Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to Noelle Holten and publisher Bookouture for my spot on this Blog Tour.

This was a police procedural with a heart, pure and simple. That was the only thought that came to me after reading this book.

The premise was simple, a 6 month old child disappeared from his cot while mom was sleeping. Police were called in, investigation started, and numerous characters and their interlinks were exposed.

My second book by author Kerry Watts, and second in the series, Detective Jessie Blake was capable of standing on her own without knowing the details of book 1. The author’s writing made it easy to understand the characters. Frankly speaking, I didn’t even remember this was book 2. I didn’t need to. The book was complete.

Where this book differed from other police procedurals was that this dealt more with the psyche of the characters and thorough investigation by the cops. Every single open subplot was tied up with a pretty bow. Every action taken by the cops was shown to me.

The story went through its own turmoils where highs and dips in the plot were written well with shocking gasps. Jessie’s personal life too made its appearance with hints of loss of life and love. Camaderie and professionalism were well embedded in the team. But it was Jessie who stole the show, strong and vulnerable.

Then came my niggles, the book was interesting, no doubt, but slow. At least I felt so, as my real life kept intruding. Some characters were actually not needed, so I felt.

But those were minor points. It was Jessie who pulled me into the book as she did signify a safe home to rest my wandering mind. A fun read, overall.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

Kerry Watts was born and grew up in a small town in the East of Scotland where she still lives today. She is always writing and carries a little notebook and pen with her wherever she goes because at her age ideas need to be captured before they disappear.

Kerry specialises in crime fiction because she enjoys pushing the boundaries of what it is to be human. The nature versus nurture debate fascinates her. She loves to put her characters in impossible situations just to see what happens.

When she’s not writing she loves to spend time following her other passions – dogs, particularly rescue mutts and horse racing.

She also had a small role in a film called The Rocket Post but decided acting wasn’t for her. She would rather create a character than play one.

She lays her baby in his cot – the sound of his quiet breath filling the nursery as she leaves the room. Soon Claire will be fast asleep herself. She won’t hear the back door opening or the footsteps on the stairs.

When Claire Lucas is woken by her husband asking where their baby son is, she is dazed and confused. When she follows Darren into their child’s bedroom, she hears nothing but silence. No baby cries, no cute gurgles. The only thing left in Finlay’s cot is his beloved teddy bear. Finlay has gone.

Detective Jessie Blake rushes to the family’s modern home in the rugged Scottish Highlands. She notices that Darren avoids eye contact, and Claire seems disconnected – unable to account for the last few hours of her afternoon. Jessie knows there’s no normal response to losing a child, but something doesn’t feel right.

Friends rally round the young family, as a search of the narrow lanes and green hills of Moncrieffe begins in earnest. And as helpers battle the wild Scottish weather, Jessie is sure that someone in the search party must know more than they’re letting on. Someone must have seen something.

As a ghost from her own past comes back to haunt her, Jessie must put aside her own personal tragedy to save baby Finlay. Can she get the people of the small town to talk before it’s too late?

Publication Date: 26th September 2019

Publisher: Bookouture

Amazon

https://geni.us/B07VJNKXYZSoc