SYNOPSIS
Nobody can get into the mind of an erratic killer―except an unpredictable detective.
When a young man is found lying on a station platform with a hole in his head, DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the grisly murder. But the killing is no one-off. As bodies start to pile up, she is faced with what might be an impossible task―to hunt down a ruthless killer on a seemingly random rampage.
Meanwhile, Kate has her own demons to battle as she struggles to come to terms with her husband’s death. And she is hell-bent on exposing corruption within the force and bringing Superintendent John Dickson to justice. But with the trail of deception running deeper―and closer to home―than she could ever have imagined, she no longer knows who she can trust.
With her grip on reality slipping, Kate realises that maybe she and the killer are not so different after all. But time is running out and Kate is low on options. Can she catch the killer before she loses everything?
Title: A life for a life
Author: Carol Wyer
Series: DI Kate Young #3
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Publication date: March 15, 2022
USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People's Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer's crimenovels have sold over 900,000 copies and been translated into nine languages.
A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and proved that Carol had found her true niche.
February 2021 saw the release of the first in the much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young. An Eye For An Eye was chosen as a Kindle First Reads and became the #1 bestselling book on Amazon UK and Amazon Australia.
Carol has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post. She's also been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television.
She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr. Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy. When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.
To learn more, go to www.carolwyer.co.uk, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or follow her on Twitter: @carolewyer
Social Media Links
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carolewyer
Website: https://www.carolwyer.co.uk
REVIEW
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
In my review of A Cut For A Cut I named Carol Wyer as Queen of Police Procedurals, and with A Life For A Life she has revalidated her title. For me, few writers do police investigations as she does, making me feel as if I’m part of the team, right there at the station investigating along them.
DI Kate Young’s life is being consumed by her desire to bring to justice those responsible for her husband’s death, but corruption in the police force reaches further than she expected, and without knowing who she can really trust, her endeavor is proving nearly impossible and her mental health is suffering from it. Called to investigate a series of murders, in which the killer seems to select their victims at random, will put all her capabilities to the test. Will she manage to catch the killer before it’s too late to save her career?
I really love this series. DI Young makes such an interesting lead. The author conveys Kate’s emotions in such a believable way. You can feel her grief over his husband’s death and her frustration and desperation while trying to get justice for him. Her whole journey in this regard has been done really well from book one. She’s flawed and she may not always abide by the rules, but she’s really relatable.
Her team is also very good. We’re slowly getting to know some of their backstories, what’s making me get much more involved in their lives, especially Emma’s. Her pain was so palpable it hurt. Also, the team has had a great addition in the figure of Samuel, a quirky psychological profiler.
This was not a typical whodunnit, cause we know the killer’s name right from the start. The challenge for Kate’s team was to try and get into the killer’s mind to comprehend their motivations, to predict their next move and thus avoid more deaths.
I found the parallels between the killer’s story and Kate’s really interesting, as it shows how a similar traumatic event can impact people in similar yet different ways, and how those demons can unravel your whole mind if you don’t learn how to keep them at bay.
Carol knows how to leave her readers wanting more and the ending is proof of that. What an ending! It was so, so good I’m already counting the days until book four comes out!
A Life For A Life was another enjoyable installment in the series and, although the psychological aspect of the story made the pace a bit slower than usual, I was still glued to the pages and could not turn them fast enough. If you’ve still not read Carol Wyer’s books, you’re missing out!
Thank you to Carol Wyer for my gifted copy and to Zooloos Book Tour for my spot on the tour.
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