The Secret Admirer is another fantastic and gripping installment in one of my favourite series. Once again Carol has written a tense, electrifying and emotional read that had me hooked from the first page.

After 19-year-old Gemma Barnes is killed in an acid attack, Detective Natalie Ward and her team are called in to investigate. It is Natalie’s first day back since a personal tragedy and she is still struggling with her guilt and grief. There are few clues and when Gemma’s housemates start to disappear, the race is on to find who is behind the murders.

Natalie and the team are back investigating a complex case filled with a multitude of characters and suspects. I loved that there wasn’t a clear culprit and that you feel like it could be anyone, giving a sense of frustration that matches what is felt by the team. You can feel the pressure mounting as the numerous motives, clues, red herrings and twists keep both the reader and the team on their toes right until the very end.

The letters from the secret admirer were the key to the case, and the mystery of who was behind them was the biggest of all. Including letters or chapters from the mysterious culprit is one of my favourite tropes in this genre and this author always executes it to perfection. I enjoyed the glimpse into the mind, feelings and perspective of such a twisted individual and how you could see them losing control as the letters went on and they began to become threatening.

Each time I read an installment in this series I love the author even more. Her writing is always brilliant and full of the perfect mixture of suspense and sentiment. In this book, there is a lot of focus on Natalie coming to terms with losing someone close and the end of her marriage. Just reading about the aftermath of the events of the last book had me in pieces all over again. As someone currently undergoing trauma therapy, I found Natalie’s trauma to be sensitively and expertly written. It was clear it was well researched and felt very real, my heart breaking for Natalie as she battles to move on with life after such a devastating tragedy. However, I was ready to be mad and bereft all over again when Natalie’s ex-husband David came into the frame as a suspect in this case. How could you do this to us and Natalie after all she’s been through? It had me on the edge of my seat praying that he wasn’t the culprit. You’ll have to read it to find out if Natalie’s world is broken even more by the events of this book.

The Secret Admirer is a riveting, compelling and heart-rending thriller that is perfect for anyone who enjoys this genre. You can read it as a stand-alone but I would highly recommend reading the whole series, not only because it’s fantastic, but because it gives you an insight and connection to the main characters. Now I just have to wait impatiently for book seven!

The Secret Admirer is the sixth instalment in the Detective Inspector Natalie Ward series, based in Staffordshire, UK. When nineteen-year-old student Gemma Barnes is brutally attacked with acid on the way to the library having had the liquid thrown over her by the warped perpetrator in an attempt to maim culminating in her losing her life Natalie is called back from compassionate leave (after the untimely death of her daughter Leigh) to investigate her most gruelling case to date. The problem stems from the lack of witnesses and not a single scrap of forensic evidence to guide them towards viable suspects. They scour the house Gemma shared for clues of who would wish to harm her and discover she mentions having a ”secret admirer” in several entries in her private diary. It is an impossible case even for the most seasoned of investigators and as bodies begin to pile up the team quickly realise they must get a handle on the situation pronto to save more lives being lost.

This is a simply brilliant, complex police procedural and Ms Wyer knows what her readers demand and provides it in spades with a well-crafted story and a cast of developed and highly engaging characters. It begins with a bang and continues as it means to go on providing plenty of drama, a plethora of twists and turns, a rollicking pacey narrative and a twisted perpetrator. The use of acid as a weapon is very much highlighting a topical issue and could've been ripped from the headlines from the past few years making it all the more riveting. I must admit that from the moment I turned that first page I tore through it in express fashion as everything just came together moving in sync to keep you completely captivated; I was well and truly under the author spell and not for the first time. An entertaining, exhilarating thriller that shows that the series is still as fresh now as at any other point. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

I’ll be honest I’m still reeling from book #5 in this series and the explosive heart wrenching ending, I wasn’t sure what or how the series could go on…. But Carol Wyer has done it again, another fantastic instalment to a brilliant series that I have been hooked on since Book #1.

The first case back after leave Det Natalie Ward has to investigate is that of a young girl, Gemma who was attacked with acid and died as a result. Given what happened to Natalie’s daughter, she finds it difficult and tries to contain her emotions. As the investigation pursues, they question Gemma’s college room mates and search her room, they stumble across a letter in her room signed “from an admirer”…hmmm who is this admirer, is this the murderer…. So many suspicions, so many lies, some avenues led Natalie too close to home for comfort.

An absolutely intriguing case, so many people with so many motives, twists, turns, red herrings… this book had it all…. I could not put it down but that’s safe to say so far for all the books in this series… I just can’t get enough. I feel personally for Natalie, she has been through so much and as for her ex-husband David… despite everything he has been through, I just can’t take to him, he has to be most self indulgent man and in my opinion, childish in a lot of his actions, its all about him…..

If you’re looking to get into a series, I highly recommend this, you won’t be disappointed.

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The Secret Admirer is the 6th book in Carol Wyer's Detective Natalie Ward series. I enjoyed books 1 - 4 and was surprised to learn I had missed the 5th, The Blossom Twins. I read it before beginning this and I am so glad I did.

Detective Natalie Ward is immediately thrust into a case after she returns to work. A student is found dead from an acid attack. As Ward has learned, everyone has secrets. Now, she has to uncover the secrets surrounding Gemma and her murder.

All of the books in the series focus on a crime and the police team's interactions with each other and with their home life. This book continues the storyline well. Ward's family, the team and their families continue to be a large presence in the story.

Often, I will say you could start the series with the current book but you would not understand the characters as well. This is true here but Wyer brings the characters to life in such a way it feels she is writing about real people. I strongly encourage you to read the whole series and start at the beginning. You will be in for a great read.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 4/2/2020.

As always, Carol has produced such a masterpiece! I absolutely love following Natalie and her family, along with whatever gruelling case the story has in store for her! Yet again, the latest instalment had me on the edge of my seat! What a book!!!

It is the sixth in a series of books with the same detective but you are able to read it without reading the others as I hadn’t read them and didn’t find it a problem.

It centres around a house which a group of students share and another house where some of their friends live. One of the students suffers an acid attack and dies and suspicion falls on the other housemates but it turns out not to be the first death and you are led one way and then a twist and then another way.

My first book by this author but won’t be my last.

The Secret Admirer sees the return of Detective Natalie Ward, in this superb crime/mystery series by Carol Wyer.

In this riveting 6th instalment, DI Natalie Ward is still grieving after the tragic loss of her daughter but decides that it's time for her to move on and return to work. She gets a call from her boss, Superintendent Dan Tasker, to find the killer of University student Gemma Barnes, 19, who has died from the effects of an horrific acid attack. But as Natalie and her team investigate, it becomes clear that something is amiss, following discussions with Gemma's housemates as some of them are not telling the whole truth. The investigation worsens even more when Natalie’s ex husband David, finds himself in the frame for Gemma’s murder...

I love that Carol Wyer is able to create the perfect balance between developing really solid characters and such a complex, multi-layered mystery. There were many dead ends, misdirections and false leads to make sure that the reader did not guess the killer's identity before the author was ready for the revelation. The pace was relentless, the narrative riveting and as the story unfolded, I was submerged in a tangled web of lies, secrets and deceit, suffering from tension and shocks that held me in a tight grip of just-one-more-page syndrome!

I have read a fair few thrillers and this one is right up there with my other favourites. I have no hesitation in giving this first-rate thriller five shiny stars and I am already excitedly awaiting the next book in this series, from the immensely talented Carol Wyer.

This book, although part of a series, is a great individual read, as each instalment follows a different case. However, starting from book #1 would offer a complete picture of the main characters' professional and family backgrounds. Despite that, I have not yet read the first three, and I don't feel as though my has enjoyment has been spoilt, in any way.

Readers who gets a buzz from complex and exhilarating police procedural thrillers should absolutely delight in The Secret Admirer and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel at my request from Bookouture via NetGalley, and this review is my unbiased opinion.

Rating: 4 gut-wrenching stars

‘The Secret Admirer’ is the sixth entry in Carol Wyer’s ‘DI Natalie Ward’ police procedural series. This book continues the run of outstanding books in this series. There hasn’t been a clunker yet. The opening of this book has Natalie and her family trying to gather the shattered pieces of their lives after the shocking ending in the last book. ‘The Blossom Twins’ is the fifth book. If you haven’t read it yet, do that as soon as you can. I don’t want to give away the spoiler from that book so I won’t discuss what the family is recovering from. Please read the books in this series in order if possible.

As she is walking up the steps of her college library, co-ed, Gemma, is murdered in a most gruesome way. Assigned to solve the case are DI Natalie Ward and her team. They don’t have much to go on. They start by interviewing her housemates and her devastated mother. As usual, the police management wants results yesterday, and this murder seems to be motiveless. Then more people on campus start dying. Did Gemma have a secret admirer? Excerpts from notes from a secret admirer are interspersed throughout the book. Could that be who is causing all this havoc? Was Natalie’s estranged husband David somehow involved? What secrets are people hiding? The answers might shock you.

I have become a huge fan of this series. It continues to spotlight the author’s strong writing skills, both in developing character depth and mystery complexity. I am so happy that this author writes quickly because it’s an excruciating wait between book publication dates. This clever mystery seemed to go in many directions at once, but was eventually resolved in a satisfying way. I am eagerly waiting to find out what happens next in the lives of the police and forensic team members featured in the series, and the mysteries they have to solve. Yes, Carol Wyer, you have me thoroughly hooked!

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Bookouture; and the author, Carol Wyer, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Secret Admirer is the latest in the excellent DI Natalie Ward series from Carol Wyer.

“Natalie is still reeling from the loss of her daughter and the breakup of her marriage. An acid attack and death of a university student brings her back to her team. When two of the girl’s roommates also turn up dead, Natalie and her team become desperate to find the killer.”

Another great story from Wyer. Lots of moving parts but Wyer makes it work. Lots of police procedure here - talk to every possible witness, gather the evidence, watch the CCTV footage and interrogate the suspects. Poor Natalie - Wyer seems determined to make life hell (Bad thing happens to another person close to her) Keeps the reader on their toes when no character is safe. Fans of Marsons and Arlidge and crime fiction will enjoy Wyer. Thanks to @netgalley and @bookouture for the free review copy

Although this is book 6, it's my first meeting with Detective Natalie Ward. I do have some of the earlier books on Audible, because they're narrated by the brilliant Di Croft but haven't got around to listening to them yet. Now I've finished book 6 I'm very excited to read book 1. I liked Natalie, she seems to be a good person and a great copper. I'm looking forward to finding out how she ended up where she is in The Secret Admirer. The story was fast paced and full of truculent teenagers who lie without breaking a sweat. The final reveal was a most unexpected turn of events and it's so rewarding to read a book that promises a twist and genuinely delivers one. An enjoyable, pacey read that I'm happy to recommend.

This is my review of The Secret Admirer by Carol Wyer. It’s her sixth book in the DI Natalie Ward series which is set in Samford.

Gemma is studying languages at Samford university and is living in shared accommodation with four other students. She seems to get on with all her housemates. Gemma still has a close relationship with her mum, Sasha, so she is around the house alot too. To make some extra cash, Gemma has a part-time job at a bar in town, called Chancer, where her mum works as well. She has received a note from a secret admirer but she has not taken it seriously, even joked with her mum about it inside the house.

One evening, she took the bus to the library to study as it was quieter there then at the house but she didn’t quite make it. Someone rushed from the shadows and threw something in her face which then started burning. She fell in a heap on the floor. Her attacker ran away. She was found a few minutes later but by then it was too late.

DI Natalie Ward was called to attend the scene although she had only just decided to return to work and was still finding each day hard to live through. She thought it was time to return to work to take her mind off her problems and do what she did best, work. Seeing the devastated body of Gemma, she wondered if she had made the right decision but then she thought she could do this and find who had killed this young girl who had her life ahead of her, for her mother. Soon her team was there and they got down to organising who did what. When searching Gemma’s room, they find the note from the secret admirer so they are determined to find who it’s from. They question her jealous ex-boyfriend several times but his alibi’s checkout. Then they find out about a lecturer so they need to check him out. Could he have overstepped the mark?

When talking to Sasha, it appears that Natalie’s ex husband David has been to Chancer’s bar and chatted to her and possibly Gemma. He got rather nasty towards Sasha and it seems he followed her home and CCTV shows him outside her house. Has he got anything to do with this? Could he have hurt Gemma? Natalie doesn’t think so but then he isn’t like the man she married and loved. Then another housemate of Gemma’s is murdered. Can Natalie find the murderer and prove David is innocent? Is she right to trust her instincts?

I got into this straight away and loved it. It was fast and furious all the way through, like being on a cliff edge just waiting to topple over. Natalie and her team were great as usual working their way to a great conclusion, very well thought out and brilliantly written. 5 out of 5 from me.

Nineteen-year-old Gemma Barnes has a secret admirer but this person doesn’t think she’s appreciative enough so decides to throw acid at her and spoil her good looks. Detective Natalie Ward has been on compassionate leave following the death of her daughter Leigh but she’s needed back at work to investigate who threw the acid and Gemma’s subsequent death.
Carol Wyer has written this book really well, its cleverly written full of suspense and action, Lots of twists and turns, lots of parts to throw you of guessing the end....loved it cant wait for the next book

How could Carol top The Blossom Twins? With something like that, i was really intrigued to see where this could actually go, like how could anything continue on? Well - she did it!



The Secret Admirer is brilliant.When Gemmas broken and burned body is found it seems there is no clues or evidence to suggest who would do something as horrific as this, only a note from a secret admirer. As usual the team start to knuckle down although Natalie is a bit more wary than usual.



However she is soon forced to push all this aside when her estranged husband is seen following Gemma home & when her housemate is found dead, and David is still linked - can she discover what is really going on?



This book was so gripping, i really had no idea how it was going to play out as we followed the investigation. We also managed to see how Natalie was managing in her life, and how David was in his. With some serious subjects that have been handled with respect and tact it was almost refreshingly honest with handling grief.



I as always continue to love the characters and their development, as they change over time and over the cases that have an impact on them and it isnt just Natalie. Whilst this could be read alone, i really feel you need to spend the time getting to know everyone and their lives before dealing with this.



A wonderful wonderful read that continued the series in a high impact way. One to pick up.



Happy release day.

I love this author’s writing and I was delighted to see that she had a new release out in the DI Natalie Ward series, this book, The Secret Admirer!

I thought that the plot for the book was great, the book was well planned out and it showed as the author weaves in a few twists and turns here and there to throw you off regarding who was responsible for the crimes committed in the book.

I thought that the characters were great, I loved being able to catch up with them and the author did a great job with the student characters too. Sasha was an amazing character – I have not been in the same position as her, nor do I ever wish to be but those scenes certainly do pull on your heart-strings, she was believable and genuine.

This is the sixth book in the series and if you are planning on reading the other books, you do need to read them in order, the books also follow the private lives of Natalie and her colleagues and previous cases are touched upon so this would contain spoilers. I have read all the books in the series and they are all fantastic and I would definitely recommend them all!

It is 5 stars from me for this one, the book was well written, the pace was perfect and the plot was excellent – very highly recommended!!

The Secret Admirer. Carol Wyer

When I reviewed the last book in this series I asked, How is Carol going to top that.

Well she has, and she’s done it in style.

The start of the book picks up 3 months after the end of the previous one and finds DI Natalie Ward living on her own, in a small flat, getting ready to return to work for the first time since the shocking conclusion of Blossom Twins.

She’s not sure of how she is going to react to some of the scenes she knows she is going to have to attend, the first one couldn’t be much worse.

A young woman has had Acid thrown in her face and has died a horrible death.

When a second murder follows quit quickly afterwards it appears to be related.

With no time for a gradual reintroduction to work, and battling her own demons, Nat and her team are in a race against time to stop a killer who is quickly escalating.

This book, like all of Carol Wyer’s Books, had me gripped from the very beginning, but where Carols books differ from so many others is that she keeps me hooked with every chapter.

She recognises that many crimes affect small groups of people, and manages to find a way of engaging me with every character, in her small cast of characters

Natalie, herself, is one of the best fictional cops I’ve ever read about. Her story across the series has been fascinating, and at times heart breaking.

The occasional characters which make up her team, and her family, are stunningly written and add a depth to each book with their own intertwining story-lines.

But, in my opinion, the criminals and victims stories always give the books extra edge.

All of these combine in this book. Natalie and her ongoing emotional and mental struggles. The small community of characters involved in the crime, two houses full of students, and their families. The twist in the plot which sees Natalie’s husband come under suspicion.

At 413 pages this book is a bit longer than the average book released these days, but every page holds something. As the DJ’s of old used to say it’s “All Thriller and No Filler”

Could this book be read as a stand-alone? Yes

Should this book be read as a stand-alone. No, why would anybody want to miss out on the rest of the series.

A brilliant read from one of my favourite authors.

Pages: 413
Publisher: Bookouture
Available now.

The DI Natalie Ward series from the prolific Carol Wyer hits book six with The Secret Admirer and it is a pleasing return to form with a well paced and very entertaining police procedural thriller.

Following the death of her daughter Ward returns to work and is faced with the murder of a popular student. Two more deaths quickly follow.

I thought that the series had started to become a little stale but The Secret Admirer resets the series and I look forward to book seven

Highly recommended

Another great book in this series. I read this book in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down. Brilliant storyline and great characters and some twists and turns which kept me guessing.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I have followed the DI Natalie Ward series from the very beginning and this novel, the sixth in the series, really does reward the loyal reader. It takes up Natalie’s story after the tragic murder of her daughter in book 5 which occurred just as she was almost at the conclusion of the investigation, but had sadly been unable to save her daughter and her best friend’s life. Natalie is keen to return to work and is bracing herself to take on the leadership of her own trusted team. Almost straight away her superior officer suggests she take on the investigation of a crime only just committed, and that suits her just fine.
She heads off to the scene of the crime on the very threshold of Samford University. Gemma, an eighteen-year-old student at the Uni has been attacked by an unknown criminal. It is an acid attack to her face that sadly results in her death. She is a very popular girl who is living in a University house, sharing it with four other housemates. Upon a search of her room an intriguing letter is found in the back of her diary, written by a ‘Secret Admirer’. She had not mentioned this letter to anyone, even her mother to whom she was very close. This becomes the focal point of the police investigation.
As Natalie’s dedicated team begin the investigation, so the tension of the mystery assailant deepens. Several characters fall under suspicion but are gradually found to be not guilty. In the meantime her son alerts Natalie to the fact that her ex-husband David is acting strangely and recklessly. Once the family’s chief carer and house husband, her son has had enough and decides he wants to live with Natalie and cut all ties to David, still devastated and mourning the loss of his daughter. Natalie is horrified at his decline, but even more so when he is linked to Gemma and becomes a suspect. Natalie, ever professional, conducts a very difficult but wholly professional interview, hoping she will be able to clear his name. Meanwhile the team is rocked by a second student murder and the investigation is further widened.
This novel is a baffling case and the investigation is meticulous. It was a real treat to revisit this series and catch-up with the familiar character whose stories are enhanced in various ways. Natalie is a wonderful character and a shining example of leadership and cooperative police work. She is dedicated and exceedingly well supported by her talented team. I loved the setting, actually very near to where I live in Staffordshire. I loved guessing where various locations actually were and some place names were not fictionalised, like Wolseley Bridge only a few miles from my home. As ever, I could not predict what was going to happen in the end because of the many plot twists and turns, red herrings and blind alleyways. I enjoyed reading this page-turner and was happy to read that Carol is continuing the series, already with a good idea of her next storyboard.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture through my membership of NetGalley, sent out to me in return for an honest review. This was a fast paced, exciting novel and complex novel. I recommend it as a good, absorbing read.

I received a free e-copy of The Blossom Twins (Detective Natalie Ward #5) by Carol Wyer from NetGalley for my honest review.

I have read this entire series and they just keep getting better. Absolutely love, love, love this series.

The murder of a young girl at a concert venue brings Detective Natalie Ward into her next investigation. Natalie recalls a case from the past that bears striking similarities to the crime scene.
Twin sisters are found murdered and Natalie feels certain that the 'Blossom Twins' killer has returned.

DI Natalie Ward is a series that always leaves the reader with their mouths wide open in shock. This one is no different. I've been so blessed to review every book in this series and share my love for it.

This was the perfect book to follow-up The Blossom Twins. I love the cast of characters and the team DI Ward works with. The plot lines outside of the current cases is what keeps me invested. All of their lives are impacted by what happens at home too. The team members become real when you know who they are when they aren't investigating. I can't wait for the next one and find out what happens next.