The Lost Ones: A serial killer thriller with nail-biting suspense (Detective Jackie Cooke Book 1)

The girl is sitting upright, her dark brown hair arranged over her shoulders and her blue, blue eyes staring into the distance. She looks almost peaceful. But her gaze is vacant, and her skin is cold... When Detective Jackie Cooke is called to the murder scene, she is shocked by what she sees. Missing teenager Chloe Smedley has finally been found – her body left in a cold back yard, carefully posed with her bright blue eyes still open. Jackie lays a protective hand on the baby in her belly, and vows to find the brutal monster who stole Chloe’s future. When Jackie breaks the news to Chloe’s heartbroken mother, she understands the woman’s cries only too well. Her own brother went missing as a child, the case never solved. Determined to get justice for Chloe and her family, Jackie sets to work, finding footage of the girl waving at someone the day she disappeared. Did Chloe know her killer? But then a second body is found on the side of a busy motorway, lit up by passing cars. The only link with Chloe is the disturbing way the victim has been posed, and Jackie is convinced she is searching for a dangerous predator. Someone has been hunting missing and vulnerable people for decades, and only Jackie seems to see that they were never lost. They were taken. Jackie’s boss refuses to believe a serial killer is on the loose and threatens to take her off the case. But then Jackie returns home to find a brightly coloured bracelet on her kitchen counter and her blood turns cold. It’s the same one her brother was wearing when he vanished. Could his disappearance be connected to the murders? Jackie will stop at nothing to catch her killer... unless he finds her first... The girl is sitting upright, her dark brown hair arranged over her shoulders and her blue, blue eyes staring into the distance. She looks almost peaceful. But her gaze is vacant, and her skin is cold Seventeen-year-old Chloe Smedley walks out of the school gates and spots the person waiting for her across the road. She waves excitedly, hurrying towards them A week later, Detective Jackie Cooke is first on the scene when Chloes body is found. Her own little brother vanished as a child, and while Jackie could not save him, she has vowed to find justice for every other victim since. But as she looks at the way Chloe has been left, a chill in her gut tells her this case is bigger and darker than any she has known. She lays a protective hand on the baby in her belly, and vows to make the world a safer place for her children. Then another body is found, posed in the same strange way, and Jackie feels certain she is hunting a monster who preys on the vulnerable. Her team wont listen, but Jackie is convinced these victims are all connected targeted for some terrible purpose. But when she returns home soon after to find a multi-coloured friendship bracelet on her kitchen counter, her blood runs cold. Its the same one her brother was wearing the last time she saw him, nearly thirty years before. Determined to follow every clue and prevent another innocent life being lost, Jackie realises that only digging into her own past will let her catch the killer not knowing that he is already watching her every move An absolutely gripping crime thriller that will keep you racing through the pages. Fans of Kendra Elliott, Rachel McLean and Val McDermid will love All the Pretty Ones.