Review: The Dare by Carol Wyer

Title: The Dare

Author: Carol Wyer

Series: Detective Natalie Ward, #3

Published: April 2019, Bookouture

Format: ARC E-copy, 348 pages

Source: Netgalley via Publisher

Summary: 

Jane’s daughter is a good girl. What is she hiding?

When thirteen-year-old Savannah Hopkins doesn’t come straight home from school, as she always does, her mother Jane immediately raises the alarm.

Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward
whose daughter Leigh is the same age as Savannah. Soon Natalie’s worst
fears are confirmed when the teenager’s broken body is found in nearby
shrubland.

Evidence points towards a local recluse, but just as the net is closing around him, one of Savannah’s friends, Harriet, is reported missing.

As
Natalie delves into the lives of both girls, she soon discovers a
sinister video on their phones, daring the girls to disappear from their
families for 48 hours.

But Natalie isn’t quick enough for this killer, and she is devastated to find Harriet’s body on a fly tip a day later.

Caught
up in the case, she takes her eye off her own daughter and when Leigh
goes missing after school she knows she must be in terrible danger. The
clock is ticking for Natalie. Can she catch this killer before her
little girl becomes the next victim? 

This gripping
rollercoaster of a read will have you up in the small hours turning the
pages. Fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Caine and Robert Dugoni will love The Dare.

My thoughts:  This
is the third book in Carol Wyer’s Detective Natalie Ward series, and each book has been fantastic…one more addicting
and thrilling than the previous one! I was a huge fan of Carol Wyer’s DI Robyn Carter series
and while I was bummed to see that series come to an end, I can
absolutely say I am loving this new series, especially since
it has another strong female lead!

I think what I love most about this series is that the character development is top notch. Carol Wyer continues to build her characters and we see that in each and every book. I love Detective Natalie Ward and I love that we really see just how hard it is for her to balance work and life. She loves her job and loves her family, but it’s hard for her to juggle the two, and it doesn’t help that things are not great between her and her husband – I so wish she would just kick him out! I would if it were me…but that’s just me. I do like that we see how she is constantly dealing with issues of trust when it comes to him…and that this has been an on-going issue.

I love when we get the perspective of the killer thrown into the mix of storytelling. To me, it just amps up the tension and suspense. I always try to see if I can figure out who it is, based on any clues the author might throw in, but I was not successful this time. But still, these segments were chilling and eerie and I loved it!

The case that Natalie and her team were involved in was every parents worst nightmare and ended up hitting quite close to Natalie herself. It really reinforces the idea that parents don’t always know every little thing their children are up to, especially when it comes to what they are doing online. I don’t have children, but I have a ton of nieces and nephews and this scares me so much. You can’t monitor them 24/7, but at the same time, you do have to be aware. This case preyed on a parent’s fear and I felt that come across in this book.

The books in this series can all be read as stand-alones, but I think they work so much better if you read the books in order. You get a much richer reading experience, and you will fall in love with these characters, I promise! I cannot wait to read the next book in this series, The Sleepover, which is out in September…these books are so addicting and binge-worthy. They keep you on the edge of your seat as you try to figure out just what is going on. Have you read this series yet? If not, what are you waiting for?

Books in this series: 

1. The Birthday
2. Last Lullaby
3. The Dare 
4. The Sleepover – due out September 2019