Pretty Broken Dolls

Pretty Broken Dolls by Jennifer Chase
8/5/21; 302 pages
Bookoutre
Katie Scott series #6

Pretty Broken Dolls by Jennifer Chase is a highly recommended police procedural and the 6th book in the Detective Katie Scott series.

Detective Katie Scott and Deputy Sean McGaven work on cold cases so it is a surprise when they are told to help Special Agent Dane Campbell, an FBI agent working on what appears to be a serial killer who strikes every year. As they begin to look into the cold cases, they are called out to a murder scene at the fairground in Pine Valley, California. A woman is found tied to a Ferris wheel carriage with her throat cut. Like the serial killer cases they have been looking at, the victim has had lipstick and other makeup applied and their is a piece of her jewelry hanging by a ribbon in the area. As she looks into the murders it is clear that they all share something in common with Katie herself - all the victims were a part of the military K9 training unit. Katie suffers from PTSD, but she has Cisco, her German Shepard K9 partner, to help her. It becomes clear with the similarities between Katie and the victims that she may also be a target.

This is a straight forward police procedural where you follow the clues and the investigators in order to reach the conclusion. As my first Katie Scott book, I felt like Pretty Broken Dolls can be read as a stand-alone novel, even though it is the 6th book in the series. You may be missing some background into the character's personal lives and relationships, but as a procedural all the pertinent facts are presented. McGaven is a good partner and the two have an excellent working relationship. Chad, Katie's fiance, is absent for training in most of the book, so he is a lifeless character in this book for those who haven't read any of the series.

The narrative moves along at a good pace and the ending is surprising, although I did have some suspicions early on. Katie does take a few too many risky chances, but it is clearly part of her personality. This trait also keeps the sense of danger high throughout the novel. This is a good procedural that provides the facts and information you need as the case is investigated.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Bookoutre.