The Birthday - Carol Wyer

Reading Challenge Category: The first book you come across on Amazon / in the library / bookstore

Official Blurb:

One hot summer’s afternoon, five-year-old Ava Sawyer went to a party. She never came home…  Two years later, Ava’s body is found and another little girl, Audrey Briggs, goes missing. Audrey also attended that party …
Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward. A mother of two teenagers, this case chills her to the bone, and is a disturbing reminder of the last job she worked on. One that still keeps her awake at night…
Natalie soon discovers that Ava’s mother has some worrying gaps in her alibi and as she digs deeper, she’s sure Ava’s father is not telling the full story. And what did the owner of the garden centre Elsa see that day? Something that she’s not telling Natalie …
Just as Natalie is facing up to the grim possibility that Ava and Audrey were killed by someone close to home, another little girl from the party doesn’t come home from her ballet lesson. Can Natalie find a way to stop this killer before more innocent lives are taken?

My Thoughts:

This book really grips you right from the start with the description of the party where Ava goes missing. It jumps ahead in time, and the story begins to unfold. It progresses at quite a leisurely and gradual pace. It is building the case, and you are along for the ride. You are privy to everything that is happening, so you feel as if you are part of the police team uncovering everything as it happens. The book picks up speed towards the end as you get closer to catching the killer and all the surprises are revealed. I wouldn’t call them twists as they aren’t that unexpected. It is a crime book, so the ‘twists’ are more discoveries.
The killer is very well disguised, and I couldn’t guess who it was or their motives. I think this is an excellent testament to good writing, keeping the reader as in the dark as the detective is. There are no hints dropped so you can’t figure it out before the detectives do.
I’m always unsure of being involved with the detective’s life as it doesn’t always seem relevant to the story; however, this side of the story was integrated very well. I am looking forward to reading more of Natalie Ward and getting to know her better in further books.
This was a very well put together book, very descriptive, easy to read and gripping!

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