Emma (SCR)'s Review of Dead Girl Walking (Jessie Novak, #1)

by Roberta Gately

“911. What’s your emergency?”
“He came for her. She’s been shot,” says a desperate voice, as footsteps echo down an alley. “She’s dying.”
“Oh no, oh no, he’s coming back. Please, come quickly––” And then a click, and the drone of a dial tone.

The beautiful young woman on the stretcher could be on her honeymoon. Chestnut hair tumbles around a pretty face, rose petals tangled in the loose strands. But the bandage around her forehead tells a different tale, as Emergency Room Nurse Jessie Novak desperately battles to keep her alive. Jessie’s thoughts are racing—who shot this beautiful young woman and more importantly, why?

Ann Hart’s life hangs by a thread, and Jessie cannot bear to see this beautiful young woman die without justice being done. Being a nurse is like hunting for clues, and Jessie is sure she can find the person who hurt Ann. She also asks her friend Detective Sam Dallas for help digging into Ann’s past. But then Jessie receives a gift that sends shivers up her spine: a huge bouquet of blood-red roses, just like the ones in Ann’s hair…

As the first snowflakes start to fall, another body turns up. Jessie is sure that she’s in danger too—since the roses, someone has been watching her… Sam is reluctant to see the link but Jessie knows she must find the culprit before he strikes again. He is stalking her through the frozen streets and he doesn’t want his fun to stop. Can Jessie turn the tables on the killer, or is she just a dead girl walking?

A totally addictive mystery novel that will leave you gasping for breath and have your heart thumping! Fans of Lisa Regan, Gregg Olsen and Tess Gerritsen will be completely hooked.

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and for my copy of this book via netgalley. This book is the first of a new series following Jessie Novak. Jessie is an ER nurse who becomes involved in helping to solve the shooting of Ann Hart.

This book was very interesting as it was a crime novel where the lead character was not a detective or even a police officer. This gave a very different POV. I love a good medical drama. I watch Greys Anatomy, The resident. Chicago Med, New Amsterdam, The Good Doctor. I'll stop there because I could be here for days naming them all. Suffice to say I really enjoyed the ER aspect of this book.

I really liked Jessie. She has some guts and grit about her and I can't wait to see more of her. She did at times have a bit of naivety about her, to the point where I wanted to shout don't do that or don't go there but I'm sure she'll soon lose that.

This is probably not one of those crime thrillers that will give you a big shock ending but I really enjoyed following the clues.

I also enjoyed Jessie's relationship with Rufus. He seems such a sweet old man. I think their friendship will be really good for the pair of them.

I'm very excited about where this series is going to go.

Dead Girl Walking (Jessie Novak, #1)

by Roberta Gately

Reviewed by Emma (SCR) on Nov 27, 2020

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