Wow, this book grabbed on and did not want to let me go until I had finished the entire thing. What an utterly fantastic read. Cannot wait for another in this series.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

A great page turner with pace and tension that kept me turning the pages until the end. Really enjoying this detective series by Carol Wyer. Thanks to NG and the publisher for the advance copy,

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and the author for an ARC copy of number 3 in the Natalie Ward series.

Jane’s daughter is a good girl. What is she hiding?

When thirteen-year-old Savannah Hopkins doesn’t come straight home from school, as she always does, her mother Jane immediately raises the alarm.

Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward whose daughter Leigh is the same age as Savannah. Soon Natalie’s worst fears are confirmed when the teenager’s broken body is found in nearby shrub land.

Evidence points towards a local recluse, but just as the net is closing around him, one of Savannah’s friends, Harriet, is reported missing.

As Natalie delves into the lives of both girls, she soon discovers a sinister video on their phones, daring the girls to disappear from their families for 48 hours.

But Natalie isn’t quick enough for this killer, and she is devastated to find Harriet’s body on a fly tip a day later. 

Caught up in the case, she takes her eye off her own daughter and when Leigh goes missing after school she knows she must be in terrible danger. The clock is ticking for Natalie. Can she catch this killer before her little girl becomes the next victim?

The Dare really taps into the idea of the influence of Social media and the desire of the younger generation to be seen to be strong, brave and right on the edge of whatever mad craze is currently fashionable. In this case, it is the craze for completing challenges of dares, such as the ice bucket challenge, in a bid to garner popularity and some kind of fame status amongst their peers that puts young girls in grave danger.

Di Natalie Ward is a character you have to love especially as she has such a "normal" private life, the problems with her private life and her determination in her work add to this story.

Well paced thriller and this book proves we do have a collection of great police drama/thriller authors with Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, Patricia Gibney, Mel Sherratt to name a few.

Four days

The Dare is Carol Wyer's 3rd book in the Natalie Ward series. Though the central characters are well established, this can be read as a standalone. Amongst the many thrillers & police procedurals, The Dare sets itself apart with some clever writing, strong characters and some unique twists to a solid plot. 

When teenaged girls start going missing, the pressure is on DI Ward to find the killer before he strikes again. But as she starts closing in on the killer, the killer starts closing in on her. 

At the heart of the book, it is a solid police procedural. The plot may feel slightly predictable at the start but the writer manages to give it some unique twists. The writing is engaging and the pace is fast. The writer was able to build the tension throughout and all the suspects remained in play till the end. The depiction of working of the police force, the office politics and family pressures were accurate, which allows the readers to experience a proper police investigation, with far little clues and many dead ends. I also liked the perspective of the killer and his backstory, which was really well written.

I think this is the first detective story I have read that tackles the issue of the dark side of social media (remember the Blue Whale Challenge). I loved the fact that the author chose to address this frightening and real threat through this book.

Another unique thing about the novel is that forensic evidence takes a back seat in the entire investigation. The entire investigation is through ‘old school’ interrogations and checking out alibis and CCTV footage. With clues hard to come by, this added a different dimension to the novel.

Even as a police procedural, this story relies on some strong characters to drive the story forward. I regret not reading the earlier parts as tracking the characters over the course of the series would have been great. The protagonist, Natalie Ward is a strong character herself but she is not the center of attention all throughout, and like some good teamwork, her other colleagues get an equal scope.

Overall, The Dare is a gripping thriller with some well-rounded characters and a well-written story with some unique twists. If you like a good police procedural, you will enjoy this. 

Many thanks to the publishers Bookouture, the author Carol Wyer and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a modern thriller and it's the third DI Natalie Ward book.I think it's a brilliant storyline which kept me on the edge of my seat.

This is book 3 in the Detective Natalie Ward series and I have thoroughly enjoyed each book and am looking forward to at least two more in this series that I know she has written and are waiting to be published.

'The Dare' is called Disappear, and found on an online website which is encouraging people to disappear for 1 or more days, teenagers are all for doing crazy dares, but this one is leaving their loved ones to completely freaked out with worry. Are the children doing the dare or is it something more serious. 

This story had so many twists and false leads during the hunt for the person who is kidnaping and murdering children, that everyone was a suspect.  Natalie is still having problems at home, I personally think she should cut and run, but she is a good mum, who is worried about how the conflict with her husband is affecting her children. She's now also concerned for her daughter's safety with this criminal on the loose and being a typical teenager, she's not being very communicative.

As Natalie tries to figure out how the children are connected, we get little pieces of the killers past and his thoughts in short chapters interspersed through the story.

Carol Wyer had me guessing until the end who it was that was the killer, with so many people acting suspiciously and keeping secrets, Detective Natalie Ward has a big job to sort it all out in time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Sorry to write this but one month on still
At 5%. Just was not grabbing my attention which is a shame as a huge fan of carol
Wyer but will carry on reading her books. Had to move on too many books in the world

Detective Natalie Ward is investigating a case revolving around 3 missing teenage girls...the body of one girl is found, which is traumatic to say the least as Natalie has two teenage children of her own.


The pressure is on to find the killer before any more die…….

They find an online game, The Dare, which the missing girls had all visited...is this why they have disappeared…..is it just a game?

A dark, twisty thriller to keep you on tenterhooks and a need to keep your children close…..

Thank you to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook and this is my honest and unbiased review.

Always love these books and this one is no exception.  A great read and I look forward to more in the series.

This is the third book in the DI Natalie Ward series, and just having finished the first book I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one.  This book I finished in one sitting, and loved all the twists and twirls it send me on.  
Natalie has to investigate the disappearance of young girls, who then turns up dead.  Soon it comes to light that there is a serial killer on the loose.  One that loves using modern apps against the teenagers.
Highly recommended.

Thankyou to NetGalley,  Bookouture and the author,  Carol Wyer, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Dare in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
What an incredible read. I couldn't put it down until the very end. 
The storyline was well thought out and written with well developed characters and a rollercoaster plot.  
Well worth a read.

I would firstly like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review. 

I have very recently read the first 2 books in this series and loved them! This one is every bit as nail-bitting and gripping as 'The Birthday' and 'Last Lullaby'. These are the first books that I have read from this author and they certainly wont be the last. 

The whole premise of this story kept me up at night. I'm not even a parent but this story terrified me! The author does a fabulous job of writing with so much passion and description, that I really connected with all the characters and what they were going through. I have also really grown to love and root for Natalie Ward and her team! 
Can't wait for the next book!

This was another solid read from Carol Wyer in the DI Natalie Ward series, her third one already!

Natalie and her team have their work cut out for them as they try and find missing teenage girls. Are they being kidnapped or are they going missing on purpose, because of a dare? There are a lot of potential suspects in this book but I didn't know who the killer was until the author revealed it.

Whilst this case is taking up a lot of Natalie's time, her marriage is being stretched to breaking point and someone from her past is a temptation, which doesn't help matters. And then there is Natalie's daughter Leigh, who has been more secretive lately too...just part of growing up or does she know about the dare as well?

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

4 stars from me.

What a fantastic read! This was so gripping I read it in a day. The writing just flowed and the story was easy to read and follow. 

Detective Natalie Ward and her team worked hard to find Savannah Hopkins when she doesn't return home from school but their worst fears are realised when a teenager's body is found in nearby shrubland. Not long after, a friend of Savannah's, Harriet goes missing as well. Just what is going on.

As Natalie delves into the lives of the girls, she finds a video on the phones of both girls daring the girls to disappear for 48 hours from their families. Has Harriet done this? What went wrong with Savannah? Natalie intends finding out.

The book is superbly written and I want to read more books by this author as I enjoyed this so much.

Fast paced action thriller that didn’t pull any punches. Great read and hard to put down highly recommended

My love for Carol Wyer knows no bounds and I was kept of the edge of my seat throughout The Dare. This book is well written and I feel as though I know DI Natalie Ward really well now. She is an incredibly hard working mum, the main breadwinner in her family and knowing her background gives her character a lot of depth and relatability. The case she is assigned to in this book is of missing teen girls. The disappearances are shocking for the community which then takes on a more sinister turn when a body is discovered and a video surfaces on social media. Whoever is harming the girls always seems to be 2 steps ahead of the police. The tension ramps up again when Natalies own daughter goes missing. This series just gets better and better with each book. Even the most die hard crime thriller fans will struggle to predict the twists and turns in this story. The Dare deserves a full 5 stars. Fantastically clever read. 

Thank you netgalley for my advance copy of The Dare.

When Savannah doesn't come straight home from school as usual her mother raises the alarm straight away. Sadly she is not missing for long as her body is found near scrubland the next day. Natalie Ward & her team are straight on the case but events overtake them & within a day another girl goes missing.

The team find that the girls have been taking part in Social Media dares. The Ice Bucket Challenge was only likely to give  you a cold. The latest craze of Going Missing, where you disappear for as long as you can before turning up safe & sound can be a lot more dangerous- especially if someone wants you to disappear permanently!

The team are too late to save the second girl. Natalie's daughter Leigh is the same age as the girls. A third girl is missing &  Leigh hasn't come back from school; the case  is suddenly far to close to home for comfort.

I have enjoyed the previous two books in this series & have got to know & like the characters & the way they are developing as time goes on. However I don't think it is necessary to have read the other books to enjoy this one. I'm already looking forward to the next. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

This whole series has been compulsive reading. 
This book had me captivated from the very first page. 
The writing style and the characters are brilliant. 
It’s always nice when the ending of a book is a complete surprise

This is the 3rd book in the Detective Natalie series but it is the first one I have read. Natalie is a smart and empathetic detective who is involved in the case of a 13 year old girl named Savannah who went missing and was later found dead. Days later a second girl, 14, named Harriet goes missing too and is found, murdered in the same way has Savannah, is there a serial killer preying on young girls? When Detective Natalie's own child goes missing, she must figure out who the murder is before it is to late.

I enjoyed this book and the characters. It kept me guessing until the end and was an enjoyable read.