#@robertbryndza

[thecatandthekindle]

I thought that if I could get past one day, one week, month, a year, it would get easier, but it doesn’t. And not only is there the loss to deal with, which threatens to crush you every single day, you’re left with all this life left to lead. Alone.

[thecatandthekindle]

Review: Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1) by Robert Bryndza

I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity.

Having read and loved Bryndza’s Detective Erika Foster series I was interested to see what character he had come up with for this new crime series. Bryndza writes and good female lead and his thrillers are always fast-paced and attention grabbing.

This story begins with a wallop as young Detective Constable Kate Marshall discovers that the Inspector she has been sleeping with, is a vicious serial killer. She almost dies bringing him down, unaware that she is carrying his child.

Fast forward fifteen years and Kate is a much more mature woman, still suffering the after effects of these earlier events. She is a recovering alcoholic, whose son is in the care of his grandparents. Forced to leave the police, she now lectures in criminology. When the father of a long missing girl, who believes his child was another victim of her ex, asks Kate to investigate, she reluctantly agrees. However a copycat killer is about to bring his own crimes much closer to Kate threatening everyone around her.

I have to say, I like Kate Marshall. It’s great to see a slightly older woman and also a mother as a main character. Like all fictional detectives, she has her issues, but she is very relatable. Kate has the knowledge and experience of a police detective but as a civilian she has the opportunity to follow less legitimate methods, which opens up a whole new world for the reader. Kate’s young assistant, Tristan adds a fresh, youthful aspect to the story, while her son Jake provides emotional jeopardy.

I found the murders and the murderer himself to be stomach churning. No murder should be comfortable to read about but I seem to be particularly squeamish about cannibalism. It is treated with such relish (no pun intended) that at times I had to put the book down and take a minute. Eating while reading was definitely not an option. This, however, is my own foible and not an indicator of how every reader will feel.

I am looking forward to the next Kate Marshall book, which I am excited to see already has a title. Hopefully I will not have to go vegetarian after reading that one.

Nine Elms is out 1st November 2019

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[thecatlistens]

The Girl In The Ice - Robert Bryndza

Length 10 hours 7 minutes Narrator Jan Cramer

I love Robert Bryndza’s crime thrillers. Detective Erika Foster, together with her sidekicks Moss and Peterson, wrestle through police bureaucracy to save lives.

Story

Erika Foster is just back to work after losing her husband and several other officers during a police raid she was in charge of. She has to hit the ground running as she is put in charge of a the murder case of the daughter of a prominent politician. The girl’s father is interfering in the investigation as he doesn’t want details of his daughter’s unsavoury relationships to come out. Erika is reprimanded for maverick investigations but continues anyway, much to the dismay of her bosses. Meanwhile the murderer is still on the prowl and has Erika, herself, in his sights.

Narrator

Jan Cramer is an experienced narrator and does a great job of differentiating the voices of the various characters. I would, however, take issue with the fact that Erika is played with a strong Lancashire accent. As a Slovakian immigrant I would have expected some hint of Eastern Europe in there, no matter how many years Erika has been in the country. English is not her first language and this should occasionally break through, but it doesn’t. The only other thing I would say is that Erika is, at times very strident, though I feel this is a feature of the book not the narrator. Her boss, Marsh, had my sympathy in a way he didn’t when reading the story on the page!

When I read this book I read it fanatically, setting other things aside to finish. Similarly the audiobook took over my world for a couple of days and followed me round my life. Other books and tv programmes were cast aside till I had finished.

Addictive mystery thriller

8/10

[thecatandthekindle]

One person’s monster is another’s friend…

[thecatandthekindle]

This shouldn’t have happened. You think this kind of thing only happens to other people.

[thecatandthekindle]

‘They say never work with children or animals, they never mention couples.’

[thecatandthekindle]

This month I’ve been reading the final book in the brilliant A Darker Shade of Magic trilogy from VE Schwab. I’ve also been reading the Philosophers’s Stone chapters then listening to their corresponding HP and the Sacred Text podcasts. Rounding up the month with some late night reading sessions with the unput-downable fourth instalment of the Erika Foster thrillers from Robert Bryndza