Cold Blood @RobertBryndza @bookouture

About Cold Blood

She fell in love with a killer, now she’s one too.

The suitcase was badly rusted, and took Erika several attempts, but it yielded and sagged open as she unzipped it. Nothing could prepare her for what she would find inside…

When a battered suitcase containing the dismembered body of a young man washes up on the shore of the river Thames, Detective Erika Foster is shocked. She’s worked on some terrifying cases but never seen anything like this before.

As Erika and her team set to work, she makes the link with another victim – the body of a young woman dumped in an identical suitcase two weeks ago.

Erika quickly realises she’s on the trail of a serial killer who’s already made their next move. Yet just as Erika starts to make headway with the investigation, she is the victim of a brutal attack.

But nothing will stop Erika. As the body count rises, the twin daughters of her colleague Commander Marsh are abducted, and the stakes are higher than ever before. Can Erika save the lives of two innocent children before it’s too late? She’s running out of time and about to make a disturbing discovery…there’s more than one killer.

Brilliantly gripping, Cold Blood will have you hooked from the first page and holding your breath to the heart-stopping and shocking ending.

My review of Cold Blood

 

 

Cold Blood is the fifth instalment in the Erika Foster detective series by Robert Bryndza, and I loved it. It is dark, very dark, much darker than the previous books in the series, and for me, this was my favourite book so far. 

As already mentioned, for me, this book had a darker edge, and there was one great whopping surprise that completely shocked me, but made perfect sense. Once again Erika Foster is leading her team in the search for a serial killer. A suitcase is found washed up along the banks of the River Thanes, and inside is the mutilated and dismembered body of a man. What ensues is a grizzly and frankly disturbing read, as the team try to work out who the man is and who killed him.

I can't go into any details regarding plot, as I would give the game away, and I don't want to do that. But I will say that the plot is an intricate one, involving all of the usual characters. The story weaves effortlessly from present day to past events, with the link slowly becoming evident as you progress through the book. These insights into the past both  gripped and unnerved me, and at times were very uncomfortable reading, but necessary to understand the mind of a killer.

This is a dark read, that delves into the life of a serial killer. We are given a glimpse into their life and why they act the way they do. We see the grubbier side of life, drug addiction and poverty, all told with clarity, realism and empathy. 

This really is a gripping read and I honestly couldn't put it down. The story, although harrowing, was highly addictive, and I wondered if Erika would ever get to the truth. She is the backbone of the story. We care for her. She doesn't always get things right, but at the end of the day she cares about people, and about justice, and that's why I love her. She is also an unlikely heroine, in the fact that she is so vulnerable, wearing her heart on her sleeve, and once again, she has to make some difficult decisions about her personal life. 

Cold Blood is a gritty, all consuming and compelling serial killer mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end. I can't wait for the next book. 

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

Cold Blood is published by Bookouture on 20 September. It can be found on Amazon here.