Oh happy day, Erika Foster is back! And what a case she is faced with in this long awaited return. High stakes and high threat, this is one investigation that could prove quite costly for our favourite Detective. Never fear folks. If any of you were wondering whether, after a four year gap, Robert Bryndza could recapture that Foster magic, let me reassure you that the answer is a resounding yes. Stepping back into the world of Erika, Peterson, Moss and the team was like greeting old friends. After all the hellos you just fall back into stride with them and away we go.
Which is just as well really as we find Erika has to hit the ground running, faced with an unexpected case almost literally on her doorstep. Whilst settling (?) into a new home and a new neighbourhood, she happens upon the scene of a brutal murder as true-crime podcaster, Vicky Clarke has met a very violent and sticky end. We’re present during the time of the attack. We get the full force of the what, but not the why, and believe me when I say that in this most twisted of cases, absolutely nothing is as it seems. The case leads Erika and the team in a direction they really weren’t expecting, bringing them into the world of a well known drama school, Vicky’s former school, which is nursing more than the odd secret of its own.
Full of tension and packed with mystery this gave me all the thrills of a classic Erika Foster story, but with a brand new feel to it too. There is a sense of this being echoed in Erika’s own story as she is starting afresh in a new home, putting herself and her relationship with the team back on track, especially with Peterson which, anyone who has read the earlier books in the series will understand. There is a quiet awkwardness between them, but not one that hinders the case. The uncertainty through, that hesitation, helped to join those dots for me between where we left them in Deadly Secrets to where we are now. This is a fresh start, for everyone, including us readers, but it is also vintage Erika Foster, and if you think that her tendency to get herself into trouble may have waned over the break, think again. Towards the end of the book she finds herself in a real pickle, leaving me wondering how she, and the author, would work her way out of it.
I loved the pacing and the flow of this book. There are moments of real tension, those pulse pounding scenes that the author is so good at creating. Moments where the sense of jeopardy is off the charts. Characterisation is, as always, excellent, and I have to wonder whether, given the author’s own history, there might not be echoes of people he has met in the past within the characters he has created. Only partial of course, as, murder aside, there is a darkness at the heart of the novel, one which is almost too believable. But amongst all the intensity of the investigation there is the human side. The grief of the bereaved, the vulnerability of the victims and, more importantly for fans of Erika, a fresh outlook on life courtesy of a face from the past. It brought a smile to my face and to Erika’s too. After all her heartbreak and drama, is a glimmer of something positive on the horizon?
I can’t wait to see where Robert Bryndza takes us next. It’s been so good reuniting with this series and these characters. I’d say I hope Erika gets an easier time next time too, but not too easy. It wouldn’t be the same if she didn’t rush in, giving the investigation her everything – where would the fun before readers in that anyway? Tense, action packed and with that oh so familiar, if not quite comfortable, feel, fans of the series will not be disappointed.
Fatal Witness
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Customer reviews
Brilliantly written police procedural thriller
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2022
Well to say this audio starts with a bang is an understatement. The murder at the beginning is gruesome and the subsequent investigation goes from one suspect to another yet none seem to be connected to the victims..I really found the narrator was ideal for such a full on thriller. Her voice fitted the genre perfectly and helped the plot to flow in a truly compelling manner. She really brought the story alive. For some reason I decided to listen when I had gone to bed, silly as i then couldn't sleep. I just had to know what the next chapter held. So a few late nights engrossed in Fatal Witness for me.there are plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested right up until the end. Erica Foster is a great well rounded character that I enjoyed getting to know. Her thought processes are spot on and I felt involved in the story..If you're into police procedural thrillers this and the whole series is definitely one for you.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2022
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