A Serial Killer that will have you hooked" shouts the front cover and it does not lie! Hard to believe that this is Carol Wyer's first venture into the dark side and I am hoping that it won't be her last.

DR Robyn Carter returns to work following a leave of absence and is immediately caught up in the death of a local man and a missing teacher - little does she know that what links them is about to unravel horror and send them on the hunt for a serial killer with little idea of the motivation behind the murder.

Little Girl Lost explores the themes of secrets and lies and the consequences of living a lie when the horror being covered up begins to leak out and bring all who step in its path to their knees.

We have three main narrators in Little Girl Lost, Alice - who is hell-bent on revenge after being subjected to horrendous sexual abuse as a child; DI Robyn Carter, who has been working as a PI following the death of her fiance and the loss of her unborn child. Carter is getting ready to return the police force following a leave of absence and thirdly Abigail wife to Jackson and mother of baby Izzy.Each of the characters lives and stories are closely intertwined and the reader is forced to travel the journey with each of the characters as they hurtle their way to the conclusion. I felt an empathy for Alice as a narrator, I felt as though she had been badly let down by so many people throughout her life, but I struggled to feel sorry for Abigail - she irritated me slightly and at times I wanted to give her a good talking to. I loved Robyn Carter and I'm really looking forward to see her character develop as the series continues; we are given enough information about her back story to hook us in and leave us wanting more!

TThis was a fast paced and heart wrenching killer of a read! Excellent storyline and some intriguing characters all round. I found myself get a little confused over who was who at times but as the book went on this got easier. Overall I felt Little Girl Lost was an astounding foray into the world of psychological thrillers for Carol Wyer, who is perhaps more well-known for some of her lighter works; she has created an intriguing character in Robyn Carter and I think that this is definitely a series for the watching!

It’s great to get a new character, and I look forward to getting to know Robyn and her team in subsequent books.
It starts with different stories which begin to intermingle. I love the way it’s told from different viewpoints too.

DI Robyn Carter has taken some time out from the force after the death of her partner Davies. She had been working with her cousin Ross, an ex-copper, in his private eye business…..mainly tailing people who are fraudulently trying to claim on insurance.
A concerned wife contacts them after her husband, Lucas Matthews, goes missing.
Robyn is due back at work with the Staffordshire Police. She takes the missing person case with her as she thinks it needs to be made official.
Robyn’s story is told in the third person.

Alice’s story is told in the first person, and subsequently in italics.
Alice has had a difficult childhood, suffering sexual abuse and also watched her mother go from a beautiful butterfly to a washed up sex worker.

The other voice is that of Abigail. The perfect wife of Jackson and mother of baby Izzy.
She is getting threatening calls and messages from an unknown sender.
The caller makes accusations about secrets and Abigail starts to unravel.
She feels like she is being watched. Accusations about her husband make her unsure who to trust. She has a handful of friends and doesn’t even know if she can trust them.

It’s a cleverly told story, taking you this way and that.
I really enjoyed it, well-paced. A pleasure to read.
I’ve read previous books by this author which have been very funny.
Carol has gone to the ‘dark side’ with this one and it really suits her!!

Thanks to the publishers, Bookouture, and NetGalley for the copy in return for an honest review.

Little Girl Lost sounded like the perfect book. A serial killer thriller - what better way to start the new year than with a book like this?

However, I felt this book didn't totally live up to its expectations. Firstly there were a lot of characters. At first it was confusing trying to remember who was who but as the chapters progressed it became a little easier.

Secondly, the book just seemed to lack a little pace throughout the first half. I want to keep reading as the plot line intrigued me but found on occasion I was willing the story to pick up pace.

Having said that though the book is well written and I like the fact that there a flashbacks which add a strong element. As the reader you are also more aware of everything than the police officers in this book but again this adds another dimension.

Once I got into the second half of the book I found it was a more enjoyable read and makes me want to read more from this author. I also feel this will be a great detective series.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Carol Wyer for the chance to review.

I went into this book blind pretty much. I was struck by the cover and the tagline "A serial killer thriller that will have you hooked" and knew I would most likely enjoy it. But I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did!

Carol Wyer was able to keep me gripped from the very first chapter and didn't let me go. There was no let up from the action in this thriller. There are lots of twists and turns and a lot of unexpected ones at that!

I enjoyed the multiple point of views within this book, we have Alice who we meet very early on in the book and she has past and present input. We then have DI Robyn Carter, the first in a series surrounding this character. Robyn is a great detective! I love that she had flaws and she was questioning herself throughout the gritty investigation. I also enjoyed her relationship with her cousin; it was nice to have a relationship that had no hierarchy or romance involved. The third narrative is that of Abigail, who has the perfect life until someone starts threatening her.

Carol Wyer was able to weave between all these characters with such finesse that it kept me on tenterhooks wanting the next chapter with all of them, meaning I just flew through this book!

I was certainly not expecting the ending. There are characters throughout the book you become suspicious of but I ended up not trusting anyone!

I recommend any thriller fan to read this book as it was fantastic; I loved every minute of it - a serial killer investigation at its finest! I recommend going into it blindly though to be able to soak up as much tension as possible.

The tagline does not lie, this is a fast-paced serial killer thriller that will keep you hooked.

I love a book that keeps me guessing until the last chapter. Every time I think know who the serial killer is, then they show up dead and I'm looking for clues again. I made it to the last 10 pages and then "Bluefire Reader" went blank. Nothing! I then downloaded the book to the Kindle Ap and was able to finish it. The ending did not disappoint and even though the plot was a complicated one, Wyer tied it together nicely and all is explained. If you like psychological thrillers and a book that gets inside your head, I recommend this one for your 2017 "to read" list.

This is the first novel in the DI Robyn Carter series, introducing readers to a wonderful new law enforcement officer in her first case as lead detective. She is tasked with solving the case of a series of seemingly unrelated killings linked together by toy rabbits being left at the scenes of the crimes, and, believe me, this first outing with Carol Wyer as a psychological thriller and crime author bodes exceedingly well for this genre. Crossing genres has given us an exciting new female detective and the thrilling storytelling of an established and popular author to boot.
Robyn is already feeling that her judgement may be tainted after a decision she made may have caused the death of her fiancé at the hands of a terrorist, but she will need to trust her instincts once again in order to outwit this stalker, abductor, tech wizard and cold-blooded killer with a raging agenda. Now returning to work, she will need tenacity, determination and the ability to think outside the box to work out this complicated crime scenario where revenge is the motive and the flaming fires of injustice, mistreatment and unhappiness have blighted two lives and refuse to be fanned.
The action takes place in the dual settings of Staffordshire in one of my favourite areas for local walks, Blithfield reservoir, and also in Hampshire where one of the main characters relocated to. There are frantic car chases, red herrings, thrills and spills and shocking revelations, all resulting from dark secrets kept hidden and festering. There are many diverse characters from a pilot, from a teacher, a photographer and a stay at home Mum. Jealousy, hatred and avenging lies of the past are dominant themes and as the body count increases there is a race against time to prevent the death of an innocent infant, but Robyn, Ross and her team of trusty police investigators are up to the challenges. One final and shockingly sad twist really does finish this novel with a flourish.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for my copy of this novel sent out to me in return for an honest review. 'Little Girl Lost' is well worth a read and I’m already looking forward to reading the second novel in the series.