Book Review: The Girl in the Ice (Detective Erika Foster Book 1) by Robert Bryndza

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

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?

Review (No Spoiler)

I had heard about this book for sometime but finally decided to read it after reading a review by Yvo on It’s All about Books.

The Girl in the Ice was a different kind of book for me. I don’t really read stories narrated from the point of view of the police. I am not a fan of crime novels though I like psychological and legal thrillers (I hope that makes sense). However, the lead character, Detective Erika Foster was quite a good narrator.

She’s fearless. Respected. Unstoppable. Detective Erika Foster will catch a killer, whatever it takes.

I enjoyed the pace of the book. I also liked the fact that I couldn’t guess the identity of the killer until the last few pages. At some point, everyone seemed like a suspect. The book was intriguing and suspenseful to the end, the kind of thriller that I like. I also liked how Bryndza described every scene in detail hence doing a great job on the imagery. For instance; the description of the body in the ice was so vivid that I could picture the girl as she was found with the haunting expression on her face preserved under the ice to the mess that was created when the young man tripped over her body. The writer takes readers into each scene. I felt as if I was part of the investigative team putting together all the clues.

“The secret of blending in, is don’t try to. Everyone is so fucking self-obsessed.”
― Robert Bryndza, The Girl In The Ice

What I didn’t like though was the drama surrounding Detective Erika. That whole thing of having one of the characters disbelieved in almost all of the thrillers is annoying at times and it has gotten old. It is such a cliché. I felt that the drama surrounding Erika was overplayed and sometimes it even made the lead character unlikable. It also slowed down the pace of the story at certain points. For instance; Detective Erika would make a critical discovery only to be pulled away from the case again. The fact that she had to fight to remain part of the investigative team made her seem quite bitchy at times.

I enjoyed reading The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza and give it a 4/5 rating. It was well written and the suspense was maintained up to the last page. The fact that the killer was not easy to identify made it quite intriguing. They were so many suspects but I was wrong all the way. Bryndza does the perfect job of creating suspicion on the reader’s mind such that everyone looks like the killer.

About the Book

Kindle Edition, 396 pages

Published February 12th 2016 by Bookouture

Series: DCI Erika Foster #1

A Look at the Second Book in the Series

The Night Stalker (DCI Erika Foster #2) by Robert Bryndza

Synopsis

If the Night Stalker is watching, you’re already dead…

In the dead of a swelteringly hot summer’s night, Detective Erika Foster is called to a murder scene. The victim, a doctor, is found suffocated in bed. His wrists are bound and his eyes bulging through a clear plastic bag tied tight over his head. A few days later, another victim is found dead, in exactly the same circumstances. As Erika and her team start digging deeper, they discover a calculated serial killer – stalking their victims before choosing the right moment to strike.

The victims are all single men, with very private lives. Why are their pasts shrouded in secrecy? And what links them to the killer? As a heat wave descends upon London, Erika will do everything to stop the Night Stalker before the body count rises, even if it means risking her job. But the victims might not be the only ones being watched… Erika’s own life could be on the line.

 

About the Book

Kindle Edition, 300 pages

Expected publication: June 2nd 2016 by Bookouture

Original Title: The Night Stalker

Series: DCI Erika Foster #2

I can’t wait to read the second book. It is already on my wish list.