Great first book of a series. A slow burner at first but became more gripping the further you delved into the story. Good characters. Looking forward to Book 2!

I love it when I get a heads up on a new series, and with this being the first book in the Detective Katie Scott series I'm convinced it's going to be a winner.

Katie Scott has just returned from serving in Afghanistan, and is met at the airport by her uncle who just happens to be the local Sheriff. Having lost her parents years before, he is the closest family she has left, and theirs is a beautiful relationship - his surprise for her is the best ever: Cisco her service dog, who Uncle has brought back from Afghanistan, and who is waiting ready to save her life again. (and he does - but I'll say no more)

Unsure about her future, and clearly with some trauma to deal with, Katie - an ex-cop with Sacramento PD herself - now takes on an admin role at her uncle's police station to give herself time to consider her options.

When filing away cold cases, she sees the file for Chelsea Compton and is mentally drawn into the investigation. Chelsea went missing four years ago, and the trail has gone cold. For Katie, it brings back memories of her own friend who was killed twenty years ago during a camping holiday. She has always wondered if she could have done something, even then as a young girl.

So, with the bit between her teeth, she turns her spare room into an investigation zone and quietly draws up a list of people she wants to talk to. Unfortunately, the first person on that list also tells a certain detective, Templeton, the investigating officer at the time, who is not best pleased by her meddling. Keen to cast aspersions on her ability and her relationship with the Sheriff, Templeton goes out of his way to belittle her and sideline her enquiries.

But Katie has more gumption than that, and doesn't take kindly to sitting on the sidelines. When she manages to convince her uncle to let her pursue her investigation, no one expected her to find the body of Chelsea and another young girl during a hike with Cisco (who really should get the credit for luring her into the area where the bodies were found ;) )

Now, the hunt is on to find the killer - The Toymaker - especially when another young girl goes missing.

The story is told from Katie's viewpoint primarily, but is interspersed with chapters dedicated to the killer, where he outlines his motive, his methods and his intention - but never his identity ...until Katie gets too close to the truth.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Katie's character is well-rounded, her past still haunts her and that is evident in her behaviour. Luckily she has the support of her uncle and aunt, as well as Chad, an old friend from her childhood. The interplay between these characters is charming, as they clearly care a lot for her. That doesn't mean to say she has an easy ride, as Templeton is determined to undermine her, and not in the cleverest of ways either!

The descriptions of the area and the crime scenes are strong and pulled me further into the story, and the last few chapters are tense and dramatic.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review. If you're interested in starting a new series based around cold cases with determined and complex characters, then this is for you.

Little Girls Sleeping is the first book in the Detective Katie Scott series. After returning from war, Katie is trying to settle into normal life but is drawn into a case regarding a missing girl. While it feels like everyone is working against her, Katie puts everything aside to solve the case.

This was a pretty typical detective crime novel. The lone detective solving the case when no one else can. It is a lone wolf, underdog comes out on top story.

I did enjoy this book, and it was very well written. But it wasn't one of my favorites.

Little Girls Sleeping
(Detective Katie Scott #1)
by Jennifer Chase

ebook
Expected publication: May 31st 2019 by Bookouture (first published 2019)




Goodreads synopsis:
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, 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?

***

5 Stars

Great beginning to a new series. Compelling and just wonderful. What a roller-coaster ride!

The characters were really compelling in this. I hated Templeton. What a jerk. I was happy to see the conclusion of that storyline thread manifested at the end. The fact that Katie had been assigned the title of Detective seemed to tick off most of the police force in Pine Valley. Not to mention that the Sheriff was her uncle.

Lots of attacks happened to Katie throughout the book and in the beginning I wondered if Templeton was behind it all. Katie came across the bodies of the dead girls and the original team on the police force resented the fact that she one-upped them by the discovery.

The character of Katie was very detailed oriented person, with a military background and I think she made the killer nervous. I wondered why the killer hadn’t gone after the original police detectives on the case but I guess that is a mute point.

When the killer kidnaps Katie at the end, there is a whole what I call a Murdock moment. On the series, MacGyver, there is a villain named Murdock who never seems to die no matter the over the top ways he seems to meet his supposed end. The killer did that here too and I wonder if he might return in a future book to torment Katie.

Highly recommended. A wonderful first book for an author I will follow in the future!

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

The synopsis drew me in right away, but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this read as much as I would’ve liked to. The first half was boring & I found myself skimming through the pages. However, the second half picked up & I had to keep reading to find out how the story ends. I I’m not sure if I will read the other books in the series or not.

I’m afraid I only enjoyed the last half of this book. The first half was really slow and hard to get into. Nothing much seemed to be happening. Katie was a very morose character and hard to empathise with. I know she was probably suffering from PTSD, even though it’s not said, but it just made the book very hard to get to grips with as she just seemed to plod along, to begin with. There were extended scenes that don’t lead anywhere or really serve a purpose like when she is searching the three grids looking for Chelsea to no avail. It repeats and reiterates that she was in the army way too many times, yes we know that your training is coming in handy you don’t need to tell us for the millionth time!
The scene setting near the beginning was very obvious and somewhat clunky. She just happens to find a cold case file and decides to do some off-book investigating. It would have been nicer if it had developed more organically. She ruffled way too many feathers, and I think she would be better suited to being a private investigator rather than working for the police as she wanted to go it alone too much. The vulcanising of Detective Templeton was crass and over the top. It all felt overdone and not realistic.
I remember reading reviews for a book and someone saying about how silly it was that she almost gets run over and then goes for a picnic, I hadn’t remembered it was this book I’d seen that comment, but as soon as I read it, I totally agreed. It was as if she hadn’t almost been killed and just carried on life as usual. I suppose that was her ’training’ kicking in!
The last half of the book really picks up; this is when the action and findings finally start to happen. It was this half that had me gripped, and I couldn’t put the book down as I knew we were going to find out who had been taking and killing the girls. I didn’t guess which was a good thing, which means the author did keep the suspense and everything close to her chest.
Overall, it was just an ok read; I’m not sure I’ll be hunting any of the author’s previous work down.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for a copy of this book.

Really enjoyed this book. A good read, which was done over two days, but I felt that the story line has been done before

Will definitely read more by this author though, especially as it looks to be a series.

Great book will be reading other books by this author.
Will also recommend this book to others.
Great read!

Based on the synopsis, it was very promising, exactly the story i would like. Unfortunately i didnt enjoy it. The writing was messy and disjointed. I struggled with the characters, I thought they lacked personality and were one dimensonial. Katie, the main character, could have been so much more given her background. While the ideas behind this book were good and had a lot of promise, the execution didnt work for me. Scenes were not linked together well and Katie didnt seem to have any real revelations, she just kept stumbling across things. Very unlikely to me. This is one series i wont be reading.

Detective Karie Scott Book 1

Katie Scott is flying back home after serving two years in Afghanistan, working with the K-9 unit. She takes a temporary job in a sheriffs office doing clerical work. She finds herself investigating the disappearance of eight year old Chelsea Compton, a cold case. It reminded Katie of the disappearance and murder of her best friend Jenny, a childhood friend. It took me a few chapters before I got caught up in this story. Katie has a gritty backstory of which I hope we learn more of as the series progresses. It's quite a chilling read with lots of twists.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Bookouture and the author Jennifer Chase for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I read by this author and I was really wowed by it. This is also the first book in her new Detective Katie Scott series.

This book is about a returning vet battling her own demons while trying to find a serial killer who is murdering young girls. Katie Scott returns to her family home after serving and tries to figure out what her next move is. She accidentally sees a cold case on her Uncle’s desk and begins to investigate. She stumbles upon the killers grave site and that’s when the fight between good and evil takes place.

I have to say what caught my interest was the description of the book and boy this book did not disappoint. The book did start off slower but that was great because we got to know all the characters better. By half way through I couldn’t put the book down and was trying to read as fast as I could so I could find out who the killer was. The ending took me by surprise and I was literally gasping for air hoping everything would turn out ok.

Between the plot, characters and all the twists in this book it made it an easy and fast read. I would definitely recommend it and happily give it 5 Hearts❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Little Girls Sleeping’ by Jennifer Chase in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Chelsea Compton was eight when abducted four years ago and despite an investigation led by Detective Templeton her body was never found. Katie Scott returns home following a tour of duty in Afghanistan and her uncle, the sheriff of Pine Valley, gives her a job doing admin, but Katie’s intrigued by Chelsea and wants to find out what happened to her so that her family has closure. During her search through old files she discovers that other girls of a similar age have disappeared and she’s determined to put a stop to who’s taking them before any others go missing.

This is a nail-biting thriller with a well-thought-out plot, lots of excitement and drama with a number of viable suspects. I was gripped from page one, through each twist and turn, trying to guess the identity of the abductor but unable to, until I reached the climax which was shocking and totally unexpected. This is the first in the Detective Katie Scott series and I can wholeheartedly recommend it. I’m very much looking forward to the next.

I was excited to get a chance to read the first book in what promises to be an engaging new series! Little Girls Sleeping was gripping from start to end and I'm already excited to see how the series continues.

This is a new series with a Detective named Katie Scott and although this book had a really slow start to it I ended up liking this book a lot! There is a serial killer abducting little girls and killing them and it's up to Katie to chase the clues to find the serial killer. I like the mystery to this book and I really liked Katie Scott . I look forward to watching for the sequel to this book. I enjoyed the quick read!

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!

8 year old Chelsea is missing in California. This hits close to home for Detective Katie Scott and reminds her of her own friend who went missing years ago. While investigating, Detective learns this situation is much darker and bigger than she thought. Then another little girl goes missing. Will they solve this crime before it's too late? Who's responsible???!

This book had me on the edge of my seat!

Just brilliant!!! Katie was my hero. I thought that the homecoming was a great way to bring her back and the story that she fell into was sad and so intense. I still am not sure what is going to happen with Katie and the men in her life, but she has many things to settle first. Serial killers, attacks, murders, suicides? what times them all together or who? Thank you NetGalley.

The beginning of this was a little slow for me but By chapter 4 I was hooked! I can’t wait to find out what happens next with my new friend, Katie. I loved how Jennifer Chase wasn’t scared to say exactly what you were thinking. This guy could low key be a suspect , she doesn’t pretend like you don’t know that too. Some parts were a little wordy and I could have done with more romance (or just some good old fashioned sexual tension). Overall it was a win, I recommend you read this one, Little Girls Sleeping is a thriller that will keep you second guessing. Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC and opportunity for review.

Returning from her deployment overseas Katie Scott isn't sure she's ready to return to the police department. While she's taking some time to figure things out she's helping out with data entry at the local sheriff's department.

A cold case about missing girls catches her eye. She starts to investigate and gets herself in some trouble. Can she solve the case of the missing girls without getting herself killed?

It took me a while to get into this book but something kept me coming back. I ended up enjoying the story quite a bit. Katie is a great character and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series to see what happens next. In the mean time I plan on checking out other books by Jennifer Chase.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy.

Katie Scott has returned from a tour with the K-9 unit within the military and is based in her home town. While she acclimatises back to civvy life with her dog, Cisco, she works for her uncle who is the sheriff. A cold case piques her interest and she begins to work it secretly until she makes a grizzle discovery. Her position changes and soon Katie is fighting for her own life.

This was the first book I have read my this author and it won’t be the last. Very descriptive without being grizzly and gory. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

A good police procedural by Jennifer Chase. The book had me stuck to it literally all through the day in between my chores. The story was pretty much formulaic. Little girls kidnapped and were never to be found. Till Katie was appointed. Katie as a war veteran and a cop was shown in a brilliant light. The entire book was from her POV. She was good in her work, she followed the clues diligently. She had great cop instincts, and she never gave up. All that made me admire her throughout the book. She managed to get to the graves of two kids. From that point on, investigation rolled on based on coroner's report and the forensics.

The story and the writing was solid. It was swift paced and at no point, did I feel my concentration lagging. My niggles did buzz into my ear at times. Katie was told to be brilliant by everyone, even people who hardly knew her. Apparently, she had the gift. More characterization of Katie and detailed backstory and reasons by the killer would have uplifted the story for me.

Overall, a great read. Had fun trying to follow the clues. And yes, I was wrong about the identity of the killer. Eager to read book 2 by this author as I would like to know where Katie's goes from here.