Review: The Couple of Cedar Close (Detective Dan Riley #2) by Anna-Lou Weatherley

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…

Review

I read the first book in this series, Black Heart, sometime early last year. I loved it and absolutely adored Dan Riley. However, I forgot about the series until I found out about book 2 being released this year.

I seem to be meeting terrible Roberts this year, starting with R. Kelly. This Robert is twisted. What is worse is that he is married to a lovely lady, Laurie. Things take a dark turn in the marriage when Robert is found dead in his house. Laurie is the only other person in the house and all evidence points to her being the killer. However, Laurie is convinced that she didn’t do it. It is hard to convince everyone else though because she doesn’t exactly remember the events of the night.

Like in the first book, I found myself drawn to Dan Riley. He is intuitive, sensitive, a great detective and human being. I loved how he related with his team especially Davis. I also liked how he was with the suspects. Riley is the kind of detective who gets you invested in a case. You find yourself caring about him and all that he cares about. He cared about the victims and so did I. He had strong instincts about the case being more than it seemed and yes, I did too.

I was so gripped by the case that I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading the book. I pieced everything together while washing the dishes one evening. So excited was I, that I thought of sharing my thoughts with Dan only to remember that I wasn’t really part of the detectives team. So I had to take a seat and watch Dan solve the case too.

This was a brilliant, addictive read. The series is perfect for anyone who loves crime fiction. Character development is top notch and I already miss the team, especially Riley. I can’t wait for the next book. I just hope that it won’t take another year to come out.