Book Review: The Dare (Detective Natalie Ward Book 3) by Carol Wyer



**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Release Date: April 25, 2019 
Description:
"Jane’s daughter is a good girl. What is she hiding?
When thirteen-year-old Savannah Hopkins doesn’t come straight home from school, as she always does, her mother Jane immediately raises the alarm.
Leading the investigation is Detective Natalie Ward whose daughter Leigh is the same age as Savannah. Soon Natalie’s worst fears are confirmed when the teenager’s broken body is found in nearby shrubland.
Evidence points towards a local recluse, but just as the net is closing around him, one of Savannah’s friends, Harriet, is reported missing.
As Natalie delves into the lives of both girls, she soon discovers a sinister video on their phones, daring the girls to disappear from their families for 48 hours.
But Natalie isn’t quick enough for this killer, and she is devastated to find Harriet’s body on a fly tip a day later.
Caught up in the case, she takes her eye off her own daughter and when Leigh goes missing after school she knows she must be in terrible danger. The clock is ticking for Natalie. Can she catch this killer before her little girl becomes the next victim?"

Although this is a crime series that can be read as standalone due to the nature of the stories, I did read the two books prior to this one to get a fuller grasp on Natalie Ward, as her personal life is a subplot to the series. This series is very much like Criminal Minds, where the story mainly focuses on a crime, but the characters personal life is lightly woven along the plot as well.

 Although I enjoyed the two previous crimes in the series, I would say that this may be one of the weaker ones. I think it's mostly due to the crime and to my personal taste. I'm not too keen on teens making dumb selfish decisions and this followed that. Every time a girl turned up missing, I'm just like "why did they do that?" (once you learn why the girls go missing). It's frustrating, to say the least, but then again they're young teen girls, and most teens can fall prey to their selfish desires, including Natalie's daughter. 

 Overall, this was still a good crime/thriller novel. 

Overall rating:  3/5

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