Feature Post and Book Review: Nine Elms by Robert Brynzda

Hi, everyone!

I am very excited to share this Feature Post and Book Review for Robert Brynzda’s new series debut NINE ELMS (A Kate Marshall Thriller Book 1) which will be released here in the US on Dec. 1, 2019. It is no secret that I love Mr. Brynzda’s Erika Foster series and was thrilled to get an early copy of this debut. It is everything I hoped for and more!

Below you will find a summary of the book, my book review and a short blurb about the author and his social media links. I highly recommend this debut. It is definitely one of my favorites this year and I cannot wait for more books with Kate and Tristan!

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Book Summary:

Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Traumatized, betrayed, and publicly vilified for the shocking circumstances surrounding the cannibal murder case, Kate could only watch as her career ended in scandal.

Fifteen years after those catastrophic events, Kate is still haunted by the unquiet ghosts of her troubled past. Now a lecturer at a small coastal English university, she finally has a chance to face them. A copycat killer has taken up the Nine Elms mantle, continuing the ghastly work of his idol.

Enlisting her brilliant research assistant, Tristan Harper, Kate draws on her prodigious and long-neglected skills as an investigator to catch a new monster. Success promises redemption, but there’s much more on the line: Kate was the original killer’s intended fifth victim…and his successor means to finish the job.

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My Book Review:

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

NINE ELMS (A Kate Marshall Thriller Book 1) by Robert Brynzda is the debut suspense/thriller book in a new P.I. series. I love Mr. Brynzda’s DCI Erika Foster series and was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book. I could not put it down!

Kate Marshall was a young police detective when she was placed on the task force for the Nine Elms Cannibal case. She was determined to prove herself. She caught the serial killer, but at great personal expense, physically and mentally, to herself. Due to a bad personal decision during the investigation, she went from hero to villain during the trial and it ended her career on the police force.

Fifteen years later, Kate has become a lecturer in criminology at a small university. She has worked hard to get her life in order. She attends AA meetings and has rebuilt her relationship with her fourteen-year-old son who is in the custody of her parents.

Kate receives a call from the original medical examiner on the Nine Elms case. He has been called to the scene of a murder which is an exact replica of a murder from that case. As more bodies are found, Kate knows they have a copycat, because the original killer is locked up in a psychiatric prison.

Kate is told to stay out of the investigation by the local DI handling the case, but she cannot ignore the fact that she feels she can help. She enlists the help of her research assistant, Tristan Harper and the two set about combing the new and old facts to find the copycat. What Kate does not realize is that the killer knows who she is and plans to finish what the original Nine Elms Cannibal did not.

This is an amazing debut that kept me turning the pages to the very end. The plot is tightly woven between past and present. It is dark, thrilling and delivers discoveries that surprise throughout. The crime scenes are written in explicit detail and may be disturbing to some, but this antagonist is a cannibal serial killer as is his copycat, so it is not gratuitous. Kate is a memorable character realistically flawed, intelligent and dogged in her pursuit of the copycat killer. Tristan is an interesting character who is great at doing the research that Kate requires, but Kate is definitely the mentor in their partnership. I am looking forward to learning more about Tristan in future books. I am also looking forward to reading how Mr. Brynzda handles the character arc of Kate’s son in future books.

I highly recommend this debut thriller and I am looking forward to many more books in the Kate Marshall series!

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About the Author and Social Media Links:

Robert Bryndza is also the author of the Detective Erika Foster series, which includes the #1 international bestseller The Girl in the Ice, as well as The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood, and Deadly Secrets. He has sold over 3 million copies of his books and been translated into 28 languages. In addition to writing crime fiction, Robert has published a bestselling series of romantic comedies. He is British and lives in Slovakia with his husband.  

Visit his website at www.robertbryndza.com

Instagram: @RobertBryndza #RobertBryndza

Twitter: @RobertBryndza

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BryndzaRobert/