Couldn’t wait to read this latest instalment , and was not disappointed! Another fantastic book from Carol Wyer, definitely worth reading!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

I honestly could NOT wait to read this book. The blurb sounded amazing.

I'm glad to say that i was NOT disappointed at all. This book is about a housefire that causes the death of a teenage girl. The teenage girl was NOT supposed to be in this home at the time.. she had no reason to be there.

I will DEFINITELY be reading more books by this author.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This instalment concerns the death in a house fire of a teenage girl, who had no reason to be in the house at the time. It was very engrossing, even though the narrative largely followed the police investigation, with its dead ends and going over the same ground again to look for something that might have been missed.The sections from other perspectives didn’t really add much, although sometimes they served to give immediacy to a story a witness would be telling in an interview. I really need Natalie to leave David now.

Another explosive instalment in the Natalie ward series. This book was inhaled in one sitting couldn’t put it down and the ending leaves you thinking on the next instalment. Well written with some unexpected results . Highly recommended can’t wait for the next book.

Another fabulous read from Carol Wyer.

An intense, gripping,and unpredictable murder mystery full of surprising twists.
It all started with a simple sleepover that turned into a series of tragic murders and mysterious disappearances.

Also Natalie's personal life is far from perfect and she soon finds herself fighting on more than one front.

I highly recommend all Carol's novels and can't wait for the next one.

Thanks Netgalley, Bookouture, and author Carol Wyer for a complementary copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Sleepover by Carol Wyer is the fourth installment of the Detective Natalie Ward series and I can honestly say that, in my opinion, it is the best yet. I will even go a step further and say that, to my mind, Ms Wyer can do no wrong. Brilliant.

Fourteen year old Roxy Curtis tells her mother that she is heading to a sleepover at the home of a friend. But she will never return. The following day, the body of a young girl is found burned beyond recognition. Detective Natalie Ward leads the investigation with her usual efficiency and no-nonsense approach, and the novel is a well-executed police procedural that will have you completely engrossed from the very first page. But, for me, it is Natalie's home life with husband David, son Josh, and daughter Leigh that really connects the reader emotionally with our central character. Detective Ward is a protagonist that we can really empathize with as she struggles to maintain a balance between her upwardly mobile career in policing, and her rapidly disintegrating family. I love the author's inclusions of both facets of Natalie's life, and find her to be a compelling and fleshed out character who is worthy of much further investigation and consideration. I cannot wait for the next chapter.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC.

Wow what a page turner thoroughly enjoyed it! I’m a massive Carol Wyer fan and this did not disappoint. It was one of my favourite reads of 2019 so far. Natalie has a lot to deal with, an intriguing case which is a massive puzzle to untangle, issues with her kids and a husband she can’t trust. This book was was fabulous, it was dark, intense and full of twists that kept me guessing. Carol has the knack of pulling the reader in and not letting them go until the explosive end. I loved this story, so much that I can’t wait for the next book in the series. This book totally deserves 5 stars and I highly recommend it.

It begins with what was supposed to be a simple sleepover with two best friends, but things go tragically wrong when Cathy discovers that her daughter Roxy was not at her friend Ellie’s house after all, she’s been found murdered in the basement of a house on the other side of town. Detective Natalie Ward catches the case and is immediately suspicious of Roxy’s stepfather and the girl’s recent trips to the hospital with unexplained injuries. And mother Cathy is strangely silent and nervous. Shortly after, Cathy herself is found dead not far from where her daughter’s body was found. The case becomes even stranger when Ellie disappears. This is a twisted and gripping mystery

This was by far the best of the DI Natalie Ward books, and the first three have been fantastic, so this is saying a lot! I’m not sure what it is that made this the best so far. I think it was a variety of things. The storyline was unique and unparalleled, and nothing was too obvious, and the perpetrator wasn’t easy to guess. Natalie really seems to be finding her stride, and we had a little more of her home life. The team is really gelling now, and everything is coming together. It all just worked.
A lot is happening in this investigation, and at one point, I even wondered if they were going to be able to crack it as all the clues were dead ends. As with all the other books, you are privy to everything that is being investigated and the outcomes. This is until the very end where we are kept in the dark for a small period of time to build up the suspense for the finale and revealing of the culprit!
The characters were really well developed and so diverse. Some of their actions were shocking, and I thought more than once yeah he’s the baddie. I didn’t guess correctly at all, though. Not the murderer nor the motives. It took me completely by surprise, which is always exciting. So even though we had all the facts laid out for us, I found out at the same time as the detectives were piecing it together. For me, this displays a well thought out plot and storyline. It has been executed perfectly and brilliantly written.
I’m very excited to learn that the fifth instalment is out in December so not long to wait. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with David and Mike. The ending was intriguing. I’m not a big fan of Davids, and I found it highly amusing that the author admits to not really liking him either in her author’s note at the end. I just want to give him a big shake and tell him to sort himself out. So what he hasn’t got a ‘job’. He does, and that is supporting Natalie, who works a million hours and children who although push him away still need him. This is a testament to the author writing the character perfectly if his reactions can elicit an emotional response towards him from the reader.
A first-rate and five-star read!

What a fabulous read. This series gets better and better with each addition. Twisty turny wonderfulness. Brilliant plot that takes you down so many blind paths. “Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive“ I genuinely had no idea who the perpetrator was. The main plot is brilliant but oh the subplot. Cracking developments in the characters and their lives
The crime might be solved but just about everything and everyone is at a cross roads.

Carol Wyer has delivered another great episode of the DI Natalie Ward series! This story moved fast and hard with twists and turns all over. It is compulsively readable, highly suspenseful and a must-read for anyone who enjoys mysteries and thrillers. There are a couple of purposefully left hints of what is to come which will be as entertaining. as it's predecessors.

I have to admit that this book disappointed me a little. I love Carol Wyer's work and was really excited about this book but unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I thought it was slow moving and lacked tension and the end when it came was so predictable that it left me with a real sense of anti climax. I think the problem was that none of the people, be they victims or suspects, were very nice. I really didn't care what happened to any of them.
I don't think this series is as strong as the Robyn Carter one but I will continue to read it even if it is only to find out what happens in Natalie's home life. Hopefully this book was a one off and the next will be a bit more exciting.

The Sleepover is a fantastic thriller that I could not put down. There are some great twists and turns. Well written and well developed characters. A must read.

It was certainly a busy night for crime, but who was responsible?
There were too many secrets and so many lies among the people known to the victims and their families. A real tangled mess for Natalie’s team need to trawl through, and it was so frustrating for them all.
I loved this story, and it all wrapped up neatly in the end.
Talking of the very end….yes! I can’t wait for the next one!
Thanks to Carol Wyer, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the early review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

There are no words for how much I love the Natalie Ward series. Carol has written such amazing characters I feel like I'm in the story. The Sleepover is no different. It seems like it's going one way and BAM it was a misdirection all along and went the total opposite way!! I HIGHLY recommend this series.

All I can say is OMG what a fantastic book. I only got it yesterday and stay up to finish it,it was just brilliant.

Roxy is a fourteen-year-old girl who tells her parents that she is going to a sleepover. However, not only did she not go to her friend's house that night, she died at a fire. Her family, especially her mother Cathy, are completely devastated.

Detective Natalie Ward is in charge of the case, and cannot help but think of problems she had with her own teen daughter Leigh. Also, her son Josh is going through some difficulties now. To make matters even more difficult for Natalie, her marriage to David has become increasingly difficult. David was made redundant on his job a while ago and he is dealing with an addiction. So, Natalie is completely overwhelmed, but must find answers as to what happened to the girl Roxy.

As she begins her investigation, she looks at the owners of the house where Roxy was found dead, two brothers. Natalie also looks hard at Roxy's family. When Natalie is called to another crime seen soon after Roxy's death, she is shockingly appalled to discover that the body belongs to Roxy's mother, Cathy. Natalie must widen the net in her investigation, so she begins to focus even more on the family, which include Roxy's stepfather and three brothers.

There are a lot of clues, a lot of suspects and more than one secret revealed in The Sleepover. The story is fast-paced and was a remarkably quick and compelling read. Carol Wyer did a great job of making the discovery of the killer difficult to figure out. The conclusion was incredible. Reading this book was like savoring a seven-layer cake. Every turn in this book had a different flavor. This series keeps on getting better and better. Waiting for the next book will definitely not be easy.

Many thanks to Carol Wyer and Bookouture for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

As always a cracking read from Carol Wyer.
I love this series and it keeps getting better and better.
This book starts off with a teenage girl’s body being found burnt beyond recognition in a house fire.
Natalie and the team need to work out why the fire was started and what the girl was doing in the house, as the owners don’t know her.
Her family are devastated by her death and just as they coming to terms with it, another family member is murdered.
This book is full of twists and turns and I had no idea who was responsible for these deaths. It kept me hooked from the first page til the last and I loved it.
If you enjoy a crime thriller which also gives you an insight into the lives of the Detectives then this is is series for you.
Natalie and the team all have their own problems but come together when it matters.
As for the ending, well I’m speechless!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The start of this book had goosebumps up my arms.  It was full of powerful imagery and emotion.


As soon as you delve into the start of Natalie ward chapter you realize that there are lots of issues tied to this wonderful character.  She has trust issues which is hard to move past. She is also feisty and doesn't always play well with others 


There are parts in the book that makes me a bit annoyed especially with the husband of Natalie.  He has everything and has really messed things up and now you see Natalie is more harsh and seems somewhat distracted.


I think this is the best yet from this series since it has such great story.  What I really like is the family issues that you see with this. They don't have the perfect family life and it seems that a lot of bad things happen and for no apparent reason other than addictions.


Natalie is fast becoming a favourite as her fiery personality and her penchant for getting into trouble seem like perfectly great traits.  


This story was also hard as it deals with youth who haven't had the chance to really experience the finer things in life.  It is a harsh reality that gets you to view the world without the rose coloured glasses.


I really dislike Natalie's husband as he seems to just be an asshole who doesn't really understand what his actions have caused.  Cause and effect are multiplied when dealing with Natalie as she seems to have a past that hasn't been really explored fully.

It's hard to believe that this is book four in the series. Even harder when I consider that the weekend I spent reading the book was actually exactly a year to the days that I read book one, The Birthday. 13-14th July 2018 and 13-14th July 2019. Four books, twelve months. And these weren't the only books that Ms Wyer released in the year, making this an even more impressive feat. But did such a gruelling writing schedule affect quality? Did it 'eck as like. This series keeps going from strength to strength and even at the end I am left wondering just how it can be topped. Rest assured that the author claims the best is still to come so we are surely in for a mammoth treat.

The Sleepover sees our series hero, DI Natalie Ward, caught up in a very perplexing case involving the death of a young girl, Roxy, in a house fire which was most likely arson. So far, so tragic but not necessarily perplexing. It's a very simple case of accelerant + heat = raging fire. However, house + dead girl who should never have been there in the first place = something very, very wrong and the start of a massive headache for Natalie and her team. With no clear ties between the girl and the home owners, and everybody they turn to for help seemingly reluctant to tell the truth, it will push Natalie to the end of her patience as she tries to get to the truth.

One of the things I love about the series is the characters who form the central team. They are all very believable and likeable characters, even Natalie who, I'll admit, took a little getting used to at first. She's a very tough character with a complicated home life, but ultimately someone who anyone could relate to. Her main priority is in finding justice and in supporting her family, even if her marriage is on very shaky ground. Then you have Lucy, about to become a parent for the first time who suffers all the doubts and fears that any expectant parent would. She's a character I have really grown to like, confident and caring, and a real asset to the team. She makes a vital bond with one of the witnesses in the case, one which could blow the whole thing wide open.

Surrounding the team on this occasion is a wide cast of characters, none of whom have any obvious relationship with each other. They are all from different backgrounds, different worlds and social classes. Even the divisions within the less privileged areas of town are somehow heightened in this book, adding to the edginess and the sense that pretty well anyone could be responsible for what comes to pass.

The complexities of this case really kept me gripped to the story. Nothing is quite as it seems and things which I felt was certain, soon became nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Just when you think you have it all worked out, Carol Wyer lobs in yet another curveball, another vital piece of evidence that will derail your thinking and make you question what you have seen so far. It was almost impossible to know who to trust, a feeling that is practically mirrored by Natalie's home life where trust is as big an issue for her as it is with her suspects.

The Sleepover is another absolutely cracking tale, fuelled by secrets, tragedy and misdirection, and featuring a bloody strong and determined detective team that I love to read about. I cannot wait to see what comes next.