Book Description
Winter, 1987. Detective Jamie Day arrives in London determined to prove himself. After years policing a quiet seaside town, his promotion to the Metropolitan Police feels like the opportunity he has been waiting for.
But the capital is a very different world.
On his first day in plain clothes, Jamie makes a grim discovery: the dismembered body of a young man, left in a dark corner of the city. What should have been a routine first shift quickly becomes the beginning of a major murder investigation.
Then another victim is found.
As winter deepens, young men are being killed late at night across London, their bodies discovered in eerily similar circumstances. The detectives soon realise they may be hunting a serial killer.
Working alongside a tough and experienced team, Jamie must prove he belongs while navigating the pressures of a high-profile investigation. But as the case grows darker, the killer’s pattern begins to emerge. And if they don’t stop him soon, another body will be waiting in the shadows.
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE QUIET KILL (Detective Jamie Day Book #1) by Robert Bryndzna is the beginning of a new murder mystery series set in 1987 London and featuring a newly minted detective from a small English seaside town thrown into a big city murder investigation with an already cohesive group of seasoned detectives. I was excited to dive into this chilling criminal murder investigation set in the 1980s with a new group of characters from one of my favorite authors and I was not disappointed.
Detective Jamie Day is on his way to his new position as a plain clothes detective in London when he is detoured to go to the location of a discovered dismembered body. Immediately thrown into a major murder investigation, Jamie knows he must prove himself, but he is having trouble fitting into the already tight group of murder detectives. DCI Harry Dean takes him under his wing and helps him navigate his new position, colleagues, and the big city.
Dismembered bodies of young gay men continue to be discovered, and the detectives soon realize they have a serial killer in London. Can Jamie help find the killer and prove he belongs in his new job to his colleagues?
This is a fast-paced, intense introduction to a new group of characters from Mr. Bryndza that kept me engrossed in not only the gritty murder mystery, but also the differences in investigation techniques and technologies from the 1980s. It does not seem that long ago to me, but the differences in criminal investigations and technology have been immense in the last 40 to 50 years. While the killer is known in this story, the chase to catch him is what pulls you in. It is an intense, dark story that highlights the fear and ignorance of AIDS and the immergence of a more open gay culture in 1980s London. The investigative plot is realistic and leads to a satisfying conclusion. I am looking forward to seeing how these characters progress in future books in the series.
I highly recommend this suspenseful start to a new murder mystery series!
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About the Author
Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over five million copies.
His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).
Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller. Fatal Witness, the seventh Erika Foster novel, has just been published.
Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 18 countries. The second book in the series is the global bestselling, Shadow Sands and the third book, Darkness Falls.
Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn’t find success until he took a play he’d written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.
Social Media Links
Website: https://www.robertbryndza.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryndzarobert/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robertbryndza/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-quiet-kill-by-robert-bryndza
