A Cut for a Cut (Detective Kate Young Book 2)

I have been a fan of Carol’s for a while now. I haven’t quite caught up with everything that she has written to date but I am getting there. I especially love the series featuring Detective Inspector Kate Young. ‘A Cut For A Cut’ is the second book in the series and it was released on 29th June 2021. Carol has done it again and ‘A Cut For A Cut’ is another corker of a read, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading but more about that in a bit.I love the character of Detective Inspector Kate Young and I warmed to her from the very start. In fact it didn’t take me long to feel as though I had been reunited with an old friend in Kate. Kate has certainly been through the emotional wringer and then some. She lost her husband and she is trying to build a new life for herself. Kate also ‘talks’ to her husband as if he is standing or sitting beside her. She has conversations with him but inside her head. I could totally empathise with her in this respect as I do the same. I didn’t lose a husband but my Dad died some years ago and I still talk to him in my head as if he could hear me and reply. Anyway back to Kate. Kate is determined to track down the killers of her husband and ensure that justice is done. She knows she is being lied to by her superiors and she is determined to uncover the truth. As well as her issues in her personal life, she also has to deal with an intriguing murder case which is handed to her very small team. Will Kate see justice done? Will Kate apprehend the murderer before any further lives are lost? Well for the answers to those questions and so much more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out as I am not going to tell you.As is often the case when I read one of Carol’s books, the synopsis grabbed my attention and Carol reeled me in much as a fisherman reels in a catch. From then on, I squirrelled myself away and I didn’t re-emerge until the moment I read the very last word on the very last page. To say that reading ‘A Cut For A Cut’ became addictive is a huge understatement. I would pick the book up only intending to read a chapter or two to fill in half an hour but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there reading over two hours and many chapters later. If I didn’t have the book in my hand, I would be thinking about the book. If I had to put the book down for any reason then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. I found ‘A Cut For A Cut’ to be a gripping and an unputdownable page turner of a read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.‘A Cut For A Cut’ is superbly written but then that is true of all of Carol’s books that I have had the pleasure of reading and reviewing to date. She certainly knows how to craft one hell of a story that will take you on one hell of a journey that will open your eyes to just how evil some people really are. Reading ‘A Cut For A Cut’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns to it than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board. Just when you think that you can take a minute to catch your breath and gather your thoughts then off the action would go again.In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single minute of ‘A Cut For A Cut’ and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Carol’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Ms. Wyer has good plots in these two books. I think she is still honing her craft, and once she can get characters and relationships drawn a little better, and dialogue more realistic she will be unstoppable!

This book kept my attention from start to finish. I do love a good murder mystery

Kate is getting closer to solving who was behind the death of her husband. Her mental health is still a concern but she is determined to get to the truth. This book, second in the series, is edge of your seat reading, and again I’m on an emotional roller coaster. Highly recommended.

This is the second book in the D.I. Kate Young series and am looking forward to the next book in the series. A good Police Thriller.

If there is one thing you can guarantee when picking up a thriller by Carol Wyer, it's that you are about to go on one hell of a bumpy ride. A Cut For A Cut is book two in her Kate Young series, and is a tense, high stakes read which kept me completely rapt. This isn't your straight forward police thriller, at last Kate is not your average Detective Inspector, for reasons that become apparent in the reading, but with a mixture of mystery, heart thumping action and a more than generous dose of conspiracy and corruption, the stories really do stick in your mind long after the final page.

This time around we find Kate and her very select team on the hunt of a vicious serial rapist and murderer. Whilst we are never present during the act itself, the repercussions are keenly felt, and the abhorrent nature of the acts is clear from the reactions of the team and the emotional impact on the families. this case has a personal connotation for Kate too, bringing her far too close to memories from the past. You feel the frustrations of the team as they hunt down their suspect, and the tension that builds between them adds to the jeopardy that is already inherent in the story. The narrative focus moves between the investigation, Kate's personal life and, to a more sinister degree, the point of view of the killer, whose own motivations start to become clearer the more you read and progressively more disturbing too. There are scenes which will make you uncomfortable - they should - but they are not over stressed or used to gratuitous effect, just to explain, but not excuse, what comes to be.

Now for many reasons, one of which being you will miss a good book otherwise, I would definitely recommend that you read book one before venturing further into Kate's world. There are threads in this story which begin with An Eye For an Eye and whilst this is a self contained story, and enough of the background to Kate and her investigations is revealed, it will mean so much more read in order. There is a secondary element to this story, one which is extremely personal to Kate, but one which also needs to be followed carefully to allow you to draw your own conclusions and fully understand the implications of what is going on. It's interesting to see Kate's reactions, torn between what is right and discovering the truth.

As always Carol Wyer has created some brilliant characters. Kate Young has a few, how should I put it, unusual character quirks that might make your brows furrow a touch, but they do really ring true and I can picture someone with the intensity of emotions that she feels acting in this way. I don't think we got to know as much about her immediate team this time around, much of the focus falling on the relationship between Kate and her estranged sister, but each of their personalities still shone through and I had a clear and vivid picture of each in my head as I read. The pacing is just right, the tension and anxiety building as we know an attack is imminent, the bits that remain unsaid about the killers motivations playing out in my head making me more intent to get to the end to be proven right (or possibly wrong ...) 

A tense, gripping read that left me with a whole host of unanswered question and a real hunger for the next book in the series. Definitely recommended.

As I was reading this I felt like I could have wrote it myself! It was so predictable! Stepsister returns from Australia still traumatised from a vicious sexual assault some years previous but quickly enjoys some flirtatious dates knowing full well there is a sadistic killer on the loose, said stepsister begs her policewoman stepsister not to drag her name into the investigation and she will text said killer to ask him not to mention her name!!!! Pleeeeeese, come on how ridiculous is that? Almost as ridiculous as widowed policewoman having no support to bring her husband’s killer to justice just her dead husband whispering in her ear. Mental health alert! I’m assuming that there is going to be another book and I will probably read it if only to see the awful Dickson brought down bur please please please let it be sorted out soon and then get Kate the help she desperately needs.

A highly emotional detective on a troubling case with further investigations to come. A good read!

Very satisfying! Carol Wyer’s style creates a vivid story that keeps me locked into Kate’s world to the very last page! My new favourite author!

Very well written, capturing and fast moving. Love when there is an underlying story that continues throughout the books. Wonder when and whether it will ever be resolved as well. Keep writing Carol !

If you hadn't already read/seen a lot of detective thrillers this is a good read.Otherwise you would be able to guess the plot easily very early in the book and the rest of the read would be just for the pleasure of sitting by the author and to see how she takes you through it.

Couldn’t put it down. A really good read that keeps you wanting more. Can’t wait to start the next Thanks