Title: Dark WaterAuthor: Robert Bryndza
Series: Detective Erika Foster #3
Published by: Bookouture on Oct. 20, 2016
Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural
Pages: 341
Format: eBook, ARC
Source: Bookouture, NetGalley
Book Rating: 10/10
Beneath the water the body sank rapidly. She would lie still and undisturbed for many years but above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.
When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.
The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news twenty-six years ago.
As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she must dig deeper and find out more about the fractured Collins family and the original detective, Amanda Baker. A woman plagued by her failure to find Jessica. Erika soon realises this is going to be one of the most complex and demanding cases she has ever taken on.
Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone is keeping secrets. Someone who doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.
From the million-copy bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice and The Night Stalker, comes the third heart-stopping book in the Detective Erika Foster series.
Review:
Brilliantly plotted, incredibly captivating, and definitely a must-read of 2016!
This is an intriguing thriller that explores the psychological devastation caused by a missing child and the resulting fragility and dynamics between family members, the police, and the community at large.
The writing is spot on. The characters are tenacious, intelligent, and multi-layered. And the plot is a suspenseful rollercoaster ride of murder, deception, secrets and deviance.
I have to say that in a time when mysteries seem to be churned out by the dozen and storylines seem to be getting rote, predictable, and a little lacklustre, Robert Bryndza is like a breath of fresh air. He creates characters we can’t get enough of and juicy, complex stories that suck you in and make you feel like you’re not only an observer but a participant. He truly writes with great depth and heart, and leaves you, as a reader, surprised, highly entertained, and extremely satisfied.
If you haven’t read any of the previous novels in the “Detective Erika Foster” series, your really should. You can check out my review for “The Night Stalker” (Erika Foster #2) HERE.
This book is due to be published on October 20, 2016, and I would run, not walk to pick up a copy of this novel from your favourite retailer or from the following links. You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you to Bookouture for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Robert Bryndza
Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over four million copies in the English language.
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.
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.
Karen M Hoyle was born in Newquay, Cornwall and grew up with Cornish magical tales all around her. A writer through her career in public relations, Karen wrote her first book ‘The Adventures of Austin the Cornish Miner The Rescue of The Dweeble Stone’ in 2004. The book stayed in a moving box for eleven years before resurfacing and finally being published in 2015. Karen has also written poetry, winning a poetry competition aged 13 which is now showcased at the British Museum. Karen now sees writing as a fundamental part of her future and mixes children’s writing with writing books and blogs related to her 
