It's a thrilling, mysterious read that will leave you guessing until the very last. It jumps a little between timelines and takes us on a roller-coaster ride of emotions as one woman struggles to figure out how a weekend away with her new boyfriend took the dark turn it did.

Where to begin with this book...
Overall, I think the author had an interesting idea for a mystery/thriller, but the execution was choppy at times, clunky at others, and unfortunately did a disservice the story as whole.
I did enjoy our main character and how she was presented to the reader. She's dealing with a serious accident, a sudden loss, and is having difficulty with processing recent events because of gaps in her memory, which makes her initial actions at the beginning of the book believable. As the story unfolds, she gets caught up in wanting to solve a mystery, which is understandable and helps progress the plot.
What isn't believable or understandable is the introduction of a romance, which comes out of nowhere and feels very out of place. The actions of some of our side characters also seem unbelievable and come off as existing to provide our main character with information while not necessarily making sense in the context of the story.
We do have multiple perspectives in this story, which I think is great, but one of our perspectives is presented as diary entries while not being written in that format. As the reader we're told we're reading a diary, but there's immense detail and quoted dialogue, which doesn't make sense for diary entry format.
I also really struggled with the "big twist" at the end of this book. I figured out the twist about half way through the story, which I'm really proud of my self for. I don't think figuring out the twist ruined the book for me and I'm not mad about what the twist was. I am disappointed with the way the twist was presented, specifically the wording used to identify it. This should have been described with correct terminology given that our main character is close to receiving her PhD in Psychology.
Was I curious to keep reading this story to find out the ending? Absolutely. Do I feel like it was done well? Unfortunately, no.

A gripping story that had me turning pages! Even though I had predicted the twist, I was eager to read to the last page. Interesting characters, twisty plot, emotional tension and a light romance kept me engaged all the way through. Definitely recommend!v

The House Beyond the Dunes was captivating. I enjoyed trying to figure out who Lane could trust, and I liked the ending.

From the book description:
"Lane McCord wakes up in a hospital having survived a near-fatal fall at a North Carolina beach cottage. Her boyfriend, Kyle, wasn’t so lucky. A senseless tragedy on their first romantic getaway. All Lane remembers is lying at the bottom of the stairs in Kyle’s pooling blood.

Confused and grieving, Lane plans to return to the cottage, collect her personal belongings, and get out. Until a winter rainstorm leaves her stranded and vulnerable, but not alone. A concerned neighbor, who claims he heard a violent argument before the accident, has come out of the storm. So has a suspicious detective on the trail of a missing woman, whose diary deepens the mystery—and raises more questions that fill Lane with dread.

How well did she know Kyle? How well does she know herself? What really happened at the cottage on the beach? And when the answers come, who can Lane trust to get out of this waking nightmare alive?"

In my opinion, you should go into this book blind. I read a few reviews beforehand that spoiled some of the suspense for me, but this book was full of excellent twists and turns and I still really enjoyed it. This is the first book I've read by this author but it won't be my last.

The House Beyond the Dunes by Mary Burton was one hell of a book is all I can say to start off with. As I was reading this book I thought I had a lot of the things figured out but in true Burton fashion she throws all kinds of curve balls that totally blew my mind at the end and I was like dang what a book!
I really don’t want to say a lot because I don’t want to give spoilers but be sure to get this book and read it. It is one of Mary Burton’s best books that she has written. It was great from start to finish and there are a number twist that will keep the reader engaged.
The House Beyond the Dunes gets five out of five stars!

This is a must read!
Lane McCord ventures to a beach house with Kyle for their first weekend getaway of romance and winds up in the hospital only remembering laying at the bottom of the staircase with Kyle.
Trying to piece the whole situation together she returns to the beach house only to face more questions that are stacking up faster than she would like.
After meeting friends and neighbors of Kyle just adds to the suspicions of what happened. It’s a daunting situation when the suspicions run high on both sides and Lane is determined to find the missing pieces and put them together or will her determination undermine her.

Master storyteller NYT bestselling author Mary Burton returns following The Lies I Told with her latest captivating psychological thriller,THE HOUSE BEYOND THE DUNES —a complex multi-layered tale of suspense of a woman who barely survives a near-fatal fall—as the web of mystery, lies, deceit, and dark hidden secrets emerge, the past and present collide in this edge-of-your-seat riveting thriller.

Lane McCord lives in Norfolk, Virginia, and has not had an easy life. She grew up in foster care and is working toward her Ph.D. in psychology while working part-time at a coffee shop. She wants to eventually counsel broken, lost girls who live in society's cracks.

At the coffee shop, she meets Dr. Kyle Iverson, a prominent psychologist. He is rich, intelligent, and charming. They have been dating only a few weeks when he asks her to go away with him—a romantic beach weekend getaway at his Outer Banks beach cottage, located on a remote barrier island.

Lane is a little nervous about the trip since they do not know one another well, and this will be the first time they are together alone. She thinks, what would an intelligent, sophisticated man want with a would-be social worker?

Not an hour after they arrive at the NC cottage overlooking the dunes of the northern Outer Banks and the Atlantic Ocean, they are tumbling down 21 stairs. They have known each other for only three and a half weeks. 25 days. Now he is dead, and she winds up being airlifted to a Norfolk hospital and cannot remember what happened.

Memories of the trip and the house are vague. She cannot afford to stay in the hospital and wants to go home and forget this nightmare. However, when the EMTs arrived, they failed to collect her wallet, sleepwalking pills, phone, or clothes.

So now she must return to this nightmare, but she hopes it will trigger her memory. However, once she returns to the cottage, a storm comes in, and she is trapped.

The PLOT thickens.

Detective Becker is on the case. Was Kyle pushed or an accident?

Then Lane starts receiving mysterious Diary entries from a journal via her phone from a woman named Stevie Palmer. Lane cannot figure out why she would send them to her. Who is Stevie? It appears Stevie worked a local Outer Banks/Nags Head bar, Joey's Bar, sleeps in her car, and is looking for a missing woman, Nikki. I love the baseball bat weapon. She is fearless and tenacious.

Stevie knows things, and now Lane is intrigued. Strange things start happening at the house. She meets Devon, the property manager, and Reece, a construction worker across the street. He said he heard loud voices and arguing before he called 911 and the fall that day.

Lane slowly starts learning more about Kyle, his family, and his childhood (Jeb, Zeke, Kyle, Reece, Devon). Things are not as they appear. Then, she discovers the house in the woods beyond the dunes where Kyle grew up. Lane gets terrible vibes from this creepy house and the cottage. Was Kyle, his brothers, and friends responsible for the missing girls?

What does Stevie and Nikki have to do with Kyle and herself? Something that happened fourteen years ago in Nags Head? The ongoing mystery.

Told from POVs: Lane and Stevie Palmer's Diary. Trust no one! People aren’t as they seem, loyalties run deep, and secrets are closely guarded.

Mary Burton is a master and literary genius! She is one of the top thriller writers out today. I have been a fan of hers for many years and have read all her books from thrillers (Mary Burton) and her contemporary books (as Mary Ellen Taylor). Few authors could pull this type of story off superbly and with finesse. I loved this book! Multi-layered, there are pieces of the puzzle that need to fit together, and I was glued to the pages, dying to find out how.

With shocking twists, a superb remote barrier island setting, and a claustrophobic atmosphere with mystery and intrigue. Never a dull moment with this cast of characters.

Lane and Stevie were well-developed, highly relatable characters and survivors. There are some terrible men here, and each page had me guessing with multiple twists. Themes and topics: Sexual abuse, kidnapping, foster care, memories, trauma, sleepwalking, nature vs. nurture, and more.

Look no further if you are looking for an engrossing, intelligent, and clever psychological thriller. I highly recommend THE HOUSE BEYOND THE DUNES and all of Burton's thrillers. Binge-worthy and movie-worthy.

Thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for a gifted ARC for an honest opinion.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Sept 5, 2023
My Rating: 5 Stars +
Sept 2023 Must-Read Books

This is a difficult review to write because I do not want to give away any spoilers. Therefore, I will just give a very short summary.

The story opens when Lane wakes up in a hospital. She and her boyfriend had gone away to a beach cottage when they both fell down the stairs. Although Lane is only slightly injured, her boyfriend, Kyle, dies.

When Lane returns to the cottage to collect her personal belongings that were left there, she realizes that she does not remember anything that happened while she was there. Since a winter storm forces her to stay in the cottage for a little while, Lane chooses to spend her time there trying to figure out how the accident happened.

All of the characters in this story have complicated backgrounds and very difficult problems to overcome. While Lane investigates the accident, she discovers many strange things about her past and her boyfriend’s past that shock and confuse her. She also learns that there are two girls who vanished after visiting Kyle. Lane becomes obsessed with learning about all of these things while at the cottage.

Mary Burton has created an intense, complex, riveting, thought-provoking plot that will keep readers confused and on the edge-of-their seats.

The House Beyond the Dunes is an action packed thriller that keeps you guessing until the very end! Lane McCord is working at a coffee shop while trying to finish her dissertation to become a social worker. An interesting man starts coming in regularly and Lane likes him. Kyle comes in 2-3 times a week for coffee and to chat with Lane. Eventually things progress and they start dating. Kyle is a licensed therapist who went to all of the best schools and has his doctorate. Kyle has a practice with one other therapist and is very successful.

Kyle invites Lane to his North Carolina beach house for the long holiday weekend and she accepts. They haven't been together sexually yet and they are both looking forward to it. When they are driving to the beach house they have to stop and air down the tires to prepare for driving the rest of the way on the sand. Lane didn't realize how isolated they would be. She doesn't see another house at all for long stretches. Finally, Kyle guns the Range Rover to make the incline over the dunes. Once they've done that, the house comes into view. Lane realizes that if the tide were in no one could get in or out.

Kyle shows Lane the house when they arrive. She's blown away by the size of it and can't believe she'll get to stay here for the next few days. Kyle takes Lane to the bedroom shortly after arriving and starts kissing her and pins her down to the bed. Lane says she's not ready yet and pushes to get up. Kyle is not happy about this and says let's go downstairs and have a couple of drinks. The next thing Lane remembers she comes to briefly at the bottom of the stairs with Kyle's blood pooling around her. Paramedics have arrived and are asking questions, but she can't answer as she's too tired to stay awake. When Lane wakes up next she's in the hospital. She's not sure what happened as she has no memory of it. The doctor tells her that Kyle is dead from a broken neck he suffered from the fall down the stairs. He tells Lane how lucky she is to be alive as she also fell down the stairs.

The doctor wants to keep Lane in the hospital but she has spotty insurance and can't afford to stay . She signs the release papers so that she can go home. The doctor warns her that she sustained a serious hip injury and if she doesn't rest it will require surgery. Lane calls her neighbor and asks her to bring a few things for her to wear home and to give her a ride home. Lane's clothes were disposed of and cut off of her when they brought her in. Lane's not sure if her neighbor got the message because she doesn't answer any number she doesn't recognize. Lane called from the hospital phone as her cellphone is still at the beach house with her clothes and purse. Her neighbor shows up, Lane gets dressed, and gets a ride home.

The next day Lane showers and tries to figure out what happened. She decides she has to go back to the beach house to come to terms with what happened. Lane is hoping that being there again will trigger her memory because she still can't remember anything about what happened. As she's thinking about leaving for the beach house there's a knock at her door. It's a man claiming to be a detective saying he has questions for her. This is the same man who accosted Lane and her roommate at the hospital when they were trying to drive home. Lane's not sure if he can be trusted and if he's who he says he is. The detective comes in and asks Lane questions about the incident. He is looking for a missing young woman and wants to know if Lane saw anyone.

Lane drives her jeep back to the beach house. She calls Devon, the woman who takes care of the house when Kyle's not there, and finds out the code for entry. Lane tells Devon she's coming back to get her stuff as well as to make sense of everything that happened. She tells Devon she'll only be there a short time. When Lane arrives she finds it's very eery being back in the house where Kyle died yesterday. How could a romantic weekend away turn out like this? What happened to make them fall? They were happy and excited to be there together. Lane is exhausted once she gets inside. The last day and night of little sleep have caught up with her. As she finds her phone and plugs it in to charge, she lies on the bed just for a minute. The memories of Kyle forcing himself on her come back. She feels her eyes closing and the. next thing she knows it's 6 hours later!

There's a bad storm heading in and Lane is now trapped at the beach house until the storm clears in a day or two. Luckily, Devon had loaded the fridge and Lane had plenty to eat. She was starving and went down to find some food. When she's downstairs she notices the house across the street has a black truck in the driveway and the lights inside the house are on. She sees a shadow cross in front of the window. As Lane makes a sandwich, there's a knock at the door. It's the man from across the street. He introduces himself and Lane invites him in. Reece is a friend of Kyle's and Kyle hires him for various jobs as he's in construction. He's currently across the street because the house flooded when a hose came away from the wall. Reece lets Lane know that he was the one that found them at the bottom of the stairs and called for help. She thanks him for acting so quickly and he said he heard the argument before they fell. What argument? Kyle and Lane had been in the house for only an hour when they fell. Lane doesn't remember arguing to the point of raising her voice so loud that an outsider would hear it. Did she? Is Reece really a friend of Kyle's?

As Lane settles in for the night she gets a message sent to her phone from a number she doesn't recognize. Who is sending her messages about Kyle and past women? Why are these women now missing? Did Lane know Kyle as well as she thought? Was Kyle bringing her here because he liked her or for some other reason? What does Reece know that he's not saying? He's been friends with Kyle since they were young. Why was Kyle's brother in prison? How did he die when he got out? Why does Detective Decker keep showing up and asking questions? Does he suspect Lane of something sinister? Is Lane the nice young woman she claims to be? Why does Devon keep letting herself in the house when Lane is there? What's up with this woman?

The House Beyond the Dunes does a fantastic job of keeping the reader on edge as the suspense continues to build. The end of the book will have you flipping the pages at record speed and you won't see the twists coming! Do yourself a favor and get this book. Mary Burton never disappoints and this is one of her best! The House Beyond the Dunes comes out on September 5, 2023 and I rate it 5 stars with my highest recommendation. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Montlake Publishing for an advanced copy of The House Beyond the Dunes in exchange for a fair review. #TheHouseBeyondTheDunes

I love Burton’s Criminal Profiler series. So I was eager to start The House Beyond the Dunes by Mary Burton.
This title immediately caught my attention. The description sounded intriguing and knowing this authors work it was bound to be an awesome story.
The writing is taut and tight. The characterization is well done. And the plot keeps you on the edge of your seat as it submerges you, page after page.
With a gripping plot line and well etched out characters, this is a fast paced book without a dull moment.
Burton does a great job keeping you hooked.
The House Beyond the Dunes was engaging, had an intriguing mystery and now has me interested in checking out her backlist I’ve yet to read!
Mary Burton, you done it again!

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to Mary Burton, Montlake, and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for this review.

This is the first time I have ever been disappointed in a book by this author. By a third of the way in I had figured everything out. It unfolded exactly as I expected and I ended up skipping a huge chunk of the book to get to the end. The ending was excellent though!

This is one of the best psychological thrillers that I have ever read! With mind-blowing twists and surprises coming up constantly, I kept trying to guess what was really happening and I was so wrong. I love that! Lane McCord went away on a romantic weekend getaway with Dr. Kyle to his secluded beach house in Nags Head. Unfortunately, there was a horrible accident and Kyle did not survive. Now, Lane is trying to remember what actually happened while also satisfying the inquiries of a demanding detective who is searching for a missing young woman as well as solve the mystery of Kyle’s untimely death. The characters in this book are so creepy and untrustworthy. I would really like someone and then something would happen and my entire opinion about them would change. Great dynamically portrayed characters! The plot moved quickly in a book that was almost impossible to put down. With multiple narrators, including diary entries from the enigmatic Stevie, this novel had me consistently thinking and trying to figure out who was good and who was evil. Without any spoilers, I will say that the entire ending was a surprise in a really good way. Again, this is one of the absolute best and most riveting psych thrillers ever! I need to go back and read it again just to look for all of the red herrings and clues that I missed the first time. The misdirection is masterfully written and the entire storyline is intriguing.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author as part of her advance review team. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16th CFR, Part 255, “Guidelines Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

It was like being on a roller coaster that ran through tunnels with glimpse of sunlight then pushed over the edge as you hang on. Turns, highs, lows, one heck of a ride. Mary Burton is one of the few authors who I will read that does different time lines. I do not care for them as they throw me out of the read I was in, but I will never turn down a Mary Burton read, invariably there are surprises you didn't see coming. Thank you for the arc! I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions. #TheHouseBeyondTheDunes #MaryBurton #Montlake #NetGalley

I enjoyed Mary Burton's The Lies I Told and this is another good one. Lane McCord survives a tragic accident at the North Carolina beach cottage of her new boyfriend Kyle, but he dies from his injuries. Lane can't remember anything about the accident. When she goes back to the cottage to get her things that were left behind when she was taken to the hospital, a storm leaves her stranded there. Lane is looking for answers about what happened, but the more she learns, the more danger she fears she's in. You will not see the twists coming in this one. It's a quick, easy read and I got through it in two days. Mary Burton's writing is really good and I look forward to her next one. Thanks to #netgalley #montlake and #maryburton for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The House Beyond the Dunes is a suspenseful, thriller that did not disappoint. Amazing writing with believable characters.
Lane McCord's life is busy with work and school. She starts seeing a new guy and they decide to go to his beach house for their first romantic getaway trip. She wakes up in a hospital having survived a near-fatal fall, however Kyle was less fortunate. Lane heads back to the beach house to help remember the events that lead to the fall.
This fast-paced story was captivating and hard to put down. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake and Mary Burton for an ARC of "The House Beyond the Dunes".

After surviving a fall that took the life of her boyfriend, Lane McCord returns to Kyle’s beach house to collect her things. A winter storm keeps her trapped at the house and her only neighbors are childhood friends of Kyle’s. With nothing else to do, Lane searches the beach house for clues about the man she was dating for only a few days before his fatal accident. The deeper Lane digs, the more she discovers about Kyle’s possible criminal past. She is aided by a local detective and from a mystery person who keeps sending her passages from a journal belonging to a woman named Stevie. Stevie was also investigating Kyle, and she provides Lane with some of the answers she is seeking.

THE HOUSE BY THE DUNES is a thriller with a slow build. The reader meets Lane in the hospital just after the accident. With Lane’s foggy memory, the reader is constantly left asking whether Lane was responsible for Kyle’s fatal fall. There are a lot of twists, turns, and red herrings throughout the novel to keep the reader guessing as to previous events. The big twist at the end—and Stevie’s real identity—fell flat for me. After that, the rest of the novel dwindled to a less-than-satisfactory ending.

I’m a bit undecided about this book. I found the story interesting and did not see the twist coming, but I also found it a little slow and did not really connect with the main characters Lane. Lane goes on what she thinks will be a romantic weekend with a new boyfriend but things take a disturbing turn. When she and Kyle end up at the bottom of a set of stairs, her injured and him dead it sets off a series of events that set Lane on a road to discover why she feels like something is wrong and knows that something bad happened in this place in the past. I think this is classed as romantic suspense but really wasn’t for me. The relationship between Lane and the Detective just seemed a little strange to me.

What really happened? Lane needs to know why Kyle died and she ended up in the hospital after something, something happened during their weekend getaway at his beach house. She didn't know him well but now she knows she didn't know him at all. Things get really confusing when she goes back to the house. There's a neighbor, a contractor, and who is Stevie? This alternates perspectives and time lines in an effective manner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

Lane wakes up in the hospital to find that she survived a fall down some stairs but her boy friend died in the fall. She has no memory of the fall, but is compelled to go back to see if she can remember what happened. This book is a mystery with several twists at the end, one that came completely out of the blue for me. This is definitely a page turner. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.