Review: Dark Water by Robert Bryndza


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Release date: October 20, 2016

Publisher: Bookouture 

Genre: Crime Fiction/Mystery/Thriller

Goodreads blurb: 

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:

I have to start by saying that for everyone that has been anxiously awaiting the newest book in Bryndza’s Detective Erika Foster series, the wait has been well worth it. He’s done it again folks,this one has everything fans crave and more. The only question that I have now is, when is book four coming? Fingers crossed for early 2017!

Jessica Collins disappeared twenty six years ago when she was just seven years old. My daughter is the same age and imagining what her poor parents went through when she went missing broke my heart. And then to still not have any answers all these years later? Unfathomable. But now DCI Foster has fought to lead the investigation and she is tenacious and determined to finally solve Jessica’s case and bring some peace to her family.

This case is beyond cold, and with very little in the way of leads, Foster has her work cut out for her. It’s soon apparent that someone is trying to thwart the investigation at any cost. But who could this person possibly be? And why are they willing to take such extreme measures to ensure that old secrets stay buried? Trust me when I say that these measures are extreme and chilling.

Jessica’s family was completely shattered by her disappearance. Her mother is barely hanging on by a thread, her father is oblivious, her older sister is skittish and fragile, and her younger brother barely remembers Jessica and is the sole member of the family who has remained relatively unscathed. Someone is playing a deadly game with the Collins family and DCI Foster and the clock is ticking.

This book had a slow and simmering burn feeling to it although the chapters are brief and the pacing is spot on. Part of why I love crime fiction is that you get a behind the scenes look as to how police officers begin to untangle a case, and this one is a whopper. Seeing Erika interact with both parts of her old team and new members was a treat and I liked seeing her next to her family as well. It showed a different side to her other than her work personality which is often bristly, abrasive and sometimes downright bitchy. 

The twists here are well thought out and there are plenty diversionary tactics used to keep the reader on their toes. When all was revealed, I was totally gut punched. The truth is heartbreaking and emotional in a way that knocked me off of my feet. In many ways this was a senseless tragedy that managed to change and effect the lives of so many people. I must stop there before I go and reveal major plot points, but this one was a winner and  one that I feel will stay with me for quite some time.

Overall rating: 5/5

Thanks to Bookouture for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

24 thoughts on “Review: Dark Water by Robert Bryndza”

  1. Annie says:
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    Ohh, so interesting, I’ve only read one feat Erika but this one seems so appealing. Have you read Gone Baby Gone (or watched the movie)? That ending left me…speechless!

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Amanda @Cover2CoverMom says:
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    Great review Amy as always!

    “Jessica Collins disappeared twenty six years ago when she was just seven years old. My daughter is the same age and imagining what her poor parents went through when she went missing broke my heart.”

    This is why I often stay away from crime fiction that revolves around children, as I get far to emotional.

    Like

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