With a five year old daughter of my own, the theme of 'The Birthday' felt very close to home in terms of the children and their ages. But, without sounding too weird, it was also that theme which made me dig my nails into the book to ensure that my hands never let go. How did I end up finding myself gripped by a devastating situation? It wasn't as though I found the fact that a little girl went missing, highly entertaining, it was more to do with wanting answers for the missing girl and staying right to the end to get those answers so that her family and loved ones (and I), could let the girl rest in peace without any question marks looming overhead.

'The Birthday' is the first book in a brand new series, with Detective Natalie Ward as the 'go to' person. I thought she was absolutely brilliant. She refused to take any rubbish from her team, nor did she allow her superior to ignore her gut instinct regarding the investigation. Maybe it was a mother's intuition, but Natalie Ward knew that something wasn't quite right when the first body was found, and she knew that things were about to blow when another little girl ends up being put onto the police radar. Either way, Natalie refused to give up.

The storyline switches between the present, the past involving the person behind the first disappearance, as well as the 'voices' if you will, of the girls involved in the situation. It isn't confusing at all, in fact it adds another thrilling dimension to an already highly intense read.

I did end up working out who was involved before it was known and revealed by Natalie and her team, but due to the fast paced, twisty nature of the storyline, it didn't frustrate me as much as it usually would. Put it this way, I was obviously highly invested in the storyline because when I reached the end of the book, I hadn't prepared myself and felt like there should have been more. I wanted more!

'The Birthday' is an incredible, incredible start to a series I cannot wait to read more of. Carol Wyer has raised the bar once again with this book and, whilst I do have faith in her to raise it again with the next book, I have absolutely no idea how she is going to beat this book.

A jaw dropping, highly anticipated, thrilling, addictive, and incredibly dark novel which left my body covered in goosebumps - fantastic, fantastic read!

I am such a huge fan of Wyer’s work and when I heard she was starting a new crime series I couldn’t wait to start it. Something about her style of writing combined with her original and gripping storylines always sucks me in right away and this was no exception, it’s an extremely strong start to a new detective series that I cannot wait to read more of.

Oftentimes I find that the start of a series can be a bit tedious as the author is trying to not only introduce you to a whole new cast of characters but they’re also trying to pique your interest enough to make you want to continue on with the series as well. Nothing to worry about here, Wyer has effectively managed to hook me after just the one book, I warmed to Natalie immediately and there were enough hints about her past that I’m dying to learn more about. The glimpses into her home life were fairly brief but I am definitely interested in exploring that more and then the members of her team were also interesting as well. Let me put it this way, if I could’ve read the next book immediately I would’ve dropped everything and done just that.

The case was also intriguing, you have missing little girls and leads that keep turning into dead end after dead end and Wyer is such a great writer that you feel all the highs and lows right along with Natalie and her team. Per usual the plotting was intricate and well thought out and I never guessed what would happen next. It had the perfect balance between excitement and then slower moments where you learn more about the characters, I was gripped by it all and really cannot wait to see what Wyer has in store for Natalie next.

The Birthday in three words: Meticulous, Solid and Engaging.

Three words to describe this book – lies, betrayal and deception! Wow this book was certainly a wonderful read!

This was my first book I have read by author Carol Wyer and it was a fabulously written book. I was hooked from the very beginning. A little girl goes missing at a birthday party and nobody has any clue where she is? Wow that right there sucked me into the story line. Where could little Ava have disappeared? How could no one notice she had gone missing from the party?

I found myself flipping through the pages of this book as I was wanting to know more. One by one the young girls all seem to disappear. Who is responsible? And why are these young girls suddenly disappearing?

I found Detective Natalie Ward to be a very likeable character. She is hard working, determined, and eager to get her job done, much to the dismay of her family – her husband and children. She often works late night, sometimes pulling an all-nighter, in an attempt to solve the case. She won’t rest until she finds out the person, or persons, responsible for these missing young girls.

I enjoyed this book from cover to end. There are so many twists and turns to keep the reader invested in the story and wanting to read more to see if the little girls would be found and the person responsible brought to justice. I thought I knew who the guilty person was only to find out I was wrong, again and again. I loved that about this book. It keeps you guessing and guessing right through to the very end.

I highly recommend you to read this book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Elsa Townsend is having one of her tension headaches just as she is in charge of 20 excited children attending 6-year-old, Harriet Downing’s birthday party. She is part owner of Uptown Craft and Garden Centre which houses some animal pens and an arts and crafts centre making it a perfect place for children’s birthday parties. Elsa is divorced and the new co-owner is a married lecher who’s keeping company on the side with the centre’s birthday party assistant.

Today, Elsa has all the responsibility as the other assistants have stepped away Just as she gets a break from another assistant, she steps away for some headache medications and water. Heading back to the group of children, she finds one child is missing. The child had said she was going to use the bathroom and has not come back. Ava Shaw is missing.

Years later, the Uptown Craft and Garden Centre is being rebuilt to be called the Poppyfields Garden Centre. The foreman of the work is frustrated because there has been so much rain and they are behind in meeting their deadline for completion of the work. But another roadblock has just been put up because a body has been found deep in the dirt.

Detective Inspector Natalie Ward is with the Samford Police Force. Her husband, David, has recently lost his job as a translator at a law firm which has put a serious strain on their finances. When Natalie gets a call from her boss, Superintendent Aileen Melody, she learns she wants her to investigate a child’s body that’s just been unearthed. This brings back memories for Natalie because in 2015, she had been assigned to investigate the disappearance of 13-year-old Olivia Chester who was later found dead.

As Natalie further investigates the birthday party that Ava attended on the day she went missing, she gets a call from a colleague that another child, Audrey Briggs, who had attended the birthday party the same day has been found dead.

The story delves into the townspeople who could have knowledge of the deaths of these little girls. Who would kill these children and why?

The book is good up to a point. However, I found that there were too many conversations with people that did not need to be included in the story. If there were clues in the conversations for readers to pick up on, that would have been fine. But this was extraneous verbiage that made the story quite boring at times. I think a good red pen could have made a big difference in this book.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is the first Carol Wyer book I have read and it won't be the last. I liked Detective Natalie Ward and want to read more about her. The story kept me interested and was easy reading. Not too complicated like some police procedural books.

A gripping story. A mystery of disappearing little girls. Some really heart wrenching moments and lots of suspects. I didn't go near guessing the ending which was great and very satisfying. I loved the lead character DI Natalie Ward and was pleased to find out this will become a series. I can't wait for the next in line.

I have always wanted to read a book by Carol Wyer. I keep seeing glowing reviews of her other series, Detective Robyn Carter. However, the series already has 5 books so I thought of starting a new series first and then getting to the other 5 books when my TBR allows.

This book tackles a really dark, disturbing case. I do enjoy crime thrillers but I have always found it difficult to read about cases that involve minors. The story begins at a birthday party which starts with 20 kids but ends with 19. Little Ava goes missing for years before her body is found.

Carol’s writing is stellar. The investigation is well detailed and realistic. Natalie and her team followed clues, interviewed suspects and examined each piece of evidence. This was a tough case though and answers didn’t come easily. I kept trying to guess who the villain is especially from the chapters that they narrated. Each person seemed like a suspect. I was really happy when one of my guesses ended up being true. Felt like a real detective, honestly haha. I truly enjoyed working on this case with DI Natalie and her team.

I look forward to reading the next book in this series. I still feel like I didn’t quite get to know the investigation team well enough but I know that this will change as the series progresses. The Birthday by Carol Wyer is an intense, gripping crime thriller that will keep you guessing to the last page.

Two years after Ava disappears, her body is found. Once her body is found more young girls start to disappear and are found dead shortly there after. Who could be killing the little girls in the neighborhood? and why?

The Birthday by Carol Wyer is the 1st in the new Natalie Ward detective series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Synopsis:
DI Natalie Ward and her team are trying to find a serial killer who seems fixated on little girls who had attended a birthday party at a garden center two years ago. At that party, 5-year old Ava Sawyer went missing, and her body has just been found during renovations to that lot. Shortly after they discover Ava, the team is called to another area of town, where the body of Audrey Briggs is found. Although the body is fresh, it seems too much of a coincidence that Audrey had also attended that birthday party two years ago, and they were both wearing yellow dresses. Is the killer targeting girls who attended that party? Why now? There weren’t too many leads two years ago, but perhaps now they will have better luck, before anyone else dies. But Natalie is worried about tunnel vision. She is trying to make sure every avenue is explored, because she knows what can happen if the search is too narrow. She is not convinced the deaths are related to the birthday. But each person that they investigate seem to have airtight alibis, and although the list of suspects keeps growing, no one seems to be the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, Natalie is trying to keep her home life going. Her husband had gambling problems, and their finances are not where they should be to raise two teenagers, especially when her husband lost his job. Although he is free-lancing, money is tight, and arguments arise over Natalie’s promotion, because she is often too busy to handle day-to-day issues with the children. She can only do so much.

My Opinions:
This is the first book I have read by Carol Wyer, but it will not be the last. This looks like it will be a good series.

I like how the author shows Natalie as a strong female detective, but also a woman who is trying to juggle her job and her home life. I also like the way the author is developing the characters of not just Natalie, but also her team members.

The book really showed the impact that the death of a child has on the family, and the community as a whole. 

This was a fast-paced, easy read, and I am definitely looking forward to the next one in this series.

Carol Wyer has done it again!! After Robyn Carter, she has come out with another brilliant main character, Detective Natalie Ward. Carol's investigative writing is as superlative in this book as her others.

The story starts with the disappearance of a child Ava Sawyer from an outdoor birthday party in 2015 whose bones are found 2 years later. And soon other children start disappearing, and their bodies are found wearing yellow party dresses. Detective Natalie is called in along with her team of Mike, Lucy, Ian, and Murray. The investigation begins...

This was a solid plot with definitive investigation using both forensics and follow-up of clues. Natalie was well developed as main character, she had her own personal problems with an out of work house husband and two teenagers. She was both vulnerable and strong. But nothing deterred her from the path of finding out the murderer.

The book read fast, 2 hours from start to finish, the plot was crisp. The team had a cohesiveness which is generally seen in people who have worked together on difficult cases. Natalie and Mike, Natalie and Lucy, all had equal role in trying to bring justice.

I wasn't analyzing the book or trying to guess the murderer, I was busy following up the way Natalie worked. And I was mighty impressed with her. The credit goes to Carol for etching this strong and intelligent detective. By the end of the book, I was longing to get to book 2. Sadly enough that was yet to be written.

'The Birthday' is the first book in bestselling and award-winning author Carol Wyer's DI Natalie Ward series set in and around Staffordshire. The fundamentals of the story surround the disappearance of young Ava Sawyer whilst she was attending a birthday party at the local garden centre. At five years old she's hardly fit to be out alone. When her body is discovered two years later, DI Natalie Ward and her team are called in to investigate. Then Andrey Briggs, Ava's classmate and another attendee at the party is found murdered. Can the police work out who had the motive, means and opportunity to carry out the crimes before another innocent life is cruelly snatched away?

My favourite aspect of this book was that the motive was shrouded in mystery from the very beginning. I mean, who would be so evil as to hurt these pure and innocent children? That's what the investigators, headed up by DI Ward, need to find out. There are a few unpredictable twists and surprises, but the tale is pretty much a straighforward police procedural, with the police identifying, investigating and eliminating possible suspects as the story develops. The narrative moves forward in a relatively pedestrian fashion for much of the book, but towards the end, Wyer ratchets up the tension letting the reader know a resolution is in sight! The common sense and sheer determination of the team to get this brutal predator and perpetrator off the streets really is admirable, and although it felt at some points as though the victims may never get justice, the team are optimistic and resilient to the end - This felt authentic, I can imagine real police work being frustrating like this, too.

Although the books concept is nothing new, I thoroughly enjoyed this. There was something incredibly compelling about it, and I found it impossible to put down! Being a huge fan of all things CSI, the forensics throughout appealed to me and made me appreciate the book even more. Told primarily from Natalie's perspective, with some chapters included which although not confirmed seem to me to be murderers background and formative years, with a view to showing exactly how they became who they now are. I found this set-up so interesting and two perspectives were easy to follow. Natalie Ward, like most investigators portrayed in literature, is damaged by her past failures. She definitely has a lot on her plate and professionally she is tenacious, likeable and intelligent. I look forward to her character evolving in the upcoming books.

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Detective Natalie Ward was a believable character who was brought to life by Carol Dyer. The Birthday gave us a great mystery that was not easily solved.

This is the start of a new series from the author and she doesn’t mess about with the storyline.

Detective Natalie Ward finds herself on a difficult case involving the murder of children. While she is trying to work out who may be to blame, the reader gets an insight into the past life of the murderer. Even with this, I still didn’t guess who it was until the author revealed everything. A sign of a good story is trying to work out the clues and suss out who could be the culprit, yet not figuring it out. This is one of those stories.

Well written, brilliantly put together. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read The Birthday by Carol Wyer for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

My first time reading that author and I do not regret it!

I give it 4 stars.
Well written, interesting, good plot, strong female lead.
Imagine your child goes to a birthday party and never comes back... What happened, who's involved? Read and find out!

Also, I loved the book cover.

Review shared online on NetGalley, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon when published.

A five-year-old girl goes missing at a birthday party. There are no leads, until her body is discovered two years later. Shortly after the discovery, other girls who attended the same party go missing. A new detective is especially interested in solving this case, since her last missing child case did not end well.

The first book in a new crime fiction series. Detective Natalie Ward is lead investigator of the case. She's a wife and mother dealing with her own family issues, but incredibly dedicated to her position as detective. Natalie is not perfect, but she is smart, tough, and determined. Great traits in a female protagonist. She clearly has more to her backstory, and, hopefully, that unfolds more as the series progresses.

An intriguing mystery that kept me guessing. This is the first book I have read by Carol Wyer, and I look forward to reading more in this series. Clever, gripping, and suspenseful.

I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great start to a new series.
I love the Robyn Carter series and this one looks set to be just as good.
DI Natalie Ward is asked to investigate the discovery of a child’s remains at the back of what used to be a garden centre.
This garden centre also hosted children’s birthday parties, and a few years ago, Ava went missing from one.
Just as Natalie starts looking into this, another body of a young girl is found.
Natalie and the team are puzzled by the way the body has been left and have to tie the crimes together.
I had my suspicions about the killer but was shocked by their reasons for killing these innocent little girls.
This is a gripping read that will have you on the edge of your seat towards the end.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the first in a new series from Carol Wyer featuring DI Natalie Ward. Not long after Natalie transferred to a new purpose built criminal investigation hub in north Staffordshire, the body of a young child is found during excavation work next to a garden and craft centre and Natalie is asked to head the investigation. The body was identified as that of five year old Ava Sawyer who disappeared from her friend Harriet's birthday party at the garden and craft centre two years ago. The following day another little girl who attended the birthday party is reported missing. A coincidence or something more sinister?

Natalie and her team spend many hours chasing leads, re-interviewing everyone involved in the original case, following up leads to the children's school and out of school activities but they soon become frustrated by the lack of leads. One of the reasons Natalie asked for a transfer to the new unit was to have a fresh start after a kidnapping case involving a young girl went wrong and haunts her still. She has two teenage children herself and often struggles with her work/life balance causing her to feel guilty when working late and putting stress on her marriage. This case is one of the toughest to crack and becomes a race against time to find the killer before another little girl dies. A well written, well paced thriller. Not sure that I was totally sold on the motive, but read it and see what you think.

It is suppose to be like any other birthday. However, five year old Ava Sawyer disappears at a birthday party. It isn't until two years later her body. She is found at the garden center where that birthday party was still in her yellow party dress. Detective Natalie Ward is put on the case. As Detective Ward is trying to crack the cold case, Audrey Biggs, one of Ava's classmates is strangled to death. Will the murderer be found before another girl from that same birthday years ago be murdered? This thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat.

I received a free e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was ecstatic when Carol Wyer announced that she was writing a new detective series! After reading her DI Robyn Carter series, Carol quickly became an auto-read for me and my bestie Julie (Novel Thrills And Chills). What better way to kick off the Detective Natalie Ward series than with a buddy read?!

The Birthday is a fast-paced and intriguing story with a great mystery at its center. I was captivated from the beginning and wanted to know who was killing innocent children and how the killings were related. Let's just say that I was shocked when the killer was revealed because it was the last person I would have expected! 

I thought that Natalie Ward was a great detective, however I had a hard time relating to her at times. I didn't agree with some of her actions, and I felt like she should be more present with her husband and children. My hope is that as the series continues, Natalie's character will grow and find a balance between her family life and her work life. I will always have a big place in my heart for DI Robyn Carter, but I think that there is great potential with Detective Natalie Ward. Overall I enjoyed The Birthday and am looking forward to the next book in the series! 

Thank you NetGalley, Carol Wyer, and Bookouture for the opportunity to read The Birthday, It was my pleasure to write an honest review.

Really good! This is the first book I have read by Carol Wyer, but it will not be the last. Fast paced, edge of your seat mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. When a 5 year old disappears at a birthday party and her remains are found two years later, it sets the whole town on edge. Excellent book.