21 May 2022

Review: SHADOW SANDS, Robert Bryndza

  • this edition published in 2020 by Sphere Great Britain
  • #2 in the Kate Marshall series
  • ISBN 978-0-7515-7275-9
  • 365 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

The internationally bestselling author of Nine Elms and The Girl in the Ice Robert Bryndza is back with a nail-biting new Kate Marshall case, a woman with a dark secret and a powerful sense of justice.

When Kate Marshall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir, the authorities label it a tragic accident.

But the details don't add up: why was the victim there, in the middle of the night? If he was such a strong swimmer, how did he drown?

Kate is certain there is more to this case than meets the eye. As she and her research assistant Tristan Harper dig deeper, they discover a bloody trail that points towards an active serial killer hiding in plain sight. People have been silently disappearing for years, and when another woman is taken, Kate and Tristan have a matter of days to save her from meeting the same fate.  

My Take

When Tristan's date disappears just before they are due to meet, he and Kate leap to the possibility that she is the latest in a list of young women who have been snatched by a serial killer. Throughout the story we are very aware of the need to find Magdalena before she dies. From time to time the author has been telling us the story from her point of view and we know that time is running out.

The police are difficult to persuade to take action. Is Detective Inspector Henry Ko hiding something? Or is he the tool of the wealthy family who own the land that the Shadow Sands Reservoir is on? 

This is a well plotted story, a mystery to be explored, a few red herrings, interesting characters, some personal details explored about both Kate and Tristan, and an opening created for a follow-on.

Quite a bit more gritty than the cozies that I have been reading lately.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read

4.6, DARK WATER - #1
4.8, THE NIGHT STALKER - #2
4.8, THE GIRL IN THE ICE - #3
4.8, LAST BREATH - #4
4.7, COLD BLOOD - #5
4.6. DEADLY SECRETS - #6
4.7, NINE ELMS - Kate Marshall #1 

Kate Marshall
   1. Nine Elms (2019)
   2. Shadow Sands (2020)
   3. Darkness Falls (2021)

1 comment:

Michael Stephenson said...

Hello, Kerrie. Good review. I was wondering if you ever take review requests?

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