Tag: #robertbryndza

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/

Book Review: Deadly Secrets by Robert Brynzda

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEADLY SECRETS (Detective Erika Foster, #6) by Robert Brynzda is another highly addictive addition to the series. I wait anxiously for each of these books to come out so that I can be completely engrossed in a new crime mystery and catch up on all of the characters that I have come to love.

DCI Erika Foster is still recovering from her last case and is finding this Christmas season especially difficult emotionally. Rather than deal with what is sure to be an emotion packed Christmas lunch with the Marsh family, she takes the lead in a horrific murder of a young burlesque dancer. As Erika and her team start to work the case, they find that their murder case may overlap with a separate series of attacks in the same neighborhood. All of the victims have been attacked by a frightening specter in black wearing an old fashioned gas mask.

As the case progresses, Erika receives a call from up north that her father-in-law has had a medical emergency. DI Kate Moss is promoted to handle the case. As the clues come together and the case heats up, Moss finds herself stumbling into a dangerous situation with a soulless madman who will do anything not to be caught.

This book has Erika facing some very difficult personal problems and decisions. Mr. Brynzda humanizes Erika in this story more than in any other. Putting Moss in charge shows her vulnerabilities and strengths in her work and home life. Peterson is back to work and brings a new personal twist to his story. The whole team is facing dynamic personal changes in future storylines.

What appears to be one plot, turns into two diverging plotlines. Each has twists and surprises that had me guessing until the end. It is a fast paced read that kept me turning the pages and hating to set the book down. These books can be read as standalone crime fiction mysteries, but the continued growth and interactions between all of the main characters makes me glad that I read them in order. This is a series that continues to engage, surprise and be on my “Must Read” list!

Thanks very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Cold Blood by Robert Brynzda

RATING 5 out of 5 Stars:

COLD BLOOD (Detective Erika Foster, #5) by Robert Brynzda had me turning the pages as fast as I could read them. This installment not only gave me my usual intense detective story, but more character development involving Erika, her personal life decisions and the contrasting study of the downward spiral of personal life decisions of an average young woman. This book alternates between the present investigation and the past evolution of the evil responsible for all of this violence.

Erika and her team begin working a gruesome case of dismembered bodies being found washed up on shore in suitcases in the present. Erika works the case with Moss at her side, while still dealing with guilt over Peterson, who is still on medical leave. The whole force must also, at the same time, deal with a major betrayal by one of their own which can have major ramifications far into the future.

As you follow the case in the present, you alternately follow Nina in the recent past. Every decision in her life moves her along a path of no return. Our lives change with every decision or fork in the road, every person we meet or fall in love with and this author has written a character that you cannot stop wishing for her to get a break or have someone intervene even with all the death and violence she participates in.

Mr. Brynzda has added more character development, moral and ethical decisions and depth to each main character in book #5 besides an interesting and fast moving investigation. This book is fast paced and engaging, but it is also more graphic in its violence than previous books in the series. He will definitely have me coming back for more.

Another great addition to this series!

Thanks very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Last Breath by Robert Brynzda

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Robert Brynzda and his amazing character, DCI Erika Foster, have given me a gripping and thrilling, British police procedural read once again! This fourth book is even stronger than the first and just as additive.

LAST BREATH (Detective Erika Foster, #4) starts off with a beautiful young girl found dead in a dumpster in London. Erika is with Peterson when he gets the call and decides to ride along to the scene. She wants in on the case, but her nemesis Stark is now Superintendent of the Murder Investigative Team and sends her on her way.

Erika is on desk duty, which she hates, but she just cannot keep her mouth silent when dealing with superiors. As she languishes, she applies to return to the Murder Investigative Team, but it does not look good until there is a medical emergency and she gets her chance to once again lead her previous team of detectives. With all of her experience, Erika connects this case to a previous unsolved case. As a third girl is reported missing, it becomes apparent that the team is chasing a serial killer who seems to disappear leaving no clues.

The killer is unveiled early on in this book by Mr. Brynzda. We get to look into his mind and life as Erika and her team try to stop him. It adds nail-biting tension as we watch him kidnap another victim and he begins to devolve with Erika and her team on his trail.

Erika is so complex, hard on the outside, but vulnerable. Her character has had to deal with loss, guilt, and moving forward emotionally while dealing with her ups and downs on the police force. The secondary characters all have unique personalities that add depth to each book. The fast paced plot keeps you reading and turning the pages. This is a series that I feel needs to be read in order and since it is on book #4, you better get busy!

Thank you very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was completely my pleasure!

Book Review: Dark Water by Robert Brynzda

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Once again, Robert Brynzda has me reading late into the night on the edge of my seat!

DCI Erika Foster is back in DARK WATER, the third book in the DCI Erika Foster series. This is one of my favorite British police procedural series. Erika is an amazing character who is flawed, driven, and at times extremely brusque and yet I cannot stop wanting her to succeed in her personal life as well as professional. She also has a great cast of secondary characters surrounding her that are all unique in their own ways.

At the beginning of this story, Erika is in a new district and no longer working murder investigations but instead is working major organized crimes. To put a major drug dealer behind bars, the local quarry is dredged to recover drugs hidden in the depths. The drugs are found, but so is the wrapped skeleton of a child. Erika cannot get the sight of those small bones out of her mind and fights to get the case assigned to her and to have Peterson and Moss moved to be on her team once again. The bones are 26 years old and the case has already destroyed one DCI’s career, but Erika and her crew refuse to quit.

This is a complex case with many plot twists and surprises. When you think you have it figured out, it takes a sharp turn in another direction and yet in the end, all the little threads come together in a very satisfying climax. With a fast paced plot and interesting, intriguing characters, Mr. Brynzda has delivered another exceptional addition to this series.

Thanks very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read and review this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This is an excellent book and series!

Feature Post: DCI Erika Foster Series, #1 and #2 by Robert Bryndza

     

I am currently reading Dark Water, which is book #3 in this series, so I just wanted a short preview of the first two amazing books in this series to appear on my site. Both books received a 5 Star rating from me and many other reviewers. Robert Bryndza has written a series with a multi-dimensional strong female lead character, interesting secondary characters and fast paced, unique murder plots.

Book #1 – The Girl In the Ice

This book was extremely hard to put down. It was fast paced, intriguing, gripping and just a great all around read. This is the start to a new series that I strongly recommend.

DCI Ericka Foster  is back on the job after terrible personal tragedy to investigate the death of the socialite daughter of a rich, political family. Politics and class hamper their investigation at every turn because the dead girl is somehow tied to the murder of three prostitutes murdered in a similar fashion. The killer knows Erika and her team are close to uncovering the truth which means Erika needs to be eliminated from the case, permanently.

DCI Erika Foster is a strong female protagonist. The cast of supporting characters in her investigative unit are all interesting in their own right and I can’t wait to learn more about them in future books. The plot was fast paced and besides the investigation into the murders you get a glimpse of how the rich and powerful can interfere with justice. Excellent start to a new series!

Book #2 – The Night Stalker

I am in love with DCI Erika Foster and all the wonderful, flawed characters and suspenseful, exciting plots. This book had me reading past my bedtime and checking all my doors and windows.

The very first chapter raised my blood pressure. Don’t we all worry about the shadows in our room or under our beds? The Night Stalker has a list and is ready to eliminate each in turn. As Erika and her team try to figure out a motive and find their suspect, The Night Stalker contacts Erika personally. Is The Night Stalker a stone-cold psychopath or a victim out only for revenge? Erika has to decide, but her own feelings are not as clear cut on this subject as she would like. The chase to stop a killer and save her friend, Isaac Strong, from prosecution for these murders is on and you will not want to put this book down.

I cannot recommend this author and series enough! Mr. Bryndza writes a British police procedural with characters that I feel are so lifelike that I can see them really working away in England to solve murders. The plot pace is fast and his writing crisp. I am going to be anxiously awaiting the next book and what decision Erika makes in regards to her future.

This is a must read series for me!