Roxy is fourteen years old and has told her mum Cathy that she”s spending th night at her friend Ellie’s house. The girls often have a sleepover on a Saturday night so Cathy isn’t concerned. Across town, on the affluent Linnet Lane, a hose has caught fire. The fire investigator finds signs of arson and then a gruesome discovery is made - a body in the basement which was used as an entertainment room by the owners. DI Natalie Ward and her team are called in to investigate and the body is identified as Roxy’s. The owners are two brothers who run a local nightclub and neither seem bothered by the loss of their home but claim not to know Roxy or how she got into their house. The team struggle to find a motive for Roxy’s death and soon realise that several people. including her family, are not being fully forthcoming with them. This reticence continues Ben after another two deaths. While working in the case Natalie is still struggling with her relationship with her husband David and is becoming increasingly concerned about her son Josh’s behaviour.

Absolutely love this series by Carol Wyer. Hope another installment will be available soon.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Carol Wyer for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Its no secret that I am a huge fan of Carol Wyer and when the DI Natalie Ward series came out, I was in my element…. I have read and loved each and every book and feel involved in the personal dramas that surround Natalie.

This is the fourth book in the series and yet another belter…. 14 year old Roxy and her mother Cathy had had a fight, they more or less made up and Roxy went as planned to a sleepover with her best friend Ellie. This was a night that was to change their world and their family dynamics forever as the next morning DI Natalie Ward calls to the door to deliver the heart wrenching news that her daughter Roxy had perished in a fire on Linnet Lane belonging to two very obnoxious nightclub owners…. Now Cathy believes no way could it be her Roxy, sure why the hell would she be there, she doesn’t know them, the area….. she is at a sleepover at Ellies!!!

So ensues another difficult case for Natalie and her team and with so many lies and secrets and people withholding, she has a tough time ahead of her, plenty of people to question but no leads as to why Roxy was in the house to begin with and until she manages to tie that piece in, she knew the case would go nowhere…. Until Roxy’s mother is found dead, and as it turns out what they initially thought could have been suicide, is now murder…. Natalie looks to Cathy’s children, Seth, Charlie & Oliver and her partner, Paul Sadler for clues/answers and possibly even suspects in their sisters/step daughter and mothers/partners murders but it just doesn’t add up…..

If you have read any of Carol Wyer’s books before, however, you will realise that the whodunit will only be revealed when she is good and ready, when all the ground work, bait, red herrings, motives, suspect pool have been set in motion and then BAM… the big reveal will be something you never saw coming….

As for Ward’s private life, I literally just want to shake her husband, as if Natalie hasn’t enough to be dealing with, his feeling sorry for himself attitude is starting to grind at me, he may have pushed too far this time but time will tell as Natalie’s head is being turned and with so much going on between her and her husband, is she likely to sway?

I love the trials and tribulations of both Natalie’s private and professional life…..Completely addictive from the moment you turn the first page, get ready to put your normal routine to one side because one you haven’t picked this up, you are not going to want to put it down. Really looking forward to the next one already!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Oh my! This is an absolutely brilliant book and I enjoyed every word. Carol Wyer is one of my favourite authors and her Detective Natalie Ward series just keeps getting better and better.

When a large house in an exclusive part of town is gutted by fire the investigations team is devastated to find a body inside. When it is identified as fourteen year old Roxy everyone is determined to get justice for a young woman whose life was cut so tragically short.

Natalie and her team break the news to her shattered family but no one has any idea why she would have been in the house of two nightclub owners she didn't know. The two brothers who owned the property aren't universally loved and so the police have a wealth of suspects to work through. Add to this the problems Natalie has at home and every page is taut with the need for  the team to solve everything successfully.

Once again Ms Wyer has written a book you won't want to put down. It is a definite page turner that makes you want to read just one more chapter and I devoured it in two sessions. The difference in lifestyle and feelings of entitlement between the arson victims and the family of the murdered girl is highlighted and the desperation felt by those living on Roxy's estate is starkly written and very well observed.

The denouement was satisfying but sad, the futility of some of the actions make for difficult reading but it is clear that research was done in all aspects of this story and none of it felt forced or irrelevant.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it unreservedly to anyone following this series. If you enjoy first class crime writing with the chance to dip into the lives of established and well rounded characters then this is also the book for you.

In this fourth book of the series, we join Natalie on another exciting journey to solve a mystery. The death of a young girl in a stranger's house that is destroyed by fire presents a real puzzle for Natalie and her crew. When the girl's mother is murdered, the heat intensifies to link the deaths and find the killer/s. The suspect list continues to grow and includes relatives and strangers. When another murder takes place, Natalie must employ all of her investigative skills to find answers and catch the perpetrator. In the midst of this intense search, Natalie is also struggling at home. She is trying to maintain a marriage that has become a joke and having a hard time raising teenagers in what she knows is a dangerous world. This story has it all: drugs, lies, sex, murder, and emotion. It is another hit for Wyer.

Fantastic edge of your seat suspenseful police procedural! I was so enamored with this book I read it in one day! So many twists and turns, and with so many shady characters it will keep you guessing. I love the way Catol Wyer weaves her story, she is a wonderful author , and I have enjoyed every single on of her books! The flow of the storyline is seamless, makes for an enjoyable reading experience.
I adore this series, and as always impatiently waiting for the next installment.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#netgalley
#thesleepover

Fourteen-year-old Roxy lives with her mother Cathy Curtis, her partner Paul Sadler and two of her three older brothers, Seth and Charlie. She has a third brother Oliver who lives and works away from home. Roxy is sassy, streetwise and quite a handful. She is determined, argumentative and full of attitude. One day she tells her mother that she is having a sleepover with her best friend Ellie who is a neighbour living with her mother not far away. Her mother thinks nothing about it; it is quite a usual event because the girls are best friends
The next morning the entire family is torn apart when Detective Natalie Ward breaks the news that Roxy has perished in a house fire. Her family are shocked to the very core and totally devastated by the news. Roxy has been found in an exclusive property in Linnet Lane, the home of two brothers, unknown to the family. Furthermore it looks as though the house has been torched. Roxy was alone and curled up on a sofa. The two brothers were notified of the fire when they were in their nightclub and raced home when they heard the news that their home had been gutted by the blaze. They were certainly puzzled to find out that there had been a body inside the house, especially as they did not know the dead girl and had left the house alarmed and unoccupied.
This is the fourth novel in the Detective Natalie Ward series of intriguing crime thrillers and at the very start of the investigation Natalie knows that this is a puzzling and complicated murder and arson case. Interview after interview yields very few clues and with witnesses unwilling to break confidences. They were withholding evidence vital to the case and it is a race against time to apprehend the perpetrator, especially as they are cunning, conniving and determined to get away with murder.
Then within a couple of days, two more bodies are found and they both have strong links to Roxy. Natalie and her trusty team have their work cut out to solve the case before it escalates any further. The press are on top of their game and braying for updates in the investigation. Time is of the essence.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. This novel is a good read, intelligently written, pacey and with a very complex storyline. I love novels with unreliable narrators so this was right up my street.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have read all 4 books in this series now and not one of them disappoints. Detective Natalie Ward is an interesting character who is good at her job, but still not with faults of her own. Carol Wyer interweaves Natalie’s home life and the story seamlessly in all 4 books so far and each book in the series gets better and better. Can’t wait for book 5!

The 4th book in the Natalie Ward series and even better than the others... when the badly burnt body of a teenage girl is found in the home of 2 brothers questions are raised as to why she was there, when her mother disappears and a teenage boy commits suicide the case gets more complex

OMG Carol Wyer how do you keep doing it. Absolutely loving Natalie and her gang. The books keep getting better and better. Hurry up and write the next one please!

This is already the fourth book in the DI Natalie Ward series, and I have read, loved and enjoyed each one of them from beginning to start. I love the way that the difficult investigation is set against Natalie's personal life that also takes it toll on her. Her relationship with her husband is far from ideal, and is not helped by her demanding work life and investigations. This was a very well written book, and kept me glued until the end.
Can't wait for book 5 in the series!
Highly recommended.

Carol has done it yet again, what a fantastic book which had me gripped from the very first page and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Excellent characters and such a well developed story with a great ending.

I really enjoy the Natalie Ward series and reading about her and her family. Well done Carol I look forward to your next book in this series.

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

I’m a big fan of Carol’s Natalie Ward series. Just when I thought her books couldn’t get any better, she proves me wrong!

The characters are well written and I even felt a little sympathy for Natalie’s husband at times. That’s the sign of an excellent writer.

I didn’t guess who committed the murders so it was a surprise when it was revealed towards the end of the book.

One of the best crime thrillers I’ve read this year.

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for giving me an arc of this story and the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review.

This is the first book with Detective Natalie Ward that I have read. It had me hooked trying to figure out who done it. Every time I thought I had it, there would be a new twist. Definitely did not figure this one out and was shocked to find out who was responsible. This book had it all lies, drugs, murder and tons of family drama. Can’t wait to find out more about the detectives life, seeing a future mystery concerning her husband. Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoiture for allowing me to review this book..

WOW 😮 Carol has done it again! Well thought out plots, great characters and the underlying tension between Natalie and Mike. I just kept reading and reading and now I feel disappointed that I’ve finished it. Never mind, the next one is out in December and Natalie really ought to ditch that self pitying husband of hers.

This was a difficult crime to sort out, and one that took me by surprise at the end, I must be losing my touch. It just shows how deceitful we, as humans can be, the lies that get told, but the truth always seems to surface.

All the characters work together well, there’s good comradeship amongst the team, and they are allowed to get on without too much interference from “upstairs “.

My thanks to Carol, the publishers and netgalley for the ARC.

Cathy thought nothing of it when daughter, Roxy, left to spend the night with her best friend, but she should have. The next day brings the dreadful news that Roxy is dead, her body found in a house belonging to people she couldn’t have known. Natalie Ward and her team are tasked with discovering how Roxy died, but everyone they talk to seems to be hiding something. They’ve barely begun their investigation when Cathy is found dead. Natalie and team must find the killer, and soon… before they strike again.

The Sleepover is the fourth book in the Detective Natalie Ward series, and I was delighted to read it after waiting so long for it. (Okay. I really didn’t have to wait that long… but a single day feels like forever when you’re excited to read something!)

Deceit lies at the heart of this story. Potential suspects, witnesses, and even her own family are being untruthful with Natalie, making both her job and personal life much more difficult. As always, the pressure is on Natalie to solve the case quickly, but how can she do it when everyone is lying about something?

I’m never able to figure out whodunnit in these novels, but the identity of the killer in this book was as mysterious as the motive. I simply had no idea who killed these people, or why. When the Big Reveal finally came, I was positively flabbergasted!

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy reading crime thrillers. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

I received an advance reading copy of this book courtesy of Bookouture via Netgalley.

Carol Wyer gives me many a sleepless night whilst reading her books and The Sleepover is no different!

Yet again, her writing and plot twists had me reading well into the night. Just when I thought I’d worked out who’d ‘done it’ there was another twist!

Thank you Carol for another amazing book and for everyone else be sure to buy it - you won’t regret it!!

Another brilliantly constructed book by Carol Wyer. D I Natalie Ward is such a believable character and her struggle to keep a balance between home and work is very real. The story is fabulous and I didn’t guess the culprit, even though I suspected everyone in turn. The other characters in the book are beautifully drawn; even the minor ones like Boo. I really want to shake David out of his pathetic self pity; which shows how well he is characterised. Couldn’t put it down, totally stunning.

I am in love with the Detective Natalie Ward Series! Not only is every book incredible, but the characters are so realistic that you feel you could be one of the team, working alongside them and feeling the same pressure to find the suspects. This time it is someone who burns down a house of two obnoxious club owners, which is bad enough, but the culprit also killed a teenage girl who was in the house. Why was she there? Did the killer know of her presence? How is she connected to the homeowners? There are many questions and few answers for DI Natalie Ward and her team.

I think I enjoyed this book so much because of how frustrating the case becomes. There's no shortage of suspects and everyone seems to be lying about something. Soon, more bodies are found, and while they are clearly connected, the police can't figure out how. There are no lucky breaks to be had - this case needs good old fashioned detective work and endless questioning of everyone involved. Add to that the pressure that Natalie faces at home with her dishonest husband and typically infuriating teenagers and you just want to collapse right along with her after every long day!

This book is for anyone who enjoys a good mystery and great storytelling. Whether you have read the previous books in this series or not, you can enjoy this one and become as obsessed as I am. I can't wait for the next one!

Another brilliant edition to the DI Natalie Ward series, this being the 4th, which just goes from from strength to strength.

The body of a young girl is discovered in the burnt out remains of a house fire but for
DI Natalie Ward and her team this is just the beginning of a complex and difficult case.

Loved that we got to find out more about Natalie both in her professional and private life too, so with plenty of page turning suspense and a plot that was full of twists and red herrings, The Sleepover was a suspenseful and gripping read that I very much enjoyed.

Can't wait to catch up with Natalie and the team in the future.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC for my honest review.

Absolutely fantastic had me gripped!!! Loved it! Can't wait for more from.this author. Storyline was great, characters were easy to.connect with

Thank you for the advanced copy