Series Detective Erika Foster Crime Thriller Book #7)
ISBN: 9991914547058
Publisher: Raven Street Publishing
Publication Date: 07/07/2022
Format: Audio
Narrator: Jan Cramer
My Rating: 4 Stars (ARC)
Detective Erika Foster is back in FATAL WITNESS – with a chilling new serial killer case in Robert Bryndza's multi-million bestselling crime thriller series!
How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?
Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she stumbles upon the brutal murder of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster.
Erika is assigned to the case and discovers that Vicky had been working on a new podcast episode about a sexual predator who preys on young female students around South London, staking out his victims in their halls of residence before breaking in at the dead of night.
When Erika discovers that Vicky's notes and sound recordings were stolen from her flat at the time of her murder, it leads her to believe that Vicky was close to unmasking the attacker, and she was killed to guarantee her silence.
The case takes on a disturbing twist when the body of a young Bulgarian student doctor is discovered in the same building, and this makes Erika question everything she thought she knew about Vicky. With very little evidence, the clock is ticking to find the killer before he strikes again.
Praise
The master of suspense'
—M.J Arlidge
'Compelling at every turn, as we follow the brilliantly drawn Detective Erika Foster in her relentless hunt for one of the most horrific villains in modern crime fiction.'
—Jeffery Deaver, #1 internationally bestselling author
'So chilling, with truly terrifying characters and a hard-hitting storyline that is gripping from start to finish'
—Rachel Abbott, Amazon Charts bestselling author
'Twisty, dark, and layered with a protagonist you root for from page one'
—M. W. Craven, author of The Puppet Show
'A riveting page-turner. An astonishingly good plot with perfectly drawn characters and sharp, detailed writing.'
—Robert Dugoni, #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author
'Robert Bryndza's characters are so vividly drawn—even the slightest character—and fully human and uniquely imperfect. His plots are clever and original and cool, and his sense of timing is excruciatingly flawless' —Augusten Burroughs, New York Times bestselling author of Running with Scissors.
My Review
After a four-year break, Detective Erika Foster is back in FATAL WITNESS –a chilling new serial-killer case in bestselling British author Robert Bryndza's multimillion best-selling crime-thriller series. (Book #7 of 7)
If you have read the other books in the series, you know Detective Erika Foster is fearless, dedicated, and unstoppable. Plus, she is so much fun. I loved the scene with the salesperson when buying the bed, among others. Bloody Good.
We met Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster in The Girl in the Ice (2016) and have been a big fan since. The book was a HIT, selling over 1.5 million copies in English and was translated into 30 countries. I would say she is pretty popular, and the author is not so shabby either.
Erika has purchased a new home and trying to get settled in. Without any furniture or food, she steps out for a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she discovers a scream - a brutal murder. The sister is frantic and finds the body of her sister, Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster.
Assigned to the case, she learns Vicky had been working on a new podcast episode about a sexual predator who preys on young female students around South London, staking out his victims in their halls of residence before breaking in at the dead of night.
However, her notes and recordings were stolen from her flat at the time of the murder. How are they supposed to solve a case when the murderer steals all the evidence? Maybe she knew too much or was getting too close to discovering the identity of the murderer.
Then another disturbing twist. The body of a young Bulgarian student doctor is discovered in the same building.
The tension builds quickly, and the crime takes on a deadly twist. In a race against time, they must find the killer before he strikes again.
The author is definitely a pro at complex multi-layered, character-driven police procedurals, forensics, and engaging crime thrillers
With many twists and red herrings, the author keeps you glued to the audio/pages. Erika is a relatable flawed character which makes her human with a balance of workaholic and crazy personal life, which we get to be a part of. We also get to catch up with other characters from the series.
A satisfying conclusion; however, I hope the author will bring Erika back in a spin-off series for appearances so we can catch up with her (personally and professionally). She is too good to end.
The author is a master at creating suspenseful crime scenes and intense police procedurals with vivid descriptions and settings. These are pretty gritty, grisly, and gripping. I definitely would be closing my eyes if these scenes were on the widescreen.
I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator, Jan Cramer, delivered an excellent performance. I enjoy her accent and perfect voice, as always for Erika.
I have missed reading a few books in the series; however, FATAL WITNESS can be read as a standalone. If you love intelligently written crime thrillers, this is a series you will want to read.
Also, check out the author's new Kate Marshall crime thriller series: Devil's Way January 26, 2023. (#4 of 4).
A special thank you to #RavenStreetPublishing and #NetGalley for an advanced audio copy to listen to, enjoy, and review.
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: July 7, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars ✨✨✨✨
About the Author
Robert Bryndza is 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, is now available to pre-order and will be published 7th July 2022.
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, has just been published.
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. WEBSITE
