Book Review – Little Girl Lost by Carol Wyer

Title: Little Girl Lost

Author: Carol Wyer

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 19th January 2017

Format: ARC e-book

Note: This book was received from the publisher in return for an honest review

About the book:

A perfect family hiding disturbing secrets. A killer who wants the truth to be told.

A teacher goes missing under suspicious circumstances.

A millionaire is murdered at a local reservoir.

For Detective Robyn Carter, there’s no obvious link between the men. But as she starts to delve into the cases, her investigations lead her to Abigail, perfect wife and mother to beautiful little Izzy. What was Abigail’s connection to the victims? And why is she receiving threatening messages from an anonymous number?

But as Robyn starts to inch closer to finding the killer, Izzy is abducted.

Unless Robyn gets to the twisted individual in time, a little girl will die …

What I Thought:

Detective Inspector Robyn Carter has taken a leave of absence from the Staffordshire Police Force following a series of personal tragedies. Having spent time working as a private detective with her cousin, Ross, also a former detective, she is preparing to rejoin the police force when Ross sends her on one last case. A woman has reported her husband missing, following her meeting it soon becomes clear to DI Carter that this case is one for the police and she’s back to work a little sooner than planned.

I really enjoyed Little Girl Lost. It took me a little while to get into the book, I think it suffers from the same curse as a lot of first books in a series, and the action was a little thin on the ground while we were introduced to Robyn and her back story. However once the main plot line really kicked in I found it almost impossible to put down. Carol Wyer does a fantastic job of planting just enough hints you think you’ve worked it out, before throwing a curve ball that leaves you second guessing yourself.

Throughout the book the present day chapters are interspersed with chapters based in the past. These chapters are written in the first person and gradually move forward in time until they reach the present day. I found this a great technique that added to your understanding of the motive behind everything without making it clear who was behind it.

Would I recommend it?

I would absolutely recommend Little Girl Lost. For me it was a top class thriller that left me turning pages well past midnight just so I could reach the end. I wouldn’t have known this was Carol Wyer’s first thriller if it hadn’t been noted in the comments. The only thing I would urge caution about is the book does contain child sex abuse, which I wasn’t expecting based on the blurb. For me this wasn’t an issue but I can appreciate that for some this may be a trigger. Personally I will be keeping a keen eye out for the further adventures of DI Robyn Carter, Carol Wyer is a great addition to the world of crime fiction.