I enjoyed this story so much. It was such a fun, keep-sleep-away from me sort of thriller. I liked Jess's fiery, determined, albeit sometimes a little annoying character. She felt real. I appreciate that. She had to deal (ha, no, not deal) with a lot of trauma in her past, and for some reason it feels like she can't catch a break, but she keeps going. She feels she doesn't really have much to live for, but she fills her mind with something bigger than that - the people who need her. At some points during the story, I found myself asking "who does that?", and upon a little introspection I realised I would do that too. I wished we added more focus on other characters too, but all in all, a really good read nonetheless.

Another great thriller from Kierney Scott but fair warning: this book involves the serial murder of children. It’s extremely disturbing and frankly, I don’t know if I’m going to sleep tonight.

Cross your Heart is book 2 in the Jess Bishop series and what a totally brilliant read it is!

Kierney has woven this thrilling tale that will keep you on the edge of your seat hanging on to every word. This book was intense, dark, heartbreaking and so emotional.

If you want to read a book with a strong fiesty female lead this is perfect. I loved this book, it was great and I have no hesitation in highly recommendibg it and giving it 5 stars.

Excuse this very short review of this book, I am having some eye trouble and don’t feel up to writing more, but I did want you to know about this amazing book.

This is the sequel to the Detective Jessie Bishop series and it was even better then the first book! Another serial killer is out there and Jessie is back on duty to catch the killer. I loved that I didn't figure out who the killer was until the end .which usually for me I figure it out early in the book. This book has a lot of suspense and really great characters. I know when I'm really into a book when I invest my emotions into the characters and this book definitely has me invested especially when I was bawling at the end . Great book. Highly recommend and I REALLY look forward to the next in the series.

I really enjoyed Forget Me Not, the first book in the Jess Bishop series and so I was excited to read Cross Your Heart. I think I enjoyed it more because the character of Jess is now well-established, I felt the story was more hard-hitting and also the ending was fantastic whereas the ending in Forget Me Not was a letdown for me after what up until that point had been a solid read. ‬

‪Jess Bishop is an intriguing character. She’s not instantly likeable but over these two books she has grew on me. She’s got some issues, and a very unhealthy relationship with sex but after two books I can say that I now really like her. There’s still so much left to learn about this character, and I am invested in wanting to see how she progresses in subsequent novels. As an FBI agent I was a little uneasy reading about how she had to trick doctors and therapists to get back into work, and how she is essentially less able to do her job than she should be but at the same time this was a sign of how much her job means to her, and how much she needs it in her life just to function on a day to day basis. There’s lots of roads for Jess to go down in the future and I am excited to read where Kierney Scott takes her next. ‬

‪The plot here I felt was strong and hugely emotive. Reading about children being murdered is always more uncomfortable and shocking than your standard crime story. The way in which these children are killed is handled sensitively and it makes for a thought-provoking read because you can kind of see why the children are being murdered and some sense can be made of what is unfolding but who is ultimately responsible is kept well-hidden from the reader. Well, this reader at least. Jess is a tenacious special agent and we see her do everything in her power to solve this case. She has a great team alongside her and I am particularly enjoying the scenes between her and her partner Special Agent Chan. There’s some mild animosity there but there’s plenty of humorous moments that help to lighten the mood of an otherwise dark story. ‬

‪As the story progressed I enjoyed watching the investigation unfold. There’s a lot going on and a lot to get involved with and the story just flew by, although the book isn’t especially long to begin with. One thing worth mentioning is ‘The Evil Sentence’ (Google it) and that is ‘she let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding’ or something along those lines. It’s a line that I just hate seeing in a book and it’s only when you read it that you notice how often it’s used and also in how many books it’s used in. I recall it being used here in various different ways five times and it was used also in the book I recently read before this one. It seems to be a little bit of an author cliche and I don’t know about you but I very rarely forget or remember to breathe for any noticeable amount of time so don’t see why all these characters seem to forget. ‬

‪As the book drew to a close Kierney really cranked up the tension and delivered an exciting and satisfying conclusion. As said earlier this is a thought-provoking book and it does make you look at certain characters and in some kind of warped way it makes you understand their motives even if you can’t agree with them. It was also quite an emotional ending in how things develop for certain characters and it has left me excited to continue with this series and to see what happens next for Jess and her colleagues. I can highly recommend both of Kierney Scott’s Jess Bishop books for those who are yet to read them and I eagerly await the next one.

Fast paced and intelligent! Jess Bishop is a great character and I really enjoyed reading this book. She is not perfect, she has a lot of flaws but she is very determined and tries to do the best she can.

This book kept me up at night, telling myself just a little longer until I finished it. Can highly recommend this book!

OMG I just loved this second book in the series. I grew to love Jess in the first book and she really shows more personality in book #2.

Three young girls are missing and Jess thinks the cases are linked. Her team don't believe her which astounds her. When a fourth child is taken the race is on to find why the cases are connected and what is the link to the cotton candy and sand....

I thought Jess's personality really developed in book 2. It was good to see Jamieson back (I'd still like to see them get back together in book #3 maybe?) and I liked how Jess realised at last she needs help to get her life on track. Brilliant read would recommend highly.

This was the second in the Detective Jess Bishop books, and whilst (I assume!) there were constant references to the previous book in so much as what had happened to Jessie's hand, it did not stop it being read as a standalone book. There was lots of action in this book rather than pages of descriptions and I like that about a detective thriller as it keeps the pace moving and my interest levels high! Jess was certainly messed up with her injury and her personal life but she was determined to work all the hours she could to catch this serial killer before he took any more children's lives and I really warmed to her character despite all her flaws. It feels like there is so much more that can be developed with her character and I will look forward to further books in this series, especially to see how she copes without her best (only) friend Lindsay.

Apologies, requested in error, therefore not read. I did not realise that this book is set in the US and prefer not to read American English

Cross Your Heart (Detective Jess Bishop Book 2) by Kierney Scott
Although physically and emotionally damaged, FBI Special Agent Jess Bishop is relentless in her pursuit of a child serial killer in Cross Your Heart, the second in Kierney Scott’s new crime series. This
This book is very well written, smooth to read and impossible to put down. The heroine and supporting characters are well developed and credible. There are some villains we despise while another makes us as sad as the victims and their stories. Although parts of the book are very grim, it ends on a hopeful note. I look forward to reading the first book in the series and the rest to come.


Disclosure: I received a review copy of Cross Your Heart for free via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cross Your Heart, Kierney Scott

Special Agent Jessica Bishop is back, or steal a phrase from my favourite TV show, "Very Special Agent" Jessica Bishop is back. My God is she "Special"

I love quirky characters in books. There is so much similarity out there today amongst fictional crime fighters, and it's the quirky ones that stand out.

Bishop stands out in a great way. Psychologically she has problems, in this book these problems are confounded as she is still recovering from injuries she sustained during her last investigation. Her mental health is on even more of a knife edge after injuring her friend and FBI partner Jameson during the same investigation.

They are thrown back into work when they are cleared for duty days after each other and re-join their old team.

Bishop thinks she has identified a serial killer who is praying on vulnerable children. At first, she is not taken seriously, but as the body count rises everybody begins to realise she's onto something.

Partnered with a member of the team that is more interested in hitting on women and avoiding conflict, than actually doing any work, Bishop finds work infuriating. Jameson wants to help but she is keeping him at arms-length.

Her head is completely scrambled and she is fighting inner demons as she tries to find the killer, with an ineffectual partner.

From the very start of this book I was immediately gripped by the story of Bishops internal fights, as much as I was with the story of the crime. Both stories are brilliant but for me it's the fight Bishop is having with herself that makes this book stand out.

There is no down time in this book. It is full on from page 1 to the full stop on the last sentence. I didn't see the end coming, partially because I was so engrossed I didn't realise I was coming to the end. The story is full of twists and turns, none of which are predictable, but all of which make sense.

This book can be read as a stand-alone novel, but I would highly recommend reading Now You See Me the first book in the series.

https://nigeladamsbookworm.wordpress.com/2017/10/14/now-you-see-me-kierney-scott/

Jess Bishop is emerging as one of the great characters of modern crime fiction, and to get the best from her, you need to know her story.

I loved this book, I loved the first one, I really can't wait for the 3rd.

Pages: 242
Published by: Bookouture
Publishing date: 25th April 2018

I absolutely devoured this! I love Jess I really do, when I read the last book I loved her and I love her more. This book was gripping, exciting and full of twists. Perfect read for anyone.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Cross Your Heart, the second novel to feature FBI Special Agent Jessica Bishop.

After the events of Forget Me Not Jess has been on sick leave. Ever the agent she has been looking at unsolved cases on the Eastern Seaboard and thinks she has found a link between the deaths of three young girls. Once back at work her team aren't convinced until dying Ava Marsden is snatched from the hospital with clues left to suggest the same perpetrator.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cross Your Heart which is a fast moving read with a damaged protagonist. The novel opens with Jess handcuffed and trapped then moves back to 9 days previously and progresses linearly to the opening point. I hesitate to say there are plenty of twists as the novel moves forward logically to an unexpected conclusion but there is plenty of action/events to propel it there and a decided sense of panic and tension as Jess seeks the perpetrator.

There is plenty to admire about Jess Bishop. She is a dogged, tenacious investigator with that indefinable ability to tie things together and see the bigger picture. On the other hand she is a psychological mess with some high risk behavioural patterns and a large dollop of self hate which she has made no move to resolve. To be honest I find her tiresome at times and would prefer a more balanced investigator so that Ms Scott could spend more time on the investigation and less on Jess's woes. Maybe in future novels.

I like the humour between Jess and her less than PC partner, Special Agent Alex Chan. I'm not sure that his behaviour would be acceptable in these #MeToo times but it seems realistic and made me smile.

Cross Your Heart is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

WOW WOW WOW! This was one awesome book full of twists, turns, and heart pounding moments. I am so thankful I was introduced to this book by NetGalley because it was exactly everything I love in a book.
Jessie reminded me of Olivia Benson (SVU) except a lot more damaged but her need to do anything to save a victim mirrored Detective Benson in my mind. I also pictured Criminal Minds a lot during this book.
Jessie is awesome. She’s broken, she has secrets, she has a past. But she’s one hell of a Detective. I want to know more about her!
This was one intense, adrenaline pumping kind of book!
Thank you to #NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my early ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Get this book APRIL 25th!!!

Wow! What a fabulous book. I read this in 24 hours because I could not put it down. While Jessica is on medical leave for a work related injury, she investigates the cold cases of 3 young girls found murdered. Shortly after returning to work, a young girl is abducted from a hospital, and the killer's signature is left on her bed. Jessica and her team have no lack of suspects. Jessica's personality is more likeable in this book although her childhood trauma continues to trouble her. The ending blew me away, it was so unexpected. I look forward to the next book in the series. Thank you NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

I loved the first book in this series by Kierney Scott and this second book did NOT disappoint!
I I loved it!
The main character Jessica is so likeable.....I can’t wait for the next book!
I am rooting for her, can’t wait to see what’s in store for her and Jamison.
I am a big fan of this author!

While Detective Jessica Bishop has been out on medical leave, she happens to find three cold cases ... three young girls. At the scene of each abduction the kidnapper has left a small bag of cotton candy. She asks to investigate, but she is turned down.

And then a fourth child is taken. An 8-year-old girl is taken from the hospital. A container of cotton candy is found on her now empty bed.

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.

Jessica and her team rush to find the little girl before she disappears forever, but time is running out fast.

Jessica is a flawed character, still suffering from her childhood trauma. Her team remains the same. She and Det. Jamison are still at loggerheads, so she's partnering with Det. Chan. Chan is funny, sarcastic and sees himself as a ladies man .. he just can't seem to stop himself from flirting with the ladies. But he is one fine detective.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the advanced copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.