The Fragile Ones: An absolutely gripping mystery and suspense novel

· Bookouture
4.6
7 reviews
Ebook
350
Pages

About this ebook

“Please Mommy, can Tessa and I go play on the swing by the creek?” the little girl begs, pushing a blonde curl from her eyes. “We’ll stay together, and we promise to be safe.” Hours later, their mother waits anxiously for her darling girls to arrive home with a list of reasons why they are late. But the front door never opens…

 

When the bodies of eleven and twelve-year-old sisters, Tessa and Megan, are found at the bottom of a ravine—dressed in matching pastel summer outfits, their small bodies broken from the fall—Detective Katie Scott is called to one of the most shocking and heartbreaking crime scenes of her career.

 

Carefully picking through the fragile remains, Katie makes the first of many disturbing discoveries: the girls were not biological sisters. The youngest, Megan, is a DNA match to a kidnapping case years before. The tiny number burnt into her skin the mark of a terrifying killer intent on keeping count of his collection.

 

Her PTSD from the army triggered, Katie is left reeling as she maps other missing children in the local area. Has this twisted soul found a way to stay nearby his victims? Could he be watching now as Katie hits one dead end after another?

 

A wild storm building, matching a fiber found during the autopsy to a nearby boatyard is the break Katie needs. But when another girl goes missing, just as lightning strikes and the power goes out, Katie only has her instincts, her team and her service dog to rely on. As time runs out for Katie to finds the stolen child alive, who will become the next number on this monster’s deadly list?

 

Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh, you better buckle-up for the ride of your life! BEWARE – this gripping crime thriller is guaranteed to keep you up all night!

 

Readers love The Fragile Ones:

Wow!!!... a page-turning, nail-biting crime thriller!!... absolutely fantastic… had me completely hooked… filled with nail-biting suspense… keeps you on edge.’ Bookworm86, 5 stars

 

Excellentnail-biting… had me enthralled from page onegripped through each twist and turn… jaw-dropping and totally unexpected… brilliant.’ NetGalley reviewer, 5 stars

 

Superbimmediately had me hookedhad me glued to the pages and I didn't want to put it down… A spellbinding, highly recommended read. Brianne’s Book Reviews, 5 stars

 

My heart was in my throat the whole time … A pulse-pounding crime thriller that is tightly-plotted and brilliantly paced… will keep readers glued to the pagestop-notch page-turner…’ Bookish Jottings, 4 stars

 

THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS PUTTING THIS BOOK DOWN!!!!!… I was literally holding my breath… I HAD TO KNOW!!!!! As for the explosive ending? WOW definitely not what or who I was expecting.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

Ratings and reviews

4.6
7 reviews
kanchan rajeev
March 8, 2021
Note - I received this digital arc for free as a courtesy of Net Galley and Bookouture publishers in return for an honest feedback. Rating - 4/5 The unique title and the story description was what that attracted me towards picking up 'The Fragile Ones (Detective Katie Scott Book 5)' for reading. But before I review, I would like to express my gratitude to the author Jennifer Chase, Bookouture publishers and Net Galley for the opportunity to get my hands on this book. Although the story blurb clearly mentioned that this was book 5 in the series, I simply had to pick it up as the description was quite attractive and mysterious. And I wasn't wrong as the storyline was simply fabulous and I just loved it. In this story, the protagonist Detective Katie Scott finds herself working a rather complicated case - a double homicide of two little girls whose bodies were discovered rotting over a period of 2 years in a ravine and one of them was even branded. Along with her sleuthing partner McGaven and her canine partner Cisco, the trio encounter more homicides in the quest to find the culprit. They learn that nothing can be taken at the face value for everyone they encounter end up being a potential culprit or killed. And how Katie solves this case forms the rest of the story. The characterization was quite realistic and the narrative was at a smooth pace - neither too dragging or too fast. The entire cast seemed real and relatable which made the reading quite fun. The prologue itself set the tone for the story post which the storyline followed a casual and moderate pace after which the story peaked and it went to a point that I simply didn't want to keep the book down. I just had to find out the culprit. There was a series of twists and turns that it was simply hard to figure out the culprit beforehand - this totally made the day. The culprit was someone totally unpredictable. Further kudos to the author for the amazing accuracy with which the technical details, terms and description were portrayed within the story - the accuracy so good that it almost looked as if the author herself had a background in the same. I also loved how a canine character characterization was also given equal importance in the story. Now on to the technicalities - the book can be read as a standalone but it looks advisable if the previous books in the series were read first. The story definitely functions as a standalone with minimal references from the previous books but I will definitely pick up the the previous books to read soon as I so loved this one !! The story does include descriptions that may seem mildly graphic and psychological for some readers especially since the story deals with child murders. Profane language usage is borderline to moderate. The language is quite simple to read and understand which is why this book is perfect for all readers aged 17+. The only reason I chose to rate this book as 4 stars is because the arc I received did have a few over - usage of commas ; even where semi - colon was required and a couple of spell and grammatical errors. Most were negligible but some of them were totally not as they kind of disrupted the story and made the editing look quite unprofessional. But otherwise the book is overall a great read !!
Kirsty Whitlock
March 8, 2021
BLOG TOUR REVIEW Review for 'The Fragile Ones' by Jennifer Chase. Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous Publication date 8th March 2021. This is the second book I have read by this author. It is also the fifth book in the 'Detective Katie Scott' series. I have read the fourth book in this series 'Last Girls Alive' which I highly recommend. I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching and beautiful cover and its intriguing synopsis. The synopsis stated 'Fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh, you better buckle-up for the ride of your life!'. I am a fan of Melinda's books so am interested to see if it will live up to this statement. I have also previously read 'Last Girls Alive' by Jennifer which I loved so am hoping this will be just as good. 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 t
Mags_louise
March 9, 2021
The Fragile Ones is the fifth book in the Detective Katie Scott series, but it's the first one I've read and I had no trouble following along with these characters although I did find it slow to begin with. But it certainly was an engaging and suspenseful tale that involves an investigation into a cold case crime which I found truly intriguing. However, the ending did leave me feeling a little unfulfilled and although the killer of the two girls was revealed no real explanation was given for the other cases linked or the deaths that occurred after the investigation started. Yet, it did have me guessing, and I am fascinated enough by these characters, particularly PTSD suffering Katie Scott, and her K9 sidekick Cisco to want to read more. And I would recommend The Fragile Ones to others, especially if you enjoy police procedural's. **I was kindly provided with an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

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