five out of five stars for The Couple on Cedar Close (Detective Dan Riley #2) by Anna-Lou Weatherley

great read - highly recommend

many thanks to the publisher and netgalley who provided a free ebook in exchange for my honest review

The Couple On Cedar Close is number 2 in the Detective Dan Riley series, I didn’t realise this until I went t9 read it as I haven’t read the first one but you can definately read this as a stand-alone as I didn’t feel this had any impact on my enjoyment or understanding in this thriller.
Dan Riley is trying to find the culprit of the murder of Robert, husband of Laurie, living a comfortable life on Cedar Close. Laurie is the main suspect as she had made a spectacle out of herself at the residents BBQ after finding out her husband had been having an affair resulting in also having a daughter.
The books chapters are from Laurie’s, her best friend, Monica and Dans viewpoint in current time it also goes back in time but whose life that is about is for you to figure out. I did get who was the murderer fairly early on but this did not stop my enjoyment of this crime thriller and totally devoured this in less than a day. I loved Anna-Lou Weatherleys writing style as this had a sense of urgency at times to keep you engaged but also had some deep moments but quite a few funny tongue-in-cheek moments. Dan is a great likeable character and can’t wait for the next one!
I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book by Anna-Lou Weatherley featuring n Riley who is now tasked with uncovering the murderer of a man named Robert who was apparently murdered by his unstable wife Laurie. The reader does not have to have any familiarity with Black Heart where Dan Riley was first introduced. In fact, I enjoyed this novel so much that I did go back and read Black Heart. Dan Riley is a thoroughly likable character with a true sense of integrity and a heart of gold. Dan is now starting to recover from the loss of his true love Rachel and is starting to think toward the future. It was hysterical watching Dan fret that he hoped his one night stand Fiona didn't think that there was more to their relationship than a casual hookup. Then, when Fiona is cool about it- Dan worries why she got over him so easily. Although the case against Laurie seems air-tight, Dan's intuition is telling him that there is more to the story than meets the eyes. As a reader, I think that it is all too apparent from the start that Laurie is innocent and that left only one plausible suspect for the murderer. Considering how deplorable the Robert was, it would have been easy to write in a few red-herrings to distract the reader from solving the case too soon. The reader works more on figuring out the "why" than the "who". All in all, this was a well written mystery that will definitely pull the reader in to the story and provides some great escapism! I look forward to more Dan Riley mysteries!

A fantastic thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I throughly enjoyed this book. I received an arc from Netgalley and this is my unbiased review.

Let's see, how should I word this?...This novel reminds me of an "erotic movie," all action with a poor attempt at a plot. There's violence and gore, betrayal and illicit sex, one whammy after another without much chance for the reader to get drawn into a story. The bummer is, there's a lot of potential here. The characters are interesting, even the terrible ones, and there could have been a lot of drama and intrigue. Instead, I figured out the "mystery" early on and while I was curious to see how the whole thing wrapped up, I wasn't hit by any "twists."

Whilst I did enjoy this book, unfortunately, in my opinion, I found it to be quite 'formulaic', of other books in this genre and therefore there were no twists and surprises for me in it, which led me to working out the mystery fairly early on.

Anna-Lou-Weatherley has woven a story with an ample cast of colourful characters. The popular 'surburban middle class leafy street' plays central role with the underlining note of 'who should you trust' and you never really know what is going on behind your neighbours door. At times the plot is slowed by repeat descriptions of events from key characters as they tell the tale rom their perpective. By which point we have a very clear picture of who the main protagonist is, but not necessarily his motives. Instead The back story was given to another character who we could connect and empathise with more.
The detective plays a strong role in the book and we are able to fully immerse ourselves in his world although at times he feels a little too empathetic for a rooky male cop.
Overall the novel works as a character crime based book but not perhaps with the thrilling psychological edge that readers seek in this ever popular genre.

A compulsive and fast paced bloody brilliant book!

The perfect mash up of a police procedural and a psychological thriller! I had no idea that this was the second book in the DI Daniel Riley series until I got to the end, can absolutely be read as a standalone.... this book wasn’t necessarily full of crazy twists and turns, but I loved how it dove so deeply into the psychology of these characters.... A dark domestic drama with some pretty psychotic characters....

Laurie is planning the perfect dinner for her estranged husband, convinced she can still win him back.... but as time goes by and more vodka is consumed Laurie is pretty certain that her husband Robert has stood her up... devastated and in an alcohol Hayes Laurie passes out and wakes up in the guestroom covered in blood, with no recollection of how she got there.... Robert is dead and Laurie is the number one suspect, but she can’t remember and she can’t believe she would ever kill Robert....

Daniel Riley” The detective with the kind eyes,“ is convinced that there is more to this case then meets the eyes... after interviewing Laurie, Daniel can hardly believe she could hurt a fly much less a man twice her size.... oh what a wide web of deceit over this charming Close.... I enjoyed watching the unraveling of this psychotic killers perfect plans... I appreciated how thoughtful and compassionate Daniel was in his investigation.... I also loved how they called him “governor,” I’m not even sure why exactly, but it was super cool! I think because I could only think of it in the English accent, I don’t find governors of states very cool, LOL! But I digress....

This was an addictive read that had me furiously turning the pages... I figured out who the killer was fairly early on, but there was a pretty obvious clue that I am assuming we were supposed to pick up on? I am usually the world’s worst detective, so this is why I am assuming this... this did not detract from my enjoyment of the story whatsoever! I really wanted to know how they were going to catch this person and what was motivating this person to be so extremely Cray Cray! And bravo to that ending, that was just perfection! Definitely looking forward to the next book in the series, and time permitting I will go back and read “Black Heart.”

This book will quench both your police procedural and psychological thriller thirst, absolutely recommend!🖤

PS: I defy you to read this book and not have this Drake song going through your head: KIKI Do You Love Me

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xc4u85Wp6Io
*** Big thanks to Bookouture for my copy of this book ***

Laurie and Robert Mills moved to a home on Cedar Close after Laurie had an accident. They live right across the street from her best friend, Monica. Laurie discovers that her husband is having an affair and that he has a daughter from the relationship. Laurie unloads about him and his cheating at the neighborhood barbecue. Shortly after that, Robert is found dead in the guest room and it looks as though Laurie did it, but did she?? As this story unfolds, there are more twists, turns and surprises which makes this a fantastic read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hated it see it end. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for the opportunity to read this thrilling book in exchange for an honest review.

Laurie hasn't been out in ages and is looking for her husband at crowded barbeque."you need to get out of the house law,socialize with normal people . " "it's not good for you" "no and neither had his affair been and the terrible tragedy that had happened as a result of it.moving to cedar close was suppose to be a clean start.

This one was just ok for me .
It is a good domestic suspense but seems to follow the same formula of a lot of these type books

3.5 stars

From the book description, I was expecting a novel of domestic suspense.

The blurb describes a summer barbecue, tables laden with food, wine flowing, and Laurie Mills meeting her neighbors for the first time....as she discovers that her husband is having an affair for the first time.

But, this is actually the second installment of the Detective Dan Riley series ( the first being, Black Heart) which in my opinion makes it more of a police procedural. A murder-mystery where the reader is always a step ahead, anxiously waiting for those investigating to catch up...

DI Dan Riley is supposed to be working with DS Martin Delaney, but as this book alludes to, they did not always see eye to eye on their last case....Delaney being a bully in the interrogation room, Riley, being the detective “with the kind eyes”......he knows of pain, and relies on his intuition.

“ In my experience it’s best to say it all in one go. No ripping the plaster off gently. it only hurts more. I watch, my heart filled with familiar pity as the expression on her faces changes as the words register. It’s amazing how expressive the face can be. I read shock, horror, disbelief and anguish across hers in less than a second.” (DI RILEY)

You will root for him to solve the case...and you will root for him personally as well. He is a likable, well developed character perfect to base a series on. But this can be read as a stand-alone as well.

A bit predictable, not much of a mystery as described, but some interesting observations throughout make this a perfect new series for those who like light, police procedurals!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Bookouture, and Anna-Lou Weatherley for the ARC I was provided in exchange for a candid review. This title will be available soon- Jan. 18, 2019 but you can read Black Heart while you are waiting!

What do you do when you wake up covered in blood, holding a knife, with no memory of how you got there? The kicker: your estranged husband is one bedroom away, stabbed to death.

Laurie Mills is the obvious prime suspect in Robert's murder, but she has no memory of killing him - or so she says. The assigned detective is drawn to this case, making it his personal mission to solve the case (while also solving some personal issues of his own). As he investigates Laurie and Robert's life together, he unpacks secret after secret, and learns that nothing was as it seemed.

This was a very fast read, and it kept my interest the whole way. The character development, especially of the primary detective, was effective. There is humorous dialogue and internal dialogue to balance out the sad and disturbing plot.. There are some surprises hinted at throughout the book, with the ultimate twist being revealed toward the end. The ending was predictable, and I'm proud to say I predicted it, but the book was no made no less enjoyable as a result. Also, this book is book 2 in a series; even not having read book 1, I really enjoyed this book.

Because of the predictability of the storyline, it gets 4 stars instead of 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher and the author for this copy I received in exchanged for this honest review.

Laurie Mills’ husband Robert is a womanizer. She uncovers yet another of his illicit affairs during their neighborhood’s summer barbecue. Laurie is once again thrown over the edge, and this time, Robert wants a divorce. After spending some time apart, Robert secretly makes dinner plans with Laurie at their home to serve her with divorce papers, except Robert isn’t going to leave this dinner alive. He is found dead in an upstairs bedroom, and Laurie remembers nothing of the night. Did she kill her husband in a fit of grief and rage, or is there something more sinister at play here?

The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley is book #2 in the Detective Dan Riley series; however, I did not know this until I had finished reading the novel, which shows that the book works fine as a stand-alone. If book #1, Black Heart, is anything like The Couple on Cedar Close, however, it may be worth your time to look into it as well!

The Couple on Cedar Close sticks closely to the cat and mouse formula, beginning with a gruesome murder, ensued by a police detective hunting down the killer, all while dodging red herrings along the way. This novel differs from other spine-tingling thrillers in that the twist, i.e. the big reveal, is uncovered a little over halfway through. From there, the chase evolves into a game of psychological suspense, with Weatherley diving deep into the murder’s psyche to show just what makes him or her tick.

What makes The Couple on Cedar Close special is that there are many layers to this suspenseful story, and the villains of this novel are bone-chilling. If you enjoy getting into the heads of characters more than you like solving a mystery, then check out this book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture for an ARC of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of The Couple on Cedar Close. Wow!! I have been reading this genre for the past two years now and even though I did figure out the culprit pretty early, this book kept me gripped. I didn’t want to put it down. Awesome writing and a really great plot, Loved it! Thank you again.

Wow! Wish I had known it was a series, because I would have started with the others, but also glad I didn’t know because this book was absolutely amazing! I would give 10 chills if I could. Everything you could ask for in a demented chilling thriller!
Will be using in a challenge and highly recommending to those in chapter chatter pub!

Read this in a day - really enjoyed the second instalment involving DI Dan Riley - he is shaping up to be a great character.

This time round DI Riley is investigation the murder of a man in a seemingly sleepy cul-de-sac where the neighbours all know each other, but the residents of Cedar Close are caught up in something sinister.

Well worth a read -thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

Wow! Murder, incest, psychopaths, twists and turns! This thriller has it all! The Couple on Cedar Close, by Anna-Lou Weatherley grabs you from the get go!

A.......maz........ing, what a fantastic book, loved every word on every page a great psychological thriller that held my interest throughout and I didn't want it to end.

I loved the way this author writes and it is a great page turner, although I was a bit confused at first when the story went back in time but everything soon falls into place as you read on.

I could carry on raving about this book but just read it for yourself, I can definitely recommend, you will not be disappointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this fantastic book.

After reading the blurb, I was intrigued to read this book. When Laurie wakes up covered in blood and her husband's body is in the bathroom, she is the obvious suspect for the murderer according to the police. Laurie can't remember anything and despite Robert treating her badly throughout their marriage, having affairs and a secret baby, she still loves him and wouldn't want to kill him. Would she?
We learn a lot about Laurie's past and the people living on Cedar Close. We delve backwards in time occasionally to an unknown character that ties everything together nicely in the end.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was well written and the attention to detail really did the book justice as we learned all about Robert and his character and who the killer is.