REVIEW: A Soul for a Soul by Carol Wyer

A Soul for a Soul (Detective Kate Young #5) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural, Mystery

Read: 24th January 2024

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 30th January 2024

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

The syndicate have taken everything from her. It’s time to take them down—or die trying.

DCI Kate Young never meant to shoot Superintendent John Dickson at the reservoir that night—even if, as a scheming corrupt cop and head of the shady syndicate, he probably had it coming. But now Kate has photographic evidence that someone else knows her terrible secret…

Tormented by guilt and the voices of the dead, Kate is desperate to unmask the rest of the corrupt officers before her own sins catch up with her. When DI Harriet Khatri, awaiting trial for the murder of Kate’s mentor, claims she was framed by Dickson’s syndicate, Kate reluctantly agrees to help in the hope of finding answers.

Meanwhile, DI Emma Donaldson finds herself on the hunt for a double murderer—a man who incapacitates his victims with a powerful narcotic called Devil’s Breath. Desperate to measure up to her role-model boss, Emma finds herself hurled into the deep end in more ways than one…

While Kate’s grip on reality wavers and the syndicate closes in, and with the mystery killer taking a special interest in Emma, could this be the case that defeats both detectives?

MY THOUGHTS:

Where to even begin?

I have followed this series from the start so I'm familiar with Kate's flaws and foibles. Does she get on my nerves? A little. Especially with the constant monologuing with the dead William and Dickson. Chris' dialogue was enough but now we have her mentor and her nemesis to battle it out in her head!

OK, so if you haven't read any of the previous books, don't start this one until you have done so as the culmination of events and everything that went beforehand will make absolutely no sense. Some series you can pick up here and there and read without missing out on anything else. But this series is not one of them. In fact, the entire series hinges on Kate's relentless investigating into a corrupt syndicate involved in sex trafficking, drugs and murder - and that of the murder of her husband Chris. A syndicate compromised of corrupt police officers, some of whom were at senior level. It's like a series of "Line of Duty"...lol

Since the previous book, Kate has been promoted to DCI and taking the place of her mentor and friend William Chase who was brutally murdered by one of the syndicate, DI Harriet Khatri. Harriet, however, is protesting her innocence loudly though no one is listening. Least of all Kate who was not her biggest fan in the first place. But Harriet calls on Kate with a special request...but how will Kate react?

Since Kate's promotion, it has left room for her previous position as DI open as well as Harriet's also, since she now sits under house arrest with strict bail conditions awaiting trial for William's murder. And so Kate handpicks her two DS's, Emma and Morgan, to step into the Acting DI role until they can take their Inspector's exams.

Emma's first big case comes along investigating a killer who maims his victims with a psychoactive drug, leaving no trace in their systems. Or so he thought. It seems he is cockier than he is clever. But will he outsmart Emma before she can uncover the truth?

Meanwhile, Morgan has been tasked to Operation Moonbeam who are investigating the people trafficking and with a mole in their midst, Morgan is feeling frustrated with the slow progress, despite months of work. And it's affecting his home life with Emma.

On top of it all, Kate must maintain a professional integrity in overseeing her teams but she misses being in the thick of the investigation. But under the mantle of DCI she is also able to continue looking further into the syndicate and its remaining members, and attempt to bring it all down once and for all.

Then just when you think that's the end of it...Wyer delivers those final lines. Is this the end? Or is it not?

I admit to having further suspicions but in hindsight, I'd like this to be the end for Kate. To sit back and relax and just let it all go. To remain and continue digging would just be tempting fate. 

The twists are delivered with fervour in this story but alas, I could not be hoodwinked. I correctly figured two out of three. That last one had me surprised. But the identity of the killer nor the first of the remaining syndicate members revealed were not. Sorry (not sorry!).

This series is so different from Carol Wyer's others and I could see how it could be so all-encompassing, when she locks herself away in her office for hours on end leaving Mr Grumpy to fend for himself. I think I'd be exhausted with navigating all this!

Overall, an entertaining taut crime thriller that will have you turning the pages until the very end, and then leaving you scratching your head.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #ASoulForASoul in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye,  a second, A Cut for a Cut, published on 24th June 2021 and a third A Life for a Life to be published 15th March 2022. An Eye for an Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: A Truth for A Truth by Carol Wyer

A Truth for a Truth (Detective Kate Young #4) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime thriller, Crime fiction

Read: 3rd April 2023

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 6th April 2023

★★★★ 4.5 stars

DESCRIPTION:

DI Kate Young’s team is hunting for a killer. What they don’t know…is that the killer is her.

DI Kate Young has known for years that her boss, Superintendent John Dickson, is a violent and evil man. But when she finally confronts him and accidentally shoots and kills him, she’s forced to cover her tracks before anyone can pin his death on her. With revelations about his corruption soon to become public knowledge, Kate sets up a trail of evidence to make it seem that Dickson has conveniently vanished…

But Kate knows the corruption doesn’t end with Dickson. As she heads up the team investigating his supposed disappearance, she also pursues other loose ends. Stanka, the sex worker who supplied the evidence against Dickson, leads her to crucial information on another corrupt officer, DI Harriet Khatri, and her dubious involvement with sex traffickers.

As the noose starts to tighten on Kate, she finds herself targeted by traffickers, the bent cops on her force and even her own team of detectives. Can she stay one step ahead of them all and bring Harriet to justice? Can she trust anyone around her? And can she possibly get away with murder?

MY THOUGHTS:

An eye for a cut for a life and now the truth...

After an edge-of-your-seat nail-biting end to book three, A TRUTH FOR A TRUTH begins with one hell of a bang...or the aftershocks of one, at least. It literally picks up exactly from where the previous left off...and I mean "literally". No pause, no breaks, no scene changes. We are thrust right back to where we were a year ago when "A Life for a Life" ended so abruptly on such a cliffhanger. In the same place at the same time directly in the aftermath. What follows is one hell of a cat-and-mouse game that will keep readers guessing as to how it will all unfold.

Kate Young has been struggling, both personally and professionally, since the untimely death of her husband Chris, which she has channelled into bringing down her corrupt boss, Superintendent John Dickson. But now she is going to be challenged even further in light of what she has done. And instead of Chris' voice guiding her conscience, she now has Dickson's sinister rumbles resounding in her head. What has she done? How can she get away with it?

Kate had gone to the reservoir to confront Dickson into admitting that he ordered the hit on her husband but, as smart and as quick witted as she is, Dickson is adept at corruption and keeping one step ahead of her. She may have gotten what she wanted but circumstances unfolded that saw her unwittingly shoot him in self defence. But who would believe her? There's no CCTV and nothing to back her up. The only piece of evidence that could have been of use lay in pieces beneath her feet.

As she stands beside the darkened reservoir, Kate watches the lone swan pass by oblivious to the scene around her. She feels like that swan. Drifting about without a mooring, without a mate. And whilst she may appear calm on the outside, beneath the surface she is paddling like crazy to keep herself afloat. Think, Kate, think! She makes a quick call and events are set in motion to eliminate any and all evidence. The plan she has is for the greater good. Kate vows to bring down the syndicate of which Dickson was not only a member but was also its head. And how to kill a snake? Cut off its head. But Kate knows that will not be enough to stop the syndicate. And if they knew that she had eliminated their head, they would be baying for her blood.

The following morning at the station, she is greeted with the front page news highlighting Dickson's corruption - just a part of the plan she set in motion before she met him the previous night. Her boss and mentor DCI William Chase, who is on the cusp of retirement, tasks her with investigating Dickson's disappearance working on the assumption that the superintendent got wind of today's paper and hightailed it to safety...until the dust settled perhaps. Of course Kate knew differently but she must remain poker-faced. Kate's investigation leads her to lock horns with DI Harriet Khatri whom Dickson had tasked with taking over her old team after Chris was murdered. The woman is not called "the ice queen" for nothing. Khatri is heading up a case involving people trafficking which is closely related to that of the Maddox Club murders, which Kate investigated and lead her to Dickson's corruption. Coincidence?

Throughout it all, Kate must maintain a level of professional propriety drawing on all her reserves to keep her mask from slipping. How can she do this and keep herself sane? Chris' guiding voice has been her conscience which she heard out of grief. Now Dickson's sneering voice has taken over speaks to her guilt but above all, she must not crumble. But is she strong enough to see this case through without falling apart? And how can she bring a killer to justice...when that killer is her?

This installment of the exciting Kate Young series took a dark and sinister turn as Kate found herself stepping over the line into the dark side. She wanted to bring Dickson to justice and have him answer for his crimes, not to kill him. And so Kate finds herself on the wrong side of the law whilst investigating the very crime she herself committed! This is not a spoiler. It's in the book description and the entirety of the story focus on it.

I have to say, I hated hearing Dickson's sneering voice at every turn. He features more here than he does in any other book just by haunting Kate with his snide comments. Admittedly, it does get very wearing listening to him go on an on at her all the time that I ended up just skimming his voice much of the time. I can't imagine how Kate must feel! It must seriously do her head in. But the purpose of this voice is to create provocation, leading to further situations. At the core of the story though is trust...or a lack thereof. Kate doesn't know who to trust and quite frankly, I don't blame her. Even at the end when one of the syndicate is revealed (to Kate), I still have some trouble believing their reasoning. And through events that subsequently unfolded, I wonder will we ever know for sure. Given that it's fiction, I'm sure Ms Wyer can orchestrate further events to reveal the truth in good time.

A TRUTH FOR A TRUTH is somewhat different in content and context. We know from the start who it is and why, while the rest is red herring for others to give Kate time to find what she's looking for. She hasn't yet gotten to the bottom of it but no doubt she will. Though I still found myself not quite trusting the events in the epilogue. While the whole time I was screaming at Kate to just jump on a plane and come to Sydney!!! Tilly has been begging her to visit...and now is the perfect time. She says she is...but does she really? Or will something come up in book 5 to stop her boarding the plane at the eleventh hour? 

I must say, this whole book felt a little AC-12 and I kept waiting for Steve Arnott to turn up with Superintendent Hastings (and the wee donkey).

The plot is not the usual fast pace of Wyer's previous books but I guess that is because we know everything that's happening...or just about. But that's not to say it's without tension because oh my gosh the tension is so tight in places I thought I would snap! I did find it a little long and drawn out but that could also be because I've been sick and found it hard to concentrate so I've had to pace myself with the book over a couple of days. The ending is a little anti-climatic but that's OK...we've had some tense cliffhangers throughout this series, a nice sedate ending makes a change.

Overall, a very different but still exciting installment to the Kate Young series. I can't wait to see what happens next for Kate in book 5  "A Soul for a Soul" to be published February 2024.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley, #AmazonPublishingUK and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #ATruthForATruth in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye,  a second, A Cut for a Cut, published on 24th June 2021 and a third A Life for a Life to be published 15th March 2022. An Eye for an Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

REVIEW: Behind Closed Doors by Carol Wyer

Behind Closed Doors by Carol Wyer

Genre: Psychological thriller

Read: 3rd December 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 6th December 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?

When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…

Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom—she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.

But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?

MY THOUGHTS:

I'm such an avid fan of Carol's crime thriller series that I couldn't wait to dive into her new psychological thriller BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. From the very first page we are thrown headfirst into the chilling fragmented memories of the past before landing in the present, faced with something of a similar dilemma.

Thirsty years ago, Stacey endured five long torturous days tied up, beaten, battered and bruised in a horrifying kidnapping before being rescued by a police officer answering a routine call. The people responsible for her kidnapping have never been identified or apprehended. The experience was so harrowing for the then 16 year old Stacey that she is left with dissociative amnesia and a few fragmented pieces that flicker in her memory. The lasting reminders being her amputated finger and her ear having also been cut off. The only thing she knows without a doubt is that her father never paid the ransom...and Stacey has never understood why. Even stranger was that as soon as she was discharged from hospital, her father packed up their belongings and moved them from Staffordshire to Lancashire...where she knew no one. He said it was for a new start...but was that really the truth?

Now Stacey is four years shy of the big five-oh and is an investigative journalist for a Lancaster paper where she is the senior reporter. She lives in a quaint little cottage in the seaside town of Hornby, living the quiet life she now appreciates. But when her ex-husband Jack comes knocking on her door one evening, it seems history is repeating itself. His daughter Lyra, who Stacey adores, has been kidnapped and the ransom demand is for £500,000 - the same amount as the ransom for Stacey 30 years before. Coincidence? Jack appeals to her for help but states in no uncertain terms that there is to be no police, as per the kidnapper's instructions. But can Stacey go down that rabbit hole and come face to face with her traumatic past? If it means saving Lyra, then yes.

Unfortunately, Jack doesn't the money - nothing even close to that amount - so Stacey uses all her skills as an investigative journalist to delve for clues as how to find Lyra...and who has her. But she cannot escape the similarities to her own kidnapping, right down to the last detail. But after thirty years? It doesn't seem feasible. But Stacey is sure her kidnapping holds the clues to finding Lyra before it's too late. But can she trust her memories or are they false narratives her mind is conjuring up?

This is an intriguing thriller from the very first page and I was eager to find out who was behind it all, and just how it related back to Stacey's own kidnapping. But I must admit to being bogged down by the lengthy chapters of which I am not a fan and for me that does slow down the pace a little. But boy, were there twists!! Just when you think you know who it could be, something shifts and it changes direction. But I did have one or two niggles at the back of my mind, both of which proved to be the case, although I wasn't sure of the exact details or anything else. Just a couple of niggles is all they were that didn't sit right. Trust your gut, follow your instinct. But it seemed Stacey wasn't listening...lol But then if she did, there wouldn't be much of a story...lol

Although Stacey was a strong lead I wasn't really a fan of her too much. Too stubborn and didn't listen to those who actually knew best. But she was the best of a bad bunch, believe me. Her father Henry and her ex Jack were two of the most despicable narcissistic and manipulative characters. I couldn't believe Henry wouldn't pay the ransom for his daughter and his reasoning was just ludicrous. And Jack? Well, we know why Stacey left him...had he really changed?

I loved the setting around Morecombe and could really picture it after seeing Carol's numerous posts of the area leading up to publication. Of course, I also remember it from the TV crime series "The Bay". And I just have to say, that cover ROCKS!!!

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a taut and tense thriller with plenty of twists and red herrings to keep you guessing throughout. My only complaint is that the chapters were just a bit too long which slowed down the pace.

Overall, an intense and intriguing read sure to delight thriller fans.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley, #AmazonPub and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #BehindClosedDoors in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye,  a second, A Cut for a Cut, published on 24th June 2021 and a third A Life for a Life to be published 15th March 2022. An Eye for an Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: A Life for a Life by Carol Wyer

A Life for a Life (DI Kate Young #3) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Suspense, Police procedural

Read: 13th March 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 15th March 2022

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

Nobody can get into the mind of an erratic killer—except an unpredictable detective.

When a young man is found lying on a station platform with a hole in his head, DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the grisly murder. But the killing is no one-off. As bodies start to pile up, she is faced with what might be an impossible task—to hunt down a ruthless killer on a seemingly random rampage.

Meanwhile, Kate has her own demons to battle as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death. And she is hell-bent on exposing corruption within the force and bringing Superintendent John Dickson to justice. But with the trail of deception running deeper—and closer to home—than she could ever have imagined, she no longer knows who she can trust.

With her grip on reality slipping, Kate realises that maybe she and the killer are not so different after all. But time is running out and Kate is low on options. Can she catch the killer before she loses everything?

MY REVIEW:

I'm a huge fan of Carol Wyer having read her DC Robyn Carter series in part, most of her DI Natalie Ward series and now following DI Kate Young on her quest for justice whilst simultaneously fighting crime on a daily basis. While every book follows a standalone investigation, each one follows on from the previous outlining a much bigger picture. Therefore it is highly recommended that readers begin the journey with Kate from the beginning in "An Eye for an Eye" and then "A Cut for a Cut", as each book is another important piece of the puzzle that Kate is piecing together. Without them, I fear the reader will flounder for the most part.

This third book continues to pack a punch in conjunction with the first two as it opens with a devastating prologue with only one possible outcome. The result is crime that falls on DI Kate Young's patch as she juggles her personal and professional investigations. This time, to the reader, the crime is not really a whodunnit as it is pretty obvious from early on who is behind the random attacks. The question is WHY? I mean really WHY?!

Kate is heading the investigation into what appears to be random attacks on random people at random places, killing them with a captive bolt gun (the kind of stun gun that is often used in abattoirs). The deaths have nothing in common, the victims have nothing in common leaving Kate and her team stumped. The only commonality is that the killer strikes in the early evening during the same window of time in public places that are winding down for the day, leaving them virtually empty and ripe for the picking.

Then a witness comes forward from the site of the third murder, little realising how narrowly she herself escaped the attentions of the killer, with her observations of someone she thought was the victim. Kate's antennae went up. Could this be their killer? Or could it be another witness? Either way, the team needed to track them down...and fast, before anymore innocent people died. But when a profiler is called in sharing his thoughts on the perpetrator, Kate starts to realise that she might have something in common with this killer, uniting them grief.

It's been over a year since Kate's husband Chris was killed and ever since she has been determined to seek justice for him and the many others who have died as a result of this domino effect. Her determination to unmask those behind the underage sex ring, and the deaths that followed, lead her to a corruption that extended high into a senior officer under whom she works - Superintendent John Dickson, who she believes was behind the death of her husband as well as many others. But if the corruption has gone that high, who knows how much higher is has reached...and will Kate be safe to go after those responsible? She must tread carefully and proceed with the utmost caution if she is to come out of this unscathed.

Parallel to her day job at hand, Kate has also been stealthily collating information to unmask Dickson and the corruption that has followed him. Her secret investigations have alienated her from everyone as she is unable to know who she trust. To date, her only ally upon whom she relies for the covert operation is a former SAS officer who has his own axe to grind in seeking justice for his friend who was murdered upon orders from Dickson. But is this a step too far for Kate? Has she crossed a line in taking the law into her own hands to garner information and find the witnesses she needs before it's too late? Is this why she no longer hears Chris' soothing voice? For so long he has been her voice of reason, her conscience, but for months now he has grown silent and Kate yearns to hear his voice once again.

Kate's behaviour has not gone unnoticed by her team. DS Emma Donaldson, who has her own demons to battle, watches her and understands her grief but is concerned she may be in over her head. DS Morgan Meredith follows her lead but is quietly observant. Young DC Jamie Webster, the newest member of her small team, sees and hears all and Kate suspects that he is a mole planted by Dickson and reporting back to her senior officer, therefore she watches everything she says and does around him ensuring nothing untoward could be communicated in any event. But is it enough? Dickson has eyes and ears everywhere...therefore, Kate can trust no one.

The case at hand challenges the team as they try to figure out who is killing innocent people and why. It is clear to the reader his identity but is there something else we're missing? This riveting installment delivers plenty of shocks and a few twists along the way filled with just the right amount of tension. But it's the ending that delivers the final shock...which I certainly did not see coming! And I eagerly await the fourth book to see what happens next.

While I had barely begun the Robyn Carter series and grew to enjoy Natalie Ward, Kate Young is a different kettle of fish altogether and the issues she finds herself up against are a whole other ball game. I can't compare this book to the previous two as they each offer something different to the story and give us yet another piece of the puzzle that Kate has worked hard to piece together. I barely have the words to express the flood of emotions I feel when reading Kate's journey. But I do know each story, as well as A LIFE FOR A LIFE, is addictive reading from beginning to end. 

Carol Wyer's expert writing and skillful storytelling weaves together a tale that draws us in from the beginning and leaves us wanting more by the end. It's engaging, enthralling and completely absorbing. Bring on book 4!

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley, #AmazonPublishingUK and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #ALifeForALife in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye,  a second, A Cut for a Cut, published on 24th June 2021 and a third A Life for a Life to be published 15th March 2022. An Eye for an Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: A Cut for A Cut by Carol Wyer

A Cut for A Cut (DI Kate Young #2) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural, Crime thriller

Read: 28th June 2021

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 29th June 2021

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving—even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate's past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

MY REVIEW:

"You're mine...forever!"

I'm always excited when Carol has a new book in the midst and eagerly await getting my hands on it ready to devour. Having followed DI Natalie Ward's story, I was thrilled to meet DI Kate Young in the first book back in January and while Carol left us dangling with a very alluring tidbit, I couldn't wait to rejoin Kate in her quest to bring down those responsible for the death of her beloved husband Chris and the corruption in the force linked to his murder. 

However, while "An Eye for An Eye" was more ambiguous in that we were still getting to know Kate's story, sifting through events and all had transpired to lead her to the point we met her at, A CUT FOR A CUT is a little more transparent in that we know who she's hunting in her personal quest for justice. Not knowing who to trust, Kate relies on her wits and her fading memory of Chris to keep her focussed. 

A word of advice for those wanting to jump in, you really need to read the first book "An Eye for An Eye" before delving into this one. Although the primary investigation is self-contained, the sub-plot is a recurring one carried over from the previous book and, while they are briefly referenced with enough information to keep the reader up to date, the get the full picture and background you really need to start from the beginning with the first book.

The prologue opens with Kate in a clandestine meeting with pimp Farai who supplied the underage sex workers to the Maddox club in the first book, in an attempt to garner whatever knowledge he had on her boss Superintendent John Dickson who she is sure is, not only corrupt, but behind her husband Chris's murder. Although Farai checks her over for a wire, Kate managed to secrete a tiny wireless tap in her bra to record their meeting, wanting a record of what took place should she need it.

Kate is enjoying having her once estranged step-sister back in her life having returned from Australia with young son Daniel in tow after the collapse of her marriage to Jordan, Kate's ex-fiance with home Tilly ran off with two decades ago. The sisters have plans to entertain Daniel by taking him to a theme park when Kate is summoned back to work to investigate the death of young woman found half naked in a restaurant dumpster and no ID on her. Her prints taken at the scene reveal her to be Laura Dean who lived alone in the village of Abbots Bromley with her adopted rescue cat Charcoal. She had been raped with the word "MINE" carved into her right shoulder before being strangled to death. 

Enquiries lead her to one of the solicitors at the firm she had recently resigned from in Stafford before moving to the quiet village in which she died. The team also delve into the background of Laura's father's partner Steve after learning that the couple had been seeing each other prior to Laura's mother's death from cancer. With no other leads forthcoming, these are their only suspects thus far.

Then another woman is found nearby the following morning and is immediately recognised as one of their own, Heather Gault - a civilian investigator tasked with investigating cases alongside police. The MO is identical and Kate fears the killer will strike again if they can't identify him quickly. Then when Kate discovers that Heather's computer has been sent directly to technicians with strict instructions not to reveal its contents unless there is anything pertaining to her investigation, she begins to suspect something else is going on. Had Dickson gone over her head and issued this order? What was he afraid of Kate and her team discovering on there? Was Heather looking into the very thing that Kate was "unofficially" investigating? Is that what lead to her death? Surely not. The MO from Laura's murder was identical to Heather's and Laura had nothing to do with police corruption or underage sex workers. Could this just be a coincidence?

In the midst of two investigations, albeit one unofficially, Kate learns of a third victim. But this one is still alive. Olivia Sandman was found in the construction site across the road from the new-build house in which she lived with her mother and when she hadn't turned up for work, her mother began ringing around friends and the police in an effort to find her missing daughter. Now she is hospital in and out of consciousness and Kate needs to speak with her as soon as possible. Olivia may have key information regarding the perpetrator. But with a third victim there's even more questions. How were these three women linked? And why did she survive? Had he been interrupted and had to make a quick exit before ensuring she was dead? Is this his first mistake?

Alongside her investigation into these brutal rapes and two murders, Kate continues to delve deeper into the police corruption Chris had been investigating and which had ultimately got him killed. When she receives word that the man who had helped bury the body of an underage boy in the previous book wants to speak with her, Kate makes every effort to arrange a visit at the prison in which he is incarcerated. But before she can see him the prison governor calls her with the news that the man, Cooper, took his own life that morning. But Kate refuses to believe it and is sure that someone knew she was going to visit him and had him killed before he could pass on whatever information he had to give her.

On top of all this Kate is still processing the various stages of grief, determined to remain in the anger stage until she can avenge her husband. She continues to talk to him with his words of wisdom she imagines he imparts helping her to remain focussed. And then there is Tilly. She hasn't seen her step-sister in two decades and the two women are finally putting the past behind them to move forward together as a family. After all, Tilly is all she has now.

As Kate and her team unearth clues to bring them closer to identifying the killer, Kate unwittingly discovers a shocking link closer to home that leaves her reeling as time seems to be running out fast. All the while, someone in her unofficial investigation seems to be one step ahead of her while others in the force are out to undermine her and her ability to lead a team. Will she catch a killer and get the evidence she needs to bring down Dickson at the same time?

I thoroughly enjoyed A CUT FOR A CUT which is an excellent addition to this new series. It is a good solid police procedural with clever insights into the killer's mind at the same time. Although the story is predominantly from Kate's perspective, I love how there are excerpts in the killer's narrative also, providing insight into the delusions that drive him. 

Admittedly, I identified the link to the killer and figured out who he was quite early on in the story. I also suspected another aspect about halfway through - one which came as a final twist at the end and possibly shocked many but instead of being surprise I felt vindicated as guessing correctly. It was a twist that was never even alluded to but I suspected it when there wasn't anything to suspect. Maybe I just have a suspicious mind. lol

I love Carol, her wit and her storytelling. And I love the undercurrent that simmers beneath the surface threatening to derail everything should Kate not succeed in bringing down Dickson and the underbelly of corruption within the force. The way Carol has left a breadcrumb trail throughout both books as we follow Kate in her quest for justice.

A rather compelling read, A CUT FOR A CUT is gritty and even brutal in parts, though not graphic in detail. Kate is incredibly flawed as she struggles with her grief and her mental health whilst trying to seek justice for her husband and bring down corruption within the force. Maybe she should call on AC-12.

Again, I cannot stress enough that the first book "An Eye for An Eye" is best read before this one or it could be a struggle to tie events and piece the puzzle together. The sub-plot of corruption, underage sex workers, paedophile rings and the death of her husband Chris all began in the first book and will continue to run in the background of each subsequent book until either Kate catches them or it runs its course. Who knows where it will end? Or how?

What I do know is that Kate is just getting started. So bring on book 3!!

Perfect for fans of gritty crime fiction.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley and #AmazonPub for an ARC of #ACutForACut in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye, and a second, A Cut for a Cut, to be  published on 24th June 2021.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

REVIEW: Somebody's Daughter by Carol Wyer

Somebody's Daughter (DCI Natalie Ward #7) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural, Crime thriller

Read: 4th June 2021

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 9th July 2020

★★★★ 4 stars

DESCRIPTION:

One by one the girls disappeared…

When the frail body of a teenage girl is discovered strangled in a parking lot, shards of ice form in Detective Natalie Ward’s veins. As Natalie looks at the freckles scattered on her cheeks and the pale pink lips tinged with blue, she remembers that this innocent girl is somebody’s daughter…

The girl is identified as missing teenager Amelia Saunders, who has run away from home and her controlling father. Natalie’s heart sinks further when it becomes clear that Amelia has been working on the streets, manipulated by her violent new boyfriend Tommy.

A day later, another vulnerable girl is found strangled on a park bench. Like Amelia, Katie Bray was a runaway with connections to Tommy, and Natalie is determined to find him and track down the monster attacking these scared and lonely girls.

But when a wealthy young woman is found murdered the next morning, the word ‘guilty’ scrawled on her forehead, Natalie realises that the case is more complex than she first thought. Determined to establish a connection between her three victims, Natalie wastes no time in chasing down the evidence, tracing everyone who crossed their paths. Then, a key suspect’s body turns up in the canal, a mole in Natalie’s department leaks vital information and everything seems to be against her. Can Natalie stop this clever and manipulative killer before they strike again?

An unputdownable crime thriller from an Amazon bestselling author that will have you sleeping with the light on. This gripping rollercoaster ride is perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Rachel Caine. Prepare to be totally hooked!

MY REVIEW:

It's been a long time coming but I finally got around to reading the last in the DI Natalie Ward series by Carol Wyer. Published last July, I still had every intention of getting to it eventually despite venturing into her latest and equally addictive DI Kate Young series. Over the course of the series we have watched Natalie grow as she suffers grief on a whole new level and her personal life began to implode. In SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER, things come full circle for Natalie as she begins a new chapter of her life while tendrils from her past tease readers with what may be awaiting us should Carol revisit Natalie and her team at a later date. 

The prologue opens with promise as two sisters fight over a boy they were both interested in. Although the boy in question is actually a man or twenty fours years and 17 year old Sophia is tearing strips of her 15 year old sister Katie for snaffling him from under her nose, knowing how she felt about him. Katie, on the other hand, was sick of copping the blame for everything and of her older sister lording it over her at every turn. She knew her parents would side with Sophia so with one final burst of anger, she pushed Sophia and raced upstairs to pack. With her parents out of town tonight, Katie would leave the shackles of authority and her family behind to start a new life with Tommy.

Natalie Ward has seen a lot of changes both professionally and personally since the previous book "The Secret Admirer", where she had left her husband David after he gambled away most of their life and their savings. Now a year has passed and she has divorced David and a new and elite crime unit has been created in the newly renovated Victorian building of Holborn House for which Natalie has been promoted to DCI to oversee, with newly promoted DI Lucy Carmichael heading up things under Natalie's command. 

Meanwhile, after a stop-gap in a poky little flat not far from HQ, she and son Josh have now moved in with Mike Sullivan, who is Head of Forensics at Samford HQ, whilst trying to win over Mike's 7 year old daughter Thea, who thinks that Natalie is keeping her already divorced parents apart. As this is Mike's weekend to have Thea, Natalie has organised a Bonfire Party with loads of food like toffee apples, has decked out the yard with fairy lights and has even bought her an Olaf the talking snowman from "Frozen". Some of Thea's friends have been invited to enjoy the festivities with her while Mike puts on a modest display of fireworks.

And then she gets the call.

The body of a teenage girl has been found in West Gate car park, apparently strangled. She is soon identified as Amelia Saunders, a runaway from Nottinghamshire who left home eighteen months previously after an arguement with her father for which he blamed himself and then took his own life. The team learn that Amelia had been working as a prostitute and that she was last seen in the company of a scruffy young man with frizzy hair in a "man bun" known as Tommy. The investigation is barely underway when the team, whilst looking for another young teenager called Katie Bray who'd also run away, come across the emaciated body of a young teenage girl whom DS Murray Anderson recognises immediately as Katie the following day. After speaking with her older sister Sophia and father Phil, they learnt that Katie left after a fight with Sophia to be with the boyfriend she'd stolen from her whose name was none other than Tommy.

With the bodies of two teenage girls, both emaciated and very obviously soliciting as prostitutes, the team begin looking for Tommy. But with no idea what he looks like or even his surname, they have no idea where to start. Until they come across some CCTV of Katie behind the Hardy's department store in which they see a white van drive away. Freeze frame the picture, zoom in and they have a registration which comes back to one Tommy Field and a local address in some dilapidated flats marked for demolition. But upon visiting the address there is no sign of Tommy, but there are those of a woman having shared the flat with prints coming back to those of Katie. So while she may have believed him to be her boyfriend, he saw her as a meal ticket pimping her out to pay for his obvious habit.

The following day, the investigation is ramped up a notch with the discovery of the body of Rachel Hardy, daughter of affluent businessman, Eugene Hardy,  owner of local department store Hardy's. But the MO for this murder is different. While Rachel was indeed strangled, the word "GUILTY" had been written in biro across her forehead. The team are baffled. Why would the murderer suddenly switch MO? And why target an affluent member of Samford society as opposed to prostitutes? What has changed? Questioning her father proves fruitless as he becomes enraged with the direction of enquiries before throwing them out. Then another two bodies are discovered on consecutive days, both with the word "GUILTY" scrawled across their foreheads. What does this mean? And is Tommy or rival pimp Valentine responsible for these murders?

But when Tommy's semi-decomposed body is found in the canal partially eaten by fish, the team are thoroughly stumped. They have lost their prime suspect to all five murders and the top brass is gunning for a clean result. But with the death of Tommy, Superintendent Tasker is happy to conclude that he was responsible for the deaths and then threw himself in the canal. But then the autopsy reveals that Tommy was dead before he went into the water. So who is responsible for the now six murders they are under pressure to solve quickly?

SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER has a slightly different feel to it than the previous books in this series in that I think it would suffice quite sufficiently as a standalone. Although it is always best to read a series from the beginning, the format of this this book is different providing flashbacks to Natalie's life as well as enough backstory to keep readers in the loop. There is also more information regarding her estrangement from her younger sister Frances who she alludes to in previous books but doesn't detail. In this book, she provides the backstory to what lead to the estrangement through flashbacks. It has provided readers with a yearning for more wanting to know how Natalie will handle the new turn of events we are left with by the book's end. I do hope Carol will return at some point to give us some answers.

The pace of this story does begin a little slower than some but soon builds up enough as the bodycount continues to rise and the pieces of the puzzle are unscrambled. As with all of Carol's books, the story is realistic if not shocking as the lives of society's dregs are picked apart in an effort to find out who murdered them. And as is usually the way, the moment more prominent members of the community become victims the focus of the investigation moves to them, leaving the sorry lives of two teenage girls at the bottom of the scrap heap. Although not under this team, if Lucy or Natalie have anything to do with it. All lives matter...even teenage runaways who end up sex workers. 

A good solid procedural, SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER is a complex mystery with all the grit of a Natalie Ward crime thriller. There are plenty of twists as the dark truth is slowly uncovered, revealing what is actually a very sad tale. I do, however, hope that this is not Natalie's last hurrah and look forward to Carol bringing life back into her again and revealing some answers we readers would love to see pan out with where things left off. Although, that is to say this book did not actually end on a cliffhanger but there are some unanswered questions about Natalie's past which threatened to come to light...and then didn't.

A definite twisted tale, SOMEBODY'S DAUGHTER brings Natalie's professional and personal life full circle in this seventh book that, while should be read alongside the others in the series, can work well enough as a standalone. I certainly enjoyed this book but of the series, I think "The Blossom Twins" was the best. And the most tragic.

Recommended for Carol Wyer fans and lovers of crime fiction.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #SomebodysDaughter in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye, and a second, A Cut for a Cut, to be  published on 24th June 2021.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

Stay up to date with upcoming releases from Bookouture by following them on these social media accounts.

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REVIEW: An Eye for An Eye by Carol Wyer

An Eye for An Eye (DI Kate Young #1) by Carol Wyer

Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural, Suspense

Read: 13th February 2021

Goodreads

Amazon

Published: 1st February 2021

★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)

DESCRIPTION:

A killer running rings around the police. A detective spiralling out of control.

DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.

But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.

As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence—and her grip on reality—called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?

MY REVIEW:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away...but in this case...not the killer! I will never look at an apple in the same way again.

I am huge fan of Carol's crime novels so when she tweeted that a new detective was in our midst, I kept my eyes peeled for its release...or an ARC. As luck would have it, I purchased it as one of Amazon's First Reads last month but then also got it via Netgalley so as to leave a review there. Carol is one of my favourite writers. She keeps readers on their toes from start to finish...and she's a lot of fun to chat to as well!

When I came to the end of this book last night, two words entered my mind...OMG!! WOW!! And then I tweeted Carol to find out when the follow up was due out so I could continue the journey. AN EYE FOR AN EYE starts off with a bang in more ways than one before petering out to build the bigger picture...which incidentally, doesn't become clear till towards the end. But it still makes for gripping reading that I couldn't put down and read long into the night.

We meet DI Kate Young on the brink after suffering a massively traumatic incident. She is then given enforced leave on compassionate grounds despite wanting to continue to work. A determined, tough but broken woman, Kate is feisty when she needs to be but at the present time is still piecing her life back together. She introduces us to her husband Chris, a journalist, whom she met after a car accident. And it is apparent through their conversations that he is the glue that holds her together when she needs it.

Then just three months after being given leave, Kate's friend and mentor DCI William Chase knocks on her door to tell her that she has been specifically requested to head up a murder investigation by the Superintendent, with a team of her choosing. Accompanied by DS Morgan Meredith and DS Emma Donaldson, Kate and her team are tasked with investigating the murder of prominent businessman Alex Corby, who incidentally happens to be well acquainted with the Super. Leaving no stone unturned, and trusting no one but Chris and her team, Kate sets out to uncover the truth behind the grisly murder.

And then another body is discovered. This time by Kate herself! Ian Wentworth was a eminent ENT surgeon and friend of Alex Corby, and therefore Superintendent John Dickson by default. When he discovered a glass jar containing an eye at his holiday cottage in the Peak District he called the police. But it wasn't until he returned to home to his penthouse back in Staffordshire that he realised its significance...too late.

Enquiries lead Kate to the Maddox Club, an exclusive men's club, where Ian Wentworth and Alex Corby were members. But what secrets does this club hold? Or more importantly, the manager who has been with the club since it began in 2008? Kate is sure he is lying to her but has nothing but her gut instinct to prove it. As both men were known to her Super, she knew she must question him but DCI Chase was keeping him well away from the spotlight. Why is that? 

Her trusted team of two, DS' Meredith and Donaldson, were tasked with tracking down a missing witness and searching Wentworth's holiday cottage respectively. But it was what they would find out from the witness and discover at the cottage that would blow everything wide open. But...they had to find a way to tell Kate.

Despite respecting their superior, Morgan and Emma were worried about Kate's mental state. She was often seen mumbling to herself and popping pills on the sly. Was Kate up to seeing this investigation through? And not only that, was she up to facing the truth that it would reveal?

WOW! The thrill ride Carol takes the reader on throughout AN EYE FOR AN EYE is adrenaline-pumping and addictive as you swipe the pages faster and faster in an attempt to get to the truth. All the while, playing detective and picking up on the subtle clues she has peppered throughout the story. I get a real satisfaction when my theory/theories are proved right and I have unmasked the killer before the team has. In this case, I'd even linked the events and certain people to prove my theory. I even tweeted Carol privately whilst reading and working it all out, detailing my entire thought process and theories to her, knowing full well she wouldn't tell me if I was right or wrong...but I was bursting with the knowledge so I told her anyway. It wasn't until I had finished that she congratulated me on picking up on all the subtle clues.

But I digress...

While AN EYE FOR AN EYE starts off with a bang, it does slow down a little as Kate wrestles with her past trauma. Excerpts from that trauma are played out throughout the story and at first I pondered their relevance, but through them it does serve as a background to Kate's story and to understand her mental state. I did find the build a little slow after the bang of the prologue, but then it all started to come together and I began playing detective to see if I couldn't get to the truth before Kate did.

I love how we're not told what really happened to Kate, allowing us as readers to form our own theories, as the pieces were slowly put together. There were times even I questioned Kate's competence! But I knew Carol would have something up her sleeve to pull out on us midway and turn everything on its head. And she did. But I'd already figured that part out long before it was presented to us.

And then when the investigation came to an end, when all was said and done, Kate had one more task left to do. And in doing so, she opens up something that she cannot unsee or believe. Carol has left readers hanging for the follow up "A Cut for a Cut" (to be published 24th June) and I cannot wait to delve into. The question is, will Kate be strong enough to face this next challenge? Because it will force her to question everything she has ever known.

I wasn't sure if I liked Kate in the beginning, probably because I loved DI Natalie Ward so much in Carol's previous series. But Kate is a lot different to Natalie, who was resolutely tough. Kate is tough too but she is also incredibly fragile. And I think her mental health issues helped make her a more sympathetic character. She could have been an obnoxious bitch alienating her colleagues, but despite her problems she was always professional and treated everyone - colleagues and witnesses, even suspects - with respect. I think I am going to like Kate and look forward to getting to know her and her team better.

A fast paced story once it got going, AN EYE FOR AN EYE is compelling, addictive and will keep you glued to the pages until you have it figured out. A fantastic start to what promised to be an exciting new series.

I don't generally like cliffhangers, but the one we are given at the end this book promises more intriguing tales to come for Kate and her team.

A well worth 5 star read. Recommended for fans of crime fiction with an edge.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #NetGalley, #AmazonPub and #ThomasAndMercer for an ARC of #AnEyeForAnEye in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye, and a second, A Cut for a Cut, to be  published on 24th June 2021.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads