Cover Image: A Life for a Life

A Life for a Life

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A bit to much going on In this book for me I’m afraid, way to predictable. No mystery for me in it ..

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An Impossible Task…?
The third in the Detective Kate Young series finds Kate grappling with the warped mind of a killer. A gruesome murder and the bodies are beginning to pile. Is it an impossible task? If anyone can do this, she can with the help of her team. Immersive and compelling and with a complex protagonist with her own backstory, a well crafted cast and a solid plot. A worthy entry in the series.

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A really enjoyable thriller - I hadn't read the first one in this series, so I sometimes felt a little confused and overwhelmed with information. But it didn't stop me from enjoying it and rooting for some of the characters. I would definitely read the follow up to this!

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First of all, I wouldn’t recommend skipping book one and two.

I have mixed feelings for this book, although the first ones had me devouring the pages all day, this one was kinda hard to get into sometimes.
The ending was enjoyable, it did not disappoint me in this scenario, but I feel that what wasn’t it for me was the narrative.
It’s not a bad book, at all, it’s quite enjoyable and entertaining! If you are not familiarized with Carol’s books. That’s probably what disappointed me, ir doesn’t live up to the previous ones.
That being said, It’s still a book I would recommend, but do not skip the other ones, something’s about the murder will spoil or confuse the stories for you.

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DI Kate Young is back trying to keep her place in her team and win back support from her superiors, all the while trying to bring down her corrupt boss Superintendent Dickson and get over the loss of her husband Chris. But when a man is discovered shot dead at point blank range at a train station with no leads, and then more victims are killed in the same way, Kate finds it hard to work out why the killings are happening.
Kate’s mental health seems to suffer but she begins to realise that her suffering may help in the solving of the crimes and to find the perpetrator.
A good read that maintains its pace throughout!

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DI Kate Young lost her husband Chris about a year ago and is still agonizing over his death. At the same time, a body has been discovered killed by a dead bolt pistol (the kind used to dispatch animals) shot in the head. Apparently the tip of the iceberg as there follows additional deaths by the same MO. The problem is the absolute lack of correlation as they appear totally random and the descriptions get rather graphic.

I thought the start of the book slow, a little disjointed, and it was some time into the book before I was able to engage. Kate struggles with the gradual loss of Chris’ voice and she is paranoid about trusting anyone regarding her investigation into superintendent Dickson, whom she feels is responsible for his death. I liked the characters of DS Emma Donaldson and DS Morgan Meredith as they help to form a solid investigative team of unique persons.

The tension ramps up closer to the end of the well-plotted narrative, adding suspense, switching goals between the quest for vengeance (or justice), and the solution to the bolt murders.

This might be one of those series that makes more sense to begin with Book 1. While the novel is engaging, it might be better appreciated knowing the back story. 3.5 stars

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This series continues to compel me! The back story of Kate's husband's death provides a strong context. Who is corrupt in the police service and who can Kate trust? The twists and turns in this are intriguing. A series I will definitely keep reading!

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This was a good book but unfortunately for me this series is not anywhere near as brilliant as previous ones. The damaged detective story line is quickly becoming all too common and puts me off.

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This killer seems to enjoy his killing as often as possible. When it all seems random how can the killer be caught? That's up to the detective with some mental issues of her own
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

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Another absolutely brilliant read.
Not going to lie, didn’t want the book to end but when it and my name was there in the acknowledgments, I may have let out a little squeal and a tear may have escaped the corner of my eye.

Carol Wyer certainly knows what her readers want, and she manages to deliver each and every time. A gripping, thrilling read that really will have you on the edge of your seat.
The books by this author are worth reading in order, for me i think it adds to the enjoyment of the read.

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A Life for a Life by Carol Wyer is the third book in the superb Detective Kate Young Series. I have enjoyed all Carol's books and this latest one was excellent, I was gripped from the very first few pages. Carol has a way of writing that just gets you drawn in when you start to read her books and they keep you looking forward to her next book.This book can be read as a standalone, However, I do suggest you read from the beginning as you would be missing out on two excellent books..

I highly recommend these books in the Detective Kate Young Series. and all Carol's books.

Massive Thank you to NetGalley and especially to Amazon Publishing UK for that much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

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This is third book in the Kate Young series and I was really keen to see what happens next. Although this technically works as a standalone it would definitely make more sense to have read the previous two books as there are lots of references to events in Kate’s long running investigation into police corruption.

Kate is still struggling to cope with the loss of her husband. And his voice in her head is getting quieter and less frequent. Kate is concerned that she is losing her connection with Chris as she continues to pursue events that led to his death.

The book begins by throwing you straight into the action followed by a shocking murder. There’s a lot going on and a lot of characters, but the book soon settles down as Kate and her team start investigating.

With no obvious suspects, the investigation begins slowly reflecting the reality of crime detection. A second murder leaves the team baffled as there is seemingly no connection to the first. The pressure is on Kate to join the dots.

This book also explores Kate’s family more, particularly her father. She finds out some information that shatters her image of him and makes her reevaluate events in the past. She is also trying to find out how all of this links to Superintendent Dickson. Convinced that one of her team is feeding information back to Dickson, Kate becomes increasingly wary and secretive. There is a real sense of paranoia in this book.

This is great series and Kate is such an interesting protagonist. The relationships between the team continue to develop as we get to know Emma, Morgan and Jamie better. The dialogue is often fun and there are some great scenes between Morgan and Jamie.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series – every book is compelling and a complete page turner. And the ending – well, it will definitely leave you wanting more!

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An excellent story, good investigation as hardly any clues and I did wonder if he wasn’t the dirty cop. Love this character as she really gets into the head of a cop and how they think. Another best seller I feel.

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DI Kate Young does worry me! She hovers constantly on the edge of her sanity although in A Life for A Life she seems to be veering back towards the more stable side of the path.

Here she is faced with an apparently random series of crimes - albeit all sharing the same MO - yet with no other obvious connections. 

I loved the addition of fruity mcfruitloop the profiler! He was a brilliantly unsettling character to drop into the mix.

I also enjoyed hearing the killer's voice throughout and witnessing first hand what was going on with them and how/why they were choosing their victims. 

DI Kate Young, although tenacious and determined to catch the killer - and quickly before the Superintendent (who she suspects had a hand in her husband's death) takes great delight in passing the case over to a bigger team - is dangerously focused on revenge for her husband's death. Will this be her downfall?

Battling a variety of demons, including the slurs against her father's good name, Kate fights to keep hold of her mind and her focus to catch the killer before it is too late. But has just jeopardised the safety of the team in the process?

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Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.
First publication by this author I've read and it certainly won't be the last.
Good strong characters with an equally strong storyline this one kept me hooked from the start.
Look froward to reading others by Ms Wyer.

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Oh no, another series that I need to go back and read from the beginning.
DI Kate Young is called to investigate the murder of a man found dead at a railway station with a hole in his head. It soon becomes evident that he wasn’t killed by conventional means and as the bodies start to mount up Kate and her team struggle to find a connection between these seemingly unrelated deaths (other than the method of dispatch).
They must first find the connection before they can apprehend the murderer.
As though this case wasn’t difficult enough Kate is still dealing with the death of her journalist husband . She is convinced he was murdered while investigating missing under-age sex workers and believes his death is linked to her suspicions of police corruption. However, she must investigate this alone as she doesn’t know who she can trust. She struggles at times with self doubt and her ability to bring both investigations to a successful conclusion.
I enjoyed this read from beginning to end and the different storylines running side by side kept suspense levels high. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

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Really enjoyed this book. This is a fabulous series that just gets better and better with each book. It will grip you from the beginning and I thought I had worked out who it was but was wrong which I loved. Can not wait for the next book.

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Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of A Life for a Life.

Kate lost her husband a year ago. He was killed in the line of duty. Well, that’s what it was made out to be. Then Kate, as a DI, gets put in charge of a major investigation, a seeming random set of murders with no obvious leads. Is the murderer a crazed individual, or does Kate have more in common with them than she thinks?

I believe this is the third book with DI Kate Young as the main character. Some parts were difficult to follow as I hadn’t read the other 2, but it can be read as a standalone. There was some time at the end of the book dedicated to tying up the story which had been running through the series, and also I felt there were some bits where I thought the story was stretched somewhat. However, it kept me entertained, so 3.5 stars rounded up.

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The story delves into seemingly random murders and Kate Young's ability to put her own personal struggles aside to solve.
I liked the premise of the book but thought that in areas it was very repetitive and did not move the story on much. There were parts of the book, like near the end that I couldn't put the book down but in other parts I was struggling to stay awake whilst reading. A bit of a mixed bag.

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Barely Two Stars for this one... I really enjoyed the first two books in this series. They were well written and the plots were tightly focused. However, A Life for a Life opened with a scene featuring water torture, yes, exactly like that done at Black Ops sites and considered war crimes. It is revealed that "good cop" Kate is watching a video of man being tortured by someone she is working with to retrieve information on a "bad cop" who may or may not have murdered her husband. The murder of Kate's husband is a long riding story arc going back to book one so you don't want to read these books out of order. The plot of this book, however, aside from torturing people, is a serial killer. Kate and her team are having a tough time with this one so, I don't know, maybe they could torture some innocent witnesses and come up with something. Nah, eventually they solve the crime and Kate goes on to murder someone else in the end. Great cop story, right? Now, tell me again, who is the good cop and who is the bad one? Yeah, I don't know either. What I DO know is that I won't read any more of Wyer's books. Yes, I know there are crooked cops in this world. Trust me, I know this. What I don't have abide is fiction that makes the bad cop the good guy. Nope.

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