The internationally bestselling author of Nine Elms and The Girl in the Ice Robert Bryndza is back with a nail-biting new Kate Marshall case, a woman with a dark secret and a powerful sense of justice.
When Kate Marhsall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir, the authorities label it a tragic accident.
But the details don't add up: why was the victim there, in the middle of the night? If he was such a strong swimmer, how did he drown?
Kate is certain there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she and her research assistant Tristan Harper dig deeper, they discover a bloody trail that points towards an active serial killer hiding in plain sight. People have been silently disappearing for years, and when another woman is taken, Kate and Tristan have a matter of days to save her from meeting the same fate.
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PRAISE FOR NINE ELMS
'The perfect book for Erika Foster fans. It has all the same vibes - but MORE. I actually think this is Robert Bryndza's best book yet'
'A gripping read that I could not put down'
'What an absolutely stunning start to what promises to be a brilliant new series'
A gripping new instalment in the Kate Marshall series
I really enjoyed reading this second book in Robert Bryndza's Kate Marshall series. The plot is multi-layered and twisty, a slow build of tension to a gripping edge-of-your seat conclusion.
Two years after the action of Nine Elms (Kate Marshall #1), former police officer Kate is again drawn away from her work as an academic into a real life crime. While diving in the Shadow Sands reservoir with her 16-year-old son, Jake, Kate comes across the recently deceased body of a young man. After becoming aware of a series of worrying discrepancies in the police investigation, and having been approached by the mother of the young man, Kate and her assistant Tristan again take on their private investigator mantle and begin trying to uncover the truth. The stakes are raised when an Italian academic, Magdalena, who has recently befriended Tristan, goes missing on a stretch of the A1238 notorious for disappearances of young women over recent years.
I feel that Shadow Sands is a step up from its predecessor, Nine Elms, both in terms of plot and character development - the previous book perhaps suffered from the weight of the lead character's backstory which, while essential to understanding her motivations, sometimes detracted from the main plotline. I still find some of Bryndza's prose and dialogue a bit awkward - he also seems to frequently fall foul of the "show, don't tell" maxim. Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable and stimulating read, with great characters and a gripping finale.
My thanks to the author, Robert Bryndza, publisher Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title in advance of its publication on 3 November 2020.
Sarah, 07/11/2020
