The Blossom Twins by Carol Wyer is the fifth book in the D.I. Natalie Ward series and a thrilling read. With her marriage in trouble, D.I. Natalie Ward is called to solve the murder of 14-year-old Isabella Sharpe, who vanished during a concert. Soon after, two more girls go missing and are found strangled, similar to an an old case—the Blossom Twins murders. Natalie suspects a copycat killer and must work with D.S. John Briggs, a colleague she doesn’t get along with.

This fast-paced story is full of surprises, blending Natalie’s personal life with a tense investigation. The twist at the end is truly shocking. An exciting 5-star read!

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

Not my favourite in this series. The reason it took me so long to read it is because I never warmed to Natalie, and the focus of this fifth instalment was a bit too much on her personal life, which I didn’t particularly care about. I found there was way too much bickering and complaining and frustration, which in turn frustrated me. That said, you can never really go wrong with a crime fiction story by Carol Wyer and the immensely shocking serial killer angle was as fantastic as always.

Woahhhhhh, I was so not ready for this book! I have recently been binge reading this series and in this latest book it is all happening! This latest instalment is so good, but also slightly disturbing which is always a good combination for a book of this type. However, for some the subject matter surrounding the death of children may be a topic they want to steer clear of (just a warning to those not prepared). When a young set of twins go missing the whole team that work with Natalie go into overdrive to try and find them however the worst outcome is ahead as their bodies are found on nearby marshland.

Natalie’s biggest concern is not only that a child killer is out there free but that this case seems eerily similar to a case she worked earlier in her career. Whilst once again the reader is taken on the road with the team, we also see once again Natalie battle to maintain relationships with her husband alongside her children. It has been a real insight seeing the way the various relationships have progressed over the last few books.

When Natalie recieves a chilling note from the killer she becomes consumed in tracking them down and in doing that avoids telling her children that she is leaving their father. With all that is going on Natalie also has to deal with her boss bringing on and old colleague DS John Briggs. This book literally had everything and then some. I was tunring pages and read this in (almost) one sitting. I was gobsmacked by the ending and had no clue anythign like that was coming. Absolutely the best book in the series so far, where it goes from here who knows?

OMG!!! This was one amazingly good book. One that tore my heart in one hundred million pieces or more...

When a detective is called to investigate a new case concerning the disappearance of young girls, it's devastating, but when said detective arrives on the scene and they are catapulted back to a few years prior, it's like the world has come to a standstill. This is what happened to DI Ward. She immediately feels the hairs on the back of her neck react and when she voices her concerns, she fears that the case they had closed maybe was not solved at all... They had a confession though, so it must have been the right person they had put behind bars, right?

The more DI Ward digs, the more she is convinced her worst nightmare has come back to haunt her again. This time she is determined to delve until she hits pay dirt. No assumptions, but rock hard and solid prove is what she is aiming for now that she is the leading investigator. This has to end once and for all and she won't stop at anything less.

Will she be able to unmask this very clever and cocky killer before more tragedies occur?

Although DI Ward has a lot to deal with at home too, she won't allow this to interfere with her work. Killers don't like determined detectives and want to hit them where it hurts the most: targeting one of the officer's loved ones...

I still am in shock a few hours later. The fact is, for me, when I read series the recurrent characters and their families become real people in stead of fictional ones. You feel for them because you have come to know so much about them and when they hurt, you hurt too. You share their feelings like you would with people in real life.

I still cannot believe this happened... A utter amazing and devastating story. 5 stars

Thank you

A good read, which kept my attention throughout. I would recommend this as a good holiday reading book. Very enjoyable.

Another fantastic read in the series and I can't wait for the next one! Gripping as always and full of twists and turns.

A dark and complex crime thriller. Good for fans of police procedurals. Gritty, intense, and fast-paced. The book was highly gripping and unputdownable! Shocking and terrifying! I didn't see the last chapter coming nor the twist!

I love this author and her books and this one doesn't fail to deliver. A case of missing children that you won't forget in a hurry. Utterly unputdownable.

This is the fifth book in the series and it was amazing.
The characters are genuine and full of development.
The storyline is intense and fast paced.
A great read

OMG....This book. This series. This author.

Where the hell do I begin. Well I am a bit late to the party and once again I have listened to this on audio. Once again Carol has totally wowed me. In fact she has totally blown me away and knocked me off my feet with this beauty.

We follow Natalie on a fast paced totally engrossing read on the hunt for the killer after the twins bodies are found on a nearby marshland.

The author takes us on a roller coaster ride, keeping you on the edge of your seat the hole time. All I wanted to do was to find out want was going to happen next.

I have to admit I wasn't expecting that...Jesus Carol what have you done to me. This is an outstanding read which I highly recommend. If you haven't read any of Carol's books yet then you are missing a treat, that's for sure.

Oh my, oh my oh my! I feel totally emotionally floored, but in a good satisfying way.

This is one if not THE best book in this series so far.

Natalie Ward is so dedicated to her job, her and her team no matter what case they’ve taken on they are going to give it their all. No stone unturned. But......this comes as a sacrifice to her own personal life at times and we see the human side of Natalie and her struggles.

An absolutely engrossing read.

I think this could be read as a stand-alone but, to reap the benefits I’d say start at book one

This was my first read by Carol Wyler and I am officially a fan and can't wait to read the other books in the series. While I would have benefited from reading these books in order to have a better understanding of Natalie and her backstory, it did not take away from my enjoyment of the mystery which was well-written and engaging and had lots of suspense and tension. While I did guess the killer, the ending had many shocking elements I did not predict. A great thriller series!

I started reading this on the relatively brief train journey to Dundee the weekend before Christmas, but it wasn’t until Christmas Eve that I finally had the opportunity to get properly stuck in, before finishing it before I got out of bed Christmas morning. No spoilers for The Blossom Twins here but there may be some minor spoilers for earlier books.

The Blossom Twins finds Natalie investigating a young girl who disappeared from an open air concert and was found dead not long after. When a second murder occurs it becomes harder for Natalie to ignore the similarities between the current cases and a past case from her time in Manchester that haunted her terribly. Throw in a former colleague sent to assist she was rather wasn’t there, and a marriage that’s fallen apart, it makes for a tough case for DI Ward

I found The Blossom Twins took me a little longer to get into than some of the previous books in the series but once I was hooked that was it! I stayed up later reading Christmas Eve and then finished it Christmas morning. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again but I love Carol’s way of adding in throwback chapters, whether that’s a chapter explaining the killer’s past or explaining what really happened leading up to events we’ve already experienced. It really makes for an interesting read for me, she definitely knows how to hook you in! And those twists at the end?! I’ll say no more on them for now

It’s no secret that I really like Natalie as a character, and she really was front and centre of this story. Once again it was interesting to see her trying to balance her personal and professional lives. Trying to figure out a way to tell her children that the marriage between her and their father is over, while still living in a house with a man who seems determined to not make things easy for her. All at the same time as trying to deal with a case with serious similarities to a previous case that left her requiring therapy. After the ending of this book I’m not sure what’s next for Natalie on a personal or professional level but I’m looking forward to finding out.

Natalie’s family also feature and it was nice to see Josh being to grow up slightly, deciding to look for work, and to see Leigh so happy on her return from their trip with their grandparents. Ugh David, have I mentioned enough in past reviews how much I don’t like him? Safe to say he does absolutely nothing in this book to change my opinion of him. In fact I think I dislike him even more. On the other hand more Mike in the next book please!

With the focus so heavily on Natalie in this book I missed some of the secondary character development. Ian’s back working with the team, but is dealing with a very strained relationship with his ex, and limited access to his baby daughter, I would have loved a little more of this. Lucy is another character I really like, I’m hoping with the birth of her first child getting ever closer we’ll get a little more of Lucy’s life outside of work in the next book. Then we reach Natalie’s new boss Dan, I’m very torn on him currently. He seems very results driven, potentially to the point of not really caring the cost of obtaining them. He seemed very quick to go against Natalie, although maybe I am a little biased… The ending of the book may make him question himself slightly, I’m curious to see how he deals with the fallout in the next book.


Final Thoughts
Well Carol’s done it again! Another gripping instalment to the Natalie Ward series. After that ending I’m intrigued to see what’s next for Natalie, safe to say she won’t be the same again!

As always the author delivers a story that grips from the first. Page. Completely brilliant this is fast becoming one series I love

I received a free e-copy of The Blossom Twins (Detective Natalie Ward #5) by Carol Wyer from NetGalley for my honest review.

I have read this entire series and they just keep getting better. Absolutely love, love, love this series.

The murder of a young girl at a concert venue brings Detective Natalie Ward into her next investigation. Natalie recalls a case from the past that bears striking similarities to the crime scene.
Twin sisters are found murdered and Natalie feels certain that the 'Blossom Twins' killer has returned.

omg what can i say. This book was brilliant. could put it down and then had me in floods of tears. Really didn't expect that to happen.

Well written book, tense and great storyline with well developed characters. Just what I’ve come to expect of this fabulous author. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and Netgalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for a unbiased review of these works.

Huge fan of Carol Wyer and after every book i think yes thats the best in the series, then she creates the next and I am blown away again! I rea this in 1 sitting obsessivly I HAD to know the ending and the twists hit me hard! I will say this is the best yet for now! 5 stars all the way!

This is already the fifth book in the detective Ward series, and having read all of the previous books, I can honestly say, they just get better. Natalie has to deal with a killer that targets young girls in a specific way. I will be honest and say that I did begin to suspect the identity of the killer by the end, but was still entertained with the reasons for their behavior. I did not like the ending of the book, for various reasons (no spoilers), but feel that it makes a good starting point for some more drama in Natalie's life in future.
Highly recommended.

The Blossom Twins is the fifth book in the Detective Natalie Ward Series. The entire series has been quite a roller-coaster. Each case seems to be getting more complex and addictive. Just when I thought the series couldn’t get any better, Carol Wyer decided to give us the most complex case yet. This one was dark, emotional and quite personal. I couldn’t stop turning the pages even though each new chapter filled me with anxiety, the good kind that comes from dark reads.

In this case, a series of murders take place. The victims are young, teenage girls with no obvious connection. However, our lead detective does make a connection with an old case. What is interesting though is that the old case was solved. So, do we have a copycat? Or are old ghosts coming out to haunt the living?

Needless to say, the story had me at the edge of the seat. The stakes were high and I couldn’t wait for the detectives to catch the baddie. As with previous cases, catching the baddie wasn’t going to be easy though. Red herrings abound! There were a number of suspects along the way and in the end, the identity of the baddie was a total shock. It wasn’t someone that I suspected at all until the final chapters.

The Blossom Twins is fast-paced, dark, captivating and surprisingly heart-wrenching. I was hooked from the first to the last page. As with the rest of the series, the character development was quite well done. I really like Natalie and she is one detective whose personal life is as interesting as the cases she works on. I must admit that I was surprised by the direction that the story took towards the end. The author made a bold decision but I have come to expect nothing less from her. Still, the ending did turn this into a much emotional read than I was expecting.

Like the other books in the series, this can be read as a standalone. However, to better enjoy the book and get to know the characters, I recommend reading the entire series in order. I can’t wait to find out what book six has in store for us.