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.