If you’ve ever read any of Kay Bratt’s book, you know she pours her life experiences into her book. This book is no different. This is her first mystery series and I anxiously look forward to the next one. If you are looking for an escape from heavy, dark thrillers or light romances, give this a try. This was just the break I needed!

Visit Hart’s Ridge, a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Deputy Taylor Gray is a female in a man’s world. Do your job and don’t complain. She’s called to investigate a little girl that wandered into a convenience store. As a product of the foster care system herself, Taylor takes this child to heart and makes it her mission to find her mother. What looks like child abandonment quickly turns into so much more. Taylor quickly finds people will do anything to further their career and derail hers. Many characters are introduced with so many layers to them that I look forward to seeing what Ms. Bratt has up her sleeves. Thoroughly enjoyed Bernard and Taylor’s growing love.

I received an ARC of this book. Opinion is mine alone. ( )

Hart's Ridge is the first book in a new series by Kay Bratt that features a female police deputy in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. She is the only woman on the police force and has to be better and smarter than the men just to get recognition for her work. The other members of the police force seem to be united against her because they don't think that being in the police department is a good job for a woman. Unfortunately even her own family is not supportive of her career so she has to work hard to prove herself in all aspects of her life.

Taylor Grey has lived in Hart's Ridge for her entire life. She's a member of the small town police force and loves her job. Her upbringing has been rough and after her mother died, she tried to take care of her three younger sister as the family went in and out of foster care. Now as an adult, she still feels responsible for her sisters while taking care of her alcoholic father. Her hope is that sometime, somehow, her fractured family will come together.

As the novel begins, a five year old girl walks into a small store by herself. Dirty and hungry, she won't tell anyone who she is or where she came from. Taylor is determined to unite her with her mother and does all she can to locate her. Will she succeed in uniting Molly's family like she wishes she could unite her own family or will small town secrets keep her from being successful? It's a really roller coaster ride for her to try to solve this case.

My review would not be complete unless I mentioned one of the most likable characters in the story -- Bernard, Taylor's rescue dog who seems to be sad all of the time while Taylor tries to make him part of her family.

The second book in the series - Lucy in the Sky - will be published in February, 2023. ( )