Book Description:
Smoke curls from what’s left of the beautiful family home on the edge of the woods. The heat is unbearable as she descends the stairs to the basement, past a set of bicycles––two big, one small. That’s when she sees three little white bones in the cracked earth at her feet, turning her blood to ice…
When firefighters tackling a blazing house in a quiet suburb of Pine Valley, California discover human remains, Detective Katie Scott races to 717 Maple Street. She calls a halt to the excavations the moment she sees the full number and size of the bones; someone has buried a whole family down here.
Working night and day, it’s up to Katie to prove her theory that the fire was no accident, that someone wanted to expose the secret in the basement. Tiny traces of explosives residue found at the scene is all the proof she needs. But the Cross family have been missing for months––leaving friends and loved ones in agonizing pain––what twisted soul would do this now? And why?
The case takes another heart-shattering turn when Katie’s suspicions over recent renovation work on the house leads to the discovery of more bodies in the back yard: two little girls, buried years apart. What other devastating secrets are hidden in this perfect family home? It’s a dead end at every turn as Katie tracks down anyone who knew the family. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, reports of the Cross’s landlord harassing the family before they went missing gives Katie a crucial lead. With a menacing grey sedan following her every move, how many more innocent lives will be lost before Katie can dig up the truth?
An absolutely gripping and totally addictive thriller from a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author. It will keep you racing through the pages all night long––fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh will devour in one sitting!
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Three Small Bones' by Jennifer Chase.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Jennifer Chase, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 16th September 2022.
This is the fourth book I have read by this author. It is also the seventh book in her 'Detective Katie Scott' series. I have previously read 'Last Girls Alive' which is the fourth book in this series, 'The Fragile Ones' which is the fifth book in this series, 'Pretty Broken Dolls' which is the sixth book in the series and 'Silent Little Angels' which is the seventh book in the series which I also recommend. All books can be read as standalones.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. The synopsis stated that this book is 'An absolutely gripping and totally addictive thriller from a USA Today and Amazon bestselling author. It will keep you racing through the pages all night long—fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh will devour in one sitting!' I am a huge fan of Lisa Regan and Melinda Leigh so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I am also a huge fan of Jennifer Chase and if this is half as good as 'The Fragile Ones', 'Last Girls Alive', 'Pretty Broken Dolls' and 'Silent Little Angels' it is sure to be a page turning read. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue and 54 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
'Three Small Bones' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Jennifer discusses the murder of children.
This book is based in California, USA 🇺🇸.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Detective Katie Scott. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out on anything.
Wow!!! What can I say about this page turning, nail biting crime thriller!! It was absolutely fantastically written and had me completely hooked from the first page until the last. Fantastic descriptions that really painted the picture throughout and put me in the book.
The storyline itself was unique, fast paced and filled with nail biting suspension. It was packed with action and very importantly the storyline was believable. I loved delving into Katie's past and discovering more about what happened when she was younger. I had no idea who the killer was until just before Katie worked it out so a HUGE WELL DONE Jennifer. It is getting harder and harder to shock me but you definitely did it this time. There were many red herrings and twists throughout which did make me doubt myself at time. This book is filled with suspense, tension, mystery, murder, gore and everything you could ask for in a psychological fiction. It kept me hooked throughout and I cannot wait to read more in this series, not only the ones after but the ones I have yet to read. The last 'Silent Little Angels' book ending madd me wonder if that would be the end of this amazing series so I was so relived when this book came out as I would have missed Katie, Gav, Chad and Cisco too much!!! They have become like family to me so I was landed to be able to meet them all again. The fact that Jennifer has done her research absolutely shines through so congratulations Jennifer. It is a pet hate of mine when authors don't do research into certain subjects as it spoils the storyline for me.
Clear your schedules before you start this page turner as you won't be able to put it down!!!
Although this is the eighth book in the series I had would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
I really enjoyed meeting all the characters again especially Katie and Gav but also getting to meet several other characters. The characters were well defined and realistic. I loved the fact that there was a strong female role model, being female myself. Katie is definitely a very likeable character who is suffering ptsd and is a force to be reckoned with. I loved her relationship with her partner Gav who is also another great character. It is lovely to see partners (work partners) who work so perfectly together and have such a fantastic bond even though this crime caused some problems/ friction with them having to work together. Relationship wise I think that Denise is perfect for Gav and Chad is perfect for Katie. They are also both wonderful characters who will stay with me for a long time. I must admit that my favourite character has got to be Cisco by far. However much I'm invested in Katie, Gav and Chad I'm hundred times more invested in the amazing K9 that is Cisco. This team work perfectly together to make me want to pick up book after book and turn page after page in this addictive series.
Congratulations Jennifer on yet another fantastic book. I cannot wait until your next one arrives!!! Keep up the amazing writing!!! This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors and this is one of my favourite series. 🥂
Overall a nail biting, addictive, page turning suspense packed action crammed psychological thriller that keeps you on edge.
Genres covered in this novel include Crime Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Crime Fiction, Hardboiled, Noir Fiction, Psychological Fiction and Police Procedural amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of Melinda Leigh, C. L Taylor, Angela Marsons, Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine, Carol Wyer and anyone who has read any of Jennifer's previous books.
382 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on Kindle Unlimited (at time of review) and £9.99 in paperback which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@JenniferChase @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio
Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and best-selling crime fiction author, as well as a consulting criminologist. Jennifer holds a bachelor degree in police forensics and a master’s degree in criminology & criminal justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent psychopath, 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, and member of the International Thriller Writers.
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