Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Review - Behind Closed Doors

Title:   Behind Closed Doors 
Author:  Carol Wyer
Publisher:  Thomas & Mercer
Genre:   Mystery & Thrillers
Format:  Kindle ARC 
No. of Pages:   336
Date of Publication:   December 6, 2022
My Rating:   5 Stars

DESCRIPTION:

Two kidnappings, thirty years apart. Can Stacey face her own dark past in order to save her stepdaughter?

When Stacey’s ex-husband turns up on her doorstep begging her to help save his kidnapped thirteen-year-old daughter, Lyra, the terror is all too familiar. Stacey’s own violent kidnapping thirty years ago was never solved, and while a severe case of amnesia spares her from recalling the specific horrors, she remembers enough…

Stacey knows her father never paid the ransom—she has the missing pinkie finger to prove it. She knows she was only saved because of an anonymous tip-off to the police. And she knows her captor was never apprehended.

Lyra’s kidnappers have made it clear the police must not get involved. But Stacey can’t shake the eerie similarities between the two cases, and she’ll use whatever she can, from her journalistic powers to her shady contacts, to save Lyra from the same nightmare. Desperate to find any link between Lyra’s abduction and her own, Stacey forces herself to revisit her forgotten, traumatic past for clues.

But can she make sense of the terrible secrets she unearths in time to save Lyra? And if she does, is she ready to face her own tormentor?


MY THOUGHTS:

In this heart-wrenching book, Stacey is forced to relive the darkest period of her life. It had been thirty years, but being kidnapped as a teen is something she could never forget. Things get all too real when she shockingly discovers that her former stepdaughter Lyra has been kidnapped. Although no longer married to Lyra's father Jack, the bond Stacey has with Lyra is as strong as ever.

A half million pounds as well as no contact with the police and Jack just might get Lyra back safely. This message was delivered via a video that Jack has shared with Stacey. Jack is determined to cooperate by not calling the police as instructed, so he begs for Stacey to help him to gather the ransom amount and to try and find Lyra. Jack is banking on Stacey's past traumatic experiences as a way to get her to help him. Reluctantly, Stacey agrees, despite having very little time to follow instructions.

What a thrilling story! Although the two kidnap situations were decades apart, Stacey's experiences seemed as tentative and as shocking as Lyra's. It was impossible not to feel for both of them as they were hoping for rescue. I read this standalone thriller by Carol Wyer with bated breath. The intensity of the story, as well as the experiences Stacey endured throughout her life left me filled with compassion. If you want a book that will keep you reading late into the night, and also to want to hold your loved ones a bit tighter, look no further than Behind Closed Doors.

Many thanks to Carol Wyer, Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - 



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

USA Today
 bestselling author and winner of The People's Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

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