The Fragile Ones
“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?
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Jennifer Chase
Jennifer Chase is a writer whose keen insight into criminal psychology and her own experiences with crime and law enforcement shape every page she writes. With a background in police forensics and criminology, she doesn’t just tell stories—she immerses her readers in the chilling intricacies of human behavior and the darkness lurking beneath the surface.
Born and raised in California, Jennifer’s journey into the world of crime fiction began with her personal experiences and academic studies. After earning a degree in police forensics and a master’s in criminology, she felt a deep calling to merge her professional knowledge with her passion for storytelling. The result? A series of captivating crime thrillers that not only entertain but also provoke thought about the human condition.
Detective Katie Scott
Detective Katie Scott’s world is one where darkness lurks around every corner, and the search for truth can be as dangerous as it is relentless. With a background in military police, Katie brings a unique edge to every investigation, diving deep into the minds of criminals while wrestling with the ghosts of her past. Each case she takes on not only tests her professional skills but challenges her emotionally, pushing her to confront the trauma that still haunts her.
Detective Katie Scott consists of fifteen books and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of two more books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
