BEVERLY BARTON. Beverly Marie Beaver (née Inman; December 23, 1946 – April 21, 2011), better known as Beverly Barton, was an American author, known for her romantic suspense novels. She has written over seventy novels, including Dead By Morning, Don't Cry, Silent Killer, Cold Hearted, and The Murder Game. There are over five million copies of her books in print in fifteen languages. A sixth-generation Alabamian, she called Northwest Alabama home and considered Chattanooga, Tennessee her second home. She created the popular The Protectors series. Her first book, Yankee Lover, was published in July 1990.

Beverly Barton was born in Alabama. She spent her formative years between Tuscumbia and Barton, Alabama and Chattanooga, Tennessee. After graduating from Chattanooga Central High School, she attended college at the University of North Alabama. Barton had two sons, and grandmother. She died suddenly of heart failure on April 21, 2011.