Publisher: Bookouture | Publication date: 12th February 2016
Riveting. Twisty. Superb. The Girl in the Ice is everything great crime fiction SHOULD be – an intense read that packs a punch.
The concept of the plot seems pretty straight forward, but the effect is dazzling. The inclusion of simple detail conjures such atmosphere. From the victim’s haunting expression preserved by the ice, to the everyday lives of a peculiar line-up of suspects and their eccentricities, both witnesses and investigators come alive until they’re up close and personal and you are completely engrossed.
Erika Foster is one such character, and her energy bursts from the page. She’s a DCI who was widowed following a police raid that ended in unimaginable tragedy. She might have lost her husband but certainly not her tenacity. Despite grief still touching a raw nerve, she has returned to work determined to catch the killer of a young woman who died much too soon. Erika will push herself beyond any reasonable person’s limit, which includes risking what little she has left by defying her tip-toeing superiors as she digs out the truth, however unsavoury it may be.
Often reckless, technically homeless, and currently friendless, Erika battles with a narky DCI who had established the lead on the case before she happened along. Sparks is uncooperative and offensive, and has set his sights on waltzing into this case’s limelight again. Next to sign up for the ‘Erika hate campaign’ is the influential, dysfunctional family at the centre of the investigation, who ironically frown upon her Slovakian origins and threaten to widen an inappropriate class divide and hamper the hunt for the killer.
Her unorthodox methods and abrasiveness don’t appear to grate on the rest of the diverse team quite as much, as her investigative passion is what earns her their respect. When similarities of other unsolved deaths raise their head the question is: could they be dealing with a potential serial killer? As the murders of prostitutes bear no resemblance to Ice Girl’s life, the motive for her death grows more perplexing. Yet Erika’s superiors seem more concerned with avoiding bad publicity for those higher up the ladder; if she pursues this new line of enquiry her job prospects will go from bleak to non-existent.
Irrespective of the difficulties she may face Erika maintains her integrity. She doesn’t want praise. She wants to solve a murder. With nothing but a gut instinct to drive her onwards, she ignores warnings to take stock of her senses and subsequently fails to spot imminent danger until it’s too late.
The perfectly unhinged culprit avoided detection by my personal reader radar. Just when I thought there wasn’t room for yet more shocks there it was, another crack of the whip. The only thing missing from the spectacular finale was a fanfare – it played out like a scene from the big screen, and IT WAS BRILLIANT!
MORE PLEASE, AND SOON!!!!
Rating: 5/5
(My thanks to the lovely folks at Bookouture for providing a digital copy for review, as always. As soon as I saw the cover I pre-ordered it – I had a feeling it would be a little cracker!)
(Courtesy of Amazon UK)
Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice…She is not the only one.
When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.
The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London.
What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?
As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.
The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong… resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she’s faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?
A page-turning thriller packed with suspense. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott and Karin Slaughter, discover Rob Bryndza’s new series today – at a special launch price.
Watch out for more from DCI Erika Foster.
She’s fearless. Respected. Unstoppable. Detective Erika Foster will catch a killer, whatever it takes.
Originally from the UK, Rob lives in Slovakia with his Slovak husband and their two crazy dogs. He originally trained as an actor, but was bitten by the writing bug in his mid-twenties and hasn’t looked back.
His debut novel, The Not So Secret Emails of Coco Pinchard became an Amazon bestseller, and has grown to a best selling series of five books.
In addition to his recent number one romantic comedy Miss Wrong and Mr Right, Rob is excited to embrace the darker side of life, and has just signed a three-book deal with Bookouture to write a crime thriller series. The first book, The Girl In The Ice will be released in Spring 2016.
You can find out more about Rob at http://www.robertbryndza.com
THE DETECTIVE ERIKA FOSTER SERIES SO FAR…
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Little Bookness Lane 
Nice review! I enjoyed this book immensely!
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Thank you so much! It’s a cracking book, isn’t it?!
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