Little Girls Sleeping is a summer thriller by Jennifer Chase.  Plagued by PTSD from her stint in Afghanistan, Katie Scott returns home.  To adjust back to civilian life she takes a filing job at her Uncles police station.  Katie was a patrol officer before her time in the Army and when she stumbles across a stack of cold case files she is immediately drawn to a case of a young girl abducted 4 years earlier. On a mission to find closure, Katie cows to do all she can to bring justice to this case. But is she prepared for what she will find?  Will this help quell her anxiety and find the path for her own future?  I highly recommend this book.  I received an ARC, all opinions are my own.

A new author to me and a new series of books featuring Detective Katie Scott.  We learn that Katie has just returned from tours in Afghanistan and she is suffering from PTSD and anxiety but having being reunited with her army dog Cisco helps.  She has returned home to Pine Valley, California where her uncle is the local sheriff.  He offers her an office bases job inputting police data onto the computer.  Whilst doing this she stumbles across a cold case from four years ago where a young girl went missing.  This brings back bad memories for Katie as years ago her best friend at school Chelsea, was abducted and murdered.  On reading the notes Katie decides  to investigate the case unbeknown to anyone else as she believes it wasn’t investigated fully.  This causes a stir amongst her colleagues as she questions how they handled the original case.  When she then discovers a row of graves one of which was Chelsea’s and another girl goes missing Katie realises that she has a race against time to find the killer.  This is a fast paced thriller with a good storyline with plenty of twists and turns before the killer is revealed.  This book is a promising start to a new series,  A recommended read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Great start to a new series!
Fab storyline and very well written. 
It was also good to see from the killers point of view. 
Gripping !!
Realy loved it!!

I love the feeling of beginning a brand new series especially when it is also my favourite genre. I knew "Little Girls Sleeping" would prove to be an excellent choice and also a thrilling read!

This was a thriller with a well-thought-out plot, lots of excitement and drama and several viable suspects.  I was gripped from the start, through every twist and turn. I tried to guess the identity of the abductor but was unable to. The book was told from the main character, Detective Katie Scott's, point of view. Katie was good at her job and she had great instincts and so much determination.  

The plot was very solid, the writing was wonderfully paced and I never felt bored or had any concentration lapses. The ending was fulfilling, shocking and totally unexpected. I wholeheartedly recommend "Little Girls Sleeping" by Jennifer Chase and I'm already excited to see how the series continues. Rating: 5 Stars.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

my 1st book buy this author and so enjoyed Katie has been in the armed forces and decides to go home to decide what she wants to do her uncle is the sheriff and he brings back her dog Cisco and what a dog she decides to work at police station and a case catches her eye thats all im saying this book is a must read so cant wait for book 2

My Review
Oh I do love a good start to a new series.
My first time reading this authors work and I like her style.....
I love her character Katie and her dog Cisco has completely won me over but then again a dog in a book will always keep me happy.
I read this one in a day...I just couldn't seem to put it down if I'm honest plus I did spend that day by the pool so that helped....
It's an addictive read, completely gripping and I think the fact that Katie is such a good, strong character in this series is a good start.
She has come back from a military tour of Afghanistan so you can imagine it will take her some time to settle back into her old life with her uncle and his wife.
She decides to spend some of that time looking at a cold case that's caught her attention. 
Reminding her of an incident in her childhood, she sets about doing her own investigation into the disappearance of an eight year old girl.
What she isn't expecting is the link it has to numerous missing persons cases back through the years.
Expect lots to this read. It has all the excitement, twists, turns and action you want in a cracking series.
This author knows her readers and what is expected in a great crime thriller and now I'm hooked, I"ll certainly be keeping up with this series...
It's a great price on amazon too at the minute... Well worth your time....💕

Thank you kindly to author Jennifer Chase and her publishers Bookouture for my copy of this book. Much appreciated.

Katie Scott leaves the army and returns home. Her uncle arranges for her to join his police department and she is soon upsetting the locals with her drive and determination which makes them feel inadequate.
She struggles to adapt to civilian life. I was surprised that she is so used to taking orders during her army days but frequently goes off on her own to investigate, therefore breaking the rules and disobeying her superiors.
We have a little insight into the mind of the killer as some chapters show his perspective and psychological state. There are red herrings to misdirect the reader into suspecting particular characters.
Katie is a wonderful character and lead for a new series. She is strong and passionate but also caring and deeply affected by her time in the army. She is ably supported in her investigations by her army dog Cisco and I look forward to seeing how her relationship with her ex Chad develops later in the series.
I was a little disappointed by the ending because I wanted to know more detail about the killer’s motivation. I felt that this book was an excellent way of introducing Katie to the world but that the crimes were secondary so didn’t quite get the coverage they should have done.

Why didn't my ignorant self discover Jennifer Chase before!! While good detective thrillers are easy to come by, they hardly leave a lasting impression; great detective thrillers such as this one certainly are rare and leave a long-lasting impression. Little Girls Sleeping is the first book in the Katie Scott series. I found this book to be completely a twisty and engrossing read!  Certainly a page-turner!
Detective Katie Scott, a vet back from Afghanistan is uncertain where life's heading as she goes back home Pine Valley, California. Having a lot of time on her hands she joins the local sheriff's department. When by chance she discovers 8-year old Chelsea Compton missing case files, it’s a cruel reminder of the friend who disappeared from summer camp twenty years ago. Determined to get to the bottom of this case, Katie starts to investigate. The case reveals itself to be much bigger and more shocking than she feared. Hidden deep in the forest she unearths a makeshift cemetery: a row of graves, each with a brightly colored teddy bear. And then when another little girl goes missing, snatched from the park near her home, Katie knows she must act fast to save the little girls life.
This book has many twists you won't see coming - a psychological thriller in its true sense. I loved all the characters in this book. The relationship Katie shares with her dog is heartwarming! Katie is a level-headed, intelligent and driven individual. The relationship she shares with the people around her as been drawn out very well. The plot too was simply fabulous! I loved the ending - it left a few questions in my head(not a cliffhanger), but then I hope they're answered in book 2. Looking forward to more of Katie Scott!
Thank you, NetGalley, Bookouture & Jennifer Chase for an arc!

There were aspects of Little Girls Sleeping that I really enjoyed. The main character, Katie Scott, is a former policeman, recent war veteran and now a Police Detective in her home town. She is strong, intelligent, kind and insightful,  which allows her to be able to investigate aspects of missing children's cases that have previously been overlooked. Cisco, her German Shepherd from the war zone, has been allowed to return home with Katie, through the efforts of her uncle, Sheriff Scott.. Their relationship is probably my favorite part of the book.
Unfortunately,  not much background information or character development is made for other characters. There are references to things that happened and relationships from the past, but very little information is given. Since I like to absorb as much as possible about characters in a story this was a disappointment to me. However, Little Girls Slleping is meant to be the first in a new series by Jennifer Chase. As I liked Detective Scott very much, I will definitely read the next in the series. Hopefully, some of my questions will be answered then. Many thanks to the au th gir, the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy....

I really liked the new series of Detective Katie Scott...loved it!

Looking forward to read more book series soon..

Crawling on hands and knees in the man-made tunnel she comes across what appears to be a small grave with a rectangular box and when she pries the box open she gasps. 
 Laying inside the box is a well preserved body of a little girl holding a teddy bear on her chest with a slight smile on her face and she appears to be sleeping! 

Katie Scott is not your average twenty-something young woman. 
Katie has just returned home from Afghanistan as a hero and was also a policewoman before she went overseas.  Katie's uncle who happens to be the sheriff in Pine Valley where she grew up offers her a temporary position in his department until she decides what her next step in life will be.   What Katie discovers in a cold case file will take her on a relentless search for truth and justice and some life defining moments that also make some adversaries within the police department.   Katie never thought that she would be fighting for her life and others so soon after returning from the war but Katie finds out there will b many battles to fight and conquer on her own home turf.

This was a suspenseful and very interesting story with a very likable strong yet vulnerable  female character.   I am looking forward to reading more books based on Katie Scott    The story was fast paced and well-written with terrific characters.   I highly recommend to all readers, especially those who enjoy police or detective novels!

I want to thank the author "Jennifer Chase", the publisher "Bookouture" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this novel and have given my own unbiased review.

I love cold case stories! Katie is coming back to her home town after some years spent in Afgaistan with the Army. She is feeling the weight of these years and tries to overcome the difficulties with being back to normalty. I like that Katie isn’t this uber hero. She is porrait like a real person, with flaws, weaknesses, but also strenghts. She isn’t scaared to stand up for what she believes is right, but knows how to work together too. I must admit, for awhile I was a little afraid for Katie. Even after the case was solved, the danger wasn’t over. Suspense ‘til the very end. Very good start and I can’t wait for the next book

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 5 rounded up. 

Calling all detective fiction lovers! If you love a strong female lead who just happens to be ex-military turned detective, then Little Girls Sleeping by Jennifer Chase is going to be a book you will have to read. 

What it's about: Katie Scott has just come back from Afghanistan and is ready to decompress and figure out what her next steps will be. Before the army, she spent two years as a Sacramento PD patrol cop, so when her uncle who is the sheriff of Pine Valley her childhood home, asks her to help out at his office doing clerical work, she doesn't refuse. She soon finds herself sworn in as a detective after finding a killer's graveyard containing 2 little girls buried in caskets holding teddy bears. She manages to tie these girls to other missing-person's cases and realizes someone has been kidnapping the little girls of Pine Valley for some time. Then another little girl is snatched, and Katie is determined to find the killer, if she can get to him before he kills her . . . 

I feel like I was led a bit astray with this book being described as 'compulsive and gripping crime fiction.' While the storyline is certainly interesting and it is definitely crime fiction, I'm not sure I would describe this as gripping, or as having a 'gasping with shock' conclusion. I wasn't really surprised by too much that happened, but I do think Chase did an excellent job throwing suspicion on multiple characters. While some people will be blow away, I just wasn't there, and I thought the ending dragged a bit. Although… the ending did have one quite shocking part that I was not expecting in the slightest. 

There is definitely plenty to love about Little Girls Sleeping though! It is a very fast read and it didn't even take me 4 hours to read it. Katie is also a very strong female lead, and I loved her sarcasm and dedication. She has some PTSD from being in the army, and I think the author did an excellent job of making that real and palpable in this book. Katie is a character that you just want to love, along with her dog Cisco. I'm not personally a huge fan of German Shepherd's but they are very smart, and I loved the bond between human and dog in this novel. 

Final Thought: Little Girls Sleeping is detective fiction to the max, not to mention the chilling plot with these little girls buried with teddy bears. I just wish it would have been a bit more suspenseful then it turned out, but this is a solid book that many people will enjoy. I would consider this a bit of a slow burn as well, and not necessarily super fast-paced even though it was a quick read for sure and there was lots going on especially as we get further in. I am definitely interested in reading more from this author and of course, more about Detective Katie Scott! I can't wait to see how her story continues. 

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

He looked down at the little girl, sleeping peacefully, her arms wrapped around a teddy bear. He knew he was the only one who could save her. He could let her sleep forever.
An eight-year-old girl, Chelsea Compton, is missing in Pine Valley, California and for Detective Katie Scott it’s a cruel reminder of the friend who disappeared from summer camp twenty years ago. Unable to shake the memories, Katie vows she won’t rest until she discovers what happened to Chelsea.
But as Katie starts to investigate, accompanied by her loyal ex-military dog, Cisco, the case reveals itself to be much bigger and more shocking than she feared. Hidden deep in the forest she unearths a makeshift cemetery: a row of graves, each with a brightly coloured teddy bear.
Katie links the graves to a stack of missing-persons cases involving young girls—finding a pattern no one else has managed to see. Someone in Pine Valley has been taking the town’s daughters for years, and Katie is the only one who can stop them.
And then another little girl goes missing, snatched from the park near her home.
Katie’s still haunted by the friend she failed to protect, and she’ll do anything to stop the killer striking again—but can she find the little girl before it’s too late?

Little Girls Sleeping is the first book of the Katie Scott series by Jennifer Chase.
Little Girls Sleeping kept me wanting more. I thought I had the killer all figured out and boy was I wrong.
I really enjoyed this and found it really fast paced and entertaining. 
Well written with really good characters.
Will definately read more by the same author in the future.
Recommend reading.

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Little Girls Sleeping is the first book of the Katie Scott series by Jennifer Chase.

Set in Pine Valley and Katie Scott is on her way home after finishing her time in the Army, completing tours in Afghanistan. She suffers from anxiety and panic attacks due to her experiences.

Her Uncle Wayne Scott is the local Sheriff and has pulled a few strings to enable Katie’s, beloved dog, Cisco to be reunited with her. He’s also arranged for her to return to Sacramento Police Department In an admin role while she decides whether she is going to take up her old role as a police officer.

While filing old cases, she gets intrigued by a case of a missing girl, 8 year old Chelsea Compton…..she starts to look into the case herself, upsetting Detective Templeton as he was the detective working the original case.

When Katie manages to find a body, hidden in a remote area, in a hand built coffin she is made a detective on a temporary basis to help with the investigation, which doesn’t endear her to some.

Then young Dena is taken…..will they find her in time?……will Katie be able to find out anything new? And will they be able to stop a serial killer in their midst?

A fast paced, gripping thriller, which really keeps the killers identity a secret, which I really enjoyed…it kept me guessing…with some truly claustrophobic, edge of your seat moments too. I loved it and I’ll be waiting ‘patiently’ for the next in the series.

Thank you to Bookouture, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook  in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book in a series following Detective Kate Scott, a former Army veteran working in a Californian Sheriff’s department on cold cases. It is written by Jennifer Chase, and throughout the book you can tell she has thoroughly researched all aspects of the story and clearly has links to forensics and criminology. She was clearly well versed in the subject, making a lot of the information and character interaction incredibly believable. 

For me, the clear knowledge and understanding was a major plus with the story. The writing was interesting as well and I found the characters to be relatable when they needed to be and dislikable when required as well. 

So, why 3 stars? It seems like I really enjoyed this book, so why not a 5 star read?! 

3 stars is NOT a bad rating. This doesn’t mean I hated the book. It just means I wasn’t as in to it as I hoped I would be. I was really excited about it but instead of having me on the edge of my seat desperate to read the next one, I was left feeling a little deflated at the end. It was just ok. I wasn’t that intrigued by the plot points, the character dilemmas or the murder investigation. I just thought it was ok.

I will totally read the next in the series, but I’m hoping for a little more than this. Fingers crossed. 

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion. All opinions in this review are my own.

Unfortunately, this book was not my favorite. I felt like the dialogue was forced and the vocabulary felt awkward and unnatural. That always pulls me out of a story, and it made it difficult to connect with Katie and the other characters. I liked the storyline overall, it just wasn’t a great fit for me.

I love discovering new authors  (to me) and this is an interesting start to a new series by the type of protagonist I love - a strong, slightly flawed character with an investigative dog to boot.   A depth of understanding  of criminal justice helps this rather standard plot move along but I’m looking forward to a little more character development in the next book.

My first thoughts about the book were how refreshing it was to have a character who doesn’t always believe in herself and suffers from anxiety. Katie is a brave young woman who has been through a lot whilst serving in the Army. It was her and her service dog Cisco’s job to make sure the paths/roads were clear of bombs and she saw too many of her fellow comrades killed in action.

Throughout the book, we see passages from Katie as she recalls the time spent with her friend who was murdered as a child and her last day with her. There are also chapters from the mind of the killer.

The book moves at a fast pace and there was plenty of action. I can’t really say that I had any clue as to who the culprit was and never really suspected anyone until just before the killer was revealed. As the series title tells you, Katie eventually becomes a detective due to her help with the case and it was lovely to watch her get the recognition she deserved. It wasn’t quite so nice to see her being bullied by officers who had been stationed at Pine Valley longer than her though for doing her job and being more efficient than them.

There is plenty of criminological and forensic language but what else would you expect from an expert criminologist turned author. I also like the twists and turns that were created to keep you on the edge of your seat along with a couple of red herrings thrown in for good measure too.

I am now intrigued to see what author Jennifer chase has for us in book two as I enjoyed spending my time with Katie and can’t wait to see her detective skills again.

"Capture. Protect. Sleep..."

Katie Scott returns home to Pine Valley, California, after serving as part of a K9 team with the US Army in Afghanistan. She was a former police officer with the Sacramento PD, but wasn't sure she wanted to return there. Fortunately, her uncle Wayne Scott, is the Sheriff and he is more than willing to have Katie do some admin duty at the station until she sorts herself out and makes some decisions. Almost immediately, Katie is drawn into a cold case involving a missing eight-year-old named Chelsea Compton. Though her disappearance was 4 years ago, no body had ever been found. Katie sneaks the files and as she looks through the notes she finds that not a lot of effort had been made to investigate. Katie figures she would look into this further and discovers that there are other missing girls in the area. Through painstaking search tactics, she discovers "the sleeping girls." When she's suddenly elevated to the temporary position as a Detective in Pine Valley working with a special task force, there are those on the team who aren't very happy with this development. Can they find the "Toymaker" before he collects the next girl? NO SPOILERS

OK, if you're going to start this one, prepare to sit glued to the pages until the end! This one grabbed me and never lost momentum as I raced to see if I could solve the case before Katie figured it all out. I enjoyed the setting, the writing and the characters. Katie is a very interesting young woman and her backstory provides a special history that is a bit different to most of the books in this genre with female detective protagonists. I can't wait to read more about her and will be waiting impatiently for the next book in this new series. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review.