My review
Carol Wyer has done it again!! After Robyn Carter, she has come out with another brilliant main character, Detective Natalie Ward. Carol’s investigative writing is as superlative in this book as her others.
The story starts with the disappearance of a child Ava Sawyer from an outdoor birthday party in 2015 whose bones are found 2 years later. And soon other children start disappearing, and their bodies are found wearing yellow party dresses. Detective Natalie is called in along with her team of Mike, Lucy, Ian, and Murray. The investigation begins…
This was a solid plot with definitive investigation using both forensics and follow-up of clues. Natalie was well developed as main character, she had her own personal problems with an out of work house husband and two teenagers. She was both vulnerable and strong. But nothing deterred her from the path of finding out the murderer.
The book read fast, 2 hours from start to finish, the plot was crisp. The team had a cohesiveness which is generally seen in people who have worked together on difficult cases. Natalie and Mike, Natalie and Lucy, all had equal role in trying to bring justice.
I wasn’t analyzing the book or trying to guess the murderer, I was busy following up the way Natalie worked. And I was mighty impressed with her. The credit goes to Carol for etching this strong and intelligent detective. By the end of the book, I was longing to get to book 2. Sadly enough that was yet to be written.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Bookouture, and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating : 5 stars
Book blurb
When five-year-old Ava Sawyer goes missing from a birthday party at a local garden centre, the police are bewildered by the lack of leads. That is until two years later, when Ava’s body is found and another little girl, Audrey Briggs, goes missing. Audrey also attended that party …
Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward. A mother of two teenagers, this case chills her to the bone, and is a disturbing reminder of the last job she worked on. One that still keeps her awake at night…
Natalie soon discovers that Ava’s mother has some worrying gaps in her alibi and as she digs deeper, she’s sure Ava’s father is not telling the full story. And what did the owner of the garden centre Elsa see that day? Something that she’s not telling Natalie …
Just as Natalie is facing up to the grim possibility that Ava and Audrey were killed by someone close to home, another little girl from the party doesn’t come home from her ballet lesson. Can Natalie find a way to stop this killer before more innocent lives are taken?
Product Details
Publication date : 27th September, 2018
Publisher : Bookouture
27 Responses
Great review, Shalini! This one sounds so good! Glad to see it was a good one for you!
Thank you so much. The past few books have been good ones..
Great review! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
This looks really promising!
This was really fun, Monica
EEK! Just the cover, those shoes. [gleep] My heart gave a lurch. Sounds like you really enjoyed and can tell from your great review I would too. I do so love the thrillers.
It was a great read but all of Carol’s books are…
How do you manage to read so much ? 🙂😲
Hahaha yesterday I had an off so read 5 books..
You suck me in with your reviews – I wouldn’t have noticed this book at all without it
Wonderful review! I enjoyed this one as well!💛
Oh yes this was fab, Berit
Whoa, you read this book in two hours?? And gave it five starts as well. This sounds like it was a fantastic read indeed, and I really like the description of the main character. Another winning review! 😊😊
Michel, I read 5 books yesterday. No idea how I did that. And a 6th one now. I am shocked myself… That has never happened… 😨😳
And all of them were fab reads.
Whoa…that is a lot indeed! If I read all day (well depending on the size of the book that is) I might read one maybe two books total…but that’s it. Five though? That takes things to a whole new level! 😊😊
I was super human yesterday… Today sadly enough I am not😂😂
Great review Shalini, I loved this one too and can’t wait for book 2 either.
And you are super human! You read this in 2 hours? Wow, that is totally impressive.
No idea what happened to me yesterday. I was a super human yesterday 😳😨😂😂
Great review, Shalini. I’ve just downloaded this one today and I can’t wait to read it.
It is fabulous.. Hope you love it
Great review! Do you think this could be difficult for a parent to read? I used to totally avoid these types of books when my girls were little, now that they are older, some of them I am ok with, it just all depends on how graphic it gets.
The children are 5 years then 7 or 8 years old. It is not very graphic. But yes, it would be a little chilling. But nothing gross. If you don’t like missing children arc, don’t read this.. You can always read it a decade later.
The emotional devastation of parents, that is told well. So it might be hard hitting
Reblogged this on Angie Dokos.
Yayyyyy thanks Angie
You’re welcome. I can’t wait to read this one.
So glad you loved this one Shalini. I have read some great reviews on this book and now regret not requesting this one. I guess I will have to buy it on Amazon. It sounds like a main character that I will really enjoy.
This was a fab read!!