The first in a new series, and a male detective makes a nice change from all the ballsy female detective series out there.
Dan Riley is a likeable character and I'm looking forward to getting to know him.
Dan lost his girlfriend and their unborn child in a car accident two years ago. It’s obvious that he is still not dealing with this tragedy. I really feel for him, and this makes for a great read. He has started to dabble in a bit of online dating as he feels like he should be moving on with his personal life.
This a wonderful, deep story taking in some very serious topics.
Relationships, death, accidents, child abuse and all tackled perfectly by the author.
I liked the pace of the story and the chapters told from the perspective of each of the main characters, I was able to pick it up whenever and not lose my way.
If you like crime fiction then I’m sure this will be one for you. It’s well-paced and kept my interest. The serial killer was a real psycho, but I still empathised!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy, in which I give my honest opinion.

3.25 Stars

This mystery novel starts out strong but then slowly wanes. We open to a scene of an unknown woman murdering the man she's sleeping with. Then we cut to the detective on the case and continue going back and forth between the two.

I liked the idea of a female serial killer and that she used a fairy tale in a messed up way to choose her victims. While we always know who she is, Det. Dan Riley does not and I liked seeing him try to solve the case knowing how far or close he was getting.

For the most part, Det. Riley is a decent character. He's had tragedy in his life and has become a bit of a cynic because of his job, but he is a largely likeable character. The thing that bothered me is how obsessively he thought about his deceased fiance. I understand that this impacted and changed his life significantly, however it got to the point where I started skimming the parts where he reminiscences or thinks of what she'd do or say, because it seemed so repetitive and not always in line with the main story line (the murders).

Weatherley does a good job writing this mystery that will be perfect for fans of Lisa Gardner. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Thanks a million Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. A brilliant book!! Amazing psychological twists and turns that keep on coming right to the last page. I was actually in tears for some of it because of the touching tragic scenes. I honestly can't wait for the next one.

Excellent book, a fast paced thriller with strong characters in a strong plot. A real page turner that had me hooked. I read it in one sitting. I loved it. Highly recommended.

Thanks to Netgalley and Anna-Lou Weatherley fit the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I received an ARC from NetGalley. The below is my honest, unbiased opinion. Thank you, Anna-Lou Weatherley, the publisher, and NetGalley, for allowing me to read an early copy.

When the body of a wealthy banker is found with his wrists slashed in a London hotel room, it appears at first to be a tragic suicide. But Detective Dan Riley suspects there is more to this case than meets the eye and the pathology reports confirms his worst fears – the victim was poisoned and suddenly Dan is dealing with a murder enquiry.

Still grieving the devastating loss of his girlfriend and unborn child in a car accident two years ago, Dan throws everything he has into the investigation. Then he makes a disturbing discovery, uncovering links between the victim and a woman calling herself Goldilocks on an online dating site. Is she seeking revenge or something more?

Yet just as Dan begins to piece together the clues of this complex case, the body of a woman is found in her bed with identical wounds. Dan is on the trail of a twisted serial killer – and the stakes just got higher:

The first victim was Daddy Bear. The second Mummy Bear.

Unless Dan can catch the killer, Baby Bear will be next.

Wow! What a fantastic start to a new series. I really enjoy detective mystery thrillers, and this one didn't disappoint. The story begins in tragedy, which only makes me care more for the main character, who is absolutely fascinating. Fantastic character development, paired with an intense plot, a gorgeous cover, and one awesome blurb, made this a total win for me. Must read!

Serial killers are something I have always been fascinated by. Even more so when it's a woman. So I was very intrigued to workout what made her tick.

The story flicks between the female serial killer, of who we don't know exactly who she is, she is as much a mystery to us as she is to the police and Dan, who is the detective working on the case.  

Dan I was instantly drawn to. He is troubled as a lot of these crime fiction detectives seem to be yet he is still very likeable. Even though he is trying his best to start moving on with his life he doesn't seem to be able to let the past go. His dead girlfriend never seems to be far from his thoughts.

I know I'm supposed to dislike the serial killer and in a way I did. I think because we tend not to see many female serial killers, she really stood out to me and I just found her fascinating. What she is doing is very wrong yet as a reader it thrilled me as well as chilling me to the very core.

Last Cry is a thrilling start to what looks set to be a criminally good crime series! A chilling case that had me pounding through the pages. Can't wait to read more.

First of all thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with a review copy of this book. Also this review may contain spoilers for both Last Cry and In The Woods by Tara French as I think both are comparable. The thing I've run into a lot lately is that the characters in books are simply unlikeable. I honestly found myself liking our antagonist more than anyone else and I'm not sure that was intentional. That being said it was a very interesting concept. I like that it didn't follow the typical formula that so many thrillers have fallen into now. It gave us the murderer right away. And it was a woman! Overall the characters were well fleshed out, but something about the whole thing just seemed unfinished to me. Like it jumped all over the place a bit. The reason I mention comparing it to In The Woods is pretty much the endings. ITW had no real conclusion. You don't learn about the detectives past. There ends up being no real justice. I fell similarly with this book. To me it didn't feel like real justice. Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of poetic justice but.....I'd rather have a real explanation and all that. Also the detective reminded me far too much of Ross from Friends and that's never a good thing. I did enjoy the book overall. My issues with it are fairly minor, especially in comparison to other novels like ITW. I'll definitely be trying things from this author in the future.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Brilliant a new series to get into, I loved Dan Riley, bring on No.2 book

This book is so gripping I couldn't put it down so many twists and turns and a brilliant story.

The beginning was brilliant and you saw the killer killing her first victim and then you get to see the police looking into it. A really nice twist that makes the book brilliant.

It is down to Detective Dan Riley to solve the murder which has him stumped at first and you are always wondering if he will find the killer.

The killer is a woman who calls herself goldilocks who finds her victim on a dating website.
The only clue is a teddy bear that is left at the scene of every crime scene.

She kills daddy bear first then mummy bear both deaths are totally uncalled for and you realise that she is a true blooded killer. One minute you hate her for doing what she's doing then as you read further in the book you really feel sorry for her. She has suffered so much during her childhood that you really feel for her.

It left me with so many mixed emotions and I just had to keep reading it was brilliant from start to finish.

Last cry is a good police procedural, I enjoyed reading a plot based on a female serial killer. The plot is fast and you know what is coming from start. The very first chapter throws the reader into a chilling murder in a hotel by a very twisted female. The plot is fast and very well written.
I thought the chapter that explains why the killer is the way she is was absolutely brilliantly written, I have never read a book where one minute I feel absolute hate towards the killer and then slight sorrow for her on the very next page. The only let down for me was the main character, he was likeable however he kept referring back to his dead girlfriend in nearly every chapter. I felt this was just not needed and let the book down a little.
I look forward to book two.

An apparent suicide in an exclusive London hotel soon has alarm bells ringing for Detective Dan Riley, his fears being realized when pathology reveals that the victim, a wealthy banker, was poisoned. Finding a link between the murdered man and a woman calling herself ‘Goldilocks’ on an online dating site, Dan is soon on the hunt for a serial killer as another victim is found – this time a woman. Daddy Bear… Mummy Bear… Can Dan put an end to the killings before the next victim, Baby Bear is found?

I was drawn in right from the very start of the book where we are thrown straight into what is to become the first crime scene. The killer, ‘Goldilocks’ is a strange character, though, as although she took great care to make it look like suicide, she made enough mistakes for anyone with a trained eye to realize that it was definitely a case of murder. This made me wonder what her motives were and whether she actually wanted to be caught. This seemed to be confirmed with her choice of second victim – a woman who, with some detective work, could be traced back to her. The killer was a very complex character and, although her crimes were truly heinous, her back story was incredibly harrowing and there was definitely sympathy shown towards her childhood plight.

The first book in a series is always a difficult one for a detective as we are not only introduced to their investigation and professional life, but we also need to get a handle on their personal life and what makes them tick. Like many other fictional detectives, Dan is a flawed character after losing his girlfriend in a crash a few years previously. Never fully getting over his loss, it has taken him all this time to entertain the thought of dating again and it is through this that he meets the aforementioned ‘Goldilocks’, albeit in a different guise. This was a good way of introducing us to the main protagonist, providing an insight into his state of mind. Hopefully, in future books, he will stay away from online dating though!

The crimes are quite descriptive and show how messed up ‘Goldilocks’ is. As the book description mentions ‘Baby Bear’ it is not a spoiler to say that, as you are reading, you know that it is building up to her wanting to kill a child. This provided me with a sense of unease as I willed Dan to work out exactly what was going on before it actually occurred. I found that I raced through the second half of the book, desperate to know how it would end.

In recent years, I have been introduced to some great police procedural/detective books by Bookouture, with authors such as Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza and Patricia Gibney becoming firm favourites. In Anna-Lou Weatherley and her detective, Dan Riley, I think they have another hit on their hands and I look forward to reading book 2!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Last Cry, a London based police procedural featuring DI Dan Reilly.

When Nigel Baxter's body is found in an upscale hotel with his wrists slashed the police assume suicide. DI Dan Reilly has his doubts but nothing concrete until the postmortem confirms these doubts. The reader is fully aware of the killer's identity and her next victim.

Last Cry is a fairly quick read which I was glad of as it is not to my taste. The novel opens with "Goldilocks" killing her victim so there are no surprises there. From then on the novel alternates in point of view between a third person narrative about Goldilocks' thoughts and actions and Dan's first person account of the investigation and his feelings.

I'm not particularly interested in reading about the killer's thoughts and motivations unless it is extremely well done and offers genuine insight. This is all rather trite and unconvincing, right from the beginning when she describes her thoughts as twisted - they wouldn't be to a genuine psychopath.

I quite liked Dan who is a decent bloke. 2 years on he's still struggling to come to terms with the death of his fiancée but trying to dip his toe in the dating pool. He's a haunted man but still manages to get the job done successfully. I like the professionalism of the police in this novel but the reader sees little of the team at work.

Last Cry is a solid read, just not to my taste.

4.5 stars, actually.

Getting in at the beginning of a new series always makes me happy and yes, optimistic. And when it turns out that it's a winner in my book (pun intended), I'm ecstatic. Already, I'm looking forward to reading the next book featuring London Detective Dan Riley.

For openers, he's an intriguing character. Two years before the book begins, his much-loved girlfriend and their unborn baby are killed in a car-motorcycle accident. He's back at work and functioning fairly well, although it's clear he's not even close to coming to terms with her loss (truthfully, he wallows in his grief a little more often than I'd have liked). But he's making progress, and when a man is found dead in the bathtub of a posh hotel room with his wrists cut, Dan goes in for a closer look and determines that the manner of death probably isn't suicide. When the subsequent pathology reports bear out his suspicion, Dan finds himself in the throes of a murder investigation.

Early clues, including a note signed "Daddy Bear" and a relatively expensive stuffed teddy bear suggest a sex-for-hire gone horribly wrong, but something makes Dan's nose start to twitch and think something even more evil may be at play. When another body is discovered - with the same M.O. right down to another teddy bear - it brings to Dan's mind the old fairy tale, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." That, in turn, presents a problem that puts an even greater rush on finding the killer: If both Daddy Bear and Mama Bear are down for the count, can Baby Bear be far behind?

So, the race is on to keep that from happening. Chapters switch from Dan's perspective to that of the killer (readers learn the identity of the woman, who's known by multiple names including - surprise! - Goldilocks, early on). What she's doing is clear from the start; why she's doing it - and whether she'll be caught before she can add her intended finish to the fairy tale - help build suspense and tension right up to the end.

Overall, though, this is a very enjoyable, fast-paced book, and I applaud the author for creating an intriguing character who shows much promise for many more to come. For the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, I heartily thank the publisher (via NetGalley).

Detective Dan Riley is called to investigate an apparent suicide at a top London hotel.

Not all is what it seems and he soon finds himself investigating a chilling serial killer using the kids fairy story of Goldilocks and the three bears as killspo.

We also get an insight into his personal life. It’s been a few years since his beloved Rachel died in a motorbike accident. Is he ready to go back into the dating world?

I enjoyed this book, the first chapter had me absolutely hooked!! Great plot and premise but the ending let it down for me. I love Anna Lou’s addictive writing style and likeable main character, will definitely be reading more in the series. Can’t wait to see what’s next for detective Dan Riley!

3.5 stars !!

Before I begin I would like to state that I really wanted to like this book more, simply because it's been a long time I've not read a female serial killer plot.

The book began well, and we got a pretty good viewing of the murder in progress and how psychotic the killer actually is. The murder was pretty gruesome, although she took efforts for the man to not feel the pain while life ebbed out of him. When she left the Teddy Bear in his hotel room, I was intrigued. I thought we had a good premise for an amazing plot.

Then, we saw that the killer was a frequent visitor on online dating sites, which made me think maybe the killer was dishing out revenge to the cheaters and she is going to give Dan a run for his money. I was let down when she chose her next victim, who could be easily linked to her. A smart girl, our killer wasn't !! She was least calculative and not at all ruthless, if you know what I mean, when it comes to serial killers.


In fact, sometimes, I felt just because she was planning to kill 3, as a part of a story, did not make her a serial killer. She lacked the calculative, mean and smart streak most serial killers have. Our killer had a very disturbing childhood, and she has gone cra-cra. That's the best I could come up with.

And our boy, Dan Riley, was altogether a let down. The book had a lot about his personal life and less of investigation. In fact, they were able to identify the killer only when she made a stupid stupid amateur mistake. Like I said, the investigation was a let down, hardly any sleuthing. What also pissed me off, was the lack of cop instincts in Dan.

The last thing which totally turned me off was the killer's motive behind following "Goldilocks and the Three bears" in her kills. Normally, in serial killers, we see the killers trying to take revenge on someone from their past. There is a definite trend or logic, and this story seemed most illogical to me. The only explanation I could come up with is, that she just lost her mind and wanted to self-destruct.

Now, I am a super-obsessed fan of the 'In Death' series by JD Robb, which kind of sets the benchmark for serial killer for me, so consider me biased. And this plot, was a far far cry from what it could have been. Ha ! You see what I did there ?? No ? Yes ? Not funny ?? Whatever !!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for generously providing me an ARC in exchange of honest reviews

Great book, kept me hooked! Read it in two sittings!

I liked this book. It is not really a mystery or suspense novel, you know all along who the killer is. What makes it interesting is that you get the killer's viewpoint throughout the whole novel and you know why they (in this novel, she) is doing it.
I liked Detective Dan Riley some of the time but found him a bit annoying at others. If you are looking for a full on police procedural book, this is not it. There is an awful lot of personal stuff, at times I was wanting more police work. It almost seemed like the case was an afterthought and not really the main story. I am assuming that this will be a series and if so, I hope that now that we know all about the main character, the next book will be more of a suspenseful read.
I did enjoy the book though and kept reading and will be interested in the next in the series.

Last Cry by Anna Lou Weatherley is the first book in a series starring Detective Dan Riley.

Detective Dan Riley is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his girlfriend who was killed in a motorcycle accident two years previously. He is called to the death of a wealthy man found at an upmarket hotel which on further investigation appears to be murder. The killer has made the death look like a suicide but a toy bear left behind makes him suspicious.

We follow Dan and his team as they investigate the case and their discovery that a woman might possibly be the killer and when another body is found with the same type of toy bear it appears they could have a serial killer on their hands. It seems the killer is following the Goldilocks fairy tale and they need to find her before she can finish the story.

A fast paced thriller with plenty of twists with an ending you don’t see coming. I am looking forward to the next one to see how life is treating Dan Riley.

I always have slightly higher expectations of any book that is badged as the first in a series as I’m hoping it will be good enough that I will want to read the rest of the series. My verdict here is that yes I want to see what the author does with Detective Inspector Dan Riley next. It was clear from the blurb that he is still grieving and at times it did feel like that would overwhelm the story however the author did a good job of balancing it out with the murder enquiry. The Goldilocks and the 3 bears theme gave this a unique twist certainly caused me some concern in respect of Baby Bear. No spoilers, so if you want to know the outcome you will need to read it.

A beautiful serial killer who is all set to redefine the very notion of evil and a cynical cop struggling with his own personal demons are pitched against each other in this first installment of the Detective Dan Riley series.

It all starts with a middle-aged businessman found dead in a hotel room. At first glance, it appears to be a suicide, but Detective Dan Riley knows there is more to the toy bear placed on the bed...Daddy Bear.

A middle-aged victim of domestic abuse is next...Mummy Bear. Riley has to stop this serial killer before she completes writing her own twisted fairy tale. Will he be able to?

It's a great book and I would definitely recommend it if you enjoy reading J.D. Robb's Eve Dallas series. Rebecca's character is well written and you almost feel sorry for her...almost. I will be looking forward to hearing more from Dan Riley!