Carol E. Wyer

What a brave move from Carol Wyer to make the transition from writing funny, lighthearted books such as the fabulous Life Swap to something so intensely dark and disturbing in Little Girl Lost. A move which completely paid off, I might add. I found Little Girl Lost quite uncomfortable to start with as there are some disturbing opening scenes but real life is unfortunately filled with such darkness.

There are a lot of characters at the start and I found it slightly confusing, but out came my show more trusty notebook to jot down all the relevant names. In a 'before' setting we are introduced to Alice who's about to become the stepdaughter of actor Paul Matthews. Paul has two children of his own: sick and twisted Lucas and goth-girl Natasha. Alice still hears the voice of her dead father speaking to her through her toy bunny and when something terrible happens to Alice and her mother's relationship with Paul breaks down, she only has her bunny for comfort as nobody believes her.

Meanwhile in a 'now' time setting, Abigail is happily married to Jackson and they have a beautiful baby called Izzy. Abigail starts to get texts, emails and phone calls telling her that Jackson is having an affair. She doesn't believe it at first, but then photographic evidence turns up in her inbox. Her tormentor takes things a step further and tries to alienate Abi's friends by hacking her Facebook account and posting vicious messages on friends' pages purporting to be from Abi. It becomes clear that her tormentor must be somebody who is close to her and has access to her house...

So what does Abi have to do with Alice, you might ask. Well, Carol Wyer has managed to cleverly weave an intricate web of secrets and lies that ties your brain in knots! I haven't even mentioned the excitement of bodies starting to turn up with toy rabbits placed at the scene. Alice is back for revenge and she may very well be hiding in plain sight. Nobody is safe, however tenuously linked to her past, in her quest for retribution.

A cracking first thriller from Carol Wyer that had me reading late into the night - I absolutely could not rest until I had discovered all the dark secrets of Little Girl Lost.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest an unbiased opinion. show less

Detective Inspector (DI) Kate Young is home on leave suffering from PTSD after a flashback occurs on a train in the presence of her Superintendent. At first reveal the reader is not fully aware of why a previous incident on a train had such impact on Kate's life. But months at home seem to be increasing her dependency on medication, the flashbacks are continuing, and favored routines of the past remain in the past. Family friend, mentor, and current supervisor Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) show more William Chase unexpectedly visits Kate at home with news that Superintendent John Dickson wants Kate to return to work as lead with a small team of her choice to solve an important new case. Kate has been shaken to her core. Can she lead a team? Can she solve the case? Can her team trust her decisions? Will she stop taking the medication that gave her the initial relief or is she now an addict? Will the flashbacks ever stop or is she a danger to herself, her team, and possibly even the public?

As a first introduction to the writing of Carol Wyer I was immediately engrossed in the police procedural novel. There are many police procedural novels but there seemed to be equal intensity being given to Kate's professional and personal lives. In some the personal side is merely that the detective goes home to shower and change and/or catches a few hours of sleep or has missed another family celebration. This armchair detective unraveled the clues of both storylines and it was fascinating to read as they became more and more intertwined. I was impressed by the author's writing style that deftly added the indicators. There are twists, turns, and red herrings but even untangling the twists or deciphering the signals this is a captivating novel. It was also intriguing to discover a suspicion became the cliff-hanger that leads to Book 2.

A gripping and dramatic read that is well executed. I'm looking forward to DI Young's next steps! show less

As I continue the DI Kate Young series I'm happy to see Kate continue her mission to bring down the dirty cops in her department even though those same cops are doing everything possible to push her out. For example, they are relegating her to lead an undermanned task force to find a serial murder/rapist and bypassing her authority to see all evidence in the case.

DI Kate Young has been through a lot. After a traumatic case that almost cost her her job and the murder of her journalist show more husband that may involve a dirty cop, Kate is holding on to her sanity...just barely. Being pulled two directions and living on little sleep, she is determined to find evidence on the man she suspects murdered her husband and she is working on a serial rapist/murder case with victims piling up and pressure from above to solve the case. Her career is on the line and the chips are stacked. Will she be able to keep it together enough to find her killers?

Kate is tough and vulnerable at the same time. She is keeping secrets from her team and her family as she singlehandedly seeks justice on her own for the only man who knew her best. Her sister Tilly and nephew Daniel are the only family she has left and she wants to keep them safe from the horrors of her job, but the deeper she dives into the present case, the more her past comes back to haunt them. In addition, the more Kate digs around in the past, the more her life is threatened by the people she once trusted.

Even though I guessed the rapist from the beginning, I still enjoyed the fast-paced investigation to implicate the killer. The story is told in Kate's and the killer's voices and there is nothing more creepy than the mind of a psycho.

I recommend this action-packed mystery full of unexpected twists and turns, a driven protagonist, and a number of treacherous and shady antagonists. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you to Ms. Wyer for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review. show less

One afternoon, Jane Hopkin's daughter Savannah didn't come home from school. Jane takes immediate action, including phoning her friends. Sadly Savannah's body is discovered. The missing teen becomes DI Natalie Ward's case. This is especially hard for Natalie. For starters, she has a daughter, Leigh, the exact age, so that alone makes the case difficult. Also, Natalie has had other arduous cases involving the death of children. Also, Natalie's marriage is quite strained, so that doesn't help show more things considering the time and attention she must place on this case.

Natalie begins her investigation and questions several potential suspects, to the point when she is fairly certain that one particular person could be responsible. However, in just a day, another teen girl goes missing. Did they know one another? Are their cases connected? To make matters worse, the unimaginable happens in Natalie's own family.

The story is mostly told by Natalie's point of view. However, there is another view in the story, that of the killer, and of their plans to harm other girls. And, after the second girl disappears, a very brief, but horrifying video is discovered. This alerts Natalie and her team to a morbid website referring to the Disappear Dare. This is a very dangerous social media challenge where a teen agrees to go off grid for a short time. Could Savannah and the other missing girl, Harriet, have been playing that game?

The Dare is the third compelling story in the Detective Natalie Ward series. It is quite a remarkable read, affecting on many levels. I have read most of Carol Wyer's books and each time I pick one up I find them to be utterly thrilling. I read this exceptional book in one sitting. I simply could not put it down. I was hanging on the edge of my seat as this book reached a crescendo. I definitely cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. show less