A Life for a Life is the 3rd book in the DI Kate Young book from Carol Wyer.

"Kate and her team are called out to a grisly murder on a rail station platform. As the bodies start piling up Kate realizes they are faced with an impossible task - hunting down a killer on a random rampage.

Kate is still struggling with her husband's death. She is determined to expose the corruption in the police department. She is worried about who she can trust and just what line she is willing to cross to find justice."

Wyer pushes Kate to the limit here. Kate is dealing with pressure from all sides - dealing with her grief, trying to find the evidence she needs to prove corruption and trying to find a killer. It's amazing she can function at all. (Carol - please give Kate a holiday) Wyer explores the limits of just how far good, moral people are willing to go for justice.

A very unusual weapon is used by the killer - not sure I've seen that in any crime fiction before.

There is some resolution to part of the corruption case but we are left with the aftermath for the next book. Hopefully the final answers are coming then.

Fans of crime fiction procedurals will enjoy this, especially if you're looking for a strong female lead.

Superintendent John Dickson, superintendent is corrupt. Detective Inspector Kate Young finally has just enough proof. Just a little bit more and Kate is certain she will prove just who Dickson is. More importantly, Kate is convinced that he is responsible for the murder of her husband. She will not rest until justice is served.

Despite her determination when it comes to Dickson, Kate has another case. When a body is found on a train flatform, after evidently being shot, Kate has to find focus in order to find his killer. Before long, however, even more murders occur, and the clock is ticking. Kate must find a way to stop this killeer.

Meanwhile, Kate begins missing something, the husband the voice of her deceased husband has quieted. He had been with her since his passing keeping her strong in her endeavors. However, the closer she gets to finding out what happened to him the less she hears his voice. There is no doubt that her personal investigation is at conflict with the murder investigation. Kate becomes more and more distant from her team, and at least a few of them begin to get worried.

What a riveting story! From beginning to end the tension never once let up. Compassion and concern for Kate equalled pride her determination shone through time and again. She is a fabulous protagonist and Carol Wyer has developed her character just right - no doubt leaving every reader in her corner. A Life for a Life ended with a bang, leaving me more than eager to read the next book in this series.

Many thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

DI Kate Young is back and this is probably her most important case .
Just to prove to everyone that she is coping with the death of her husband Chris.
She is still struggling to cope and she is still convinced that Superintendent Dickson had ordered the hit on her journalist husband when he got to close to finding out what happened to the underage sex traffic ring.
But when a new case comes along Kate has a difficult time trying to juggle the two investigations, especially when she believes that Dickson has put a mole into her very small crime investigation unit.

There is a random killer on the loose, he kills them with a captive bolt pistol.
And always at point blank range .
There is no connection to the murders and no rhyme or to reason why the people are being targeted.
As Kate slips in and out of reality to try and connect to her dead husband and try and solve this case. She even stats to doubt her own team and sanity.

Can she find a way out? And come back from the brink?

Good book. This a 3rd part of series, good character development. Would of liked to read the other 2 beforehand to understand more of the story. I will go back and read the other 2 books in the series. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, netgalley and the author in exchange for this review.
Publishing date March 15th 2022.

Thank you to net galley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.
This is the first book I have read by Carol Wyer and it is the third in a series. In this instance, it would have been of great benefit to have read the previous two prior to reading this book. I found the first chapter somewhat confusing as it appeared to be a direct follow-on from the previous book, however as the story unfolded elements of the backstory became clearer. The book follows two storylines one being a current murder investigation and the other being the continuing efforts of the main character, D I Kate Young, to prove corruption by a senior officer. The plotting of the murder investigation is very well done and held my attention throughout. I cannot say the same for the ongoing story where I did not find the actions of Kate Young very believable but that may be because I have jumped in at book three. Based on the main murder investigation I can however give this four stars and I am sure that D I Kate Young will get a loyal band of readers.

As with most detective stories, you can pick up in the middle of a series and understand what’s going on. Although that was a big win, the drawback is approximately 15 characters in the first three chapters and sometimes they are called by their first names, and sometimes they are called by their last names which adds to the confusion of characters. I got the hang of it after a while and realized who was more important to the storyline and who wasn’t.
I didn’t feel as though the story really picked up until about 70% and it wasn’t a whodunnit as the killer is very obvious and forthright from the start of the book.
I really appreciated the double storyline with two different cases present at the same time. That added a bit more depth to the book and helped me learn more about the main character.
Although there were some great elements, I didn’t find anything very original or mind-blowing. However, if you’re looking for a mild and relatively short detective and police work type of book, this could be right up your alley!
A big thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book.
3.25 ⭐️

A deliciously twisty read ! I highly recommend this book ! Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the opportunity to read and review this book !!
Opinions are solely my own ! #Netgalley #AmazonPublishingUK
#ALifeForALife

My thanks to Carol and NetGalley for allowing me to read A Life for a Life before the publication date.

After the death of her husband, Chris, DI Kate Young has been moved to run a smaller specialist team.
Chris was a journalist investigating a paedophile ring and corrupt police officers.
Still struggling with her loss, Kate is determined to continue the work which Chris started in her own time as she does not have sufficient evidence to carry out an official enquiry.
This raises questions about who can she trust as the officer who she believes is at the heart of the corruption is no less than a Superintendent.
When 22 year old Tobias Abraham is found dead in a railway station, having been shot with a captive bolt pistol, Kate’s team are assigned to investigate.
As the body count starts to rise and with no obvious connection between the victims, Kate asks for more staff, only for the request to be denied.
When a profiler is brought on to the team, it is difficult to determine whether he is helping. His perceptions of the killer lead Kate to consider whether he could be talking about her own quest to bring down the superintendent.

Can Kate stop the killer and keep her job?
With the 2 parallel investigations, Carol has introduced so many characters in the book.

In the prologue, the reader is introduced to Ben and his extended family who are involved in a horrific road accident.
Two narrators are used effectively throughout the book, Ben and Kate. Ben’s chapters are particularly intriguing.

Once again DI Kate Young is on the case. A young man has been found at a local train station with a hole in his head. This killer seems to be like no other and nobody can predict who he will kill next or why. The bodies are piling up and they cannot second guess him. A completely random rampage and an impossible task for Kate and her team. Meanwhile Kate is worrying about her own demons and secret investigation that if she’s caught could destroy her career and put her own life in danger. I highly recommend this book. It’s fast paced and once again has you guessing at every twist and turn. It was slow going to begin with but it quickly picks up and has you struggling to put the boom down. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest views and opinions.

A Life for a Life is my first introduction to author Carol Wyer and the Detective Kate Young series and although there is a continuing thread in the story regarding a corrupt police officer and the murder of Detective Young's husband I never once felt at a disadvantage having not read the previous two stories. Yet, on finishing this book I can say for certain I will be picking them up as this was a really enjoyable story that along with Kate's personal determination to prove her superior officer is not only corrupt, but ordered the murder of her husband Chris there was a twisty crime to solve, and I found the similarities between the killer Kate is chasing and her own predicament very intriguing and cleverly worked. And with plenty of suspense, this was a very engaging tale and I'd definitely look out for book four, especially with how this story ended.

Another gripping story from Carol Wyer. Kate is called in to investigate another murder while still coming to terms with her husband's death, and taking down a corrupt Superintendent. No rest for the weary. Even though this wasn't my favorite, it still had me hooked and will read anything the Wyer writes. She just needs to write faster!!

A Life for a Life is the third book in the Detective Kate Young series. I have read the previous books and enjoyed them and this third instalment was no exception. I like the characters and their development and this was a good solid story that I could not put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for my ARC.

I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It is the third book in the series but could be read without having read the others. I have read all 3 and enjoyed them all.

DI Kate Young is called in to investigate the gruesome murder of a young man who is found on a station platform. He has a hole in his head ,which they discover has been caused by a bolt stun gun. An unusual weapon of choice.
As they look into this horrific death, more victims are found with the same injury. It is looking like there is a serial killer on the loose who is killing without pattern, or apparent motive. None of the victims are connected, and none of the murder sites make sense. How do they catch a killer who has no rhyme nor reason, and choses his victims & venues at random?

Kate also has her own demons to tend with. The voice of her late husband, Chris has been 'in her head' since his death. This has given her some comfort, but for some reason, his voice has now left her and no matter how much she 'talks' to him, he won't answer her. She also wants to bring Superintendent John Dickson to task, as she suspects corruption within the force, and thinks that he is the one responsible for her husband's death.

I enjoyed all aspects of this book. Carol Wyer has created a great set of charaters, and I look forward to reading more from her.

The third book of the Kate Young series.

I loved the intensity of the plot. Kate is still struggling with finding out the truth while hunting down a deranged killer.

I must admit I enjoyed the policing part of the story more than Kate's personal crusade as, for me, that just seemed very repetitive.

On the whole I enjoy reading these books and it will be interesting to see what Kate does next.

I was a bit confused by the start and had to check if i was reading the right book but once I continued, I really started to enjoy it. I did like that we saw more than Kate’s background story this time and hope that is the same in the next book. I would like to thank the publishers and Netgalley for letting me have an early copy to read and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Unfortunately this is not a whodunit or even a whydunit as it is pretty obvious from very early in the book. Of course the police, specifically DI Kate Young’s small team, don’t know these things so you have to watch them flounder around trying to find a link between the victims when there really isn’t one!

A random series of people are being killed by a captive bolt stun gun like the ones often used in abattoirs. The deaths seem to have nothing in common except that they all occur in the early evening in kind of public places (but at this time these places are not very crowded). Soon a profiler is called in and eventually Kate starts to realise that maybe the killer is feeling a similar grief to her own.

Luckily this story had another plot line. Since Kate’s husband, Chris, died around a year ago she has been determined to seek justice for him and unmask the people behind a sex trafficking ring. Unfortunately she suspects that a senior officer, Superintendent John Dickson, is behind Chris’s death and a number of others. She suspects Dickson of being very corrupt and of killing anyone who gets close to exposing him. So of course she must proceed with the utmost caution. By now she is pretty strung out - trying to do her day job while secretly collecting information to unmask Dickson and his cronies. She doesn’t know who she can trust.

She has also been relying on Chris’s ‘voice’ to guide her actions but he has been silent of late. Is this because she is close to crossing a line she may not be able to uncross? Even though Kate is becoming slightly unhinged, the members of her small team are just delightful characters and try to look out for her. DS Morgan Meredith is a gentle giant and DS Emma Donaldson has her own demons so she understands grief. But it is young DC Jamie Webster that Kate suspects is reporting to Dickson so she must be careful around him.

Kate’s constant imploring Chris to ‘speak’ to her got a bit tiring. What saved the book for me was Wyer’s excellent writing, the cohesiveness of the plot and the excellent pacing. The characters also behaved logically and there were none of the silly heroics we see in some crime thrillers. It will be interesting to see where the author takes DI Young from here - if, indeed, the series is continued. Many thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Third book in the Kate Young series. She is still trying to investigate corruption of a certain person in the police force while also dealing with a new case in which several seemingly unconnected people have been murdered. I wasn't sure when I started this one if I would want to continue this series because I haven't really loved the plot with Dickson running through the books, but I liked this one better and I'll probably try another one after all. 3.5 stars rounded to 4

A Life for a Life starts out strong and never lets up.

Kate and her team ( love them all) are desperately trying to find out who is killing people it seems not only erratically but randomly.

It's tough to find a killer if you have no idea of the motive and when they will strike again.

In the meantime Kate is still trying to prove corruption in the police force and she is stretching herself very thin.

Kate can we talk? You are making me nervous.

The pages fly by as the team continues to find this monster.

Although this is book 3 in the Kate Young series you could easily read it as a stand alone but it will leave you wanting to go back to book one.

I am a huge fan of Carol Wyer, she is a great story teller that keeps me on the edge of my seat and by the end of the book, I could use a wine.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a nail biting read.

DI Kate Young is investigating the murder of a young man on a deserted railway platform. There is no motive and no suspects. Then another body is found, murdered in exactly the same way and then another. There is no connection between them and it seems like random shootings but why?
Kate is also dealing with suspected corruption in the force which is close to home but could the two be linked.?
This twists and turns and will keep you guessing to the end .