I received an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexity of relationships, secrets, and the shadows of the past.
Weatherley masterfully creates an atmosphere of suspense, where nothing is quite as it seems, and the characters' hidden motives slowly unravel with each page. The book keeps you on edge, as every interaction seems layered with secrets, and the plot twists make for a thrilling ride. The writing is sharp, and the pacing keeps you hooked until the very last page.
The characters are well-developed, and their complex dynamics make the story all the more compelling. Overall, The Couple on Cedar Close is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers, offering a chilling exploration of trust, betrayal, and the dark secrets people are hiding behind closed doors.

What an amazing thriller this had so many twists and turns I felt like I was on a rollercoaster and I love a good plot twist fantastic keeps you guessing roo the very end

Enjoyable to be read on its own, but as the second Dan Riley book, it really starts to develop the characters we've already met by embroiling them in another difficult case. It's an. easy and gripping read..

5 fabulous stars for this backlist NetGalley British police procedural hidden gem!

In a wealthy, close knit neighbourhood, an estranged husband is found murdered in his family home. His wife is covered in his blood without any memory of what happened.

I had no idea this was book 2 of a series when I downloaded it years ago. Knowing that would have deterred me from downloading it so I’m glad it worked out this way. This book can EASILY be read as a standalone. Yes, there is mention of things that happened in the past. But nothing that is so important that I felt like I was missing something. In fact, this book was SO AMAZING that I’ve already downloaded book 1 so I can get the backstory on the main character and I plan to read the remaining 5 books after. This is important information to know in my review as I am NOT a series reader. This shows you just how FANTASTIC this book was!

First, I ADORED, the main detective, Dan Riley. (I actually have a slight book crush on him 🫣). He was such a terrific main character! He was hard working, gentlemanly, heartbroken, dedicated, charming, clever and his inner thoughts kept me entertained with his witty inner snark! The book smoothly switches between multiple perspectives, but I always enjoyed Detective Riley’s chapters the best.

I had an immediate connection to this intriguing storyline from the very first page in the Prologue. It was a brilliant way to introduce the story and pique curiosity. I was invested from the Prologue and never once did my attention waver. The fast paced flow was perfection, keeping me thinking of this book even when I wasn’t reading it.

Unreliable narrators can be an overdone narrative but one of the perspectives in this story that focuses on the wife, is so well done! I didn’t trust her but I felt for her. I was curious about her backstory and what lead to her current state. I wanted her to get answers. She had me questioning everything!

It’s easy to see I LOVED this book and highly recommend it! Yes, it’s another book centered around neighbourhood drama which is an oversaturated genre, but this one is unique, clever, well written, and done so very well! I can’t wait to start book 1 and then continue on with this series!

Audio rating: 5+ stars! The narrator was PHENOMENAL and immensely added to my overall enjoyment! I can only hope that he is the same audio narrator for the entire series as I plan to listen to all of these books.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy!

"One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food, and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it’s her first time meeting the neighbours. And it’s the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair."

This gripping read held my interest from start to finish. The book shifts between Laurie, a deputy inspector and his partner along with others trying to figure out what happened. There seems to be a separate story on Kiki, a foster home child whose only salvation is her foster mom’s biological son.

Predictable in parts, but mostly engaging, I would definitely recommend this to others.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley.

This is a great sequel in the Dan Riley series where you really get to know the detectives as they solve these perplexing crimes.

This story is about a dead, unfaithful husband and the wife who cannot remember anything about what she was doing when he was murdered. And even though she was devastated by the affair, she NEVER would have murdered him. Add to that the difficulty of Laurie barely knowing her neighbors being that she only just met them the night of her husbands murder.

I really do appreciate getting a complex look at the detective's inner thoughts and trauma as he does his best to objectively solve a crime, with subject matter that hits close to home. Add to that, this is simply a riveting, well paced, and exciting murder suspense novel. Great with a hot mug and blanket!

I can’t tell you how much I loved this book. I’ve had it for a while and wish I’d read it much sooner.

I didn’t realise when I started reading but it’s book two of a five book series. This didn’t affect my reading experience However as the writing and past information from book one was well covered in this book.

I loved the team headed by Detective Dan Riley. His character was really well developed and think the characters in general were formed really well. I’ll definitely only be catching up with the rest of the series.

I truly enjoyed the pacing of the story and the well written characters. This book took me by surprise. It kept me interested throughout the story and I needed to see what was going to happen. I would recommend this story to all thriller and who-done it lovers.

Book 2 in the DI Dan Riley series and like book 1 this was an excellent read. Right from the start I was completely hooked and loved every part of this book. I really like Dan and the way his character develops throughout the series . Can’t wait to read the next book in the series .

Great storyline that gripped me throughout. Really enjoyed getting to know detective Riley. Raced through this

This wasn’t a bad domestic thriller by any means, though I would read the first book in this series first. Definitely a case of my personal preference - stories with incest just make me really uncomfortable. #netgalley

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author, Anna-Lou Weatherly, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Couple on Cedar Close in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book offered a good read. The storyline was well written and the characters were well described.
A good read for the train/bus ride to fill the time.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

3.5
It’s book 2 in this series but can definitely be read as a stand-alone.

I have to say that all the characters in this book stood out to be 3D to me, very real. I could certainly imagine them in my minds eye.

The plot was good, although not unique in itself it did have plenty of paths that either lead your thoughts to nowhere or you predicted what the outcome would be.
In itself I quite enjoyed it then there were parts I raised my eyes to the ceiling about, predictable.

Laura defends her innocence too many times. Yes I can see someone would say it, but, for the reader it was far too many times in my point of view especially when the reader actually knew it wasn’t her.

The parts I loved, I really enjoyed. The author did make this a fast moving thriller. Yes it’s a police procedure based series yet, it had that thriller vibe which I love.

It’s not a book you should refuse read as it’s got some very good ratings. Besides, I did like it.

I read this book after seeing several people talk about how much they like this author's mysteries. Often I think detective novels veer towards police procedural over thriller, but that is not the case with this book. It is the second in the series but I had no trouble keeping up, having not read the first.

Laurie and Robert have a marriage that seems okay on the outside, but is filled with lies and deception. This is the norm for them until one day when Laurie spills all at a local BBQ. And then the trouble starts…

Laurie awakens in her guest bed with no memory of the end of the evening before. She remembers waiting for Robert to come home, hoping for a way for them to reconcile his cheating and lies. And now she is alone, wet, and unsure what happened.

And then she hears a phone ringing, and she finds her husband in the bathroom murdered….
Though the police arrest Laurie, DI Riley seems to have doubts about what really happened. And soon he’ll discover that Robert’s death is only the beginning of a twisted mystery…

I enjoyed DI Riley. He is that classic tortured detective that makes police procedurals work. You will kind of have the first book spoiled if you jump in here, but I didn’t mind that. I thought the mystery itself had lots of twists and turns, and had a pretty fast-pace.

I wanted a bit more focus on the suspense aspect personally, but this is a police procedural so it had a lot of that as well. This will work as a standalone novel if you don’t plan to read the first. Overall a solid mystery that I enjoyed!

Thank you Bookouture for my copy! Opinions are my own.

This is the second in the series & although I prefer to always start at the beginning, I do think this would be fine as a stand-alone. Talk about a psychological thriller! In the beginning I had absolutely no idea what was going on! & so I really couldn’t put it down. I also really enjoyed the procedural aspects too.. I felt they were unusually realistic.. & Detective Dan Riley is 1 of my favorites (he’s the constant in the series) & I was consumed with following him around to see if he’d be proven right.. Or totally wrong. The only reason this is a 4 instead of a 5 (for me) is because I had a feeling about what was going on (& more importantly, who was behind it) pretty early on.. Still I wasn’t at all sure & enjoyed the clues being uncovered. I will definitely be on the lookout for book 3!

wow what A READ PLOT WAS fab lots of twist and turns I was not sure at start but once i got to about chapters 7 I was gripp a good story lots going on a good book

Quite predictable but a fun read nonetheless. I like that it can be read as a standalone; I was not particularly invested in Dan Riley's personal life though that was a good way of ending the book. The backstory/chapters from the past were the most interesting to me.

Other than that, there's not much I can say as it's another run-of-the-mill domestic thriller with the same tropes and sterotypes. Everything plays out exactly the way you would expect it to once a certain character is introduced. While I enjoyed the book, I was not overly impressed. Might or might not check out the rest of the series.

Laurie wakes up one morning and her dress is wet. She turns on the lights to realize she is covered in blood. She also finds her cheating husband dead in the guest bedroom. She is unable to remember the previous night due to a blackout. She tells the police she didn’t kill her husband. I really enjoyed reading this book and following the detectives as they piece the case together. Things are never quiet as they seem and Detective Riley isn’t willing to accept an open and close case. The ending/ final verdict was pretty easy to figure out early on, but I still enjoyed the read. It was a fast paced book and I liked how it brought actual psychology into the case. The only part that bothered me was when they were taking about twins and said that they were the result of the father’s family history. I’m hoping that was to make the character look less educated and not the author missing some basic knowledge of biology, but the book was still an engaging read!

When Laurie Mills awakes from a drunken stupor she finds her estranged husband dead and herself covered in blood. She can’t remember anything from the night before and finds herself the prime suspect. Laurie and Robert’s relationship is complicated and the police find out that there are many sides to Robert’s character. DI Dan Riley suspects that this is not a clear cut domestic murder, nothing adds up and he needs to find out what really happened.

This is an engaging thriller, with plenty of suspense, twists, and turns. Anyone who likes to delve into the workings of the mind of a psychopath will really soak up this compelling story. I was glad that the loose ends added up at the end of the book and enjoyed the uncomplicated writing style. D I Dan Riley is a clever detective with strong instincts and a desire to uncover the truth, I look forward to reading more books in the series.