Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

One-Sentence Summary: Detective Foster hunts a pair of serial killers and the case gets personal for one of the team

Review: Every time I think Bryndza has reached the top of his game, another stellar addition to the Erika Foster series lands on my Kobo and I am blown away yet again.

He is such a great storyteller, you are swept into Erika's life and the world of the criminals, attention gripped waiting to see how it all plays out. Erika Foster is a great lead character who is tough as nails (she needs to be with the amount she is battered and bruised!) but far from perfect and the crime drama plays out dramatically against the backdrop of South-East London and, in this case, further afield in England.

What the author does especially well in this novel is get you invested in the perps. One of them especially is borderline psychopathic but you can't help but be drawn into their lives on the run and feel disappointed when it all comes to an end.

I can't let this review end without mentioning my love for Moss! She is the perfect friend and sidekick to Erika and has some great sassy one-liners in this book.

Without a doubt this is currently my favourite crime series. Needless to say, I absolutely can't wait for Book #6 ..... will this be the book where Erika has to revisit the case which killed her husband?!

I have read lots and lots of crime books and I have read the other four in the Erika Foster series but wow this has to be the best so far in the series, so I do hope the author is busy with number 6. Its gruesome from the start when a dismembered body is found in a suitcase beside the river Thames. This is just the start of a killing spree where a young girl who sees herself with no future is drawn in by the good looks and bravado of a man who is older than herself, she soon realises that she wants the power that he has but she has no idea of how evil and controlling he will become. If you love a fast paced psychological crime thriller I can highly recommend this book. Thank you for the ARC

This is the latest outing for DCI Erika Foster and yet again a great story, although I didn't feel that this was as fast paced as previous books. I would still highly recommend it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Cold Blood, the fifth novel to feature DCI Erica Foster of the Met.

Erica is called out to a murder scene where a man's body has been found dismembered in a suitcase. When a team member remembers a similar case from a couple of weeks ago Erica suspects they are looking for a serial killer but needs proof.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cold Blood which is an intelligent, exciting read with plenty of twists and turns, some more believable than others. The reader knows the killer's identity almost from the start as there are chapters from a diary interspersed with the investigative narrative but has no idea where it will lead and this is the thrill of the novel. I was hooked from page one. The plotting is clever with Mr Bryndza really getting into the mindset and motivations of a psychopath. At no time does any of it seem unlikely.

It is interesting to see Mr Bryndza develop Erica's life. She is a lonely figure with few friends and her family in Slovakia. Her relationship with DI Peterson is over and they have settled in to an uneasy friendship which she doesn't seem happy about and there are hints of more heartache to come. It would be nice to see her more fulfilled outside of work because the budget cuts are making her life difficult there. I love the go she has at the brass when they try to scapegoat her and their reactions - it says all you need to know about the politics of policing.

I like all the little details in the novel which ground it in reality, like the unanswered question of where the killer sourced the large suitcases as apparently in this day of baggage restrictions they are hard to come by.

Cold Blood is another good addition to an excellent series so I have no hesitation in recommending it.

And #Boom, Erika is back! When a suitcase containing the remains of a dismembered male is washed up on the banks of Thames, DCI Erika Foster makes the link with a similar case a couple of weeks earlier when the body of a female was also discovered dumped in a suitcase. With her new superintendent anxious to transfer the case to the drugs squad, Erika is determined to keep this one under her control. And we all know just how determined Erika can be! Her determination doesn't save her from a brutal attack which sees her confined to home and off the job but when another body turns up and the family of Commander Marsh are affected then there is no way Erika will be sitting back and licking her wounds at home!



#ColdBlood is book five in the series,  and yes you could read it on its own but why would you when the other four are just screaming out to be read!

Told in flashbacks between the present time and last year as we follow the two characters central to the investigation; cleverly segmented and written providing the back story for the readers to unwrap alongside the main course!

Personal lives are tangled with professional; lies, deceit and betrayal and thrown into the mix a good dollop of twisted relationships, addiction and guilt; all these ingredients combined have cooked up a tightly crafted and powerful police procedural with one kick ass female detective charging headlong into the pages! Do not miss this!

Assumptions are challenged about addiction and the idea that all addicts are claiming benefits and living in squalor is shelved in this book and I loved the great line written by Robert " we are all just a few pieces of bad luck away from having to make horrible choices to survive" it just hits the subject right home.

Erika Foster, I bloody love her! She has got guts, balls and is not afraid to raise her head above the parapet but she has also got a vulnerability and this comes to the fore in Cold Blood; she lets the readers catch a glimpse of her softer side, her emotions and her fears slowly making their way to the surface at times.

As usual, Erika's relationship status remains at the "it's complicated" level and in #ColdBlood DI Peterson is in recovery, will he and Erika recover from the incident that left him fighting for his life! We also see Commander Marsh back on the scene after being reinstated, he and Erika have history, is this about to unearth itself again!

Max and Nina, too much to say about these two but don't want to give any spoilers away - just be prepared to be contradicted in your feelings for this pair as the book progresses.

DCI Melanie Marsh, the new superintendent, I wasn't sure what I thought of her; a bit of a wimp compared to Erica I guess but I'm sure Robert has great plans to bring her out of her shell!

There were so many heart stopping twists and turns that my jaw hit the deck over and over again! Fast paced and edgy with an energy and vibe about the narrative that hooks you right from the very start!

Cold Blood just kept ramping up the pressure page by page with no let-up, it didn't take its foot off the gas once! I'm exhausted now! (But in a great way!)

Robert Bryndza is the king of keeping you awake, that one more chapter sees you reading way past your bedtime into the wee small hours!

This book deserves way more than the given 5 stars. 
​What a brilliant read. Ill health allowed me to sit and read this and really get stuck into​ it. Never before have I been grateful for bed rest.
​This series of books is certainly way up there at the top of my must read series. Robert certainly knows how to entertain his readers, grabbing you in from the word go and you are not released until the very end. 
​Erika Foster is a character I have really grown to like, yet I still feel with each book we are learning more about her, she's a very feisty character yet sometime I feel she's a little vulnerable, I wanted to get hold of her and one stage and give her a cuddle, then I wanted to get hold of her and give her a slap and explain that she's only human. 
I think if an author manages to get you feeling so much for a character then, they have certainly done their job well. 
​This certainly is a bit of a bad case for Erika and her team, bad enough that a suitcase has turned up with a dismembered body in it, but when a second one turns up well the case gets that bit more difficult. It's a testing time for them all, and each and every member of the team will have their skills tested here. 
​I really can not praise this book or this author enough, and i'm excited to see what else Robert can bring us. It's going to be tough matching or bettering this read that's for sure, but you know what? If any author can do it, then I really think Robert can. 
An outstanding read.
 I would recommend this series to anyone who loves a damn good crime thriller. This book has gone into my 2017 Must reads!

Another great book from Robert Bryndza! This is the 5th in the Erika Foster detective series and she is on the trail of a serial killer(s) who dismembers bodies and leaves them in suitcases. Erika is a tough, but vulnerable, detective who many times solves her cases by relying on her intuition and instincts - not just the facts - and she stays true to character in this book. And of course she is dealing with some personal issues as well as the case. Erika Foster has become one of my favorite detectives and I always look forward to a new book by Bryndza. This one's gritty and suspenseful - a great read.

Thanks to Robert Bryndza and Bookouture through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I don't understand why the world works the way it does, how we have so many terrible people-the emotionless and indifferent psychopaths with misplaced or damaged screws inside. I could tell already what kind of terror we would be facing when it came to solving the murders and I couldn't help but feel sympathy for even the bad.

This story is different, I mean duh. But I loved it, and at the same time, I didn't. Cause I just want to know what really makes the murderer behave in such a way, and why the cause of so much unnecessary havoc... why...oh why!

This book really messed with my emotions, I wasn't expecting it. Erika, had things a lot easier when it came to dealing with people higher up than her in the police ladder, I'm glad they were more cooperative with her, but her personal life is a mess and I just want her happy you know, Robert pleaseee my poor heart is so sad.

I love all the Erika Foster books and I always go into reading them with excitement and none of them has ever disappointed me, with each story, it just keeps getting better and better. I also love seeing Erika's character development, she's not as brash as used to be and she's healing a lot... Although somehow I knew something was up with her Marsh and sigh, I don't know how I feel about it, but time will tell in the next book.

Thank you to Robert for being one of the best crime authors out there and Bookouture for the back to back publishing of this monster thrillers.

Full review to be published online with the end of month reviews.

COLD BLOOD is the fifth book in Robert Bryndza’s fascinating “Detective Erika Foster” series. Erika is a DCI in the United Kingdom, and handles some eerie and cold blooded murder cases. This time, she and fellow detective Kate Moss have been called to an area along the Thames river; where a suitcase containing a young man's dismembered body has been found. This is roughly the same area where the body of a woman was discovered; and in the same circumstances. Although the two bodies have been identified, there have been no clues found to identify their killer or his motives.

COLD BLOOD finds Erika dealing with betrayal from a coworker, the breakdown of a relationship, and the abduction of the twin daughters of another colleague. Although there is a little more backbiting between Erika and the other members of the police department than I am accustomed to; this is another suspenseful mystery from an author who is fast becoming a personal favorite in crime dramas. I have found it quite enjoyable to read how detectives and the police work in another country from my own.

This book really shows what made me fall in love with this series. Erika is back in the next installment and what a rollercoaster ride.

While we know who the killers are there are some amazing twists and turns in this book that you can't see coming.

This book brought me back to the first Erika foster novel where you see this lady battle her way through and become one of the best police officers I have read.

I loved hownthis book was designed and it follows a pattern of serial killers bit with a twist.

I love this series! In each book, the characters are more fleshed out and we get to know them just that little bit more. Erika is much more emotional in this book, you can see how she is questioning her life, where will she be in ten years? She is alone and lonely, family far away and few friends. This doesn't stop her from doing her job though, only a few cracked ribs and broken wrist can do that and even then, she isn't stopped for long.
I loved the plot of this novel, bodies found in suitcases and absolutely no clues as to who is the killer. As the case moves along, little things start adding up and Erika and her team rush to find out who the murderer is. In this novel, we get the POV of the murderer and it is a story in itself. I very much enjoyed it.
I love Erika and her team, especially Kate Moss. Throughout the case, everyone works hard to solve it. Even when the case is taken away from them, the team moves forward. Every one of these books has been a good police procedural novel and I get hooked and can't stop reading.
I am very much looking forward to the next Erika Foster novel and can't wait to see where the author takes her in future books...

Robert Bryndza does it again! Erika Foster bursts back with a bang in this absolutely gripping fast paced book, such a great series. Cannot recommend enough.

It's so nice to check in with Erika. She's still sad and lonely, even more guilty than ever after almost having caused another loved one's death. She's still smoking and drinking vodka. And, more importantly, she is still one of the best detectives in literary history. We get to the action right from the start: a dismembered body is found inside a suitcase on the shore of the river Thames. Erika takes the case and, as always, it will be complicated, tricky and hit close to home. This time, I found the plot a little more disjointed than in previous installments. We see the first-person account of a young woman who seems to be involved in the crimes, and it goes back and forth between this story and Erika’s. But then, due to a (big fat spoiler), Erika is sidelined a little bit, and that was the part that I liked the least. I really want to read about her and her super-funny dialogues with Kate Moss (no... not THAT Kate Moss). Some promising plots were also not followed through or explained properly. Why am I still giving it 5 stars even if it's not as perfect as other volumes? Because it's extremely entertaining and I couldn't stop reading. Just like Erika is not perfect and yet, I love her.

Cold Blood is the latest instalment in the DCI Erika Foster series and once again Robert Bryndza takes you on a rollercoaster ride with this fast paced, gritty, drama packed plot.

I was enjoying this book so much I actually read it in a day! Erika Foster is one of my favourite detectives and once again she and her team are on the hunt for a serial killer. The plot explodes out of the blocks from page one and gathers momentum throughout the book. If you were a fan of the previous books in the series or if you've never read one of these books before then you are definitely in for a treat.

I'm happy to award a very worthy 5 stars for this book and can't wait for book six in the series!! Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and Robert for the chance to review.

Stunningly good book that I couldn't put down. This series seems to get better with each book. I love the characters, the evil and twisted plots and the style of writing. There is nothing negative about this book, Robert has outdone himself, this is a superb read I loved every single page. I devoured this book in a day it was awesome.

This is the the fifth book in the Erika Foster series. I loved the first four but I think this is my favourite. It is gripping from the first chapter. We have a young girl from a good family she has taken a part time job in the local fish and chip shop. There she meets Max, a good looking evil man who draws the girl into his evil world. She does terrible things to please him. Erika and her team are soon onto them, but miss one very important fact. If you enjoy a psychological thriller do read this one.

The latest in the DCI Erika Foster series. An incredible book with many twists and turns. You may think you figured it out but you will be wrong. The ending will blow you away.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and Robert Bryndza for allowing me to read and review this book.

DCI Erika Foster is back. She and her colleague DI Kate Moss have been called to the shoreline of the Thames where a suitcase containing a man's dismembered body has been discovered. A couple of weeks earlier another suitcase containing the body of a woman had been found. The two bodies are identified but there is no clue to their killer. Another fantastic read from the Erika Foster series which finds Erika dealing with betrayal from a colleague, the breakdown of her relationship and an abduction. This series just gets better and better.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Robert Bryndza for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank You Netgalley and Robert Bryndza and Bookouture for accepted for me having the chance to complete until now the DCI Erika Foster Series.

Ah I can't believe this is the last one so far of Erika Foster Series and I have to wait a long time for the next book of the serie.
It was amazing novel, good suspense, there were parts blown away...just not expected the end part ! Do not trust someone once it kills someone for the first time, even if it was for love...DCI Erika has to struggle to see who actually killed a couple of druggies who were found dead inside of a suitcase...all cut in pieces. What Erika plan when her commander, Marsh's twin daughter is kidnapped...what are the consequences if she can't find on time !
I recommend to read this serie once again, truly someone in crime fiction literature should be look after and receive a huge spotlight in book industry ! 5 stars