Sarah Reviews… Last Lullaby by Carol Wyer

Publisher: Bookouture

Publication Date: 7^th December 2018

Format: eBook

About the book:

Charlotte’s baby is safe. But is she?

When the body of young mother Charlotte Brannon is discovered by her husband in their immaculate, silver bedroom, Detective Natalie Ward is first on the scene. The killer has left a chilling calling card: the word ‘Why?’ written on the wall in blood.

Determined to find justice, Natalie quickly discovers the husband is hiding a troubled past, and she’s sure the teenage babysitter’s alibi doesn’t quite add up.

But before Natalie can dig deeper, another mother is murdered, her young son left distraught, staring at a fresh ‘who’ scrawled beside her.

Natalie knows it’s only a matter of time before the killer strikes again, but all the key suspects have alibis. It’s her toughest case yet, and with her marriage hanging by a thread, the cracks are beginning to show.

Just when Natalie finds an unsettling clue she thinks could solve the case, another young woman and her baby disappear, and a member of Natalie’s team is put in terrible danger.

Can Natalie stop this twisted killer and save one of her own before more families are torn apart forever?

It’s only been a couple of weeks since I reviewed The Birthday which was the first book in the Natalie Ward series, but I simply couldn’t wait to get stuck into Natalie’s next case so this morning I’m bringing you my review of Last Lullaby the second book in the series.

Natalie’s leave is cancelled when she’s called to a murder scene where a young woman has been found dead, the word why scrawled on the wall in her blood. Her six month old son has been left screaming in his nursery. Natalie faces the unenviable task of attempting to track down the killer, but what happens when he strikes a second time?

Once again Carol has created a story which draws you in completely and refuses to let you go until you turn the last page. We meet the first victim at the beginning of the book, as she’s out for dinner with her husband and parents. Now I really enjoy a story that lets you meet the victim before the crime, I mean I enjoy crime anyway but a story that begins earlier than the detective arriving at a crime scene lets me play the Casualty game. Now for those unfamiliar with the term Casualty is a very long running BBC drama – think ER but with a slightly lower budget. Growing up it was a must watch in my house on a Saturday evening and usually opens with someone driving along not paying attention, or some kids running through the park and the challenge was always to guess which character was going to end up injured and what was going to happen to them. I got to play the Casualty game with Last Lullaby, I already knew the victim from the blurb but my mind was working overtime on how they would die, I didn’t get it right but by that point I was already invested in finding out what had happened and who the murderer was before Natalie had even arrived on the scene.

As we move through the story we reach the introduction of some psychologist sessions, I found it really interesting to get glimpses of the why – what was the killer’s motive for the murders, even as I was still trying to work out who the killer was.

As always Carol’s pacing is wonderful, with just enough hints to make you think you’ve solved it before she pulls the rug out from under you and sends you right back to the drawing board before she reaches a very satisfying conclusion.

I very much enjoyed catching up with the characters again. The story shows the difficulty police officers can have balancing work and home life. Balancing the importance of the case they’re working on without feeling as they are neglecting their loved ones. Natalie is supposed to be on leave and has plans with her family when she’s called in to investigate the first murder, and it’s safe to say some family members deal with this better than others. Jamie and Leigh still come across as great kids, although I still worry something is going to happen to one of them! David still irritates me no end, as difficult as the changes in his life must have been when he lost his job I just can’t find it in me to feel sorry for him. There are parts in this story where he comes across as very insecure, and there were moments I almost felt bad for him but then he does something to ruin it and I’m back to finding him annoying! Then we have the revelation right at the end of the book, Natalie deserves better and although it’s wrong I can’t help but hope one day she ends up with Mike…

Finally character-wise I really enjoyed seeing more of Lucy and Bethany’s relationship and getting a bit more insight into Lucy’s fears about becoming a parent, I’m hoping we’ll keep getting these insights going forward

Final Thoughts

Carol has done it again! Another thrilling crime story with central characters you care about along with whodunit! I’ve already bought The Dare and I can’t wait to get stuck in and find out what’s next for Natalie.

More Detective Natalie Ward via Goodreads

More Carol Wyer on SWB

About The Author

Carol Wyer, is an award-winning author and stand up comedian who writes feel-good comedies and gripping thrillers. Her book, Grumpy Old Menopause won The People’s Book Prize Award for non-fiction 2015.

The DI Robyn Carter series has earned her acclaim as a crime writer and the first book in the series, Little Girl Lost, shot to the #2 best-selling spot on Kindle #9 best-selling audiobook on Audible, and was also a USA Today top 150 best-seller.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’ featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post.

Carol is a signed author with Bookouture (part of the Hachette Group) Canelo and Delancey Press.