Review for 'The Secret Admirer' by Carol Wyer

Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers

This is the second book that I have read by this author. The first being 'The Blossom Twins' which was the 5th book in the 'Detective Natalie Ward' series, this is the 6th. I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Blossom Twins' and look forward to reading this (written before I started reading).

Although this book is the 6th in a series it can definitely be read as a standalone. There are parts where events from previous books are mentioned but any details needed are given, including in flashbacks which I enjoyed reading even though I have read the book the event happened in. I won't say much more in case readers wish to read the previous books, I don't want to spoil it for them.

I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing cover and blurb. I must admit I was also biased due to the author and the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of 38 chapters and a prologue which are medium in length so not too bad for 'just one more chapter', like that ever happens for me, more like 3 or 4 more!!

This book is set in England which is always a bonus for me. I'm from Wales but visit England regularly on trips and holidays so have visited quite a few areas. This helps me picture places if they are mentioned in books and I have visited them.

This series has a strong female lead which is also a bonus, being female myself it's always great to see some strong females in books.

The story is told from several points of view I always enjoy being able to see from several of the detectives perspectives as you can read more about more of what is going on with the case, what various witnesses and suspects say and make your own decisions on their innocence or guilt.

The writing is smooth and very easy to read. The descriptions are excellent and I really felt that I was in the novel. I even got teary at the end!!

The characters all have fantastic personalities and I love how realistic they are. Murray and Lucy made me laugh on several occasions with their attitude. I really feel for Natalie and what she has been through and the relationship between Ian and Murray is also quite funny. Although it's a crime book I love that there are several parts that are more light hearted and made me laugh as it mixes it up a bit. I'm moving straight on to the next book in the series as I cannot wait to read more about them!!!!

The storyline was fast paced, intriguing and filled with mystery, murder, suspense, crime and deceit. A true page turning thriller.

I didn't guess what was going to happen which is always a bonus when it comes to crime novels.... Nothing worse than working it all out before your even half way through!

I would recommend this book to fans of murder, crime, thrillers, suspense, fans of Carol Wyer and just anyone looking for a fantastic read!!

370 pages

Free on kindle unlimited or £2.99 to purchase. I think this is a bargain for this book by a very talented author!

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Carol wyer really knows how to write a good thriller.
Natalie ward is such a strong character after everything she has been through she pulled this investigation out the bag.
I love all the books (maybe the last one the least as that was incredibly sad) I am never disappointed and each investigation has me at the edge of my seat and even sometimes shouting at the book.
Great detectives, great characters and thrilling case this is a must read.

This is the sixth book in the series featuring Detective Natalie Ward. It can be read as a stand-alone but it is much more enjoyable when you know the history of the background of the characters. I am enjoying the series and this book certainly didn’t disappoint. We pick up the story from the last book The Blossom Twins. Natalie is back at work after her last tragic case and is struggling to cope. Gemma, a young 19 year old student, is found dead at a university campus after having acid thrown into her face. Natalie is called out to the case and wonders if she will be able to handle it. Gemma lived in student accommodation and was very close to her mum, Sasha and they both worked in the same bar. It was discovered that Gemma had been receiving notes from a secret admirer. When Natalie and her team search her room they find the notes and are determined to track him down. Her jealous ex boyfriend was a suspect but he had a sound alibi. They were also suspicious about one of Gemma’s lecturers. On questioning Sasha, Natalie finds out that her ex husband David had been to the bar and chatted them up. He was also found on CCTV footage outside of Sasha’s house. Natalie cannot believe that David could be capable of murder. But when another housemate of Gemma’s Is murdered, Natalie has to find the killer and prove David’s innocence. There is a lot of focus on Natalie’s last tragic case and the break up of her marriage. I found this is a brilliant book that had me totally gripped, with plenty of lies and secrets and I can’t wait for book number seven.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author, Carol Wyer, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Secret Admirer in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
Ms Wyer has certainly delivered another nail biting read. I was hooked from the opening pages.
3.5 stars.
Worth a read.

#TheSecretAdmirer #NetGalley This book has been in my TBR pile for ages. I like to read them in order that I have received but I couldn't wait any longer and skipped to this one. Having read all the others in this series I knew I was in for a treat and I was! I raced through it in just over a day. Carol Wyer is one of my most favourite authors and this series is incredible. Fast paced with plenty of action and kept me guessing right until the end. Brilliant!! Another superb 5 star read, cant wait to find out what happens to Nat, Mike and David in the next installment!

This book is brilliant it grabbed me from the first page and kept me enthralled to the very end!! The plot was amazing and it was a nail biter all the way I literally was backtracking because I was thinking... I did not just read that... That did not just happen!! It is seriously so GOOD!!! I had no idea what was coming next and was just blown away by the story-line.

The MC's inner strength is just unreal. How she can even cope with this case after what happened to her daughter only two months before is just gripping. This case should have been to personal and to much to investigate for most mothers. But our MC is determined and gritty doing her best to stop the savagery of our killer and keeping him from taking any more lives.

I highly recommend this book and fans of the DI Natalie Ward series need to add this to their TBR pile. This is the sixth installment so definitely check out the rest of the series.

I received this book from NetGalley and Bookouture for an honest review.
#TheSecretAdmirer
#NetGalley

Gemma is attacked and killed on her way to the library with Acid thrown at her.
Gemma lives on a university complex with four other roommates who all have their own secrets.
Gemma also has a stalker.
D.I. Natalie Ward is called onto the case . She has just come back to work after losing her daughter to a murderer. Natalie’s home life isn’t great her son wants to move in with her and her estranged husband is just going down and down,
The case isn’t straight forward more bodies start to drop and Natalies estranged husband becomes a suspect .
Another great book.
Love Carol Wyer
Thanks NetGalley

Carol Wyer's thriller/ mysteries featuring Natalie Ward are some of the most emotionally wrenching books I've read. The back story on Detective Ward would have left most people unable to function in a job where the worst moments of their lives replay on a regular basis. Only three months after the murder of her own daughter, Natalie accepts the assignment to the murder of a young woman who seemed to have a great future but is now lying in a puddle of acid as it eats away her life. The young woman's mother is devastated and trusts Natalie to capture her daughter's killer, a secret admirer whose admiration took a murderous turn. When a roommate of the victim is also murdered and another roommate goes missing, the investigation increases intensity and tension. Then the suspect list circles around to include Natalie's ex and any guess you have as to the murderer is blown away.

All of the books in this series are great reads. Yes, you can read this one as a stand alone but you'd be cheating yourself of some seriously good books.

I was so grateful & excited to be given the opportunity to review this latest book in the Natalie Ward series.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous books & this did not disappoint.
An intriguing storyline however for me the highlight is the ongoing tale of Natalie & her team.
Can’t wait for the next instalment.

4.5 stars

4.5 stars
It’s my first book in the series and by the author but I’ve got hooked from the first page in this story.
A whirlwind of suspenseful twists and so many moments that I thought I’m actually watching a movie and not reading a book.
I enjoyed every single page of it and the main characters with their own heartbreaking back story but trying to bring justice to an innocent woman.
It’s well written and gripping indeed and I’ll definitely recommend it.

Detective Natalie Ward has managed to return to work following the murder of her daughter Leigh and her best friend.
Her marriage is over and she is moving on with her life as best she can.
So finding herself presented with the murder of an 18 year old student, Gemma, brings her personal loss vividly back to haunt her.
Gemma, a pretty language student suffered a horrific acid attack which killed her.
Who and Why did someone want her dead?
Natalie and her team start by visiting the housemates she lived with. A mixed group thrown together by circumstances not friendship.
Add a dubious tutor and the suspects begin to mount up, one so surprising Natalie can barely believe but she knows he is hiding something.
When another housemate turns up dead and one disappears, they dig deep into the personal lives of all concerned.
Discovering letters from a secret admirer, could this be the lead they need to break the case?
A terrific read that grabbed me and didn`t let go, totally gripping.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the chance to read this as an ARC, an easy 5* from me.

THE SECRET ADMIRER is the sixth novel in the Detective Natalie Ward Series, based in Staffordshire, UK., a riveting crime-thriller by Carol Wyer. Her books keep getting better and better! I have read them all. I would recommend you read this series from the beginning to fully appreciate the ongoing character development, though the plots are standalones. This series keeps getting better and better!

The novels in the Detective Natalie Ward Series Include:
BOOK 1-The Birthday
Book 2- Last Lullaby
BOOK 3-The Dare
Book 4-The Sleepover
Book 5-The Blossom Twins
Book 6-The Secret Admirer

Eighteen- year-old attractive Gemma Barnes receives a note from a secret admirer…someone that is obsessed with her…someone that has been watching her and will pick the right moment to make themselves known to her.

‘I tried to talk to you today but you snubbed me and walked away. It wasn’t wise to give me the brush-off, Gemma. I can be a truly good friend but I also make the perfect enemy.’

Sasha’s daughter Gemma was all she had in the world. Sasha fell pregnant with Gemma when she was still at school, and the two are as close as sisters.

Gemma had been living with her mum, but moved out while attending University and working part-time at a bar, to be independent and move on with her life, and allow her mum to pursue a new career as a seamstress. The student house was home to five of them: including Lennox, Fran, Ryan and a mature student Hattie.

Then the unthinkable happens…Gemma was a victim of an acid attack outside the library early in the evening. So, when Gemma’s burned and broken body is found, Sasha’s world ends. What kind of person would want her beautiful daughter dead?

Leading the case is Detective Natalie Ward, scarred by her own recent tragedy. When she finds a note in Gemma’s diary from ‘a secret admirer’, she moves quickly, determined to un-mask them.

And then the case takes a personal twist. CCTV footage reveals Natalie’s estranged husband David followed Gemma home every evening the week before she died.

Natalie is forced to put personal feelings aside and follow procedure, even though she can’t believe David could be guilty. But when Gemma’s housemate is found murdered, Natalie thinks the killer could still be at large.

The clock is ticking and Natalie and her team must piece together all the clues before another precious life is taken.

The Secret Admirer was an entertaining, exciting thriller that shows that the series must continue. It is a well-plotted story with a cast of highly relatable characters. Lots of drama, emotion, twists and turns to satisfy the reader. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

Here is an author that is Just brilliant, her books just get better and better. The Secret Admirer by Carol Wyer was Just........Brilliant! This is the sixth book in the Detective Natalie Ward series and once I opened my kindle and read the first page I was glued to my seat. I was hooked. Carol has a way in writing her books that will get you hooked and wanting more. The characters of this series I have loved and they fit in well with the story. Carols last book The Blossom Twins just took my breath away and I needed tissues.

In this latest installment of Detective Natalie Ward, she has spent the last three months on compassionate leave for the murder of her daughter Leigh.
Natalie has decided to go back to work and walks right in to a case of a young girl called Gemma Barnes.
Gemma is a college student. age nineteen, and has a promising life ahead of her. She starts to receive anonymous letters from an admirer. She doesn't tell anyone, and puts them aside in her bedroom. One evening whilst walking to the college library she is attacked with acid and dies of shock.

Are these anonymous letters connected to her attack?

This case is very difficult for Natalie as it is bringing back painful memories of her loving daughter Leigh.

Does Natalie and her team catch them before they attack or may kill someone?

Why was Gemma attacked? She was very popular and had many friends and never had a bad word to say about her!

This series Just gets better and better and I highly recommend this series of book. Plus, all of Carol Wyers books they are just amazing. I am so looking forward to book Seven in this series.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

This is the first book I've read by Carol Wyer and the first in her Detective Natalie Ward series. The first few pages really caught my attention and lured me into the premise of the story.. who is the admirer and what happened to Gemma Barnes? Unfortunately, after a few chapters, this story for me kept going on and on and I felt a bit bored with it. I even guessed who one of the culprits were to the story. I give this a 3.5 stars because, yes, I knew who was involved, but I didn't guess the main culprit of who killed Gemma Barnes, so that was an interesting twist. However, the twist in the story was just so simple and very lackluster. I did like the character Natalie Ward, and if her other stories focused on her life (with losing her own daughter, etc.) I may be inclined to pick it up and read more of her personal story.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and the author for an ARC copy for an honest review.

The Blossom Girls, book 5 in this series absolutely broke me, shattering shocks, heartbreaks, so tough times ahead for DI Natalie Ward... It was about to get tougher!!

‘I tried to talk to you today but you snubbed me and walked away. It wasn’t wise to give me the brush-off, Gemma. I can be a truly good friend but I also make the perfect enemy.’

Sasha’s eighteen-year-old daughter Gemma was all she had in the world. Sasha fell pregnant with Gemma when she was still at school, and the two are as close as sisters. So when Gemma’s burned and broken body is found, Sasha’s world ends. What kind of person would want her beautiful daughter dead?

Leading the case is Detective Natalie Ward, scarred by her own recent tragedy. When she finds a note in Gemma’s diary from ‘a secret admirer’, she moves quickly, determined to un-mask them. But interviews with Gemma’s devastated ex-boyfriend, and her charismatic teacher, who has been seen embracing his student far away from the classroom, don’t give Natalie the answers she’d hoped for…

And then the case takes a devastating, personal twist. CCTV footage reveals Natalie’s estranged husband David followed Gemma home every evening the week before she died.

Natalie is forced to put personal feelings aside and follow procedure, even though she can’t believe David could be guilty. But when Gemma’s housemate is found murdered, Natalie thinks the killer could still be at large. Is she right to trust her instincts about David and can she discover the truth before another precious life is taken?

A powerful series of detective books, DI Natalie Ward has a tough job, and on her first assignment back life is going to get harder, on this very tough case.

Carol Wyer gives us a team of great individual characters that add to the stories, it seems Natalie is destined to have a tough life as well as a tough job, in this a really tough challenge.

The Secret Admirer is a gripping, twisty & emotionally- charged book, I am exhausted after the book for the hard working police team and a tough case...

Great characters, great story, great emotions.... Another triumph for Carol Wyer

A clear four stars, nearly five !

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this Arc.
I absolutely adore all of Carol Wyer's books.
But The Secret Admirer is by far my favorite.
It's full of twists and turns from the first page. And although you might think you know who's responsible, maybe, just maybe you're wrong!!
I can't wait for the next one!!

We are already at book 6 in this series? That has gone quick! Nice to catch up with Natalie and her team again in this story.

Gemma is the unfortunate first victim in a series of murders which takes place on Natalies watch. There are a lot of likely suspects in this book and trying to figure out who killed Gemma, and the others, is quite a task! Which is the point of reading a book like this. I HAD been wondering how Natalie was going to cope, considering what happened to her in the last book, but the author tackles this really well, acknowledging the trauma whilst still showing that Natalie is one heck of a police officer as well.

Looking forward to the next book already :)

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

After a personal tragedy, Detective Natalie Ward has taken time off work, trying to recover from her devastation.
When an acid attack on young and beautiful university student Gemma Barnes leads to her death, Natalie decides to return to work after three months away.
Among Gemma's possessions, she finds a note from a secret admirer. Natalie's team follows up leads with housemates she roomed with and an attractive teacher that Gemma seemed close to.
When evidence is uncovered that Natalie's estranged husband David had connections with Gemma, she must remain professional as she investigates whether he may be involved in her death.
Then another housemate is murdered, they need to narrow down the suspects to catch a killer who may not be done yet.
A complex police procedural/mystery/thriller that grips you as you follow the twists and turns. This one captured my attention, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next.
The characters are so well developed, especially Natalie. I'm rooting for her to find some happiness in her life.
This is the sixth in the series and while you can read some of the books as stand alones, this one will have too many spoilers if you do. A favorite series that I recommend reading from the beginning.
Thank you Bookoutre for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

Detective Natalie Ward is back! I absolutely love this series and adore the lead detective. In this case, a young woman is murdered in an acid attack. DI Natalie Ward is leading the case despite her own personal turmoil. Without any spoilers, the previous book in the series ended with a huge blow to Natalie’s personal life. This case hits close to home hence making it even more complex.

Once again, I loved Natalie in this story. I have always enjoyed reading about her personal life and this time round, I just wanted to envelope her in a hug. I admired her for keeping her head in the case but I also like the fact that the author still showed her softer, vulnerable side. Natalie is such an easy character to root for and she’s not the only one in the story. Her whole team has grown with the series. I like the fact that we also get snippets of their personal lives. Vivid descriptions enable me to visualize them in the office, working long hours, socializing, supporting each other and dealing with their own issues.

Like all previous cases, this one was hard to crack. I was only able to guess the baddie towards the end. This was after changing my mind just about a hundred times and even in the end, I could only guess 1/3 of the mystery hence I was shocked by all the twists and reveals. I admire how detailed Carol Wyer’s investigations usually are. Readers get to see the detectives interview suspects, search for clues, spend days chasing leads. It gives such a realistic feel to the story.

The Secret Admirer is another great addition to the Detective Natalie Ward Series. Well-crafted, enthralling, haunting and entertaining. Although the case is easy to follow even if read as a standalone, the character development is better enjoyed by reading the series in order. I highly recommend this one to all fans of crime thrillers.

After the blossom twins - this was a little more easy going - maybe that was needed, but I was a little disappointed!
I love Natalie and her team, and I feel the reader is on her journey with her, but I did find it a bit hard to wade through at times, compared to all her other ones!
Worth persevering with - and I will wait with heightened anticipation for the next one!