Secrets of the Dead: Detective Robyn Carter Crime Thriller Series, Book 2

Detective Inspector Tom Shearer, arrogant and smug, transferred from Derbyshire into DI Robyn Carter’s district. His latest case was a man named Miles Ashbrook who was found dead of a heart attack in the sauna at Bromley Hall where Ashbrook was the manager. The case was closed with the death deemed non-suspicious, but someone Detective Inspector Robyn Carter knows asked her to look into the situation because she has reason to suspect foul play.Robyn is more than happy to look into the case, as she would love to bring DI Shearer down a notch or two. He goes to their boss to complain, however, and Robyn is told to drop the pursuit of the case.When a bartender is found murdered with a receipt in his hand stating that his $250,000 debt has been paid in full, Robyn and her team begin searching for any clues about what debt the man could have owed.Several days later a woman, with seemingly no ties to the bartender, is found dead in her bathtub with the same message left behind.When a connection is finally made, Bromley Hall is back in Robyn’s scope as past events there may very well be the link between her two murdered victims. She now has more reason than ever to wonder about Miles Ashbrook’s death.The first book in the series, Little Girl Lost (click here for my review) DI Robyn Carter is just beginning to come to terms with the death of her fiancé and nearly a year later she is still having a tough go of it. She still keeps Ross Cunningham busy helping her out, and dealing with DI Shearer on a regular basis could try anyone’s nerves.Another solidly good story by Carol Wyer and one that leaves me very interested in the next case that comes Carter’s way. I’ve actually already purchased them and they are hanging on my Kindle patiently waiting their turn!

While Robyn is at the gym, an acquaintance tells her she needs to talk to her about a man named Miles Ashbrook. The woman tell Robyn that she thinks he may have been murdered. Robyn has heard the name from the detective assigned to the case, a man she has little respect for. She explains why she believes as she does and Robyn decides to tell Detective Shearer what she was told. He gets mad and goes whining to the boss. Robyn gets orders to not interfere with his case.Robyn Carter and her team find themselves involved in the investigation of the murder of Rory Wallis, the bartender at a lower class pub. Rory has his throat cut and a typed receipt for a two hundred fifty thousand pound note. Someone had written across it "Paid in Full".Two days later there is another murder. A young mother is found with a receipt just like the one found with the bar man's body.Carter is convinced that Miles Ashbrook's death is somehow connected to the case she is investigating but since she has been told to keep out of that investigation, she calls in her cousin, Ross.There are more murders and twists and turns that will keep you on "pins and needles " until the end. Carol Wyer is a great mystery writer. Looking forward to the next one in this series.

This well-plotted British police procedural features an intelligent and strong protagonist, DI Robyn Carter, who often goes with her gut-feelings—to the dismay of her supervisor. I enjoyed all the detective characters, but had difficulty empathizing with several secondary characters.The main storyline is about a serial killer whose victims seem unconnected, and the subplot is about DI Carter’s secretive, parallel investigation into an accidental death, which she believes is a murder.The story is told mostly via POVs of DI Carter and several secondary characters. From about the 25% mark, the murderer’s POV is introduced, and at times, the murderer seemed to receive too much focus, especially because his sections had many flashbacks to childhood.The weakness of this book—and I seem to find this more in British police procedurals—is the number of secondary and tertiary characters cluttering the story. Yes, I know it helps the author obscure the murderer’s identity, but in this book, it didn’t help. I guessed the culprit very early in the story, so that was a let-down. I did read on to follow DI Carter and her team of detectives to case resolution.

But, it was too drawn lot I think! Too wordy maybe. It had all the twists and turns, it head suspense. If had no feel of emotion, so it makes head for me to get invested in the characters. Doing get me wrong, its well written, has a good plot. If just left me feeling flat I guess. But not enough to deter me from dragging the next bok in the series.

Very intriguing and keeps you wanting to read more. Can't wait to read the next book in the series about DI Carter.

Detective Inspector Robyn Carter is back on the scene when spa manager Miles Ashbrook is found dead in a sauna. It is assumed that it is because of a heart attack. She is pulled off the case by her superior. She then turns her cousin Ross, a private investigator, onto it as she believes that it was not a simple heart attack and that foul play was involved. Then there are other murders with an apparent connection. She is on that case now.Secrets of the Dead is a fast-paced thriller as Robyn races to stop this killer, because, as his pattern is identified, there are other people that will die. I often felt as if I were part of Robyn's team in trying to identify the killer. Carol Wyer definitely kept me entertained. Now, I am gladly onto Book 3 in this excellent series, as I purchased the entire set

Now when I read the first book in this series, Little Girl Lost, I was really taken by Robyn Carter, her team and her cousin Ross and also by the brilliant and twisted way in which Carol Wyer spun her tale. The opening of the last book was tense and a little uncomfortable. It remained to be seen whether this new book could capture just a fraction of that tension again.Didn’t have to wait long for the answer to that one… A resounding yes. Lordy this woman doesn’t take it easy on her victims. First up we have one red hot corpse, but it is unclear if this is the victim of foul play, a suicide or simply an accident. DI Shearer seems convinced of the latter but after a chance conversation with one of the victims friends, Robyn Carter just isn’t sure. The problem is that this isn’t her case and to investigate it would risk the wrath of not only Shearer but also DCI Mulholland.It isn’t long before Robyn has her own suspicious death to worry about though, a murder scene at which a rather strange clue is left behind by the killer. When a second body is found with a completely different M.O. but the same clue left behind by the killer it is clear there is a serial killer at play here but Robyn has no idea of their end game. When the the team link the victims back to the same spa where Shearer’s victim was found, Robyn is more convinced than ever that something is not right but also that more people may be targets for the killer the press have branded the Lichfield Leopard.This is one twisted book, the murders all different, all individually brutal and all the results of a very disturbed mind. The pacing is fast but not frantic and the continued development of the team’s characters is a delight to see unfold upon the page. Robyn Carter is a brilliant character, still affected by her partners death a few years before, but not so much so that she cannot function. She is determined and feisty and never going to win at office politics, but you find yourself respecting her all the more for it.The perspective follows the investigative team for the most part, but we are also treated to some scenes in which we are with the killer, scenes in which his memories take us back to a time that serves as the precursor to and ultimately the reason for the murders. This is clearly someone with a very disturbed mind. He is creepy and unnerving and so very cleverly hidden that it will take some time to work out just who it is. But as the reason for the murders became clear, I was left wondering just how each new victim might be dispatched. That expectation, anticipation even, certainly kept me on the edge of my seat.I don’t think this kept quite the same psychological edge as the first book in the series but it was no poorer for it. While I could feel a little empathy for the killer in book one, I had no such feelings towards this killer. The victims were slightly more sympathetic but you don’t get as much time to get to know them so their deaths perhaps don’t cut as deep as they could. That said, it was a clear challenge to Robyn and the team to find any reasoning behind the murders and it was this angle, the investigation and the development of the team, which really drew me in.I read this in one afternoon, it was that kind of a book. I am really growing to like Anna, Mitz, Matt, heck even Shearer to a point, and I am keen to read more about the team. The development of setting, the broad range of towns and landscapes around Staffordshire really adds to the story for me. Being a relatively local lass, it makes me smile to read of towns just a stones throw from me, and it adds to the book in a way, that such murders could take place in such a rural location. It almost makes it even more shocking that the tranquillity of the spa environment could be disturbed by such brutality and yet it just seems to work. And work well. Can’t wait to see what is next for the team.

This was a tough case for Robyn to get her head around. With a case at the beginning of the book leading her down the wrong garden path and then being hauled over the coals and told to back off from a murder Vic, things are not going too peachy for Robyn.People dying in mysterious ways, all linked by an invoice, the invoice doesn’t say what it is for, just that it’s paid in full. The first two murders happen in quick succession you don’t get a chance to draw breath. Truly terrifying is someone who doesn’t even think twice of killing someone in their home, leaving a 4-year-old without a parent! Awful, just awful.After these two deaths, things go a bit quiet and we watch Robyn trying to solve them, figuring out how they are linked and if they are linked to the first Vic she was backed off from. A few red herrings, which makes things more exciting as you think you are close to something only to find yourself taking two steps backs.Robyn is under a lot of pressure this time to solve things from her boss. Threats of being taken off the case and the lack of sleep somehow helps to drive Robyn to find out who the Litchfield Leopard is!The chapters from the murderer are cold, he is obsessed and very much stalkerish. He waits for the woman every day without fail, but he isn’t as discreet as he thinks he is, no stealth here!I love the setting of Staffordshire, as I knew some of these places from when I lived in the area, so I could picture them as Carol has written them. Plus who doesn’t love the reference of Watford Gap, even though it has nothing to do with Watford.Carol has created such a driven and loyal character with Robyn. She is slowly showing more of her colours, her world is slowing coming back into focus and with colour. I feel Robyn is on her way back to us, Davis will always be a part of her but she’s learning to live again and hopefully, Trisha will be around in the next few books as I feel she could be a true friend.Always lovely to see Ross and Jeanette and did chuckle at their time in the spa! I finally feel I have got to grips with the team, Matt, Anna and Mitz, they are a solid team and I do love that they do question Robyn and her actions and not just go with it because she asks. I was completely stumped with this book, I didn’t even know where to begin with my suspects so I just didn’t bother and let Robyn do all the hard work with her team. Adding a countdown for the Leopard to work with was clever, the Leopard became sloppy and things tend to go wrong then. Not the cleverest soul, but the retribution is all they are after. A closure of sorts and the ending they so believe they are going to get, a small part of you felt a bit sorry for the Leopard.A tough case for Robyn, but it would be a Robyn if she didn’t solve it. We didn’t have any dramatic storylines carrying over, so I can relax easy and take a breath. However, I fear that the cases are just going to get tougher and tougher.Carol has won me over with Robyn, she has written stories that have kept me hooked from the get-go, a kickass lead who will not stop, and riveting storylines to keep you up all night, just so we can rest when Robyn does. Looking forward to my next adventure!

I found this to be a wonderfully crafted Crime Thriller and one that is managing to step away from the so familiar tropes prevalent in the genre. Rather than being all about a maverick detective, in this case Robyn Carter, it is about the team work of Robyn, Mitz and Anna in trying to join the dots between a series of murders and narrow in on the culprit. There are the usual red herrings but these are laid in such a way that they seem entirely plausible and based off leads given by the public rather than an interior hunch. To be honest it was a refreshingly straight forward police procedural where the reader gets the information at the same time as the police.We do follow the standard of having segments told by the killer. Whilst they give us the understanding of who he is targetting and why the author has managed to steer clear of giving us so much information that we know who the killer is. We know some of his family situation and that he works but not where; we know his sister and that he lives alone. Beyond this his identity only becomes clear to us about 3 pages before Anna figures it out. Thats right, the real discovery that leads to his naming and capture is not the detective but her subordinate.I will admit to being hesitant about purchasing any further books in the Robyn Carter series as the first one I found a bit too patchy in its telling. I am very glad that I decided to persevere as I thoroughly enjoyed this second book. You don't need to read the first to engage with the characters and no mention is made of the first crime so my recommendation would be skip Little Girl Lost and jump straight to this one as Carol Wyer has honed her talent for telling a story and weaving a believable plot.

I’m delighted I found the time to read the DI Robyn Carter series by Carol Wyer. They seem to be getting better and better.We now know Robyn and her past, so this didn’t need to be belaboured in the 2nd book, and it wasn’t. We simply get character development which is precisely what was required. You really feel as if you are getting to know her and how she works.This story is particularly gruesome; I do wonder about the mind of Wyer for coming up with some of the murders. Scarily, she sort of explains herself in the ‘Author’s Note’ at the end. I’m not sure if knowing how she comes up with her ideas is a good or bad thing.The book really keeps you in suspense the whole way through. You have no idea who the killer is until the author is ready to reveal it. I was hooked to the page waiting to find out.This book was a lot more structured than the first and was better put together. I really could just settle down and immerse myself in the story.I’m really enjoying this series and am chomping at the bit to start reading book three.

Took me awhile to get into this one. It was a good read but the beginning there seemed to be so much going on it was being a bit confusing but i carried on. It was worth it I the end