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 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. ( )

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Natalie's team is tasked with investigating the murder of a 13 year old girl who went missing on the way home from school. The very next day another girl goes missing, and then a third the following day. This is one of those police procedurals which show how long you can keep going on adrenaline alone!

There were chapters describing the killer's motivation and (mercifully brief) sections describing the girls' experiences. The narrative followed the police investigation in a way that felt realistic; pursuing one lead and interviewing one witness after another, and coming up against one dead end or further twist after another.

The glimpses into Lucy and Natalie's personal lives were just enough to make them more human with detracting from the plot, although I still don't really see why Natalie is so loyal to David.

Highly recommended. I'm looking forward to the next one. ( )