This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

A good mystery! Missing girls and a detective who is damaged and works hard to find answers for victims and herself.

I liked the first book enough to want to read this second one. Although I still find it hard to completely relate and like Jess’ complex character, her story is starting to grow on me. I enjoyed this book more since I already know what to expect. I already had an idea of how unstable the main character is, therefore, her actions didn’t surprise me anymore. As with the first book, the new case is a hard one to crack as there seem to be no connections between the victims. It is very intense and unsettling, extremely disturbing even, as it involves children as victims. The mystery as to who the culprit is was thrown in with enough red herrings that made it hard to guess who really it is. The suspense was built well and the unexpected twist certainly took me by surprise. I didn’t see that one coming. And though I didn’t like what happened, it is also interesting how Jess will take it in the next book. With less than 300 pages, it is a quick read. A solidly written fast-paced, gripping thriller with an interesting yet unstable main character.

A great thrilling read! If you are looking for a good holiday read, then I cannot recommend this highly enough!

Great storyline with good strong characters. Very well written. I would recommend this book to anyone.

Part 2 of Special Agent Jess Bishops story begins with her attempting to recover bother physically and mentally from the events of Forget Me Not. She's been on leave since then and has been filling the void with her usual blend of casual sex and obsessing over her job. Even though she's not meant to be working she's picked up on a link between the deaths of three young girls. On her return to work, her colleagues are convinced she's seeing serial killers when there's nothing except bad luck and bad circumstances to blame. But the disappearance of a desperately ill little girl proves her theory to be correct and soon she and her team are hunting a killer who's becoming bolder and more frequent.

So this time around I was prepared for this being an American crime thriller rather than a British one - still, everything about the cover screams a UK crime story to me but maybe that's just me! As last time Jess is hard to warm to, she's so prickly she makes cactuses look like candy floss. But she's infinitely more sympathetic and she's beginning to see just how damaged she really is and how that affects those around her, especially Jamison who is also recovering from his brush with death in the last novel. Again the story here is great, with a genuine mystery at its heart and a decent if not wholly unexpected twist at the end. I don't think we need the subplot of Jess banging her way out of pain - its a bit old hat, women punishing themselves with sex which is the what I perceive her trysts to be. It detracts from the real story of the detective work. What was surprisingly enjoyable about this was Jess and Chan's amusingly abrasive chemistry. But what I found interesting is although Jess hates the way he chases women constantly (when he should be chasing leads) he lends a mirror to Jess which she doesn't seem to see. He treats women like objects just there for the chase and the wham bam thank you, ma'am, but Jess treats her brief encounters a lot more dismissively and contemptuously than he treats any of his casual affairs. Again my perception, I'm not sure if this an accidental double standard or a deliberate thing...I hope the latter.

Again this is an ever so slightly flawed crime thriller but despite its faults, I polished it off in a few hours, always the sign of a compulsively addictive read. Hopefully, part three isn't too far away.

A very promising series featuring FBI Agent Jess Bishop.

Book 1 - Forget me not
Book 2 - Cross your heart

I am going to read again before I give a full review (I forgot to make notes and it was read some time ago and forgot to review it at the time). I do know that I have been on the lookout for book 3 ever since

Thanks to Bookouture for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Cross Your Heart is the second instalment in the new series about Detective Jess Bishop. I really enjoyed the first book and have been looking forward to this second instalment.

Cross Your Heart follows Detective Jess Bishop as she investigates three cold cases which all concern the kidnapping of a child. While investigating the three cold cases another child goes missing, and there are similarities to the three cold cases.

Kierney Scott writes fantastic crime thrillers and Cross Your Heart is another fantastic read. I have enjoyed learning more about Jess and the surrounding cast are all interesting characters. Jess has her own demons which continue to affect her during this book and I really enjoyed this part of the writing. Kierney's writing style is brilliant and she captures the suspense and intrigue as the cases unfold. I had a few late nights while reading this book, just wanting to find out more before closing the book (which got harder and harder the further I got towards the end).

Another fantastic read. Thank you to Bookouture for the ARC in return for an honest review (Apologies it has been posted one day late, due to Broadband issues).

This is book 2 in the Jess Bishop series. Book 1 ended in such a way that I couldn't wait to start this one. And once again I was not disappointed!
This book reads well as a standalone, but I must be honest, you will miss a lot of the hidden story line and won't understand the issues that Jess has to deal with while dealing with a child serial killer.
This book was even better than book 1, and I hope the next book will be even better......
Highly, and I mean it, highly recommended. Well done!!!

BOOK BLURB
Three young girls are missing. All of them cold cases. All of them forgotten. But when Detective Jess Bishop identifies a disturbing link between them, she’s determined to find out what happened, and fights to re-open their cases.

At the scene of each abduction the kidnapper left a clue – a small bag of candy – in place of the missing child.

And then a fourth child is taken. Eight-year-old Ava is snatched from her hospital bed and when a bag of candy is found in her room, Jessica knows it’s the same kidnapper.

As the pressure to solve the case pushes Jess and her team to breaking point, Jess takes a personal risk she fears she’ll live to regret. But she has no choice.

Out of hospital, Ava can only get sicker: Jess is running out of time. Can she find Ava before it’s too late?

MY BLURB
Wow! What an utterly fantastic thriller. It's everything you could want: fast-paced, hooking plot, complex characters, and a story that moves you through emotions. If you're a fan of thrillers, you'll definitely love this one.

Really really good! Addictive and couldn't put it down!#

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Detective Jess Bishop is back! Jess was injured at the end of book #1 in the series, Forget Me Not, and has been on leave while recovering. Since Jess is always on the job, she continued to look into cases, and discovered a link in some cold cases involving children. Once reinstated in her position at the FBI, she brings the case to her team, but is not allowed to reopen the cases. That all changes when another child is reported missing. Jess and her team work to connect the cases of the missing children and find their killer.

This is the second book in the Detective Jess Bishop series by Kierney Scott. Jess is a FBI agent. She's smart, determined, and damaged. I've read the first book in the series, and enjoyed this second book even more. This book can be read as a standalone, but the first book does introduce more of the characters backgrounds and personalities, plus there is the whole thing about how she got injured.

Smart, gritty, and fast-paced. Great for fans of crime thrillers, especially ones with strong female characters.

FBI Special Agent Jess Bishop is working a case to find a serial killer who abducts and murders young, vulnerable girls. Jess discovers a link that connects several cold murder cases, bringing the FBI hot on the trail of an aggressive serial killer.

I loved the first book but found this one even better.
Fast paced and gripping... looking forward to book 3!!

Thank you to netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, It's not often I read crime thrillers but after reading the plot for this one and great reviews I was intrigued, detective Jess Bishop is on medical leave but happens to find three cold cases of three young girls, she is intrigued and asks to investigate but is sadly turned down, however then a fourth girl is taken from a hospital and a container containing cotton candy is found on her empty bed, the same cotton candy which has been found at the other kidnapping scenes, Jessica and her team are running out of time to find the girl before she's gone forever and there's some personal risks for Jessica along the way. A fantastic crime thriller I absolutely loved this read!

This is the second of the Jess Bishop books from the author and although it can be read as a stand-alone you are best to read the series in order.

Jess is still suffering from the aftermath of book 1 and decides to use her recuperation to look into cold cases. Doing this brings her back into the action she is meant to be avoiding.

I love the way the books in this series are going and can’t wait to see where the author takes Jess next.
Many thanks to Bookouture and. Netgalley for providing a copy.

police procedural books are my favourite genre and this one did not disappoint. This is a brilliant book and if possible even better than the first. It keeps you gripped and leaves you wanting more. I very well written and highly recommend book

While I found the story driven and surprising, I only gave this 3.5 stars as I don't think I'll be reading any more books in the series. I fear I'd have to go back and read the first one in order to really know what's going on in the overall arc.

Loved the Detective Jess Bishop book 1 and loved this as much. Roll on Book 3!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Cross Your Heart is an amazingly written thriller. I loved the first book starring Special Agent Bishop and my expectations fo Cross My Heart where high. And, what can I say, Kierney Scott delivered a brilliant story with characters flawed and easy to identify with. The plot is fast paced and tense throughout the book. Nothing gave away who the killer might be and I kept guessing ‘til the end. Highly recommended if you like books that grab hold of you and get under your skin.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture!

EXCERPT: 'You're not going to die today. I'm not going to let you. I know what you did and you're going to pay.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: Blinking her eyes open, she looks around the room, taking in the bed and the wardrobe full of clothes she’s never seen before. This isn’t her bedroom. Those aren’t her clothes. She begins to cry as she wonders if she’ll ever see her own home again.

Three young girls are missing. All of them cold cases. All of them forgotten. But when Detective Jess Bishop identifies a disturbing link between them, she’s determined to find out what happened, and fights to re-open their cases.

At the scene of each abduction the kidnapper left a clue – a small bag of candy – in place of the missing child.

And then a fourth child is taken. Eight-year-old Ava is snatched from her hospital bed and when a bag of candy is found in her room, Jessica knows it’s the same kidnapper.

As the pressure to solve the case pushes Jess and her team to breaking point, Jess takes a personal risk she fears she’ll live to regret. But she has no choice.

Out of hospital, Ava can only get sicker: Jess is running out of time. Can she find Ava before it’s too late?

MY THOUGHTS: 4.5 stars for this suspenseful second book in the Detective Jess Bishop series that I would have read in one sitting had I had the chance.

Kierney Scott has written a fast paced, exciting detective thriller that just keeps the twists and turns coming. Jess is damaged, both physically and emotionally, in ways that I don't yet fully understand, not having read the first book in the series, Forget Me Not. This is something I will be remedying. But still Scott's writing swept me along on a flood tide of well plotted action, and not knowing the back story scarcely seemed to matter.

Jess lives for her work, she is consumed by it, and her mind never stops working, worrying away at the possibilities and formulating theories, even when she was still off on leave recuperating from injuries received in an earlier case. Who else would go over cold cases at such a time? Me? Personally, I would be relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere, my mind as far as possible from the horrors I had experienced. Not Jess. Her choice of means of quieting her demons wouldn't do for me at all.

Be warned, Scott touches on some sensitive subjects, child abuse being one, but there are no graphic descriptions.

I highly recommend this series. Kierney Scott is an author I will be following.

I do have one small gripe, nothing to do with the writing or plot, and that is the cover. This cover, with endless small variations, seems to appear on every second book. Time for a change please! And this book certainly deserves a cover that stands out from the crowd.

Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital copy of Cross Your Heart for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the 'about' page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com