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 Book Review: Count Their Graves (Detective Katie Scott #12) by Jennifer Chase by Jennifer Chase  @jenchaseauthor @bookouture

Count Their Graves
Detective Katie Scott #12
by Jennifer Chase

A wind chime sways a sweet melody above several pairs of shoes neatly laid out on the welcome two large pairs, and three small. On the doorframe, a perfect crimson handprint, the color of blood…

Out on her morning run, Detective Katie Scott is stopped in her tracks when her service dog, Cisco, alerts her to something. Weaving through the towering pine trees, Katie is horrified to find a little girl alone in the woods, dressed in a white nightgown. The child sobs into Katie’s arms. She’s unharmed, but clearly traumatized. Scooping her up, Katie follows the trail to a large farmhouse. But what she finds there rips the air from her one, two, three, four bodies laid out side by side, all in matching pajamas.

The Banks family were attacked in their sleep, but how had the little girl trembling in Katie’s arms escaped with her life? What twisted monster would do such a thing, and why leave no trace but a single bloody handprint on the doorframe? Katie makes a vow to find answers for this sweet child who has lost everything and everyone.

Working night and day to piece together why this innocent family were targeted, Katie thinks she has her first lead when she discovers the family were under witness protection. Had they seen something they shouldn’t? Was the aim to silence them forever? Questions are still spinning in Katie’s mind when another family is discovered dead in their beds on the other side of Pine Valley.

With the entire department stretched to breaking point with an unprecedented body count and trace evidence stacking up, it’s going to take everything Katie has to track this twisted killer down. But as she closes-in on her target, it’s clear someone close to Katie is keeping a deadly secret. How many more innocent lives will be lost before she can bring them to justice?

A completely pluse-pounding crime thriller for fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh that will have you racing through pages all night long. Prepare to start sleeping with the lights on after tearing through this gripping thriller from USA Today and Amazon bestseller Jennifer Chase!

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

 

Her body was tired; she felt as if she was walking through drying cement.

She knew her life was never going to be the same. But that was okay. She lived by her life motto. If you couldn’t help someone, save a life, or make a difference— life wasn’t worth living.

My Review:

 

This one was troubling to read as children were being taken and killed, but the story lines were compelling and I couldn’t leave it alone. I spun multiple theories as I read but each gruesome clue yielded more complications and questions. The plot was well contrived and expertly paced and inhabited by flawed and complicated characters who plucked at my curiosity.

Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning author and consulting criminologist. She has authored eight crime fiction novels, including the multiple award-winning Emily Stone thriller series along with a screenwriting workbook.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor degree in police forensics and a Master’s degree in criminology. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath, providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal profiling. She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic Criminologists.