DI Natalie Ward series intertwines the lives of the investigating team members with the case that each book involves. There's not only the stress of the case, but their own lives as well and the reader gets to know about it all. The reader gets to know the characters and the interworkings of their lives while working a case. The reader gets to be the fifth member of the team, searching for clues and looking for hints as to who did, why and how. I never get tired of the adrenaline rush when everything stars falling into place. Carol Wyer has a series that anyone could become a fan of and everyone should read.

A riveting and remarkable read!

This was my first encounter with Detective Natalie Ward and her team but their characters were so well polished by Carol Wyer that I didn't feel I was missing out on anything that had gone on before. If, like me, you started out expecting The Sleepover to be simply a thriller based on an attempt find a missing girl, you'd be wrong, as it was so much more than that. There were so many dead ends, red herrings and false leads to make sure that the reader did not guess the killer's identity before the author was ready for the revelation. The pace was relentless, the narrative riveting and as the story unfolded, I was submerged in a tangled web of lies, secrets and deceit, suffering from tension and shocks that held me in a vice-like grip of just-one-more-page syndrome! I loved that Carol Wyer was able to create the perfect balance between developing really solid characters and such a complex, multi-layered whodunit.

I read a fair few thrillers and this one is right up there with my other favourites. I have no hesitation in giving this first-rate thriller five wonderful stars. I can't wait to read the other books in this series, and more, from Carol Wyer. Any reader who favours complex police procedural thrillers will absolutely delight in this book and I can't recommend it highly enough.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bookouture via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Cathy isn't too worried when her 14-year-old daughter, Roxie, leaves to spend the night with her best friend. She still wasn't worried when she did not come home the next morning.

She and Roxie had had an argument before she agreed for her to spend the night away. She truly regrets that decision when Detective Natalie Ward knocks on her door and informs her that Roxie was found murdered in an expensive home across town. Owned by two brothers, the house was set afire.

Why was Roxie there? No one in the family seems to know these two brothers ..and they deny knowing what she was doing in their house. None of her friends can tell the police anything .. or they don't want to.

When investigating, Natalie finds a second victim..and then a third ... 2 uncooperative suspects .... a 3rd suspect with an attitude... and many people harboring secrets.

This is a well-written complex story filled with an unending list of suspects. The story moves at a rapidly moving pace with memorable characters. I like the blend of professional and personal as Natalie ponders her marriage and her attraction to another man .. a colleague. Although 4th in a series, this is easily read as a stand alone, but as usual I do recommend starting at the beginning.

Many thanks to the author / Bookouture / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

Carol Wyer has done it again folks! The Sleepover is a great addition to the DI Natalie Ward series and I loved every second. The investigation moves slowly at first as the team have limited leads but Wyer is so clever as the little details I thought didn't mean anything played a significant part in the mystery. There are so many strands to this plot, but I never felt like I was being overloaded and I felt they came together brilliantly.

Wyer is fantastic at creating characters. Even though The Sleepover is the fourth book in the series, I still feel heavily invested in the fortunes of Natalie and her team. I can't wait to meet Lucy's baby Spud and Natalie's family also play an important role in the novel. The minor characters, the suspects and victims are also described in immaculate detail and this drew me into the investigation even further as I tried (and failed) to figure out what had happened.

Yet again, Carol Wyer sets us up perfectly at the end for the next book in the series and I want to know what happens next!

Overall: It’s kind of predictable now with Carol Wyer’s books ... we know they are just going to be so freakin’ awesome! No exception with her latest novel, The Sleepover, cantering around the latest case for DI Natalie ward!

Boy OH boyyy.. does this one keep us on our toes! It’s got some ‘will they, won’t they ‘ factor along with a new gruesome case for Natalie and team to sink their teeth into. LOVED IT!

I love uncovering a little more about each of the characters throughout the books. They now feel SO real, I just can’t wait for the next instalment 😬😬😬

I can't even tell you how incredibly gripping The Sleepover is! So fast paced and compelling, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Carol Wyer is a master storyteller, her characters draw you in to their lives and make you feel for them. Whether you love them or hate them, you feel for them. Not many other authors that I have read has quite the same skill. Natalie Ward is a phenomenal character. She's strong and caring and I always cheer for her.

The twists and turns in this story had me guessing right until the end and I really thought I had it figured out several times, only to be proven wrong.

Great storytelling, a gripping plot, wonderful characters and smooth dialogue made this a brilliant read from one of my favourite authors!

Having read the first book in the series I did have some background but can honestly say reading book 4 in the series did not detract - the plot itself does not suffer as a stand alone. Natalie Ward and her family problems are missing but it does not detract in the slightest. The investigation starts with a charred body found in a house that has been deliberately burnt down and the investigation starts from there with twists and turns that keeps the reader well engaged while the team track down witnesses and sift through their information to find out who is lying and who is not telling the whole truth.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Carol Wyer/Bookouture for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for the advance copy of The Sleepover by Carol Wyer in exchange for an honest review. This was a great thriller. Fourteen-year-old Roxy tells her mom she is having a sleepover with her best friend and the next day she is found dead in a home across town. The big question is why was Roxy in that home? The investigation is a difficult one and only becomes more frustrating with continued twists and suspects that withhold information. This book will not disappoint.

I can't believe we are at book 4 in this epic series. This is a series I've really enjoyed reading. Working for Staffordshire Police Detective Natalie Ward and her team are called to a missing girls home. Roxy was alleged having a sleepover at a friends house, it appears now that the sleepover never happened, and Roxy is missing.
It soon becomes clear that the body of Roxy is found in a home a few miles away. What was Roxy doing there, why had she lied about where she was going?
It's down to the team to investigate, but this isn't going to be an easy straight forward investigation.
This really is a series I've loved following Carol Wyer can certainly write a book that has you gripped from the early pages. Her books drag you in and keep you reading. I loved the twists and the turns that this book gave us.
This is certainly another 5 star read and I have no problems in recommending not only this book but the whole series. Personally I would advise that you read this series in order. That is just my personal point of view as it could be read alone. I think you get more enjoyment of knowing the back history of the characters when you read a series from the beginning and with Natalie's personal life featuring a lot I think it helps have a better understanding of the person.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Sleepover, the fourth novel to feature DI Natalie Ward of the Staffordshire police.

The investigation into a house fire uncovers a body. She is soon identified as 14 year old Roxie Curtis and with the homeowners denying all knowledge of her Natalie and the team have a mystery on their hands. To make matters worse no one is revealing all they know and as the team struggle to uncover the truth the mystery deepens further when Roxie’s mother, Cathy, disappears.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Sleepover which is an absorbing read with plenty of twists and turns. It does, however, rely on a series of improbable coincidences and unrevealed personal connections that are teased out as the novel progresses. These give the novel a certain unreality but are well done so I’m not sure if it really matters. It is all about the investigation rather than action scenes so it concentrates on untangling all the lies and half truths they are being told. It is quite compulsive as the team continually re-interview their witnesses/suspects to get at the real story and the hidden secrets.

The novel is told from various points of view but as none of them is the killer’s this is very enjoyable, giving the reader a rounder picture of events. Mainly it is told from Natalie’s viewpoint and mixes the investigation with her domestic problems. How she manages not only to maintain her focus but progress the investigation is admirable. She has fallen out of love with her husband, David, due to his lying about his gambling addiction and the relationship is getting rockier by the day. I find it fascinating how David justifies his behaviour to himself. He’s not a bad man, just weak and self pitying.

The Sleepover is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

This series just keeps getting better and better. Obviously usual series rules apply - start at book one yadda yadda - but the main story is self contained and can be read on its own at a push but, if you do, you'll be missing out on three cracking reads...
14yo Roxy is off for a sleepover with her best friend Ellie. This is nothing out of the ordinary as the two girls are never far apart from each other. Mother Cathy has no reason to suspect any different this time even if they have just had a few words, so believes her. This is a decision that will haunt her for the rest of her days as, next day, Roxy is found dead in a house fire miles away from home. The house in which she is found is jointly owned by two brothers who also own and run a nightclub, where they say they were when the fire broke out. On first look, there is no connection between them and Roxy. So why was she there and what happened? Enter Det Natalie Ward and her team to investigate. First in her sights are Roxy's family and it soon becomes evident that all is not as rosy there as it could/should be. And then there are Roxy's brothers and step-dad... what part did they have to play in all this, if anything? As they flounder around with all the secrets and lies being flung around, the stakes suddenly get a whole lot higher as Cathy disappears...
Oh My! This one had me running about chasing my own tail along with Natalie and the rest of the investigators. I really didn't have a clue how all the pieces came together. But they did - and it was brilliant! There was so much going on but it was all just normal stuff, nothing contrived for the story - just average people with flaws and pasts. All of which made it very hard to work out who was lying. It didn't help that certain information was withheld for other reasons. Again, true to life.
Natalie's personal life is still, well, almost as complex as some of the cases she faces at work. As a series, we do need to get to know the main characters but their ongoing lives should never overshadow the main story being told in the current book. Here the author gets the balance perfectly and I didn't feel that the problems that Wards were facing distracted me. It all just makes Natalie more real.
All in all a great addition to an already fabby series. Roll on book five! My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Wow! Nail biting type of book where you cannot put down! Make sure your day is clear for you will not want to stop reading this one! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars for this one! Thank you Book Outure and Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. In the 4th installment of the Natalie Ward series, a teenage girl is found burned beyond recognition. Like all of the books in this series, Natalie Ward and her team work together to figure out what has happened to the poor girl. The Sleepover has many twists and turns throughout the book and was an enjoyable read. I really enjoyed the development of relationship between Mike and Natalie as I feel he is a much better fit for Natalie. I also enjoyed the storyline and felt the ending was a good surprise. The only thing I did not like about this one was the predictable behavior of Josh and David. But I think that mainly stems from my dislike of both these characters.

I think most people know by now I'm a fan of Carol Wyer's books, as her detective thrillers seem to be a guarantee for an entertaining and thrilling ride. I still might prefer Robyn Carter a tiny bit more, but there is no doubt that Natalie Ward is a worthy contender. The Sleepover is already the fourth meeting with detective Natalie Ward and she is really growing on me despite initial reservations. I like the way she handles the investigations as well as the interactions with the rest of her team... I think this team work in general is what really makes the books work for me. The Sleepover is fast, thrilling and entertaining; without doubt another excellent addition to the series.The writing and plot development are more than solid and make it really easy to fly through this fourth installment. The plot will grab you straight away, and with its many twists, secrets and surprises you will find it difficult to stop reading before you discover the truth about it all. More and more secrets and lies are slowly untangled, still leaving you with more questions than answers as you try to solve the puzzle along with Natalie Ward and her team. It makes for an engaging and compelling read, and any fan of the detective thriller genre will have a great time reading it. Natalie's personal story evolved a lot this time around as well, and I really hope she will stick with her final decision in the next book... Fingers crossed!

Thank you to Net Galley, the publishers and to the author Carol Wyer for an ARC copy for an honest review.

When Detective Natalie Ward is called to the home of fourteen-year-old Roxy Curtis she can’t help but empathise with Roxy’s distraught mother Cathy. Roxy hasn’t come home, last seen heading next door for a sleepover with her best friend Ellie. As the mother of two teenagers herself, Natalie knows that this is every parent’s worst nightmare.

But when Roxy’s body is found in the basement of a beautiful Victorian mansion on the other side of town, Natalie’s darkest fears are confirmed. What was Roxy doing there? The people who knew her best should know – but Cathy seems evasive, and Ellie refuses to talk. Natalie is determined to find out what secrets they are keeping…

Then Roxy’s mother Cathy disappears.

When her body is found two days later, Natalie is forced to face the fact that Roxy’s loved ones are in real danger. Things take a more sinister turn when Ellie vanishes, her mobile phone switched off. Is Ellie hiding something about the night Roxy died that could put her in terrible danger? And can Natalie work it out before another innocent life is taken?

I think it’s the best yet of the Natalie Ward series and can’t wait to read number 5 in the series.

The question which is the best series and character... DI Robyn Carter or DI Natalie Ward ?

Gripping, and tense and filled with frustration as the team have a collection of really nasty characters, shocks coming all the way at the end.

As mentioned before a great author, along other favourites Karin Slaughter, Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza, Mel Sherratt, Clare Mackintosh.

I really enjoy the Detective Natalie Ward series and this was tense and fast paced. When the body of 14 year old Roxy is found in a burned out house, Natalie is called to investigate. Roxy's mum Cathy disappears soon after and Natalie looks at the family to find the person responsible. Was it the stepfather or one of Roxy's brothers? Natalie's personal life is troubled with the growing divide between her and husband Paul and the author gives more insight into this side of Natalie's life. Some great characters, a gripping plot and plenty twists makes this a very good read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy..

Omg! This is my absolute favourite book of all time! 5 stars! I loved it!

Looking forward to read more book series from this author soon...

I was a little skeptical at first when reading this because I've read so many like it but I was blown away. So many twists and turns that kept me guessing and proven wrong. The story was well written and the characters were likeable. I'll be reading more from this author starting with the previous books.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In a very short time Carol Wyer has moved onto book 4 in the Detective Natalie Ward series and The Sleepover is another very enjoyable and well paced police procedural with many twists and turns.

The story starts with a body being found in a house fire and Natalie and her team face a number of obstacles with trying to identify the who and why etc.

This series is a solid one and I have enjoyed all the books so far with The Sleepover definitely recommended

When I first began the Natalie Ward series, I wasn't sure what I made of her. Incidentally, I did begin at the second book "Last Lullaby" and still have yet to read the first one "The Birthday" . However, as each book progressed, so has the backstory surrounding Natalie and her family. And boy, is it getting interesting now!

THE SLEEPOVER is the fourth outing featuring the no-nonsense DI Natalie Ward and is a riveting thriller from start to finish. Faced with a tough and complex case involving a suspicious house fire and the death of a 14 year old girl, Natalie continues to juggle her professional life whilst her personal one is falling apart.

When 14 year old Roxanne Curtis rows with her mum Cathy over a boy, she decides to play pull the wool over her eyes and tell her she's off for a sleepover with her best friend Ellie. The girls are neighbours and have grown up together, so her mum doesn't question it, as the girls are often in and out each other's homes every day. But little does Cathy know that Roxy is lying and has other plans...or that it will be the last time she sees her daughter alive. With everyone out for the evening, Cathy puts her feet up and looks forward to a quiet night in.

In the early hours of the morning, DI Natalie Ward is called out to a suspicious house fire in an affluent part of town where the charred remains of a body is found. Forensics are already on the scene as fire investigators begin looking into what caused the blaze.

Then the body is identified as 14 year old Roxy Curtis. But what was she doing in a Victorian mansion on the exclusive Linnet Lane? A far cry from the crime-infested Stockwell estate where she lives with her mother, stepfather and two brothers. And what connection did she have to Gavin and Kirk Lang who owned the incinerated house in which she was found?

Determined to get to the bottom of why Roxy was there when she was meant to be on a sleepover with her best friend, Natalie and her team begin the task of tracking down suspects and connecting the dots. When it is discovered that Roxy had been admitted to hospital with some unusually suspicious injuries in the past, they begin to look closely at her stepfather Paul and her three brothers Charlie (17), Seth (18) and Oliver (21).

However, if there is one person teenage girls confide in, it's their best friend. So Natalie tasks DS Lucy Carmichael with trying to crack Ellie who is being somewhat evasive and is obviously hiding something. But Ellie hadn't counted on feisty little 5 year old Boo who spills a few tidbits Lucy's way and it is with these bits of information she can use to coax the truth from Roxy's tight-lipped friend.

Natalie becomes increasingly frustrated as it's clear everyone involved is either lying or holding back important information. And if there is one thing Natalie hates - it's lying.

Then Roxy's mother Cathy disappears.

When another body is found the following day in the canal at the end of Linnet Lane, close to where Roxy died, the team are shocked to discover it is Cathy. Then it is revealed that she didn't drown but was strangled and the investigation takes on an even greater importance as Natalie widens the net and her list of suspects. So what was Cathy doing there and why was she killed?

As Natalie and her team delve further into the investigation they appear to find more questions than answers...and no way of connecting anyone to either crime. The Lang brothers were not universally liked but neither, as it appears, were Roxy's brothers, Seth and Charlie. Was the Lang's property targeted and Roxy just collateral damage? Or did the Langs try to pull an insurance scam? Did the Curtis brothers play a part? But how did Cathy's murder figure in?

Then another body is found - an apparent suicide - who was known to the Curtis' and a friend of Roxy and Ellie's. What did this boy have to hide? It seems the focus should be closer to home. Can Lucy finally get Ellie to talk at last?

Meanwhile on the home front, Natalie has some problems of her own. Her husband David had been made redundant some time ago and found comfort in online gambling. Unfortunately, he ended up gambling away most of their savings and even took out a loan - which he also lost. Promising Natalie that he'd quit, the two are barely speaking as he continues to struggle with his addiction and hiding it from Natalie. She's warned him time and time again that she will not tolerate lying.

Added to that are her teenage children. Leigh is 14 and just a couple of months ago, amidst a case involving missing teenage girls, she ran away leaving Natalie frantic that her daughter had fallen victim to the killer targeting teenagers in an online dare. Leigh was found unharmed but Natalie and David were growing further apart. Now Natalie's 16 year old son Josh has just completed his exams and preparing to enter sixth form but lately has become increasingly uncommunicative and even argumentative. He is sullen and silent, playing games online till all hours and sleeping all day. When he disappears one night while David drinks himself to oblivion, Natalie is furious that she must pick up the pieces once again. With her colleague Mike's help she tracks down her errant son.

Over the series we have learnt that Natalie had a brief affair with Mike and we are privy to the fact that she still struggles with those feelings. Aside from being colleagues - Mike works in forensics - he is also her husband David's best friend. After finding Josh and his friend at a rave, the boys are now asleep in the back of her car, Mike and Natalie quietly share a moment. But she's warned David time and time again that she will not tolerate lying...so what will she do when David discovers the secret she harbours?

A tense, fast-paced thriller THE SLEEPOVER had me turning the pages long into the night and I could not discover the truth quick enough. Waiting for Book 5 is not going to be easy...lol

THE SLEEPOVER is one of the best yet in this series - complex, intriguing and riveting. It keeps you guessing right to the end with all the possible suspects. But it doesn't stop there...

If you love crime fiction, particularly police procedurals, then the Natalie Ward series is a must! Through each book you will watch each character grow that when you pick up the next book, they will all be like old friends. And yet we are still teased with tidbits from Natalie's past with her estranged sister and why she finds lies so hard to forgive.

I thoroughly recommend THE SLEEPOVER but advise you start from the beginning to get the full picture of Natalie's personal life and the tie-ins with the cases she has investigated. It will give you a greater appreciation and understanding.

Now...bring on Book 5!

I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheSleepover in exchange for an honest review.