I'm definitely looking forward to more books by Carol because as this was my first book by them - I want to read more! A well-written, well-thought out, greatly executed story! Very excited to share the hype on this book with my friends!! So thankful for this eARC!

Well this is a book that I devoured in just one sitting. I sat with the intention of reading a couple of chapter soon I had devoured the entire book.

Carol Wyer never fails to deliver with her books. I have loved this gem. Stacey is a superb character and I’ve loved the journey through this one with her.

Wyer has presented the perfect amount of tension and suspense with this book. I found myself completely pulled in and unwilling to put this down.

Can a leopard change their spots? In my opinion, this is a massive no. So instantly as we find out about ex-husband, I have been suspicious. A controlling and coercive individual will not give up easily and this is something I’ve had in my head throughout.

I have been completely unable to predict where this was going. I have been speechless as events have unfolded. I definitely didn’t predict what was coming with this.

This book will keep you guessing throughout, not once did I think I’d worked out where this was going. The book is superb and I honestly cannot wait to see what might be coming from Carol Wyer next.

I have loved this book and highly recommend this to other readers.

#BehindClosedDoors #NetGalley It is a while since I read a Carol Wyer book and I had forgotten how enthralling they are! From the first chapter this had me hooked on every word. Fast paced with plenty of action, I found I couldn't warm to the character of Jack which was just how I was supposed to react! Carol is a superb storyteller and this standalone book from her kept me on the edge of my seat, reading just one more chapter until I had read it in virtually one sitting! I won't leave it so long before my next Carol Wyer book! A very well deserved 5 stars!!

From the first chapter I found myself drawn into this book. The book is about two kidnapping thirty years apart. Stacey still suffers from amnesia with occasional flashbacks, from her brutal kidnapping thirty years ago. She has never forgiven her father for not paying the ransom. Stacey’s ex husband Jack turns up one day asking Stacyey’s help. He is distraught as his daughter from a previous marriage, Lyra, whom Stacey is really fond of, has been kidnapped. They are asking for a ransom of half a million pounds with no police involvement. Stacey agrees to help Jack and, with her being an investigative journalist, enlists the help of some of her friends. She knows it is going to be a difficult experience for her especially as she suspects there are quite a few similarities to her own kidnapping. Stacey uses a hypnotherapist to help reveal the ordeal she went through to see if anything she remembers can help Lyra but begins to wonder why Jack is so determined not to involve the police. As the secrets are revealed the puzzle starts to come together. Can she find Lyra before it is too late? This makes a gripping read as dark memories are revealed to uncover lies and hidden secrets. A fantastic page turner.
Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

A gripping thriller that will have you screaming at the characters for doing all the wrong things. Frustrating, but excellent! Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC

This book is a thriller about a woman who has to face her past and fears in order to save her stepdaughter. Stacey was kidnapped as a teen and it was a very traumatic experience for her causing her to have amnesia and losing a finger and part of her ear. She doesn’t remember much of what happened except for the occasional flickers. She blamed her dad for not paying the ransom. Thirty years later, her stepdaughter got kidnapped and the kidnapping just has too many similarities for it to be a coincidence. So first of all, it’s a very interesting premise and I really liked the writing. However, I just don’t get why the dad didn’t go to the police first

Amazing read- Stacey, a 13 year old at the time, was kidnapped and tortured by her capturer for her father, a judge, did not pay her ransom. Stacey was finally rescued by a passing member of the police.
Now 30 years later, her ex-husband, Jack asks for her help after his daughter, Lyra is also kidnapped and receives a ransom demand. Jack makes Stacey promise not to contact the police. As an investigative journalist, Stacey uses her skills and contacts to help locate Lyra. Previously regressed memories start coming back and a whole heap of secrets and unravelled from her past top marks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A great standalone book from Carol Wyer, made all the more realistic by my visit to Morecambe last year. Tense and well written plot as you would expect, with interesting and well developed characters. Red herrings and twist and turns aplenty before the reveal of the culprit. Great read.

another great read by the very talented author Carol Wyer, just when you think you know how your favourite author writes she dazzles you with a newbie, fully recommend

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is her first standalone crime thriller, by bestselling author Carol Wyer. Having loved reading her three crime thriller detective series, I was anxious to read her new standalone novel.

Stacey O’Hara had been kidnapped thirty years ago, a horrendous ordeal, where she had been brutally treated and missing a pinkie finger, after her father, a well-known judge refused to pay the ransom, for which she never forgave him. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Following the rescue, Stacey moved from Staffordshire to Lancaster to start a new life, as a senior reporter for the newspaper. Her memories of the ordeal are cloudy, as she suffered a severe case of amnesia, and is unable to remember any details of her own kidnapping.

Then Stacey’s ex-husband, Jack, turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra. The kidnappers are demanding a huge ransom…but no police involvement. Stacey and Lyra have always had a close relationship, and just because of the divorce, they still stay in touch.

Why are the two cases so similar? Stacey must face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter.

Can Stacey remember any details from her past to save her stepdaughter?

This well written novel had me flipping the pages as fast as I could. An ending I never saw coming, kept me glued to my seat. A great read!

Many thanks to the author, Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for my digital copy.

Really loved this book. That balance of the past and present, and how the story connected the two was great. Stacey’s investigative skills were intuitive, and her stubbornness was interesting. Good conclusion.

The first thing I did this morning was call my manicurist to make an appointment...

I chewed my nails right on down to the beds and gosh darn it, does it hurt!

Behind Closed Doors, will make you do the same.

This book is one heck of a ride that will have you holding you breath and fear what lurks behind the corners. Each page explodes with juicy deception and twists. The character development was executed with precision.

This book holds every key component of a bestseller.

No need to take my word for it, go on ahead and pick up your own copy to find out for yourself.

Teaser :

Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?

When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…

Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom—she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.

But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?

Jack wants his ex, Stacey, to find Lyra. I kept wishing she would call the police. There's definitely something off about the situation from the start. Jack and Stacey had a difficult relationship (he was abusive), but she still deeply cares for Lyra and wants to help.

The situation links to past trauma for Stacey which is slowly revealed through hypnosis and show links to the current situation.

Carol makes us doubt just about every character at some point in the story. It is very cleverly plotted and brilliantly written. The last few chapters had my heart in my mouth.

Another brilliant, twisty thriller from Carol which I would definitely recommend.

This was a very middle-of-the-road book for me. But I do know people I can recommend this book to that will love and enjoy it.

I had trouble getting into it and wasn't very connected to any of the characters. That said, it wasn't bad! I just think it was maybe not the book for me?

This book was a mix of suspenseful while at some points being a painfully slow burn. I think most people would guess this but you can happily read along for the ride watching it unfold. Overall, solid 3 stars, nothing fantastic or bad.

This is my first time reading Carol Wyer and I thought the book was intriguing.

Stacey and Jack are the main characters. I didn't really like Jack as a character but that didn't stop my enjoyment of the story.

It was tension filled and full of twists and turns that will keep you reading.

Comment

It was well written and had me hooked from the start. It was chilling and there were plenty of twists. It kept me guessing right up until the end.

I found the storyline gripping and loved how it went between past and present. There were some great characters in this standalone.

I have been a fan of Carol's work for a while now. I have read and thoroughly enjoyed every single book that she has written to date. I must say that I had a particular fondness for her series featuring DI Robyn Carter. When I heard that Carol was due to release a standalone book, I knew that I had to read it as soon as I could. Well I managed to get a copy of 'Behind Closed Doors' and it is absolutely brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Behind Closed Doors' but more about that in a bit.

Just seeing Carol's name on a book that I knew I hadn't yet read was enough to grab my attention and draw me in. From the moment I opened the book for the first time, I fell under this book's spell. It was as if the book had developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn't willing to break. I started reading and found that I couldn't stop. The book wasn't exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I couldn't bear to miss a single second of the story. I can't say that I took to the character of Jack, who is the ex-husband of Stacey, at all and I was rather suspicious of him and his behaviour. There was just something about him that set off little alarm bells. I developed my own theories as to what was going to happen so of course I had to keep reading to see if I was anywhere near the truth or if I had wandered in the opposite direction. I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost all track of time and just how quickly I was getting through the book. All too quickly I reached the end of 'Behind Closed Doors' and I had to say goodbye to Stacey and the rest of the characters. I found 'Behind Closed Doors' to be a gripping, gritty, tense and dramatic read, which certainly kept me guessing and also kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

'Behind Closed Doors' is superbly written but then I have come to expect nothing less from Carol Wyer. Carol has an easy going writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. For me the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. This is a dual timeline story - one timeline focuses on past events and describes what happened to Stacey when she was kidnapped. The other timeline focuses on the present and describes what happens when Lyra, Stacey's step daughter, is kidnapped. The timelines interlink well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. Carol describes her characters so realistically and vividly that they seem just as real as you and I. Reading 'Behind Closed Doors' felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would find on a 'Snakes & Ladders' board.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'Behind Closed Doors' and I would recommend it to other readers. I will most definitely be reading more of Carol's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*

Stacey has not exactly had an easy life. A few weeks after her mother dies from committing suicide, Stacey is kidnapped. A ransom is asked from her father, who is a young judge, but he has refused to pay it. Eventually Stacey is returned but not without some physical and emotional trauma. Stacey has had a finger removed and inflicted other physical harm. Stacey has decided to block out the entire situation and does not talk about it. Years later Stacey is an adult with a career in writing and has been divorced. Stacey ex-husband ends up coming to her in a full blown panic saying that his daughter has been kidnapped. This brings up memories of her own trauma and kidnapping and she starts to wonder if this is all connected to what happened to her.

this book started out strong but it flopped in the middle and in ways of the writing. There were moments that felt extremely repetitive and that made it hard to want to keep reading. There were topics and events in the book that were discussed so much that by the time it can to the topic you already knew what was going to happen. Don't get me wrong there was definitely suspense in the book but not nearly as much as I wanted. I enjoyed it as a quick read and I think it is was good.