Sasha’s eighteen-year-old daughter Gemma was all she had in the world. Sasha fell pregnant with Gemma when she was still at school, and the two are as close as sisters. So when Gemma’s burned and broken body is found, Sasha’s world ends. What kind of person would want her beautiful daughter dead?
Leading the case is Detective Natalie Ward, scarred by her own recent tragedy. When she finds a note in Gemma’s diary from ‘a secret admirer’, she moves quickly, determined to un-mask them. But interviews with Gemma’s devastated ex-boyfriend, and her charismatic teacher, who has been seen embracing his student far away from the classroom, don’t give Natalie the answers she’d hoped for…
And then the case takes a devastating, personal twist. CCTV footage reveals Natalie’s estranged husband David followed Gemma home every evening the week before she died.
Natalie is forced to put personal feelings aside and follow procedure, even though she can’t believe David could be guilty. But when Gemma’s housemate is found murdered, Natalie thinks the killer could still be at large. Is she right to trust her instincts about David and can she discover the truth before another precious life is taken?
Grippingly fast and nail-bitingly tense, The Secret Admirer will have you flying through the pages long into the night. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Karin Slaughter.
Title: The Secret Admirer
Author: Carol Wyer
Publication Date: 2nd April 2020
Publishes By: Bookouture
Our Review
This is the sixth in the Natalie Ward series and wow Carol Wyer certainly puts her characters through their paces as Natalie faces her toughest case yet.
If ever a book shows that actions have consequences then this is it.
The book starts with an horrific attack on a young girl called Gemma and quickly escalates to more bodies being found.
Natalie and her team are under immense pressure to find the killer before they strike again.
As always the momentum of Carol’s books carry you along so fast and really make you feel part of the investigation and I’d say that from midway until the end my heart was pounding as I teetered on the edge of my seat as various channels of investigation were exposed.
What I’ve enjoyed most about this series is watching how Natalie has evolved as a person as each book takes her to a different stage of her personal life. When she speaks to Gemma’s mum she is able to communicate with her on a completely different level because of sharing the same type of loss.
Natalie is constantly being pulled in so many different directions as she tries to be the best detective, mother, wife and eventually lover but she never ever gets a chance to find out who she is as she never has time to herself. Natalie has always been a flawed character from the beginning but I think she’s learned a lot from what’s happened to her and in some ways although heartbroken for ever she seems to have found some sort of peace. I really think she deserves a holiday somewhere exotic that she can unwind and as she lives in a fictional world, unlike us, she should be able to do so.
I’ve completely loved this series and although the case is solved I think Natalie's private life has been left on bit of a cliff-hanger so I'll be waiting with baited breath until book seven comes out in July.
Well done Carol Wyer this series has been incredibly heart-breaking, gripping and left me with a sense of hope that Natalie can pick up the pieces of her life and move on to a happier future.
Sincerely
Book Angel x
About the Author
Carol Wyer garnered a loyal following as an author of romantic comedies, and won The People’s Book Prize Award for non-fiction (2015). In 2017 she stepped from comedy to the “dark side” and embarked on a series of thrillers, featuring the popular DI Robyn Carter, which earned her recognition as a crime writer.
The Staffordshire-based writer now has more crime novels in the pipeline, although she can still sometimes be found performing her stand-up comedy routine Laugh While You Still Have Teeth.
https://www.carolwyer.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolEWyer/
https://twitter.com/carolewyer
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer
Annette, you are wonderful! This is a superb review and I love that you love Natalie as much as I do. I have enjoyed her journey from The Birthday and layering her gradually to this point and am so pleased by reactions such as yours. Yes, she is flawed but she is human and she tries, bless her, she tries so hard against the odds. She has learnt a lot and you may be surprised at how far she has come in teh next book which will be due out in July - yes - there is another. Natalie has become a major part of my life as have all the team and I will have difficulty in parting company with them so stay tuned...! Thank you so much for taking art in the book tour, for writing such a fantastic review and for sharing the book love. I'm very grateful to you and you have put a smile on my face. :) xx
ReplyDeletethe not teh... see the trouble my editors have with me? typos everywhere! LOL
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