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mrsbooknerd's review
4.0
Enjoyed this so much. There was such a great balance between the personal aspects if Natalie's life and the main crime plot. When the main plot hit a dead end, the personal storyline picked up.
I also enjoyed the fact that time had passed since The Blossom Twins. It meant that we did see the family start to heal rather than it all being about the fallout of the previous book.
(I said bad things about David last book but ask and ye shall receive)
I liked how layered the main plot was, it certainly wasn't as straightforward as it first seemed. As elements were revealed it just built up to a really clever web of lies and coincidence and tension.
I had an inkling who the killer was but it still kept me wondering until the end.
I think the author has some serious beef with female characters. I'm fairly sure that every book I've read has been primarily female deaths. Usually young girls. It makes me nervous...
I think this was by far one of my favourites in the series
I also enjoyed the fact that time had passed since The Blossom Twins. It meant that we did see the family start to heal rather than it all being about the fallout of the previous book.
(I said bad things about David last book but ask and ye shall receive)
I liked how layered the main plot was, it certainly wasn't as straightforward as it first seemed. As elements were revealed it just built up to a really clever web of lies and coincidence and tension.
I had an inkling who the killer was but it still kept me wondering until the end.
I think the author has some serious beef with female characters. I'm fairly sure that every book I've read has been primarily female deaths. Usually young girls. It makes me nervous...
I think this was by far one of my favourites in the series
dawnlaw's review
5.0
Love this series and this book was no exception, it was brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the red herrings kept me guessing and engaged right through the book. Had my interest from the first page and had me hanging on to every word. A really great book that deserves the five stars I’m giving it.
julie_hastings's review
5.0
My love for Carol Wyer books is so strong. She is hands down one of my favorite authors to read. If I’m ever stuck in a slump, she is my go to to snap me out of it. This is the 6th novel in the DI Natalie Ward series and again I highly suggest you read the series in order to follow along with the characters story line. This book continues off with the emotional heartbreak for DI Ward and she has to overcome an extreme amount of obstacles to solve her case. But the biggest obstacle of all is that someone very close to her becomes a main suspect. Wyer provides an emotional rollercoaster for many characters and the reader if you have been invested in her stories. Her writing is impeccable and always creates a fast pace read making you want more.
zooloo1983's review
4.0
I have just this second finished and I have tears down my face!! Carol!!! It is tough to follow on after The Blossom Twins but Carol has achieved that here. It is like she knows our fears and emotions and puts that all on Natalie, everything we would and do experience as a reader, Natalie is experiencing. That is not an easy ride.
This case is like the chicken and the egg, what comes first? If person A didn’t do this, then person B wouldn’t have done that which led to person C doing this to go back to person B and then through person D E F G etc etc so much was going on! As weird as this sounds, and it does sound weird, this book felt lighter than the last one. I can’t explain what it is because the opening scenes are awful, I mean an acid attack on someone’s face is just beyond awful (I just can’t think of any words to explain it better!). Then there are two more deaths which just do not make sense. Maybe because I am still trying to get over the horrors of the last book, maybe I’m desensitised or maybe I am just plain weird but this story had a different feel to it.
Maybe, maybe it’s because we weren’t looking for a serial killer this time and maybe because I didn’t feel the pressure of a ticking time bomb, maybe that’s why it felt lighter. There wasn’t the usual urgency in Natalie’s life. This is the first case back from that book and it’s not easy being thrown straight into an acid attack. When we are with Natalie, we feel that weight on her shoulders and we sense the black cloud because it’s the same for us. These people are like family now. What they feel we feel.
Natalie not only has a lot of pressure to solve this case but somehow David is involved. Now I washed my hands of him after the last book, but Carol said to give him another chance. So I did, and what did she do, she made me shed tears over him!! Woman! His sections of the book were hard to read, when he was being interrogated and when we see him with Natalie outside the case. I was then thrown into a frenzied panic at one point urging the story along to get the outcome for David. Tears!!!
Murray is back! Yay! The team are back together and the banter is back. We so needed Murray in the last book, the team wasn’t right, but this time he is back. He is like a dog with a bone. He is not taking any crap from anyone, oh Murray! Lucy, however, is now suffering at the hands of her job. She is now having a bit of “grief” from her partner to spend time with her and their newborn baby. The job really does take over.
It was an ease of a welcome back for Natalie but no means easy for her. Everywhere she looked she has heartbreak but she does what does best. She put her big girl pants on and she hunts for justice. She has to compartmentalise her personal life when working and I admire her for that. Don’t worry I’m not a secret admirer writing her letters…..I am an open one doing it right here LOL sorry couldn’t resist.
Well…on to the final book in the series now, quite upset about this. No dramatic end at the end of The Secret Admirer but a lot of change is in the process of happening. Whether this change will be for the better, well I am off to find out now!
charmossy's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
caspeia's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lianareadsblog's review
4.0
4.5 stars
It’s my first book in the series and by the author but I’ve got hooked from the first page in this story.
A whirlwind of suspenseful twists and so many moments that I thought I’m actually watching a movie and not reading a book.
I enjoyed every single page of it and the main characters with their own heartbreaking back story but trying to bring justice to an innocent woman.
It’s well written and gripping indeed and I’ll definitely recommend it.
It’s my first book in the series and by the author but I’ve got hooked from the first page in this story.
A whirlwind of suspenseful twists and so many moments that I thought I’m actually watching a movie and not reading a book.
I enjoyed every single page of it and the main characters with their own heartbreaking back story but trying to bring justice to an innocent woman.
It’s well written and gripping indeed and I’ll definitely recommend it.
mandylovestoread's review
5.0
The Blossom Girls, book 5 in this series absolutely broke me. I could hardly believe what I was reading as the tears fell. So I jumped at the chance to read book 6, The Secret Admirer, but was hesitant going in. Poor Natalie, seriously that woman cannot catch a break and this installment is a tough read. again it made me cry to imagine what Natalie was going through, every day.
The Detective Natalie Ward series just keeps getting better and better. I have loved every single book in this series and am wanting book 7 already. I am hoping that things will get better for Natalie and her family soon. I am not sure one woman could take anything more. My heart broke for her.
An acid attack on a beautiful young student bring Natalie back to work after 3 months of trying to adjust to her life without her daughter and after the end of her marriage. She knows that going back will bring some normality back to her life but at every turn she is reminded of her daughter. This horrific attack kills the girl and Natalie and her team begin the investigation. Who would want to this girl dead and why? And then one of her housemates goes missing...
Another fantastic chapter in Natalie's story, highly recommend this series. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.
The Detective Natalie Ward series just keeps getting better and better. I have loved every single book in this series and am wanting book 7 already. I am hoping that things will get better for Natalie and her family soon. I am not sure one woman could take anything more. My heart broke for her.
An acid attack on a beautiful young student bring Natalie back to work after 3 months of trying to adjust to her life without her daughter and after the end of her marriage. She knows that going back will bring some normality back to her life but at every turn she is reminded of her daughter. This horrific attack kills the girl and Natalie and her team begin the investigation. Who would want to this girl dead and why? And then one of her housemates goes missing...
Another fantastic chapter in Natalie's story, highly recommend this series. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased.