Thursday, May 27, 2021

First Chapter Review: THE FRAGILE ONES by Jennifer Chase @jchasenovelist #CrimeFiction #firstchapterreview

by thewriterslife on May 27, 2021

Thanks for visiting Literarily Speaking! Today's post is a first chapter review of THE FRAGILE ONES by Jennifer Chase. First, a little about the book....

Title: THE FRAGILE ONES
Author: Jennifer Chase
Publisher: Bookouture
Pages: 300
Genre: Crime Thriller

BOOK BLURB:

“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!

FAVORITE QUOTE FROM FIRST CHAPTER:

"Slowly shutting her laptop, Katie mused that things were falling into place at last. Perhaps for the first time since leaving the army she felt it was possible to be a police detective and lead a normal life. There were things that she had seen that would never be erased from her mind, but she was learning how to live without panic attacks and anxiety paralyzing her. She was learning to forgive her past, and herself."

BOOK COVER:

Who could not absolutely love that cover? I'm thinking the locket might be one of the missing little girls. Beautiful cover.

FIRST CHAPTER REVIEW:

This first chapter opens with Katie Scott (main character) at a doctor concerning anxiety problems. The doc asks if she still has nightmares. He tells her as much as she's been through, that's common. He brings up the fact she's a cold-case detective which will attribute to a lot of anxiety anyway. So as we understand it, Katie was fighting in Afghanistan just two years ago. I love the way the author brought in back story because now I can form a mental image of what Katie should look like and act like.

This right here:

"I know now that the first case I took on after I came home from the army caused me more distress than I realized. The image of the graves of those little girls will never leave me.”

Ahhh...the meat of the book is right here in the first chapter - what the book is mainly all about - solving the mystery of the graves of little girls. Poor thing, you know? Just got back from Afghanistan which is horrible enough, she has to deal with the images of graves of little girls.

In this first chapter, Chad is mentioned - her childhood friend and boyfriend. She is thinking of him as the chapter closes. You can tell he is the love of her life and despite the anxiety, she feels that everything is falling into place. She just wants a normal life. Isn't that what everyone wants?

KEEP READING?

I'm very familiar with Jennifer Chase. Her writing is impeccable and my favorite crime thriller author. I would definitely keep reading. In fact, I've already started with chapter two. I want to learn more about this crime - who killed the the young girls? Incidentally, if you get a chance to read the prologue, that's suspenseful right there telling you more about the girls who went missing. Powerful stuff!

Pick up your copy!

Amazon.com: The Fragile Ones: An absolutely gripping mystery and suspense novel (Detective Katie Scott Book 5) eBook: Chase, Jennifer: Kindle Store

Meet The Author

Jennifer Chase is a multi award-winning and USA Today BestSelling 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.