Carol E. Wyer Knocks Your Socks off with her thriller "Little Girl Lost"

A PERFECT FAMILY HIDING DISTURBING SECRETS.  A KILLER WHO WANTS THE TRUTH TO BE TOLD.

A teacher goes missing under suspicious circumstances. 

A millionaire is murdered at a local reservoir.

For Detective Robyn Carter, there is no obvious link between the men. But as she starts to delve into the cases,  her investigations leads her to Abigail, perfect wife and mother to beautiful little Izzy. What was Abigail's connections to the victims? And why is she receiving threatening messages from an anonymous number?

But as Robyn inch closer to finding the killer, Izzy is abducted.

Unless Robyn gets to the twisted individual in time, a little girl will die...

One of the first things I have to say is, I have never read anything by Carol E. Wyer before this and I can honestly say "What was I thinking?" Her development of her characters makes you fall in love with them. Yes, even the killer. "How?"  Well, I can really say I felt sorry and almost an empathy for the killer. 

Robyn had been working for her cousin Ross, taking a break from police work and doing some private investigating on her own timeline. Her last case for her cousin works its way into being her first case back on the job. 

Mary Matthews husband has gone missing. He told her he was going to Thailand but hasn't returned any of her messages she has left on his phone. 

Abigail and Jackson Thorne had a magical marriage. Jackson was everything Abigail could hope for and more but something just isn't right. Since the birth of Izzy, their beautiful daughter, Abigail has been different. Tired and worn out Abigail just isn't like she was before. She knows it, he knows it but they can't quite put their fingers on what is behind it.

Then the note showed up, the phone calls started, and Abigail is scared but she is afraid to tell Jackson everything. The voice tells her she needs to tell the secrets or else.

Every single character is developed, even down to Abigail's cat Toffee, and Mary's yapping dog. I laughed at poor Ross, Robyn's cousin, who is suffering from the diet changes his wife has inflicted on him for his own good of course.  To how Ross develops a fondness for Jane Clifford, Ross becomes one of the good 'ole boys I hope to see more of in following books in the series. 

Robyn is worried that she has lost her gut instinct that has is recognized in the force for having. As she works the puzzle pieces of the case she is thrown off by what she is sure is a clue at all the crime scenes.  

I was completely impressed with how the characters come alive and dance across the pages until the final climatic finish.  This is one that you really don't want to miss. I am starting to think that 2017 is going to be the year for psychological thrillers. Wyer promises to be a strong voice in this genre as well. 

My thanks to NetGalley, bookouture and Carol E. Wyer for my copy for an honest review.