Little Girls Sleeping: An absolutely gripping crime thriller
Detective Katie Scott Book 1
by Jennifer Chase
He looked down at the little girl, sleeping peacefully, her arms wrapped around a teddy bear. He knew he was the only one who could save her. He could let her sleep forever.
An eight-year-old girl, Chelsea Compton, is missing in Pine Valley, California and for Detective Katie Scott it’s a cruel reminder of the friend who disappeared from summer camp twenty years ago. Unable to shake the memories, Katie vows she won’t rest until she discovers what happened to Chelsea.
But as Katie starts to investigate, accompanied by her loyal ex-military dog, Cisco, the case reveals itself to be much bigger and more shocking than she feared. Hidden deep in the forest she unearths a makeshift cemetery: a row of graves, each with a brightly coloured teddy bear.
Katie links the graves to a stack of missing-persons cases involving young girls—finding a pattern no one else has managed to see. Someone in Pine Valley has been taking the town’s daughters for years, and Katie is the only one who can stop them.
And then another little girl goes missing, snatched from the park near her home.
Katie’s still haunted by the friend she failed to protect, and she’ll do anything to stop the killer striking again—but can she find the little girl before it’s too late?
Compulsive and gripping crime fiction for fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh. Katie Scott’s first case will have you on the edge of your seat and gasping with shock.
Momma Says: 2 stars⭐⭐
I'm not sure which enticed me more, the title or the blurb of this one. Either way, I had to read it. Sadly, those two things were the best of it for me. Between that little extra added to the title and the blurb, I was promised a gripping and compulsive crime thriller that would have me gasping in shock. I was none of those. I expected and even hoped for a story that would have me checking the doors at night to make sure they're locked. We do get some chapters from the killer's perspective, and they were promising, but the whole thing together just doesn't deliver on the thrills that should come with a thriller of any kind. There is mystery and what I would consider crime drama, but the story is choppy and even after reaching the end, I didn't feel any real connection to any of the characters. This is the first in the series, so maybe the author plans on giving us more insight and development of Katie's character as the series progresses, but I didn't find enough here to entice me to go further.
I'm not sure which enticed me more, the title or the blurb of this one. Either way, I had to read it. Sadly, those two things were the best of it for me. Between that little extra added to the title and the blurb, I was promised a gripping and compulsive crime thriller that would have me gasping in shock. I was none of those. I expected and even hoped for a story that would have me checking the doors at night to make sure they're locked. We do get some chapters from the killer's perspective, and they were promising, but the whole thing together just doesn't deliver on the thrills that should come with a thriller of any kind. There is mystery and what I would consider crime drama, but the story is choppy and even after reaching the end, I didn't feel any real connection to any of the characters. This is the first in the series, so maybe the author plans on giving us more insight and development of Katie's character as the series progresses, but I didn't find enough here to entice me to go further.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and Bookouture
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