What do you think?
Rate this book
Dr. Rhea Lynch #5
Sleep Softly
Four little girls--each blond, each on the verge of adolescence--stolen from their families.
Their bodies discovered months later in shallow graves, surrounded by trinkets they never owned, clutching a scrap of paper bearing a cryptic verse.
As a forensic nurse in rural South Carolina, Ashlee Davenport Chadwick acts as both caregiver and cop, gathering evidence from anyone who arrives in the local E.R. as the result of a crime. It's a tough job, both physically and emotionally draining, but deeply satisfying.
Then a child's red shoe is discovered on Davenport property. The evidence leads Ashlee to the body of a missing girl and her work suddenly invades every aspect of her life. As an expert and a witness, she must call upon all her resources. And when the killer's eye turns to her, she becomes intimately involved with a crime that tests her mind and her spirit...and the price of failure will be another child's life.
Their bodies discovered months later in shallow graves, surrounded by trinkets they never owned, clutching a scrap of paper bearing a cryptic verse.
As a forensic nurse in rural South Carolina, Ashlee Davenport Chadwick acts as both caregiver and cop, gathering evidence from anyone who arrives in the local E.R. as the result of a crime. It's a tough job, both physically and emotionally draining, but deeply satisfying.
Then a child's red shoe is discovered on Davenport property. The evidence leads Ashlee to the body of a missing girl and her work suddenly invades every aspect of her life. As an expert and a witness, she must call upon all her resources. And when the killer's eye turns to her, she becomes intimately involved with a crime that tests her mind and her spirit...and the price of failure will be another child's life.
384 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published February 1, 2008
15 people are currently reading
265 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
February 21, 2009
This is the first book I have read from this author, but it will definitely not be the last. This was a good suspense with a bit of romance. I enjoyed the main character, Ashlee Davenport, as well as her family, which included her daughter Jasmine and her grandmother, "Nana." The suspense aspect of the book kept me guessing and I didn't want to put the book down.
Nurse Ashlee Davenport has just finished a forensic nursing course when her dogs greet her with a child's shoe containing part of a foot. When Ashlee finds the rest of the body with the aid of her retired tracking dog, connections are imediately made to another body recently found and several missing children. The female FBI agent in charge of the case supsects that either Ashlee or someone in her large extended family could be behind the disappearances and murders. Ashlee is offended but soon cooperates with the FBI in trying to find out what connection her family has to the events. The situation is further complicated by the involvement in the case of Ashlee's "sort of" boyfriend, Jim Ramsey, FBI agent. Widowed Ashlee is reluctant to become too involved with Jim due to a nine year age difference, with him being the younger of the two. Jim and Ashlee have a few disagreements and some hurt feelings over the investigation, but when it becomes clear that Ashlee is a target of danger, they work together to discover the identity of the killer. Ashlee's twenty year old daughter, Jasmine, also discovers information pertinent to the case with the help of her best friend, Topaz. As the investigation goes deeper, Ashlee and her family have to deal with information that is coming to light while Ashlee also must decide what to do about her growing feelings for Jim.
I enjoyed this fast paced book. My only disappointment came from finding out that it is a sequel to Ashes to Ashes, which was published only in the UK in 1997. I didn't feel like I had stepped in during the middle of the story or anything, and the author's website lists Sleep Softly as a stand alone book, but I did feel that I would have enjoyed Ashlee's character even more if I could have read her previous story. Overall, I found this to be a thoroughly likeable book.
Nurse Ashlee Davenport has just finished a forensic nursing course when her dogs greet her with a child's shoe containing part of a foot. When Ashlee finds the rest of the body with the aid of her retired tracking dog, connections are imediately made to another body recently found and several missing children. The female FBI agent in charge of the case supsects that either Ashlee or someone in her large extended family could be behind the disappearances and murders. Ashlee is offended but soon cooperates with the FBI in trying to find out what connection her family has to the events. The situation is further complicated by the involvement in the case of Ashlee's "sort of" boyfriend, Jim Ramsey, FBI agent. Widowed Ashlee is reluctant to become too involved with Jim due to a nine year age difference, with him being the younger of the two. Jim and Ashlee have a few disagreements and some hurt feelings over the investigation, but when it becomes clear that Ashlee is a target of danger, they work together to discover the identity of the killer. Ashlee's twenty year old daughter, Jasmine, also discovers information pertinent to the case with the help of her best friend, Topaz. As the investigation goes deeper, Ashlee and her family have to deal with information that is coming to light while Ashlee also must decide what to do about her growing feelings for Jim.
I enjoyed this fast paced book. My only disappointment came from finding out that it is a sequel to Ashes to Ashes, which was published only in the UK in 1997. I didn't feel like I had stepped in during the middle of the story or anything, and the author's website lists Sleep Softly as a stand alone book, but I did feel that I would have enjoyed Ashlee's character even more if I could have read her previous story. Overall, I found this to be a thoroughly likeable book.
January 14, 2008
As a forensic nurse in rural South Carolina, Ashlee Davenport Chadwick acts as both caregiver and cop, gathering evidence from anyone who arrives in the local E.R. as the result of a crime. It's a tough job, both physically and emotionally draining, but deeply satisfying.
Then a child's red shoe is discovered on Davenport property. The evidence leads Ashlee to the body of a missing girl and her work suddenly invades every aspect of her life. As an expert and a witness, she must call upon all her resources. And when the killer's eye turns to her, she becomes intimately involved with a crime that tests her mind and her spirit…and the price of failure will be another child's life.
Then a child's red shoe is discovered on Davenport property. The evidence leads Ashlee to the body of a missing girl and her work suddenly invades every aspect of her life. As an expert and a witness, she must call upon all her resources. And when the killer's eye turns to her, she becomes intimately involved with a crime that tests her mind and her spirit…and the price of failure will be another child's life.
August 19, 2008
Note that this is actually a sequel to Hunter's book Ashes to Ashes which is really difficult to find. I hope this continues to become another series, and enjoyed the cameo by Dr. Rhea-Rhea. Enjoyable mystery with elements from many of Hunter's other series...family dynasty, medicine, and the Carolinas.
March 10, 2008
More suspense than romance, this story starts off after one of Ashlee Davenport Chadwick's dogs finds a child's shoe with a toe in it.
Chadwick is a forensic nurse/cop and soon she is on the trail where she discovers the body of a missing girl.
This crime invades every aspect of Ashlee's life and she has to call upon all of her resources to get through this.
Will she succeed?
Chadwick is a forensic nurse/cop and soon she is on the trail where she discovers the body of a missing girl.
This crime invades every aspect of Ashlee's life and she has to call upon all of her resources to get through this.
Will she succeed?
August 26, 2014
I actually liked this book better than I thought I would. The line on the cover that said "He's searching for his perfect daughter...with each little girl he takes" made me think it would be really scary and all about the guy doing it. But it was also about the forensic nurse and her end of things that I found interesting.
September 12, 2013
It takes a very brave and bold writer to throw themselves out there and tell a tale of children being kidnapped and ultimately murdered. It is a touchy subject. Heart wrenching. As sad as it is to think about the subject, Gwen Hunter managed to write the subject with delicacy and compassion.
August 9, 2010
Slow at first then built up into a page turner. Kinda sad since it involved children, made you think about it and relate to real life happenings.
October 12, 2012
This was an OK book, not bad and not really good, if that makes sense. I really liked the main character.
March 24, 2018
A great mystery plenty of edge of the seat moments, I found it hard to keep the back story history of the characters straight at times, and at points there was more detail than perhaps needed about the political workings of the crime scenes which just confused me but the characters were good, and it switches perspective between the main character and a killer which I enjoyed. So definitely worth a read, even managed a twist I didn't see coming which is difficult when I read a lot of these types of books
September 17, 2021
This was not great, but not bad. I'd give it a 3 maybe 3.5 out of 5.
The Author repeats explanations, which I find annoying. She doesn't have a great grasp of grammar, which in discussion is fine, not so much in description.
She also pretty much glossed over the villain until the very end. She did drop a couple of big clues, which if I had been more alert I would have noticed - so I missed the villain and the sidekick. A pretty good read, especially since it's from 2008.
Note: looking over my posted review I see this is #5 in a series. For that I would probably drop it to an even 3.
The Author repeats explanations, which I find annoying. She doesn't have a great grasp of grammar, which in discussion is fine, not so much in description.
She also pretty much glossed over the villain until the very end. She did drop a couple of big clues, which if I had been more alert I would have noticed - so I missed the villain and the sidekick. A pretty good read, especially since it's from 2008.
Note: looking over my posted review I see this is #5 in a series. For that I would probably drop it to an even 3.
March 25, 2021
A take on the damsel in distress. A subversion of the trope to be sure but with enough of the romance to take that demographic along. The mystery itself was good until a point. Then it got silly. I mean, there are Harlequin ads in the back, so I'm not off base here.
However, the characters are fun. I could see myself picking up another in this series to see how it goes.
However, the characters are fun. I could see myself picking up another in this series to see how it goes.
June 30, 2019
Veel minder dan de andere boeken die ik van Gwen Hunter heb gelezen. Alles een beetje over de top, te langdradig op sommige stukken, en heel vluchtig en oppervlakkig op andere stukken. Hierdoor niet prettig voor mij om te lezen.
July 29, 2025
Another great Gwen Hunter read - interesting characters and an involved plot. This author gives such realism and believability to crazy killers and the search for them by characters - not only police but bystanders pulled into the crazy situation.
May 19, 2017
I had the accomplice figured out, but the murderer was a surprise!
June 20, 2019
Wow! I didn't see that coming! Great book, great mystery, great characters!
September 9, 2020
This was actually quite good. Young girls have been taken and then later found dead. The author did a nice job of making this a page-turner.
July 12, 2022
Nice add on to the Dr.Rhea series. My main take away was “She got a hand gun for a wedding gift from her husband.” Bahahaha I can’t even….
November 21, 2022
I love the characters in these books. Am happy that Dr Rhea-Rhea got a cameo but sad that another friend betrayed Ashlee. But Jim is the man and his boss a seawitch!!
September 8, 2023
One of the BEST books I have EVER read! Highly recommend! Suspenseful with twists and a touch of romance.
April 6, 2008
3 stars is too low, and they don't give half stars. So I guess by default it is a 4. Sleep Softly is VERY losely spun off from the Dr. Rhea series, this was a brainless, fun, fluffy forensic mystery. Every once in awhile you need bubble gum for the brain to clear out from heavy reading, and this did so without being insulting. A serial kidnapper of young girls takes a keen interest in a typical Southern family--if typical can be used describe over 250 people of all vocations and race. Someone out there has a personal issue against the family, and when Ash's dogs bring her a shoe that they dug up on family property, the whole enchilada starts to fall apart. Very entertaining, and as is normal with Hunter the offending character is completely unexpected. I think this is a big reason why I enjoy her books--there is nothing worse than figuring out who the 'bad guy' is 1/3 of the way into the book. This one keeps you guessing while remaining an engaging, semi-mindless, fun read. Enjoy!
April 9, 2010
Gwen Hunter is a great suspense storyteller. Her plots are not perfect, her heroines occasionally do stupid things, the romance is a little corny...but they are page turners!!! Once I begin, I have a hard time putting one down! When forensic nurse Ashlee Davenport Chadwick discovers the partially buried body of a young girl on her property, she is drawn into an FBI investigation of the serial kidnapper/killer who has fatherly feelings toward his young female victims. I liked how the psychological portrait of the killer becomes more and more complex as the book unravels.
November 18, 2013
This book is a great thriller and definitely a change to books I usually read.
The killer is in search of a daughter, more specifically, HIS daughter.
So when the girls he kidnap, throw stuff around and trash him, he kills them. A serial killer. Thats for sure. But when he sees a woman on the TV, he's sure that she will make the perfect mother for his 'daughter'. Now, he plans to kidnap her...
I guess this book was good but at the same time it was disturbing as little girls were being killed...
All in all, I liked it but its not something that I would read again.
The killer is in search of a daughter, more specifically, HIS daughter.
So when the girls he kidnap, throw stuff around and trash him, he kills them. A serial killer. Thats for sure. But when he sees a woman on the TV, he's sure that she will make the perfect mother for his 'daughter'. Now, he plans to kidnap her...
I guess this book was good but at the same time it was disturbing as little girls were being killed...
All in all, I liked it but its not something that I would read again.
September 26, 2012
I really enjoyed this book. Then again, I have really liked all of Gwen Hunter's books. This one, in particular, I could really feel the author's love for the main character. I hope there are more Ash books in the future!
Read
February 1, 2014Wonderful Read
I loved this book, fast paced, edge of your seat, and doesn't let go until the end. Gwen Hunter is an excellent suspense writer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romantic suspense thriller.
I loved this book, fast paced, edge of your seat, and doesn't let go until the end. Gwen Hunter is an excellent suspense writer. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good romantic suspense thriller.
January 2, 2009
This is an absorbing mystery, told mostly in first person by the forensic nurse who becomes entangled, but with quick looks in on the very creepy murderer.
February 8, 2009
I liked this book. A nice easy read that kept my attention. The ending was unexpected but nothing in the story led up to the ending.
May 28, 2009
Very good book full of plot twists and turns.
July 18, 2009
Good book, full of suspsense and keep you on your toes. I love the sense of humor in book. :)
January 16, 2010
Not at all what I expected. It has a surprising twist to it.
April 9, 2010
Fabulous book! An ending I didn't see coming. Very unique twist and well written book.!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews