While He Solves Crimes, We Learn More About His Life
Review of the Dan Riley series by Anna-Lou Weatherley
In the time I’ve been a member of Audible, the algorithm has learned that detectives and thrillers are the genres I love, meaning I get suggestions for these books.
An even bigger bonus is when Audible includes several books by one author in the subscription. I can then listen to those books without spending my monthly credit.
That happened with the books by Anna-Lou Weatherly, although I bought The Night of the Party with one of my credits. The last book in the Dan Riley series — The Lie in Our Marriage (seen on the header image) — is not yet on Audible, but definitely one I will look out for.
About Anna-Lou Weatherley
There is little to be found about this author online.
She was born in Southampton, and grew up in London, where she currently still lives. Raised with a passion for reading and writing, she nurtured this interest throughout.
Anna-Lou Weatherley built a profile for herself in the literary world. Before writing fiction full time, she worked as an editor for several big names, such as Smash, J-17. She wrote for magazines such as New Woman, Company, B, Glamour, Marie Claire, Grazia and More and contributed to Arena, FHM, Loaded and NME.
This author created a name for herself as a novelist, using that to find her own voice before she wrote her first complete novel in 2006, titled Ibiza Summer.
Anna-Lou Weatherley established herself as a writer of suspense novels and mystery thrillers, and she was soon on her way to being a successful author when she started her Dan Riley series with Black Heart in 2018.
Books in the Dan Riley series are Black Heart (2018), The Couple on Cedar Close (2019), The Stranger’s Wife (2020), The Woman Inside (2021), The Night of the Party (2022), The Lie in Our Marriage (2023).
Her standalone novels are Ibiza Summer (2006), The Wrong Boy (2007), Chelsea Wives / Vengeful Wives (2012), Wicked Wives (2013), and Pleasure Island (2015).
Black Heart
Goldilocks and the three bears… do you remember the fairy tale? This story mentions Daddy Bear, Mommy Bear and Baby Bear, but believe me, it’s nothing like the fairy tale.
The police find Daddy Bear dead in the bath of a hotel room with slit wrists, lots of blood, and not a trace in the room to give them any hints. They see her — Goldilocks — on the CCTV, but the image is not clear enough for them to identify her.
Detective Dan Riley investigates this crime, but we also read about his personal life. He lost his girlfriend in a motorcycle accident, and at the time of her death, she was 10 weeks pregnant. Dan tries to date again, and meets Florence, who gets in his head and who he almost spends a night with. Almost… because he walks out on her before anything intimate happens, all because of his grief.
Then there’s Danny-Jo, who lives across from Karen. They spend much time together and seem to be fond of each other, having dinner together frequently or visiting the other for a drink or two.
Karen becomes Mommy Bear. Yes, this is the second murder Dan Riley has to investigate, and by now he knows the murderer is Goldilocks, a woman. He and his team want to find her before she kills Baby Bear.
By now, the reader knows who the murderer is, but Dan and his team still have to catch on.
A book with great twists, and a very lovable and sympathetic detective.
The Couple on Cedar Close
Infidelity, narcissism, codependency, psychopathy, incest, and pregnancy — are the elements in this book that lead to the murder of Robert Mills.
His wife, Laurie, wakes up in a dark house, discovers a tripped switch, and then calls her husband, who was supposed to come to a last dinner with her. His phone rings upstairs, and she discovers him in the spare room, throat slit and multiple stab wounds. She can’t remember anything of the night before; doesn’t know if she has murdered him or not.
It’s up to Detective Dan Riley and his team to look for clues and prove Laurie has done it. They release her, because her friend Monika gives her an alibi.
Then Robert’s mistress is murdered, and their child is left next to her to starve to death. The police charge Laurie with both murders, as they find her hair in Claire’s apartment. While in custody, Laurie’s memory about the night of Robert’s murder comes back to her in pieces.
Just like the first book about Dan Riley, the reader already knows who the killer is, and the detective catches on soon, but has to make haste to prevent the killer from disappearing.
I love the way this story unfolds, and the way several storylines lead to one ending. I especially find the explanation of Laurie’s therapist about NPD (narcissistic personality disorder) and codependency striking (and relatable):
The super empath and the NPD are a match made in heaven — or hell, depending on which way you look at it. Both need each other, for very different reasons. They’re at opposite ends of the spectrum. The NPD cannot put anyone else above himself and his own needs, and the codependent cannot stop putting others' needs before themselves and their own. The NPD has a need to break others in a bid to feed his or her ego, and the codependent has a need to fix others to sustain their own self-worth. They’re both feeding off each other, albeit for opposing reasons.
There’s more about this before and after the quote above, and because of this information, it gives more body to the characters.
The Stranger’s Wife
Where the previous two books immediately had a clear storyline, I struggled at the beginning of this book. For a moment, I thought after enjoying those two books, I now had to struggle through a bad one.
But, I needn’t have worried.
There are several storylines that gradually move closer together until it becomes one. There’s the story of Beth and her husband Evan. Then there’s Cath, and her addicted boyfriend, Saul. Last, of course, there’s Dan Riley. His personal story continues, and he gets the case of Evan’s murder on his desk.
What unravels is an incredible story. There’s power and abuse, lies and love, murder and revenge.
If you read this book and feel a bit lost in the beginning, just persevere for the story to unfold. You won’t regret it.
The Woman Inside
After listening to the first three books in this series, I already knew this author likes to address unique issues in her books. She had already addressed narcissism and addiction, and in this book… no, if I tell you, I will reveal much of the solution to the crimes, and I don’t want to do that.
This book deals with a brutal serial killer. Daisy is his latest victim, but she survives the crimes, despite her throat being cut. Detective Dan Riley promises her he will find the killer, and he will keep her safe. Daisy feels reassured, also because soon after she’s well enough to move back to her home, a flatmate moves in — Iris.
When Riley and his sidekick, Davis, realize the one thing which binds all victims of this serial killer, as a reader, I feared for Iris’s life too.
That’s until an incredible and sad story unfolds…
The Night of the Party
This book starts out with a dinner party between two befriended couples, at the house of the Drayton family. Libby, the beautiful, loving daughter of the family and a talented pianist, plays a piece of music before she heads out to meet a friend to go to a concert.
She never returns, murdered on her way there.
What unfolds is a true psychological thriller with exactly the right elements: A doting mother with a manipulative daughter, a loving husband lying to his family, and a close friend keeping a shocking secret.
There’s not only one twist in this book but several, as Detective Dan Riley uncovers bit by bit of the story behind Libby’s murder.
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