A personal case for Katie Scott as her aunt is murdered and her uncle suspected. She is desperate to prove his innocence but must keep away from the investigation due to the family connection. Instead she focusses her attention on a cold case that her uncle investigated 12 years ago and believes there is a link to her aunt’s death. But is she endangering her own life as well as her uncle’s case…?
Katie is joined once again by her army dog Cisco but he has less of a role in this book compared to the previous two (Little Girls Sleeping and Her Last Whisper). We also see less of her partner McGaven but much more of John the medical examiner.
The personal nature of the case keeps Katie’s character in the centre of the plot as she had been in the other books. I could understand her frustration with being unable to help on her uncle’s case but was incredulous that she would risk damaging the investigation.
The murders are described forensically and briefly so there is little unpleasant or graphic detail. The revelations at the end were unexpected and I had no idea on the true identity of the culpit: as with the previous books, the focus on the detective led to a distancing from the killer and their motives.
Flowers On Her Grave was an enjoyable police thriller with plenty of action and the plot was fraught with tension.
Book Description:
On the floor, amongst the piles of freshly pressed laundry, lay the woman’s lifeless body, her pale yellow nightdress soaked in blood.
“I didn’t do it…” came a whisper from the corner of the room.
Detective Katie Scott has never seen two people more in love than her aunt and uncle as they danced on the decking the night of their wedding anniversary party. But the next morning, when Katie finds her aunt’s body sprawled across the floor, that perfect image is shattered forever.
All fingers point to Katie’s uncle, Pine Valley’s beloved sheriff and protector – after all, his prints are all over the antique knife found at the scene. Grieving, but certain of her uncle’s innocence, Katie is consigned to the cold case division after she’s discovered searching the house for clues. Does someone want to keep her as far away from this investigation as possible?
Ignoring warnings from her team, Katie digs into her uncle’s old case files and discovers photographs of the body of a young girl found tied to a tree after a hike in search of a rare flower. Her body is covered with the same unusual lacerations her aunt suffered. Katie knows it can’t be a coincidence, but every lead she follows takes her to a dead end.
Moments before the sheriff is arrested, Katie realises that a single piece of thread she found at the crime scene could be the missing link that will stitch old crimes to new. But how can she prove her uncle’s innocence without throwing herself directly into the line of fire? She doesn’t have a choice, he’s the only family she has left…
A totally jaw-dropping crime thriller with an ending you will never see coming! Perfect for anyone who adores Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh.
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.
@JChaseNovelist
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