Katie focuses her mind, trying to keep another anxiety attack at bay. The victim’s long brown hair is slick and wet, her body rigid in the grass. She looks more like a mannequin than the woman Katie had spoken with only yesterday, the woman she had promised to protect… California, new recruit Detective Katie Scott is stunned to discover the victim is Amanda Payton – a much-loved local nurse and the woman at the heart of an unsolved case she’s been investigating whilst getting a grip on her crippling PTSD.
Weeks earlier, Amanda had run, battered and bruised, out into the headlights of a passing patrol car. She claimed to have just escaped a kidnapping, but with no strong evidence, the case went cold. The Pine Valley police made a fatal mistake…
Katie is certain the marks on Amanda’s wrists complete a pattern of women being taken, held captive and then showing up dead in remote locations around Pine Valley – and she won’t let someone die on her watch again.
But then a beautiful office worker with a link to the hospital where Amanda worked goes missing. With only days before the next body is due to show up, can Katie make amends for her past by saving this innocent life?
Totally gripping crime fiction for fans of Lisa Regan, Rachel Caine and Melinda Leigh. Nothing will prepare you for this nail-biting roller-coaster ride…
Everyone is talking about Her Last Whisper:
‘Amazing… I couldn’t put it down. Had my attention from start to finish. Plenty of suspense and twists and turns. Just when I thought I had it figured out, I was proven wrong. Will definitely recommend. Can’t wait for more.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘An excellent, exhilarating read. I had to keep reading just another page, another page, as everything raced towards a high tension ending which left me wishing there was more because it had been so good. Hopefully there will be a third book…’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘A twist at every page!… Absolutely loved this book… was so engrossed read it in 2 days… well written and enthralling. Couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait for the next one.’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars
‘Gripping… plenty of excitement, drama, twists and turns, and a few red herrings… I finished it in twenty-four hours.’ Netgalley reviewer, 5 stars
Readers adore Jennifer Chase:
‘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
‘Wow!… The hairs on my head stood up with this one!’ Goodreads reviewer, 5 starsmore
It progressed too slowly, I was bored and almost stopped reading it more than once.
I read Dead Cold by Jennifer Chase from the Jennifer Chase series and LOVED IT, so when I had the opportunity to read and review Her Last Whisper, what a great title, I had to have it. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat.
I love Prologues and Jennifer Chase’s Last Whisper prologue made me sit up and pay attention. I had hoped the story would continue to do the same, keep me on the line and reel me in.
Kate had been a patrol officer and an Army K9 handler, and a loner. Now she is stepping in to lead the cold case unit. I love cold case stories and the steps they take to solve the mystery.
I know what her first cold case will be, Amanda Payton, the kidnapped girl inn the prologue. I can detect too. LOL
Chad is her best friend, a firefighter for Sequoia County, but will it be more than that? I do like some romance with my serial killers.
He’s on the hunt…AGAIN.
I do love critters, especially dogs, in my stories. They tend to add that little extra I am always looking for. I just questioned why Kate didn’t have him by her side more. Even though it is explained why, I wouldn’t have left him behind. After all, Cisco is an Army K 9 and trained to the max.
We have a side mystery too. A blast from her Army past comes to town, looking for his lost brother. Will they come together, or is Jennifer Chase sharing her personal life to give us a glimpse into who she is, showing us a developed character?
Soooo close, but Her Last Breath didn’t quite get there for me. I devour suspense and thriller novels, so my expectations are always high when I ‘crack open a book’. A sense of urgency and suspense fell a little flat, BUT the ending was great. I would have liked that level of tension throughout .
There is no doubt I will be looking for more of Jennifer Chase’s work.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Her Last Breath by Jennifer Chase.
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I received a free electronic copy of this modern police procedural from Netgalley, Jennifer Chase, and the publisher Bookouture. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. Her Last Whisper is the second of a new series by Jennifer Chase – yeah! I am happy to recommend Jennifer Chase to friends and family. She writes a tight, compelling mystery.
Set in the small California town of Pine Valley, Katie Scott is the orphaned niece of the County Sheriff and is appointed by him to head a new cold case department in his shop on her return from active military duty overseas. One of the lucky ones, she was able to bring her working dog Cisco home which helps with her PTSD. Other than her aunt and uncle Katie has no family except Cisco and her fellow military family, most of whom are still on active duty. Several of the personnel at the county lockup are childhood friends, however, and she feels at home in her new basement office.
She begins her new job in a new department with trepidation – she is not sure her unexpected mental reruns into the horror of her military days will allow her to be an effective detective. On the bright side, she and Cisco can exercise and train with the official police dogs and trainers of the city and county police, and when she is working in the field alone she can take Cisco to work with her in either her personal vehicle and that issued by the county, as both are equipped with an electronically-opening canine door emergency release. She is also assigned Chad Ferguson as an assistant. She and Chad were sidekicks since they were eight years old, so the fit was perfect.
The first cold case she looks into – the one near the top of the top box of files her uncle sent down – is only six months old but is intriguing. Amanda Peyton, a Pine Valley woman and a nurse in the ICU unit of the hospital, is found in the wilds of an abandoned subdivision wearing only her panties and a tank top, restraint injuries to both wrists and ankles and very confused and dehydrated. She says she was kidnapped in the parking lot of the local grocery and held a prisoner for about a week, but managed finally to escape. She never saw her captor – though he had taken the duct tape off of her mouth he kept her eyes duct-taped over the whole time. She had not been sexually assaulted but when he was there he had whispered to her over and over, to tell her secrets, to tell the truth. For long periods of time, she thought she had been alone. She was terrified and disoriented when found, and not making a lot of sense. Her doctor at the hospital sent her to the local South Street Psychiatric Hospital for a 72-hour evaluation but when released she disappears. Feeling like she wasn’t being taken seriously, she quit her job, left her apartment, so the case was stalemated and eventually became another cold case. Katie finds her and tries to assure her that they are trying to find her abductor but have very little to go on. Amanda is very sure he is still watching her, and that he will kill her when he finds her again. Katie begins looking for similar cases back through time and finds one from several months before Amanda’s kidnapping and that victim too is at the psychiatric hospital, a woman who cannot remember who she is, found wearing only underwear and bruising and the chaffing of restraints. Are they looking for a serial killer? Jane Doe disappears into a more modern psychiatric hospital about an hour away, but she cannot have visitors. Why? And then Amanda is indeed found dead. Yet another woman is found dead in very similar circumstances. And one more woman, Tess Regan, is reported missing…
Katie and Chad have their hands full and new clues are few and far between. Someone is leaving encouraging notes on Katie’s car at crime scenes. Who? Will they be able to identify Jane Doe? Do the clues tying the Jamison Doctors of both the local psychiatric hospital and the ICU at the local hospital with the abandoned sub-division have any validity? Will they find Tess before it’s too late?
The second in the Detective Katie Scott series was a good crime thriller but was missing just a few things. It seemed as if there were a lot of superficial observations. I thought the case itself was compelling, but there were aspects that either were not addressed at all or tossed off with a “we’ll never know” attitude – that didn’t ring true to me. I also felt the motivation of the culprit was not as detailed as it could have been. It was still an enjoyable read, though. For a full review, please visit my blog at Fireflies and Free Kicks Fiction Reviews. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a complimentary, pre-release, digital ARC of the book.
How terrifying to be kidnapped and nobody believes what you’re saying. The feeling of being all alone and someone just waiting to snatch you again. This time there will be no coming back. Katie wants to help Amanda but there isn’t enough to go on and when Amanda is found dead a cold case suddenly is very present. The last chapters really had me in a frenzy. All I could think of was: Don’t hurt the dog. Don’t. Please.
Detective Katie Scott is back in charge of the cold case department of the Pine Valley police department. She picks her first case to investigate ….
Six months ago two patrolmen came across a young woman, battered and bruised, claiming to have been kidnapped. She was held for several days. She doesn’t know where ..she never saw her assailant, but she does remember what he wanted from her … the truth.
The truth hurts but the lies kill ….
The day after she interviews the woman, her body is found by a jogging couple. Has the kidnapper come back to finish the job he started?
Katie finds a pattern of women being taken captive and showing up dead in remote locations. She and her partner start following the bodies and hoping that they can solve the case before any more victims are taken.
Well written, this one has lots of twists, many plausible suspects to take a look at, and looking into backgrounds of all the victims. I enjoy her back story, and the blend of professional and personal are seamless, making this a credible read.
Many thanks to the author/ Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/police procedural. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This second book with Detective Katie Scott proves that this author has another winning series. Katie has achieved the rank of detective with the Pine Valley Sheriff’s Department and has been assigned to investigate cold cases. Her first case is the kidnapping of Amanda Payton who was held for a week, but managed to escape. She never saw the man who took her, but he continually whispered that he wanted to know the truth. When another woman is abducted, Katie knows that she is dealing with a serial killer and time is running out. As clues slowly surface, Katie and her K-9 Cisco continue to search for the current victim while also trying to locate the missing brother of her former sergeant, Nick. Katie is a strong female lead who does her job while controlling her PTSD from her time in the military. A wonderful mystery with the author taking you along through the entire investigation. I received an advance review copy at no cost and without obligation for an honest review. (by paytonpuppy)
Her Last Whisper by Jennifer Chase
Detective Katie Scott #2
Wham…a woman comes from nowhere and puts herself in front of a police car claiming she escaped from kidnapping that lasted for almost a week. Nearly incoherent and fearful the main word that she says, and is mentioned throughout the book, is TRUTH. That is the hook but we don’t see this woman again till Katie Scott is back on the job after a rest from whatever happened in the first book of the series. Katie’s first cold case happens to be the kidnapping even though the woman is still alive. And there I realized that cold cases are not always murders.
Katie is working in her uncle’s police department, is a war veteran who worked as a K-9 handler in the army and is back on the job as a policeman after her time in the war. She has flashbacks and PTSD and is a bit of a mess but manages to hold it together most of the time. When she goes to interview Peyton, the kidnapped woman, she finds a woman still fearful for her life and very difficult to talk to. When Peyton ends up dead…things heat up. There are more kidnappings and murders, red herrings here and there, a friend from the army that shows up needing her to help him find someone, a woman that she eventually helps, an old friend (Chad) that could be more if she is willing and of course…finding out who the serial murder is and the motivation for the murders.
I am not sure what I think of Katie. I never really got a “feel” for who she is and what makes her tick. I liked her relationship with Cisco, her K-9 dog from the military now retired, but never really saw who she had been before or during the war or what she found important in her life. She could be intense on the job and focused but she didn’t have “friends” that I could see. For some reason I felt she was guarded and unwilling to put herself out there in situations with people she might be able to be friends with. Perhaps the first book had more about her or the future books will.
On the case Katie works with a number of people that will be part of the series and over time become “family”. It seems that she and Chad will be testing the waters for “more” in the next book as he fights fires and she closes cold cases.
What I liked:
* Not knowing who the killer was right away
* Cisco – great dog
* The men in Katie’s life – all seemed nice guys who really cared about herrings
* Katie’s logical mind and the way she pursued the case
* Nick’s part in the book – wonder if he and his brother will show up in future books
* Deputy McGaven – seems like a good man
* Jane Doe’s happy ending
What I did not like:
* The sicko serial killer (that’s a given)
* Not being able to get a real feel for Katie
Did I enjoy this book? I think so
Would I read more in this series? Perhaps…to see if Katie grows on me
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3-4 Stars