has since kept up with forensic seminars and range sessions.

Her suspense career really took off when she published the Richmond trilogy, followed by new series every couple of years, including the Alexandria, Texas Rangers, Morgans of Nashville, Forgotten Files, Criminal Profiler, and Montana series. By the time she published the first book, The Last Move, in the Criminal Profiler series in 2017, Mary Burton was already a bestselling author with her books appearing regularly in the top ten of Amazon’s Author Rankings for romantic suspense and thriller. The Last Move reached the number ten spot on the Kindle eBooks bestseller list.

Since 2021, she has focused more on writing standalone psychological thrillers, with Don’t Look Now, The Lies I Told, The House Beyond the Dunes, Another Girl Lost, and What She Saw reaching the New York Times or USA Today bestseller list after being published.

In addition, she has also published a non-fiction marketing guide. Mary Burton is a member of various book organizations including International Thriller Writers, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Novelists, Inc. Under the pseudonym Mary Ellen Taylor she writes contemporary novels.

She lives on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with her husband and her miniature dachshunds.

Awards and Honors

Awards

• Montlake Romance Diamond Award (for reaching one million readers) (2019)

Nominations and Shortlists

• You’re Not Safe – RITA Award, Romantic Suspense (2014)
• Cut and Run – RITA Award, Romantic Suspense (2019)
• Burn You Twice – Suspense Magazine Award, Best Romantic Suspense (2020)
• The Lies I Told – ITW Thriller Award, Best Paperback Original (2023)

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