Book Review: Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza

Available here

And it's Happy Publication Day to Robert Bryndza for the second in his Kate Marshall series, Shadow Sands. I loved  Nine Elms which is the first in this series and was looking forward to this one so much. 

Here's the blurb

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 he there, in the middle of the night? If he was such a strong swimmer, how did he drown? As Kate and her assistant Tristan Harper follow the evidence, they make a far darker discovery . . .

This is only the latest victim in a series of bloody murders dating back decades. A mythic serial killer is said to hide in the rolling fog, abducting his victims like a phantom. And when another woman is taken, Kate and Tristan have a matter of days to save her from meeting the same fate.

My thoughts

As a character, I find Kate Marshall appealing - not your typical detective, she's had her share of trauma and fights her own demons, which is what makes her so relatable. 

I love stories with an edgy bogey man feel to them and Shadow Sands is just that. With a mysterious 'thing' abducting and killing various victims, this is spine tingling and I definitely kept the lights on when reading this one.

Told from various viewpoints, we learn about the historic cases and current victims and it's easy to see why Kate and Tristan are so drawn to the investigation. This is especially true when it becomes personal for Tristan, who as well as coping with personal difficulties, has links with the current victim. 

Shadow Sands is definitely of the same high calibre as Nine Elms and I found myself glued to the book. The way Bryndza captures all elements of his characters and makes the reader so invested in them is a huge plus for me. 

The creepy settings and the high adrenaline fueled interactions between some of the key players maintains a degree of excitement and the feeling of 'what next?' as the story unfolds. 

The myths surrounding the story only add to the aura of menace and uncertainty and I only wish I could be half as brave as Kate Marshall should I ever be in a similar situation. 

Highly recommended. 

Author Bio

Robert Bryndza is an international bestselling author, best known for his page-turning crime and thriller novels, which have sold over four million copies in the English language.
His crime debut, The Girl in the Ice was released in February 2016, introducing Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster. Within five months it sold one million copies, reaching number one in the Amazon UK, USA and Australian charts. To date, The Girl in the Ice has sold over 

1.5 million copies in the English language and has been sold into translation in 29 countries. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2016), the Grand prix des lectrices de Elle in France (2018), and it won two reader voted awards, The Thrillzone Awards best debut thriller in The Netherlands (2018) and The Dead Good Papercut Award for best page turner at the Harrogate Crime Festival (2016).

Robert has released a further five novels in the Erika Foster series, The Night Stalker, Dark Water, Last Breath, Cold Blood and Deadly Secrets, all of which have been global bestsellers, and in 2017 Last Breath was a Goodreads Choice Award nominee for Mystery and Thriller.

Most recently, Robert created a new crime thriller series based around the central character Kate Marshall, a police officer turned private detective. The first book, Nine Elms, was an Amazon USA #1 bestseller and an Amazon UK top five bestseller, and the series has been sold into translation in 15 countries. The second book, Shadow Sands will be published November 3rd 2020.

Robert was born in Lowestoft, on the east coast of England. He studied at Aberystwyth University, and the Guildford School of Acting, and was an actor for several years, but didn't find success until he took a play he'd written to the Edinburgh Festival. This led to the decision to change career and start writing. He self-published a bestselling series of romantic comedy novels, before switching to writing crime. Robert lives with his husband in Slovakia, and is lucky enough to write full-time.

You can find out more about Robert and his books at www.robertbryndza.com