I am delighted to share my review on the opening day of the Blog Tour for A Life For a Life by Carol Wyer. This is the 3rd book in this series and it is another fabulous story involving Detective Kate Young.

My huge thanks to Zoe at Zooloo’s Book Tours for my spot on the Blog Tour and for arranging my e-copy of this excellent book.

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?

Purchase Links – Amazon UK – US

MY REVIEW

This is the third book in this series and it is a cracking series. This latest book, A Life For a Life is such an aptly named title for the story.

detective Kate Young is a tough as boots detective, she has to be to have dealt with what has gone on in her past. She is still coming to terms with the death of her husband, and she still misses her father. While she is making progress and in touch with her remaining family, things are still challenging for her.

When a new case lands on her desk, she once again battles with one of her superiors. She is convinced he wants her to fail so appears to limit her and her small team. The case of a body discovered shot through the head isn’t a normal shooting. It is also the start of something that has the team really struggling to piece things together.

While working on this official case, she is also still working on her own personal one. This is a case that has been developing over the course of the series, it has the potential to blow things out into the open and careers could be ended. The problem is that she has very little in the way of evidence. She also finds that her own sounding board for advice has disappeared.

Working one main case is one thing, especially when you have a team working it with you. But when you add another case that you are essentially working yourself and undercover, it makes things difficult. Another problem Kate has is that she really doesn’t know who she can completely trust, her team seem ok but she has her doubts.

Knowing that certain people are waiting for her to fail and fall makes her more determined to do all she can. Working all the hours she can and concentrating all her energy on the shooting case leaves her run down. Her appearance adds fuel to fire that she isn’t able to cope with. All she needs is more pressure, but she does have a superb team to help her.

The author has created a storyline that really does pull on the heartstrings. It is a plot that has a real emotional side to it and it was easy to see how this had developed. Combining this with the unusual weapon of choice is an interesting angle. It is also one that makes sense as things are eventually laid out.

Some surprising twists, an excellently laid out police procedural with an underlying personal story and a one-sitting read for me. This is one where the bodies pile up, the questions keep coming and the pressure is constant. If you have not read any of the previous books in the series I would recommend doing so for the underlying story and also because they are really, really good. This is a book and a series I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer’s crime novels have sold over one million copies and been translated into nine languages.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.

February 2021 saw the release of the first in the much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young. 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 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’s also been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television.

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.

To learn more, go to http://www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter: @carolewyer

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Many thanks for reading my post, a like or share would be amazing 🙂 xx