Catch Your Death by Kierney Scott (#3 Jess Bishop)

 

Catch Your Death by Kierney Scott

 Publishing:  April 15, 2019 by Bookouture  

 

Just a Few Words:  This was another intense ride.  The pages just flew by, so definitely a fast read.  One of those, “everybody just go away and let me read” type of books.  Okay, let’s begin…

 

Previous Book in the Series: #2 – Cross Your Heart

 

Catch Your Death by Kierney Scott is the third in the Special Agent Jess Bishop series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

Series Background:   (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
Jess’s father was a serial killer, and was put away a long time ago. She has kept her background secret, but has never really dealt with that childhood trauma. Her best friend has recently been killed, and she hasn’t handled that well either. Jess just doesn’t socialize well, and has a rather bizarre way of handling her stress and numbing her pain. However, she is an excellent agent, and works well with her current partner Alex Chan, and the rest of the team: Tina Flowers, David Milligan, and her ex-partner/friend/lover Jamison Briggs.

 
My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Even though Jess is still on “vacation”, her boss, Jeanie Gilbert, calls and asks her to check on her nephew. The news is not good. Soon Jess is investigating the death of 5 students at a prestigious boys school. They have all committed suicide. Apparently these deaths are part of a bigger case, but since the two agents in charge haven’t made a lot of progress, Jess is assigned to lead her team to get to the bottom of it. As they seem to be narrowing in on the perpetrator, Jess is starting to have doubts. This may be even bigger than they thought, but now she doesn’t know who to trust, and she refuses to put any of her team in danger again. Soon she decides to put her own life and job on the line and launch her own investigation.

Unfortunately, Jess is still on the mend. Her hand has still not healed from the knife wounds in the last case, and she is in constant pain. Her mind has not yet healed from shooting Briggs, or from losing Lindsay. She blames herself for everything, but she has to try and set all this aside to solve this case.  She will also have to accept some help.

Her whole life is about to change.

 
My Opinions:
With each book, Kierney Scott adds depth to her characters, and in particular, to Jess, who continues to grow as a person, gradually learning to trust and let others in…just as we all do. This is what makes these books so good. Scott has a real handle on people’s emotions and reactions, and she makes the reader really feel these traits in her characters.

A couple of things…it might have been a little too much corruption to be believable, and it was a little reminiscent of one of Kim Stone’s cases by author Angela Marsons (although that is not necessarily a bad thing).  As well, with all of Jess’s injuries I wonder how she functioned at all. Then again, it is fiction. One other thought which keeps nagging at me. The end seemed a little rushed as Scott tried to sew everything up into nice little packages…and yet nothing was said as to Jess’s injuries?

In the end, I loved it. The writing is good, there is lots of action, and it is an easy read.

Definitely entertaining. I recommend the series, but these really must be read in order to get the real feel for each character. I am really looking forward to the next book.

 

Read: April, 2019

 

 

About the Author:  Kierney Scott, although American born, lives in Scotland with her husband and their daughter.   In her spare time, she bakes.

 

I have also reviewed this book on GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2767573162

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cross Your Heart by Kierney Scott (#2 Jess Bishop)

 Cross Your Heart by Kierney Scott

 Published: April 25, 2018 by Bookouture

 

Previous Book in the Series: Forget Me Not

Cross your Heart by Kierney Scott is the 2nd in the Special Agent Jess Bishop series.

Wow, this one sunk it’s teeth in me quick!

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Series Background:
Jess has a rather horrific past. Her father was a serial killer, and was put away a long time ago. She tries to keep her background secret, but she has not really dealt with that childhood trauma. She carries this with her always, and it tends to affect her at odd moments. She doesn’t socialize well, and has a rather bizarre way of handling her stress.

My Synopsis:
Jess is finally getting the okay to return to work after being side-lined with a severe hand injury in her last case. Her partner almost died. A lot of people don’t think she is ready to return to work, but Jess can’t wait. On her time off, she has been investigating cases of missing girls, and she is sure there is a serial killer out there. When she tries to convince her team, they think her imagination has gone wild. When a young girl is kidnapped from her hospital bed, opinions change. It will be the link between the girls that will lead Jess to the killer, and to the loss of a friend.

My Opinions:
WOW…this one got to me. By the end I was bawling. Kierney Scott writes really well, so that the emotions her characters feel are felt by the reader. Awesome job. The dialog and bits of humor thrown in feel natural. The plot, while sensitive, was brilliant. Although I suspected the motive before the end, the actual murderer was a surprise. I love how Scott is bringing Jess along as a character. Through her inner thoughts and turmoil, we learn the reasons for her actions, her guilt, and why she struggles to let people in, to trust, to love. I didn’t particularly like her in the first book, but she has definitely grown on me!

Can’t wait for the next one!

Read: April, 2018

 

Favorite Quotes from Cross Your Heart:

“There it is. I dropped it when I got hit. Thank God Chan picked it up. He’s good for something.”
“Besides being the rock bottom women hit before they seek help?”

“I meant do you want to talk about your feelings. But sure, we can talk about decomposition. I’m nothing if not a versatile conversationalist.”

“It’s scary the way you think like a killer. I’m just saying, it’s kind of weird.”

 

 

About the Author:  Kierney Scott, although American born,  lives in Scotland with her husband and their daughter.   In her spare time, she bakes.

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott (#1 – Jess Bishop)

Forget Me Not  by Kierney Scott

(originally titled Now You See Me)

Published: November 2017

 

Forget Me Not by Kierney Scott is the 1st in the FBI Agent Jess Bishop Series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

When the torso of a young woman is found in a Louisiana bayou, Jess knows this is the not the first, nor will it be the last victim of this serial killer.  The same excised marks are found in the flesh as the previous two victims.  Unfortunately, with no heads or appendages found, they have not been able to identify these poor victims.  This time, however, there may be something which will identify the woman, and they will have a place to start.  Unfortunately, the clues that have been found thus far are very reminiscent of a case Jess has been trying to forget about since she was a child.  Memories are re-surfacing that she would have liked to keep buried.  The idea of sharing her past with her co-workers has no appeal.

Meanwhile, Jess’s old partner, Jamison Briggs, is back from 2 years of working undercover.  They were very close, and he was the only one she entrusted with her life story, and he had reciprocated.  Then he left.  Jess isn’t sure she can handle being partnered with him again, especially after hearing his “news”.  It almost killed her when he left last time, and she isn’t going to trust him again so easily.

Jess is a very strong woman, but she is a very broken woman, and until she confronts her past, she cannot heal.  She has gotten good at shutting people out.  She has learned to deal with stresses in a rather unique way, one that sooner or later could be her downfall. 

I loved this book.  Scott is really descriptive.  Whether it is describing the Spanish moss on the trees, or a dead body, the images jump right out.  It is action-packed, and has so many twists it will leave you spinning.  I thought I knew who the killer was, and changed my mind half a dozen times, til I came back to my first thought.   Scott provided us good insight into her characters and  Jess is not your average FBI Agent.  Her flaws run deep, and I didn’t particularly like her at first.  Actually the urge to smack her rose again and again.  It then became fairly obvious that she needs some serious counselling, and then her character grew on me.

This is the first book I’ve read by Scott, and I am aware she has written romance novels up to this point.  I am not a romance reader, but if she continues to add books to this series, I’ll be first in line!

 

Read: December 2017

 

Favorite Quotes from Forget Me Not:

“Ezra is crazy as a box of frogs but harmless” was not an alibi in her book.”

“She wasn’t a big fan of small talk because it gave people the opportunity to ask personal questions.”

“There was no malice or intent with dogs. They didn’t hurt people for the thrill of it. That’s why she liked them.”

 

 

About the Author:  Kierney Scott, although American born,  lives in Scotland with her husband and their daughter.   In her spare time, she bakes