The Couple on Cedar Close by Anna-Lou Weatherley
(Detective Dan Riley #2)
(Detective Dan Riley #2)
Published by Bookouture
Publication Date 18 January 2019
Genre: Crime/Psychological Thriller
378 pages
A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Bookouture, for providing a review copy of this book. I suspected it would be good, but I was far more impressed than I expected.
Book Description:
One sunny August afternoon, the residents of Cedar Close throw their annual summer barbecue. Children play in the cherry-tree lined street, tables are laden with food, and the wine is flowing. For Laurie Mills, it’s her first time meeting the neighbours. And it’s the first time she discovers her husband Robert is having an affair.
Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live – a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and bad things don’t happen.
Until late one evening, when Robert Mills is found dead in his bedroom.
Downstairs, in their beautiful kitchen, his wife Laurie sits alone in the dark with her head in her hands.
She can’t remember the last few hours, but she knows she didn’t kill Robert.
The trouble is, no-one believes her…
An utterly gripping page-turner about the dark secrets that lie behind closed doors. Perfect for fans of JP Delaney’s The Girl Before and Gone Girl, The Couple on Cedar Close will keep you reading late into the night.
Cedar Close has always been a nice place to live – a quiet suburban street where everyone looks out for one another and bad things don’t happen.
Until late one evening, when Robert Mills is found dead in his bedroom.
Downstairs, in their beautiful kitchen, his wife Laurie sits alone in the dark with her head in her hands.
She can’t remember the last few hours, but she knows she didn’t kill Robert.
The trouble is, no-one believes her…
An utterly gripping page-turner about the dark secrets that lie behind closed doors. Perfect for fans of JP Delaney’s The Girl Before and Gone Girl, The Couple on Cedar Close will keep you reading late into the night.
My Review:
The Couple on Cedar Close was my final read of 2018, and wow! It saw the year out on a bombshell climax of an amazing read.
We meet Laurie Mills and her husband Robert at a street party for residents of Cedar Close - most of whom have never met Laurie before. We are not given an explanation of why this is until much later on, but we do find out that Robert is not the squeaky clean, loving husband he at first appears to be. Life for Laurie takes a nosedive later that night when she finds herself in the dark at home with her husband dead upstairs. She's covered in his blood, however she has no recollection of what has happened or why.
The book meanders its way through the various facts that the detectives discover by talking to those closest to the Mills - emotionally and physically. These snippets of possible evidence lead your thoughts one way then another as you initially suspect Laurie, then various other characters who appear to have motives for assisting his demise. At some points I felt great sympathy for Laurie and at others I felt she was quite a weak person, however nothing prepared me for the overall reveal of the story - where I had sort of come to a correct conclusion as to "whodunnit" the actual reveal raised an appreciative nod to the author for the impressive plotting and concealment throughout the whole book. What a curveball that was!
I hadn't realised when I picked up this book that there was a prequel and despite the fact that I now want to read the first in the series I did not feel I was missing any vital information ahead of the second book.
Definitely an author to look out for as I feel she has lots more of excellent writing just waiting for us to discover.
The Couple on Cedar Close was my final read of 2018, and wow! It saw the year out on a bombshell climax of an amazing read.
We meet Laurie Mills and her husband Robert at a street party for residents of Cedar Close - most of whom have never met Laurie before. We are not given an explanation of why this is until much later on, but we do find out that Robert is not the squeaky clean, loving husband he at first appears to be. Life for Laurie takes a nosedive later that night when she finds herself in the dark at home with her husband dead upstairs. She's covered in his blood, however she has no recollection of what has happened or why.
The book meanders its way through the various facts that the detectives discover by talking to those closest to the Mills - emotionally and physically. These snippets of possible evidence lead your thoughts one way then another as you initially suspect Laurie, then various other characters who appear to have motives for assisting his demise. At some points I felt great sympathy for Laurie and at others I felt she was quite a weak person, however nothing prepared me for the overall reveal of the story - where I had sort of come to a correct conclusion as to "whodunnit" the actual reveal raised an appreciative nod to the author for the impressive plotting and concealment throughout the whole book. What a curveball that was!
I hadn't realised when I picked up this book that there was a prequel and despite the fact that I now want to read the first in the series I did not feel I was missing any vital information ahead of the second book.
Definitely an author to look out for as I feel she has lots more of excellent writing just waiting for us to discover.
Buy your copy here: Amazon UK
Book One in the series:
There’s a letter on the floor covered with blood next to a heart-shaped box of chocolates. The note says: ‘My beautiful darling, I’m sorry, please forgive me.’When the body of a man 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 report confirms his worst fears – the victim was poisoned and suddenly Dan is dealing with a murder inquiry.
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?
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. 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.
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?
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. 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 individual who is much closer than he realises. Can he overcome his own demons and stop the killer before it’s too late?
Social Media Link: Twitter @annaloulondon
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