A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer

Blog tour: 29 June to 8 July 2021

Synopsis

DI Kate Young can’t trust anybody. Not even herself.

In the bleak countryside around Blithfield Reservoir, a serial murderer and rapist is leaving a trail of bloodshed. His savage calling card: the word ‘MINE’ carved into each of his victims.

DI Kate Young struggles to get the case moving – even when one of the team’s own investigators is found dead in a dumpster. But Kate is battling her own demons. Obsessed with exposing Superintendent John Dickson and convinced there’s a conspiracy running deep in the force, she no longer knows who to trust. Kate’s crusade has already cost her dearly. What will she lose next?

When her stepsister spills a long-buried secret, Kate realises she’s found the missing link—now she must prove it before the killer strikes again. With enemies closing in on all sides, she’s prepared to do whatever it takes to bring them down. But time is running out, and Kate’s past has pushed her to the very edge. Can she stop herself from falling?

My review

A Cut for a Cut is the second book in the Detective Kate Young series and after enjoying the first book, An Eye for an Eye, and taking part in the blog tour earlier this year, I was keen to read this one!

This book is set in Staffordshire, about four months after the first novel, and Kate is still determined to investigate her boss, Superintendent John Dickson, after all she learnt about him and the corruption in the force in her previous investigation.

When a woman is found dead in a waste bin in a restaurant car park in Abbots Bromley, Detective Inspector Kate Young and her small team of Detective Sergeant (DS) Emma Donaldson, 23, DS Morgan Meredith, 24, and Detective Constable (DC) Jamie Webster, 27, are tasked with discovering what happened to the unfortunate victim, who has the word ‘MINE’ cut into the flesh on her back.

Kate is still struggling after recent events involving her husband, Chris, and the appearance of her stepsister, Tilly, and her five-year-old son, Daniel, newly arrived from Australia, causes more turmoil in her life. She has a rather difficult relationship with Tilly due to her stepsister’s former husband, Jordan.

When a second body is found and it’s someone known to Kate and her team, the pressure on them to find the murderer intensifies. The investigation seems to be stalling and they struggle to find any links between the victims or locate many possible suspects or any useful witnesses. Yet again, Kate’s boss, Dickson, seems to want her to fail and enjoys putting obstacles in her path and making her life difficult. She’s also still suspicious of Detective Chief Inspector William Chase who isn’t very encouraging either.

Tilly is planning to move to Staffordshire permanently after tying up her affairs in Australia and she gets back in touch with some old friends from school in Uttoxeter and arranges a few dates too. With a killer on the loose, Kate warns her to be careful but, despite being attacked in the past, her stepsister isn’t too worried and takes some self-defence classes.

The police hit dead end after dead end and can’t connect any of the victims or their families or acquaintances and, unbeknown to the team, the killer is starting to get even more agitated and it’s only a matter of time before he attacks more women. Will Kate be able to work out the culprit and his motive before it’s too late?

I really enjoy police procedurals and this was another brilliant read from the author! The story is engaging, well plotted and tense – at times, I was shouting at various characters as they did daft things and put themselves in danger!

Kate is a strong character and despite the traumatic events of the past year, she manages to stay focused and determined, and she works well with her small team, getting the best from them in trying circumstances.

The storyline is gripping and, although the investigation is frustrating at times as the police don’t seem to be getting anywhere, I imagine it’s very reminiscent of real-life cases where they just need that lucky break to solve the crime. The book was cleverly written and well paced and there were some vital breakthroughs at key moments.

Overall, this was a very entertaining read and I read it in a day and didn’t want to put it down! There were some good twists and turns and I enjoyed trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. I didn’t make some of the connections and was surprised by how things turned out.

This series is developing well and I’m enjoying getting to know Kate Young and her small team and can’t wait for the next instalment!

Buy the book

A Cut for a Cut by Carol Wyer can be purchased from Amazon on Kindle and in paperback.

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 magazine, 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.

Twitter: @carolewyer
Facebook: @AuthorCarolEWyer
Instagram: @carolwyer
Website: www.carolwyer.co.uk
Blog: www.carolwyer.com
YouTube: @CarolEWyer

Blog tour

Thanks to Emma Welton at damppebbles blog tours for my digital copy of A Cut for a Cut and for my place on the blog tour.

See the banner below for more stops on the #blogtour.