Little Girl Lost was Carol Wyer’s first police procedural/psychological thriller. In that novel we were introduced to DI Robyn Carter, shattered by the death of her beloved husband Davies yet determined to prove herself able to lead her team of detectives and solve a complex case. Secrets of the Dead can be read as a standalone novel but I highly recommend reading the first book in the series to appreciate how much Robyn has grown as an investigator.

This second novel opens in dramatic fashion. The manager of an upscale spa is found roasted to death in the hotel’s sauna. Carter’s arch nemesis DI Tom Shearer has ruled the death an unfortunate accident. Robyn’s gut instincts tell her that homicide might be the better call in spite of her boss, DCI Mulholland’s insistence that she focus on her own caseload and not rely so much on her instincts. When a woman turns up dead in a bathtub with obvious signs of trauma and a note indicating her debt had been paid in full, Carter gets to work solving what turns out to be the first of several related murders. As the body count climbs and pressure mounts to find this “Lichfield Leopard” it is up to Robyn and her team to hunt down this revenge seeking killer.

Once again we have a fast paced thriller and an excellent cast of detectives working to solve another challenging case. Wyer gives us enough backstory on each victim to care about their lives and mourn their deaths, hoping that Carter can stop this killer before more senseless killing can occur. I loved seeing how much more focused Robyn is in this second novel of the series. I liked that she is no longer reacting but acting on leads provided to her by her team. Her relationship and reliance on her cousin Ross to ferret out information she might not otherwise obtain by legal means adds another avenue to helping her hunt down killers.

Looking forward to more Robyn Carter mysteries in the future.

ARC received from Bookouture via NetGalley for review.

My review of Carol Wyer's Secrets of the Dead

Carol Wyer's second DI Robyn Carter novel is zoom, zoom, zoom... Carol Wyer gives us a roller coaster in the dark, where you don't see what's coming next. Twisty, turny, stomach dropping. Yep, that's Secrets of the Dead.

To be honest, at 10%, I restarted the book. Why? Because I began reading this book within seconds of finishing Wyer's Little Girl Lost.  Handling one roller coaster so soon after another without feeling woozy is quite a difficult task for me.  I took a day off of reading and started over. Whew. But after the wonderfulness that is Little Girl Lost, I couldn't wait.
 
First of all, if you have not read Little Girl Lost, run out and get it NOW. Oh, I mean... where I was going with that was - if you haven't read Little Girl Lost, that's OK because Secrets of the Dead can consumed as a stand alone as well.
 
Like many crime novels, Secrets of the Dead begins with a few murders. The first murder appears disconnected from the others, but the next two murders are definitely connected. On each person, there is an invoice for 250,000 pounds. Paid for with their lives.
 
DI Robyn Carter is on the case, enlisting the help of her sweet dear cousin Ross, detective turned PI. I love Ross. But everywhere Robyn turns she hits walls. And then the press scared the public, her boss was frustrated, and Robyn and her team were bone-weary. My eyeballs soaked up this book in a ferocious manner after restarting it.
 
I did notice a few reviews mention that there were too many characters to keep track of. A tip for kindle readers.  Highlight the name of each character at first mention so you can easily refer back if you need a refresher.

DI Robyn Carter is not my favorite character in the book. Of course, I like her, especially her unconventional devious ways of solving crime. But Ross, Mitz, and Anna are who I most enjoy and connect with. They are such a big part of the story, that I'm not feeling any lacking by connecting to the adjunct characters.
 
This was yet another definite 5-star book for me. Go read it. :-)

Just a note

As an aside, there was a scene where Robyn was racing toward another murder passing Aldi and Tesco, turning right onto X street. (The street name escapes me).
 
I shop at Aldi here in the states and chuckled at the mention of Aldi. So, I googled Aldi and the street name mentioned. Low and behold I found a street view of that Aldi on Google Maps. It was very cool to meander around the streets of Litchfield from my iPad in the very same locations mentioned in Secrets of the Dead. Does that make me a dirty stalker of fictional characters?

Thank you to netgalley, bookouture, and Carol Wyer for an advanced copy of this book. My review is honest and unbiased.

Book 2 in the DI Robyn Carter series . After reading and loving book 1 in this series I was actually a bit nervous about starting book 2, in case it didn't live up to the first book. Well I need not have worried. This second book was absolutely brilliant. I love a book that has me engrossed from the very beginning . Secrets of the Dead is that type of book . It is a superb crime thriller that I really didn't want to put down. Fantastic storyline with brilliant characters. This book is so good I read it in one day. A huge five stars from me .

Secrets of the Dead is the second outing for fiesty DI Robyn Carter – and it doesn't disappoint.

The book opens with a grisly discovery – a hotel manager is discovered dead in the hotel sauna after somehow becoming trapped in there. Early reports indicate that he would not have entered the sauna due to a lifelong heart condition. So why was he in there out of hours, and is this foul pay at work?

A young Mother found dead in the bath in just her underwear, with a 'note' indicating a debt has been paid is the next unfortunate to cross Robyn's path. Sadly, she isn't the last victim of the media dubbed 'Lichfield Leopard' - the receipts are piling up.

How are these cases connected? Are they even connected at all? Robyn is sure the answer to this is a resounding yes – but how to prove it? A narrative from the 'Leopard' keeps us on our toes throughout this gripping, fast paced thriller that will keep you asking questions right until the very end.

Robyn Carter is a breath of fresh air - a great new character, feisty, strong, determined - I can't wait to read more about her!

Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbot, Patricia Gibney.

I love this series! Book #2 proved to be a quick read. I can't tell you how awesome I think Robyn Carter is. She is bright, intelligent, quick on her feet, and utterly human. I love the relationships she has with her team as well as with Amelie (her almost stepdaughter). This series is addicting, and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the copy of this book.

Three murders with seemingly no connection to each other except for a paper saying 'all debts paid'. The leads are few and far between. It is a difficult case for the team but they get there in the end with many twists and turns along the way. It was also great to see another book with Robyn Carter featured. I am very interested to see what happens next. She is functioning well by keeping her demons at bay for now, but it would be interesting to see what will happen if she has to face them head on.

It was a great book. I loved how it all came together in the end. Sometimes, when I have read a really good book, I take time afterwards to marvel at how the author came up with the ideas and how they brought it all together in the end. This was one of those books.

I highly recommend this book and the first book in the series 'Little girl lost'. You will not be disappointed. They are well-written and will keep you gripped from the first page!

"Three murders. Three innocent victims. What secrets did they share with their killer?"

I was blown away by Carol Wyer's debut thriller, and the first DI Robyn Carter book, Little Girl Lost. So naturally I was ecstatic to see that she had a book two coming out, and let me tell you, I was not disappointed! Just as thrilling, page turning, suspenseful, and twisty as Little Girl Lost. She packs a punch with book two.

Detective Robyn Carter arrives on the scene of a woman murdered in her bathtub - fully clothed and holding a receipt that said "all debts paid". DI Carter knows the signs when she sees them, and when a second victim is found with a receipt, her fears are confirmed - they have a serial killer on their hands. How are the two victims linked to each other?

With mounting pressure from the press, who have dubbed the killer The Leopard, Robyn is frantically trying to get this case solved. Following the clues then brings her through the manicured lawns and gated communities of the wealthy. Will she discover the shocking motives?

I don't want to give away much more about this book because I don't want to ruin anything! Carol Wyer weaves such an intricate story without any confusion. Everything flows so well. So many twists and turns! Even though this is book two in the DI Robyn Carter series, this could definitely be read as a standalone. Robyn is a great character. She's so human - she's tough, flawed, dedicated, and cares about her coworkers and friends.

I highly recommend this and Little Girl Lost to any thriller fans!

I give this 5/5 stars!

A big thanks to Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

First off, I want to say that I did not read the first book in the series. And I don't think this had any negative effect on my enjoyment of this book.

Secrets of the Dead follows Detective Inspector Robyn Carter as she investigates a series of heinous murders that may or may not be related. She and her team have to work hard and frankly, against the clock to make sure no one else in Lichfield get hurt. And to make matters worse, they also have to work against the media who is overhyping all of their cases and scaring the public.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting that much from this book. I was looking for a good murder mystery to read, but I had little expectation. And even after the first few pages, I wasn't really feeling it.

But then, all of a sudden, it got good. No. It got really good.



Every single death was very...different. And I honestly found myself disgusted, and in need of a break.



And maybe I could have figured out the killer(s), but I was so interested in the writing style and finding out what happened to every single character, that I didn't want to stop and think, and put the clues together. I just wanted to keep reading and reading and reading and reading.

It was that interesting.

And then there was an impressive amount of times where I was like "oh my god. What just happened?"



Honestly, by the end of the book, I fell in love with Robyn. She's so well-rounded, and she really is a good role model for any woman reading. She's single, loves a daughter that isn't hers, is willing to put her life on the job, cares about her team, and yet she still has flaws. She makes mistakes, and she sometimes has a temper with her coworkers *ahem Tom ahem*. But in the end, she's still a strong female character through and through.

All in all, Secrets of the Dead was a well written murder mystery that will keep you up (reading) at night, and will keep you captivated until the very end.

** I received this book in exchange for an honest review from Netgalley and the publisher, but this in no way effected my opinions on the book.

***Can we talk about the Letter from Carol? I think I literally died reading that.



If you want to read a more in-depth review or some of my other reviews, please head over to my blog: http://heathertooreal.blogspot.com/

Secrets of the Dead is the second book in the DI Robyn Carter series by Carol Wyer taking place after Little Girl Lost, Secrets of the Dead begins with a body discovered in the sauna of an upmarket country hotel, assigned to DI Shearer, Robyn finds herself stepping on his toes when an acquaintance from her gym is convinced the conclusion of suicide Shearer has arrived at is wrong.

Soon Robyn catches a case of her own when a body is found in a bar, complete with an invoice for two hundred and fifty thousand, stating the debt has now been paid in full, a second body is soon found and thanks to the press the Lichfield Leopard is born.

Little Girl Lost was one of the first books I received from NetGalley and reviewed here on my blog, I absolutely loved it, so when I saw the follow up Secrets of the Dead appear on NetGalley I very excitedly clicked request and was very pleased to receive my approval email. I had an exam that week so I decided that Secrets of the Dead would be my reward for studying and completing my exam. I was certainly not disappointed!

Once again Carol has created a wonderful plot, a story of twists and turns that gives the reader just enough clues to make them think they know what’s happening before throwing in a twist to leave them second guessing themselves. The plot is well paced, and fantastically written, I especially enjoyed the chapters written from the killer’s point of view and trying to guess if I’d already seen the character from Robyn’s perspective.

Would I Recommend?

Yes! For the second time Carol has created a fabulous story, it could easily be read as a standalone but if you’ve not yet read Little Girl Lost you’re missing out! Go pick it up! This series is one of the best new series of the year! I’m already counting down to book three!