*thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.

I had thought this book was going to be more focused on the baby based on the cover. Which I have to add is probably my favourite cover for the year! I just love it. So while I had been wrong about the direction of the story I did still enjoy it. It held my attention for the most part but I didnt love it. I would still recommend it as the characters were all enjoyable to read about at the story does keep you guessing at who the murder was as there were a number of suspects that could have done it. But by the end I had started to be less interested which is why this is 3 stars (good) and not 4 stars (very good).

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Last Lullaby, the second procedural to feature DI Natalie Ward of the Samford police.

When Charlotte Brannon is murdered in her bedroom while her baby son sleeps in his nursery Natalie and the team are assigned the investigation. With both Charlotte and her husband, Adam keeping secrets the team uncover several secrets but still puzzle over who would have wanted to leave a message on the wall, written in Charlotte’s blood?

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Lullaby which has a very readable style and is a good whodunnit. It is mostly told from Natalie’s point of view although there are several chapters of a conversation between an unnamed client and their therapist which I skim read as they didn’t interest me and their relevance only becomes apparent at the end of the novel. I really like the amount of time the team waste checking alibis and sorting out the truth from the lies they are being told. It may sound counterintuitive but it makes for really good reading as the secrets start tumbling out. I also liked that it is only with a second murder that the team start to head in the right direction. It seems to me that this is a realistic picture of a murder investigation where there isn’t much to go on. The novel held my attention from start to finish as there always seems to be something going on.

I like DI Natalie Wood who seems like a nice person. She’s an astute investigator who runs a close team but she has problems at home. She is the main breadwinner as her husband has lost his job and is acting more like a sullen teenager than her two teenage children! Finding the work/life balance is a juggling act she doesn’t always manage.

Last Lullaby is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The Last Lullaby is the latest story by Carol Wyer and book two in a series. Definitely a stand alone book as I haven't read book one, The Birthday, about DI Natalie Ward. Ms Wyer keeps the reader guessing and following the bread crumbs along with our heroine, Ms Ward. I'm looking forward to continuing with this series. I was given an early copy to review.

Well Carole E Wyer has done it again - another fab book! This book kept me gripped from the first page to the last with it’s twists and turns - just when I thought I might know ‘who’d dunnit’ things changed again!

DI Natalie Ward and her team kept me enthralled throughout with the case and their own personal lives intertwined. I look forward to the next in the series!

Last Lullaby is the second in the Detective Natalie Ward series. I have read and loved Carol Wyer’s previous series DI Robyn Carter series and this one too doesn’t disappoint.
Charlotte Brannon was brutally murdered and her husband Adam is the main suspect for her murder. She was found by her husband Adam and their son Alfie screaming next door in his nursery. Adam is an Ex-con and owner of a gym for troubled teenagers. When Detective Natalie Ward pulls him in for questioning, he is calm and not worried about his son. Natalie can tell that there is something not right with his statement. She pulls out all the stops to find out what happened that night and discover who the two figures are, that are running away from the scene.
This is another fast -paced, gripping thriller from Carol Wyer. It has some great characters, lots of twists and turns and events that you can relate too. I like how she blends the personal lives of her team and also the problems in her own marriage with David and her kids. It makes the story more realistic. This is an excellent read. I highly recommend.
Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I was so excited to be approved for an ARC of this book having loved ‘The Birthday’, which is the first book in the Detective Natalie Ward series, when I read it just a few months ago. I’d been looking forward to the follow up and was thrilled I didn’t have long to wait.

The book starts with events leading up to the brutal murder of young mum Charlotte Brannon and the discovery of her body by her husband Adam. There are few clues and Adam’s strange behaviour immediately makes him a likely suspect. I found him a perplexing and unlikeable character and think this was what the author intended: we are supposed to not like him and be suspicious of him. He protests his innocence in Charlotte’s death immediately but doesn’t help himself at all with his lies and weird behaviour. Out of the other suspects I thought Lee was ambiguous in a deliberate way too and liked that the author had written characters that were seeming to have nothing to do with the crime yet you had this feeling, this unease about them just like the police did. But also like the police you couldn’t decide if that is because they killed Charlotte or for another reason altogether?

This book differed from ‘The Birthday’ in that over half the book concentrated on the first crime before another one was committed, instead of two occurring quickly. This meant that there was a bit of a lull in the story to some degree, although the author kept you interested by building tension into chasing down the suspects and the information they found out while checking alibis. It kept you gripped and had your mind whirring as you tried to figure out who the culprit was. When the second murder was committed you felt the anger along with Natalie and her team and their desperation to solve these crimes before anyone else was hurt. As with the previous book I found it hard to pin down a suspect as it is so well written you don’t quite know who’s telling the truth and who people really are, making that big reveal all the more satisfying when it happens.

I loved the sudden introduction quite a way into the book of the conversations between the mysterious Patient X and their Doctor. Patient X is obviously the killer but we have no idea of their actual identity. We learn more about them as the book goes on and I found those short, sporadic chapters intriguing and an exciting edition to the story that built up the tension and mystery and showed us a glimpse into the sickening psyche of the murderer.

Last Lullaby also concentrated more on the homelives of Natalie and some of her team which I think helps builds up our relationship with them and makes us feel like we’re reading about people we know when we, and they, return for each book in the series. Even so you could still read and enjoy this book as a standalone without any confusion.

Carol Wyer is now one of those authors whose latest releases are a must-read for me. Her simple but engrossing writing, fantastic characters, vivid crime scenes, and dramatic storylines, make this a crime series you shouldn’t miss. Now I just have to wait for book three….

Out December 7th

I really loved series opener, The Birthday, when I read it earlier this year and, although the story contained within this book is self-contained, to get the very best from it in terms of character development and backstory, I do recommend that you read that first. I really gelled with Natalie in the first book and am pleased to say that that relationship came on in leaps and bounds through this one.
We start with a murder and a nasty one to boot. The body of Charlotte is found by her husband Adam in their bedroom, their young child remaining unharmed and a single word written on the wall in blood "WHY" Det. Natalie Ward and her team are called in to investigate and their attention is drawn to Adam when his story doesn't initially add up. There's a time delay which may or may not involve his friend and also the babysitter he dropped off home the same night. When there's another similar murder, also involving an unharmed child, it becomes a race against time to find out who is doing this and stopping them before more deaths occur. But then, before they can do this, the case comes closer to home when one of their own gets involved. Can Natalie put aside her problematic home life and get stuck in to bringing the perpetrator to justice?
This book definitely ticked all my boxes along the way as I tried to second guess everything and figure it all out ahead of time. I didn't manage that, mainly due to some inspired trickery by the perpetrator which kept both me and the Detectives flummoxed for a while. It was also a rather interesting motive which, when explained made perfect sense but was complicated enough to keep me guessing pretty much throughout. This sort of misdirection tactic, when employed by as skilful an author as this one never left me feeling cheated or duped as I have been with some of the sleight of hand employed by lesser authors. All I could do, when the dust had settled, was sit back and applaud the author for a job well done!
It's a tense and fast paced story acted out to perfection by some very well crafted characters that were easy to connect to. I've already waxed lyrical about Natalie and she really didn't disappoint me in this, her second outing. I especially liked the way she interacted with both suspects and her team - especially Lucy - as well as the times we see her with her children. She just needs to do something about David. But I'm sure she will have that covered by the time I catch up with her again in book three which I am really looking forward to.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Last Lullaby is the second book in the Detective Natalie Ward series. From the beginning we are thrown straight into the scene of the murder of Charlotte Brannon. Natalie is first on scene and in trying to solve their set uncovers some dark secrets. A second murder quickly follows and Natalie and her team find themselves on the hunt for a serial killer.

This book is well written with plenty of twists and turns along the way. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Fabulous book #2 in this series. I loved book #1 and this book surpassed it! Natalie is juggling lots of balls. Someone is killing mothers of young children but not harming their child. The husband of victim #1 is suspected of being her killer. Motive galore. Great characters, busy plot. Nalalie and her team do a wonderful job. Hope book 3 is out soon. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

What a fantastic book, Carol has done it again and if I am honest I enjoyed it more than The Birthday.

If you like a tense, gripping psychological thriller then this is the book for you, full of twists and turns, and an excellent storyline with an amazing plot.

I look forward to reading more from Carol and Detective Natalie Ward in the future, well done Carol.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The Last Lullaby Carol Wyer

The second book to feature DI Natalie Wood, a middle-aged woman trying desperately to be a good wife, and mother, at the same time as leading a Major Investigation Team.

When the body of a woman is found brutally murdered in her bedroom suspicion is immediately placed on the husband.

The more the team look into him the more lies and untruths are uncovered but are they anything to do with the murder.

The victim was an entitled woman that thrived on playing people off against each other. The husband is an ex-con who has set up a gym in an underprivileged estate.

The investigation is set spinning in circles by the stories told by locals, and by the mixed messages they are receiving about the victim.

With the investigation going down one cul-de-sac after anther the team are getting nowhere. Then another woman is found dead in very similar circumstances and it becomes clear that it’s the same killer.

The investigation is still going nowhere quick until………you’ll have to read the book to find out.

This is a great story. The frustrations of the police are laid bare as they are sent on one false lead after another by people trying to protect their own back, or simply deciding they don’t want to help the Police.

The main character, Natalie, and her team are flat out. Carol Wyer writes about the affect their career has on their relationships better than any other writer at the moment.

She looks at the almost selfish attitude they have towards keeping the investigation going, usually at the cost of their nearest and dearest.

And the transient characters are equally as good

The first murder victim Charlotte is a woman that wants everything everybody else has, then once she’s got it, she gets bored and gets rid of it. The book could easily have been called Marmite Girl, because people in the book either love her or hate her.

Her Husband is a thug that makes it easy for the reader to want him to be guilty. The people he hangs out with are all rouges that think themselves above the law.

It’s not often that a Police Procedural is based around one murder, and although this one isn’t either, it very nearly is. And its brilliant. It allows the characters to be explored fully and develop. I have a feeling that some of them may make appearances in future books.

A great read and I can’t wait for book 3

Pages: 333
Publisher: Bookouture
Publishing date: 7th December 2018.

Lo suficientemente interesante como para querer terminarlo. Los personajes están bien, la narración no está mal y la intriga se mantiene durante todo el libro, me sorprendí en más de una ocasión al ir descubriendo pequeños detalles a lo largo de la historia. Es una buena lectura ligera.

Last lullaby # Netgallery

Just finished this book and stayed awake to finish it I started it last night I put it down on 46%. However when I went to bed, I just had to pick it up again and refused to put it down until I had finished. It’s cleverly written leading you to think one person as committed the murder by the time the second murder takes place you think it might be someone else, yet you stil can not help thinking the first person is involved in one way or another. It’s just so full of twists that even the police after keep going back to the beginning. There are so many villains in the novel it’s teally hard to work out who has committed the murders when you find out who it is it’s no one you would have even thought about. Very very cleverly done it’s certainly a nail biter from the first page right to the very end. It is a brilliant read one I highly recommend. Although it would have been nice to have had a epilogue. Just to see what Adam did about Alfie. To me that would have been the crowning glory, especially under the circumstances of Alfie’s parentage ( farther ) not a book to be missed

Another thrilling book from Carol Wyer. Last Lullaby kept me guessing right up till the end. It's a fantastic read and Detective Natalie Ward is one of my favourite fictional detectives. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series as I need to find out what Natalie does next. Carol Wyer has left us with a big cliff hanger!

Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

I'm probably very much in a minority with this review, but, I'm afraid this is just an OK read for me.

It starts well with a murder to be solved and a police detective with her own family problems. However, it soon became very so/so and just didn't hook me, in fact, I found myself flicking through sections as it just seemed a plodding storyline.

I appreciate that for some, this will really grip them and I wish it and the author every success. Just not one for me.

Thanks to Bookoutre and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for my honest review.

What can I say about this author that has already not been said?!!

Fabulous! Fabulous! Simply fabulous!!

I am going through some health issues, and I wanted to read a book which would keep me captivated, my brain engrossed, and switched away from real life. What better than a Carol Wyer book to take me to an alternate universe where I play a detective... Ugghhh I was a poor detective, I couldn't guess it even till the end!!

I can summarize the story in detail, but I don't want to, as the blurb says it all. Murders leading to investigation with DI Natalie and her team with Murray, Ian, Lucy, Mike at the helm.

Carol always has a strong main character, and Detective Natalie is just that. But this time she is more real to me, her problems at home with husband and kids weaved a string around my heart and made me like her a wee bit more than the previous book.

As the lead detective, Natalie is awesome. Carol, as usual, gives us a solid investigation without going into the macabre of death. I like the way the author stays at the edge of the graphic details of the body. I often wonder if Carol would dip down into gruesome minutiae but she never does! She cleverly uses the reactions of others to tell us about the state of the body. Clever writing!! One reaction says it all!!

Police procedural with complete investigation, forensics, profiler, man-hours put in by Natalie and her team make this a great wholesome read. There is tension across the pages, each murder adds to the race, the dedication by the team at the cost of their personal life speeds up the reading, the nail biting finish along with a gripping last line left me with a book hangover...

I completed the book at precisely 2:40 am, and I couldn't stop thinking about Natalie!! What will happen to her in the next book?!!

P.S. I recommend this book when not being well as it completely distracted me!!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and publisher Bookouture, and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

Great book will be reading other books by this author.
Will also recommend this book to others.
Great read

Last Lullaby is the second book in the DI Natalie Ward series. We follow Natalie and her team as they investigate the murder of a young woman.

When Adam Brannon returns home from dropping off the babysitter, he discovers his wife Charlotte has been brutally murdered but their baby son has been left unharmed. DI Natalie Ward and her team are called to investigate. Adam is the prime suspect but he has a rock solid alibi. When another young woman is murdered and her child is also left unharmed, it seems as if the two murders are connected, Natalie has to race to find the killer before they can strike again.

Last Lullaby is a fast paced thriller with Natalie dealing not only with the murder investigation but also problems in her home life. It is an excellent read with plenty of twists along the way and an unpredictable ending.

As I always say, I love Carol Wyer’s dark side!
I’m a big fan of this author, and I can see how much she’s grown into the crime novels with each new book. They just keep getting better and better.
This is one very clever story.
As each suspect is revealed the author goes into detail about their lives and movements on the night of the murder. This gives you as the reader lots to think about and draw your own conclusions and suspicions. When an almost identical murder takes place, the team try to find any details that may link the two, and there are many things to link. There are people known to both victims. Interviewing the suspects is extremely frustrating for Natalie, are they telling the truth or covering it up?
Can Natalie and her team uncover the truth before another life is lost?
A real web of loose ends is what Natalie and her team are dealing with, and deal with it they most certainly do. With some fantastic detective work they find those missing links and wham bam thank you mam, there we have it, our murderer. I can’t say anything more about the plot without giving any spoilers.
Getting to know the new team is great. Finding out who gets along with who, little secrets between team members. We find out more about their home life too, and how work impacts upon it. The end of the book leaves me gasping for more.
A good time to start reading Carol Wyer’s books if you haven’t already, starting with The Birthday.
Well-paced and great writing. Extremely tense and a pleasure to read.
I look forward to the next one!
All my reviews are quite short and concise as I'm here to show off the book rather than my own writing ability.
Thanks to Carol Wyer, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Last Lullaby is Book 2 in the Detective Natalie Ward Series. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

I am a massive Carol Wyer fan so was very excited to read this, especially after reading book 1 The Birthday which is my favourite book of 2018 so far. Last Lullaby had big shoes to fill and I had a massive sense of anticipation when I opened the book.

Wow it didn’t let me down this book had me hooked from the start, it reeled me in to this fantastic plot right from the first page. A mother being brutally murdered whilst her baby is in the room next door. I was totally hanging on to every word unable to put the kindle down.

Carol got the atmosphere just right in this book, it was tense, chilling and very creepy. At points I found myself holding my breath as the tension mounted. Natalie has got her work cut out with this one, is it the husband? a lover? an ex? a random nutter? can she stop the killer before they kill again? Not only has she got this to deal with she has got to deal with her husbands gambling habit, has he started gambling again? the stress it real and it’s taking it’s toll. The team are working all hours trying to find the killer, can they stop him before it’s too late!

I loved this book, it was fantastic. I am so happy that I have another great series with a strong female lead to read. I enjoy Carol’s style of writing and crime fiction set in the UK is my favourite so it’s a win win for me. This was a really well written piece of crime fiction that was a bloody good read and I don’t hesitate in giving it 5 stars and a place in my top 10 of my favourite books of 2018.

I highly recommend Last Lullaby it’s a cracking read and would make a great gift for a crime fiction lover for the upcoming festive season. Or why not just treat yourself, go on you know you want to!