After writing some of my favorite crime series, Carol Wyer is back with Behind Closed Doors, her first stand alone crime novel, a story of psychological suspense as gripping as those of her fantastic police procedurals.

Thirty years ago Stacey was kidnapped. She was only found after the police received an anonymous tip-off, but the culprit was never caught. The experience left her with several physical scars, dissociate amnesia and a estranged relationship with her father, whom refused to pay the ransom. Now, she’s an investigative journalist and still trying to find some answers. When her ex-husband Jack knocks on her door telling her his daughter Lyra has been kidnapped, Stacey feels there’re too many similarities with her own abduction. Is it a copycat or is history repeating itself? Stacey will have to delve into her past to try and save Lyra before is too late.

Carol certainly knows how to grab her readers’ attention and the story takes off with a very shocking scene that immediately had me on its grip. Stacey joins Carol’s group of strong female characters that are not afraid to upturn every stone necessary to find out the truth. Her past trauma and her inability to remember what really happened to her make her such an interesting lead. The reader can’t help but wonder if the memories she’s slowly starting to get back are real or if she’s projecting what she’s learning about Lyra’s abduction. You could say she’s an unreliable narrator, but not in an annoying way as it’s sometimes the case. The more we learn about her ordeal, the more we want her to succeed in her endeavor.

With a small cast of characters and a not so big pool of suspects, you’ll try to wrap your mind around what really happened to Lyra. Slow building tension will unveil the full picture of what happened thirty years ago, through several twists and turns that will lead to an explosive ending that offered some jaw dropping revelations. Although not a complete surprise, as some weird behaviors were grating on me right from the start, it was absolutely satisfying.

I liked how, even with the characters you don’t fully trust, Carol managed to give them that sense of despair that makes the reader wanna give them the benefit of the doubt, asking themselves “but what if they’re telling the truth?”

The atmosphere was good and the underlying sense of foreboding, of a ticking bomb that could go off at any time, was present all throughout the story.

With Behind Closed Doors, Carol Wyer has another winner on her hands, with this story of suspense, family secrets and revenge.

Thanks to Carol Wyer, Thomas & Mercer and Zooloo’s Book Tours for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review and my spot on the tour.

I’ve read all three books of her previous series and I loved them. So I knew what I was getting myself into when I got this new story. 

Same fast paced, suspenseful and intriguing twists. 

What I didn’t expect was that ending. I really didn’t expect the villain to be that person. 

Yes, I had my theories about her father and all the one and off moments of lucidity, but I wasn’t expecting that. I think the author has incorporate do many important topics in here that really makes us more aware that life is never as easy as it may seem from outside.

And I’m happy to say that this story is taking its place in my favourite of the year. 

📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy through NetGalley

Behind Closed Doors is another great story from Carol Wyer. It is a fast paced pager turner that kept me hooked so much that I read it in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

I was very excited for this book because of the synopsis and some of the reviews I saw...but I just couldn't get into it. I know some people had issues with the content which just wasn't the case for me. Really it was just that I couldn't get engaged

Fast-paced, tense and emotional, Behind Closed Doors is a nail-biting mystery. I loved it and suspected nearly everyone! Another winner from the very talented Carol Wyer.
An absolute must read for all psychological thriller fans.

I was hooked from the first chapter, with its terrifying tale of Stacey’s kidnapping thirty years ago. Since her ordeal, Stacey has suffered from dissociative amnesia, whereby she has almost no memory of her experience. When her ex-husband, Jack, contacts her after his teenage daughter, Lyra, is kidnapped she fears that history is repeating itself. Desperate to find Lyra, Stacey soon realises she must face the horrors of the past and actively try to remember details of her own kidnapping.

The storyline switches between present day and flashbacks to Stacey’s ordeal. This is a excellent thriller, fast paced, with multiple layers within the story and enough suspense to keep you guessing right until the very end.
I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it. Perfect for readers of thriller fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the review copy.

Behind closed doors by Carol Wyer.

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

What a read. Brilliant. Twisty and shocking. Loved it. 5*.

Thank you to Carol Wymer, Amazon Publishing UK and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy. This is my honest review.

Publishing December 6th

Carol is a new to me author, and I can not wait to check out her other books!

A nice amount of surprise, greed, lies and suspense. Some of it was far fetched and hard to believe (don't want to give it away), but for the most part I liked the book.

So many questions, so many possibilities of who the kidnapper could be.

Stacey was a victim of a kidnapping for ransom when she was a teen. Daughter of a prominent judge, the kidnapper for sure figured they'd get paid what they asked. Stacey is missing a finger to show they were wrong. After an anonymous tip to the police, Stacey was found but her kidnapper was never apprehended.

Now 30 years later, Stacey's ex-husband, Jake shows up at her house, frantic because his daughter, Lyra, was kidnapped and they are asking for a ransom, and specifically no police involvement.

Stacey can't help but think it's the same person. Too many similarities to her liking.

Could this really be the same person who kidnapped Stacey all of those years ago? If so, why come back now after all of this time?

Grab a copy to find out!

I enjoyed this story eventually but found it a little slow going during the first half of the book. I found it difficult to relate to some of the characters especially Lyra who we had no previous knowledge of prior to her abduction. Therefore it was quite hard to feel empathy towards her. As for Stacey’s relationship with Jack I felt that at times she would have been more forceful with her suggestions of how to find Lyra. However, the story developed in many ways I didn’t see coming, although suspicions were rife. It was definitely worth persevering with and by the end I felt a satisfaction with how it had all played out. A complicated situation that mirrored Stacey’s past was well told with twists that led to a dramatic climax.

A fabulous standalone thriller.
I loved the setting, in and around Morecambe. A place I’ve never been to but would like to after reading this.
A steady-paced interesting story which kept me hooked. Some good twists and a great ending.
Carol Wyer is one of my favourite authors and this comes highly recommended by me.
Many thanks to the author and publisher for the early copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Another great read from Carol Wyer.

This is a standalone thriller, easy to read with twists and turns.

A little different as the main character is Stacey who is a journalist rather than a dectective, who has to relive the kidnapping she went through as a child to help her step daughter.

Original story.

Loved it

I'm such an avid fan of Carol's crime thriller series that I couldn't wait to dive into her new psychological thriller BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. From the very first page we are thrown headfirst into the chilling fragmented memories of the past before landing in the present, faced with something of a similar dilemma.

Thirsty years ago, Stacey endured five long torturous days tied up, beaten, battered and bruised in a horrifying kidnapping before being rescued by a police officer answering a routine call. The people responsible for her kidnapping have never been identified or apprehended. The experience was so harrowing for the then 16 year old Stacey that she is left with dissociative amnesia and a few fragmented pieces that flicker in her memory. The lasting reminders being her amputated finger and her ear having also been cut off. The only thing she knows without a doubt is that her father never paid the ransom...and Stacey has never understood why. Even stranger was that as soon as she was discharged from hospital, her father packed up their belongings and moved them from Staffordshire to Lancashire...where she knew no one. He said it was for a new start...but was that really the truth?

Now Stacey is four years shy of the big five-oh and is an investigative journalist for a Lancaster paper where she is the senior reporter. She lives in a quaint little cottage in the seaside town of Hornby, living the quiet life she now appreciates. But when her ex-husband Jack comes knocking on her door one evening, it seems history is repeating itself. His daughter Lyra, who Stacey adores, has been kidnapped and the ransom demand is for £500,000 - the same amount as the ransom for Stacey 30 years before. Coincidence? Jack appeals to her for help but states in no uncertain terms that there is to be no police, as per the kidnapper's instructions. But can Stacey go down that rabbit hole and come face to face with her traumatic past? If it means saving Lyra, then yes.

Unfortunately, Jack doesn't the money - nothing even close to that amount - so Stacey uses all her skills as an investigative journalist to delve for clues as how to find Lyra...and who has her. But she cannot escape the similarities to her own kidnapping, right down to the last detail. But after thirty years? It doesn't seem feasible. But Stacey is sure her kidnapping holds the clues to finding Lyra before it's too late. But can she trust her memories or are they false narratives her mind is conjuring up?

This is an intriguing thriller from the very first page and I was eager to find out who was behind it all, and just how it related back to Stacey's own kidnapping. But I must admit to being bogged down by the lengthy chapters of which I am not a fan and for me that does slow down the pace a little. But boy, were there twists!! Just when you think you know who it could be, something shifts and it changes direction. But I did have one or two niggles at the back of my mind, both of which proved to be the case, although I wasn't sure of the exact details or anything else. Just a couple of niggles is all they were that didn't sit right. Trust your gut, follow your instinct. But it seemed Stacey wasn't listening...lol But then if she did, there wouldn't be much of a story...lol

Although Stacey was a strong lead I wasn't really a fan of her too much. Too stubborn and didn't listen to those who actually knew best. But she was the best of a bad bunch, believe me. Her father Henry and her ex Jack were two of the most despicable narcissistic and manipulative characters. I couldn't believe Henry wouldn't pay the ransom for his daughter and his reasoning was just ludicrous. And Jack? Well, we know why Stacey left him...had he really changed?

I loved the setting around Morecombe and could really picture it after seeing Carol's numerous posts of the area leading up to publication. Of course, I also remember it from the TV crime series "The Bay". And I just have to say, that cover ROCKS!!!

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS is a taut and tense thriller with plenty of twists and red herrings to keep you guessing throughout. My only complaint is that the chapters were just a bit too long which slowed down the pace.

Overall, an intense and intriguing read sure to delight thriller fans.

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #Netgalley, #AmazonPub and #ZoolooTours for an ARC of #BehindClosedDoors in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

When I started reading this I thought I could never get past the fact that Jack did not contact police when her daughter was kidnapped. Fortunately the story is good and kept me reading. I did need to suspend belief, though. Everything about this story is totally unbelievable, but also totally absorbing.
Stacey's ex Jack comes to visit and wants her help saving his daughter Lyra from kidnappers. He does not want to involve police as per kidnappers wishes. Stacey herself was kidnapped thirty years ago and Jack thinks that's why she would be excellent help. Stacey starts seeing resemblances to her own kidnapping and suspects the kidnapper is the one who took her also. Stacey does not remember anything about her abduction or abductor. Now she's starting to see flashbacks and has to decide if they are real or not.
There is a lot of investigating and twists going on in this book. I enjoyed the story, even though I did not really like any of the characters. The ending was a total blast.

This is a brilliant psychological thriller that is full of drama and twists to keep you hooked til the very end.

When Stacey's ex husband turns up on her doorstep he is the very last person she wants to see. But realising something is wrong she let's him in. When he begs for help after explaining his daughter has been kidnapped Stacey's blood runs cold. She herself was the victim of a kidnapping 30 years ago. Can history really be repeating itself?

I loved this book and I loved Stacey. I really hope we get to read more about her in future books.

A cracking 5 star thriller.

Carol Wyer is back with a stand-alone thriller - Behind Closed Doors.

"Stacey's ex-husband shows up on her door begging for help to get his teenage daughter,Lyra, back from a kidnapper. Stacey's own kidnapping 30-years-ago was never solved and she knows the terror that Lyra is going through. Stacey can't shake the similiarities between the two cases but she'll do what ever she can to get Lyra back. Something is off though - if only she could put her finger on it."

Wyer starts off with a tense story and never lets up. If you have never read a Wyer story, there's something you need to know about her characters. None of them are safe - not a one. So you never know who will make it.
You will not like Jack - both old Jack and new Jack. And you want to yell at Stacey about him.

Stacey races to find Lyra hoping to solve her own kidnapping as well. A few red herrings and an explosive final scene.

Wyer sets this novel in a little known place in the UK and her descriptions make you want to go visit.

A great stand-alone thriller from Wyer.

Thirty years ago, Stacy was kidnapped, losing her finger and a part of her ear in the process. Now when her ex-husband, comes to her, asking for help, that his daughter Lyra was kidnapped, Stacy was forced to relive those past traumatic memories.

I do like the plot line but the story wasn't really my type. It was interesting in the beginning and I do like the snippets of the parts when Stacy was being held as a cpative and how she blamed her father for not paying the ransom. I did enjoy the story but I didn't seem fo enjoy much. This was a slow burn, not much of twists and turns you would expect in a thriller but neverthless, it was an OK thriller. However, even though I didn't enjoy this book much, I cannot wait to read more books from this author.

Worth 3.5 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

Really enjoyed this book, kept me guessing right until the end. A gripping read that I could not put down. Carol Wyer books never disappoint!

Another great book from Carol Wyer.
This is a standalone book and will definitely have you racing through the pages.
Stacey was kidnapped 30 years ago but struggles to remember what happened during this traumatic time.
Her ex, Jack, contacts her out of the blue and is desparate for help as his teenage daughter has now been taken.
Stacey thinks a lot of Lyra and tells Jack she’ll do all she can to help.
They’ve been told not to go to the Police or else Lyra will be harmed, and there is a demand for money to contend with.
Stacey asks an old friend who is a PI to help but they struggle to work out where Lyra is being held.
With time ticking away Stacey sees a therapist to unlock some of the memories of her abduction and this is key to this situation.
This is a great read and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thanks to Amazon Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

The first stand-alone I’ve read from this author and it was a good one. Well written with a great plot this was a very addictive read. The prologue, set in 1992, was gripping and we soon find out that the victim was Stacey O’Hara. The remaining story is set in April 2022, largely over a four day period. It is tense and full of suspense with some disturbing reveals when Stacey starts getting flashbacks to her own kidnap.

Briefly, when her ex husband, Jack, begs her to help find his daughter Lyra, who has been kidnapped, Stacey is horrified, recalling her own kidnap 30 years earlier. Her kidnapper was never found and with her father refused to pay a ransom her rescue was just pure luck. After the dreadful treatment she received she has selective amnesia but although no one believes her she is convinced the same person has Lyra as took her. She needs to remember…

Great characterisations, good and bad characters - I found Henry particularly odious. I read this very quickly as I wanted to see if Lyra was rescued in time. A good, well paced psychological drama with plenty of red herrings to keep you on your toes, very enjoyable.
4.5⭐️

I am a big Carol Wyer fan and have avidly read her previous books. This is a standalone, so not part of a previous series. I loved everything about it! It made me remember how much I like Morecambe and I’m planning on going soon to discover the cafe that’s mentioned. The plot is fabulous and you really root for the main character, who is brave and determined despite her previous experiences. Brilliant read!