My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
This is the second book in a series of four so far, and while there are some references to the previous book it could be read as a standalone story, however my advice start at the beginning. Well written with superb characters throughout, a brilliant totally gripping start and whilst it does not maintain the hold your breath tension throughout, it is totally absorbing and an unputdownable page turner. Why does everyday life force me to put book down. More than enough surprises and twists along the way for this reader, with serious tense moments to end.
Completely and utterly recommended.

Gripping. Twisting. Kept me guessing and engaged throughout! This is the first book I’ve read by Robert Bryndza and also able to be read as a stand-alone! Will be reading more by Bryndza!

Thank you, Robert Bryndza, Thomas & Mercer & Netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

EXCERPT: Lyn closed her eyes. 'It's bad enough my son has been taken from me. I want to know why he was in that water in the middle of the night. I'm not the kind of woman that begs, but please.' Her eyes filled up with tears. 'Please. Will you help me?'

ABOUT 'SHADOW SANDS': 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 THOUGHTS: After the excellent beginning to this series in Nine Elms, I felt a little let down by Shadow Sands. There was considerably less tension and suspense and, although I still enjoyed it, I wasn't consumed by the story and its characters.

The plot itself didn't flow, and the writing seemed simplistic a lot of the time. However, the characters are well depicted and continue to grow. I loved Kate's thoughts on DCI Henry Ko: 'You're nice to look at, but you're not the sharpest tool in the box.'

We learn a lot more about Tristan in Shadow Sands. Kate continues to build up her relationship with her son, Jake, and does something that really surprised me.

Shadow Sands is easily read as a stand-alone, as the author provides enough background to enable this.

While I may not have enjoyed Shadow Sands as much as Nine Elms, I did still enjoy it, and have the next in this series, Darkness Falls, lined up ready to read.

⭐⭐⭐.7

#ShadowSands #NetGalley

I: @robertbryndza @amazonpublishing

T: @RobertBryndza @AmazonPub

#contemporaryfiction #crime #familydrama #murdermystery #mystery #privateinvestigator #serialkillerthriller #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Robert Bryndza was born in the UK and lived in America and Canada before settling in Slovakia with his Slovak husband Ján.

When he's not writing Rob is learning Slovak, trying to train two crazy dogs, or watching Grand Designs all in the hope that he'll be able to understand his mother-in-law, build his dream house, and get the dogs to listen.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Thomas &Mercer via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon,Instagram and my webpage

Another cracking thriller by this author, the plot was gripping and twisty and I was completely engaged all the way through

This book was amazing, I loved the mystery and the storyline was well done! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

I didn’t feel this book was for me. I have enjoyed other novels by this author but this didn’t grip me at all.

Great thriller that kept me turning the pages. Great story, great writing and characters. Really enjoyable and would read this author again.

I always seem to catch the 2nd book of a series but this one stands alone. Really great characters. The story had me turning the pages at break-neck speed.

Highly recommend.

Rich characterization and a page-turning plot makes for a fast-paced, though at times gruesome read. This is the second in the Kate Marshall series following “Nine Elms”. Anyone who missed reading the first novel in the series should have no qualms about reading “Shadow Sands” as enough background information is included that it reads very well as a stand-alone novel.

I enjoyed Kate Marshall’s character and her relationships with her assistant, and her son. All were rich and believable. Kate has more baggage than most women in their forties and she is working hard to leave it behind her – including her longing for alcohol. A ‘day at a time’ battle that she is determined to overcome.

The atmospheric locale where the man-made Shadow Sands Reservoir in situated added greatly to my enjoyment of the novel. First of all, I find the idea of flooded towns more than a little unsettling to begin with. Then, factor in the recently found bodies, and the area’s tendency to be mired down in almost impenetrable fog, well, it is just a creepy, and eerie setting.

The narrative is well-balanced between the ‘case’ and Kate’s home life. This time out her sixteen year old son Jake has requested he visit his father…

The investigation probes themes of police corruption, the power and influence of the wealthy, and how insignificant some people seem when they are missing with no one to look for them.

The ending was perfect and adeptly set the scene for the next Kate Marshall thriller which I already have loaded on my Kindle.

Highly, highly recommended to all lovers of gritty crime fiction.

Shadow Sands by Robert Bryndza
This book is a brilliant follow up to Nine Elms, having read both books back to back I really enjoyed both.
I love Kate as a character, and really looking forward to the 3rd book in the series.
This book kept me guessing, and my heart thumping as I read the pages, a great read.

Robert Bryndza's second book in the Kate Marshall series is just as exciting and dark as Nine Elms. In book #2 Kate and her son Jake discover the body of a young man in the Shadow Sands Reservoir. Kate and her assistant Tristan are hired by a family member to investigate his death and soon discover other strange happenings at the reservoir. Thanks to NetGalley for my digital copy of Shadow Sands. I look forward to the next in the series.

In book two in this exciting mystery series set in the UK by Robert Bryndza, once again fledgling private eyes, Kate and Tristan, are on the trail of a serial killer, this time one who has long gone undetected by local police. It begins with Kate and her son Jake discovering the body of a young man while doing some deep diving in the local reservoir. The mother of the young man contacts Kate for help after her son's death is ruled an accidental drowning. How could an Olympic-quality swimmer drown? And what caused the puncture wound in his side?

Kate and Tristan begin to uncover a cluster of missing person cases that go back years and every clue seems to lead back to the foggy reservoir. When a professor who is a friend of Tristan's goes missing, the team is desperate to solve the case before it's too late.

Meanwhile there are problems with Jake as he expresses a desire to get to know his father better. And Tristan is forced to reveal something about himself he's been trying to hide. These are interesting characters but of course it's the horrific crimes being committed that really drive this atmospheric thriller.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I apologize for the delay in getting it read.

I admit I wasn’t overly fussed by Nine Elms, Bryndza’s first Kate Marshall book. I already had this, the second in the series, however, so I thought I’d still give it a go. But…

Shadow Sands is the name of a reservoir where a young man’s body has been found. Kate, a police officer turned university lecturer who moonlights as a private detective, is asked by the dead man's mother to investigate as she doesn’t believe her son has simply drowned. Kate and her research assistant, Tristan, soon learn there have been other bodies discovered at Shadow Sands, and there are even more young men and women missing in the area.

There’s just something about these books I can’t connect with. Maybe it’s the two lead characters.
I’m not a fan. Kate is annoying. I do try to like her. This time around I even focused on picturing Nicola Walker (one of my fav actors) as Kate to make her more palatable but alas, it didn't really work.

The other lead is Kate’s assistant, Tristan. I said in my review of book one that Bryndza didn’t seem to know what to do with Tristan -- one minute he seemed to be set up as Kate’s hot young lover, with his muscled tattooed body being often described, next minute he was the socially awkward but tech savvy sidekick. Bryndza did, at least, sort out Tristan’s lovelife this time around but, overall, I’m still not a huge fan. I also don’t like any of the supporting characters -- Kate’s son and Tristan’s sister are especially annoying.

Bryndza needs a stronger editor to reel him in with his unnecessary and repetitive scenes. No word of a lie, there is one scene where Kate stops for three women on a pedestrian crossing, notes one is blonde, one is brunette and one is a redhead. Then, she drives on. Who cares? The book is littered with these type of scenes which don't move the plot forward or add anything to the characterisation.

The repetition of the characters’ inner thoughts also just about does my head in. Yes, yes, I know that Kate wants a drink and that she’ll have an iced tea instead but AA says she shouldn’t have iced tea but she’ll have iced tea anyway because that works for her. *yawn* The repetition of the violence of the crimes too is completely unnecessary. In fact, I think it would show more intelligence from Bryndza if he, on occasion, gave us a bit less detail of the violent crimes he features in his books.

I have come to the conclusion over the past few years that there’s one trope which really annoys me too -- it’s the 'small town copper is an asshole' trope. It’s just too overused and cliched. In this case, everything points to the local police being corrupt also. I don’t see how this could be the case in this day and age. It’s not like it was a couple of speeding fines they were trying to cover up. Then again, there's a lot of times the reader has to suspend belief whilst reading this series.

I just checked and I gave Nine Elms a 2 ½ star rating which I said in my review was generous. This seems fair enough for Shadow Sands also. I will give book three a miss.

Another great book.by Robert. They just get better and I went back.to re-read all the others. Never have I been disappointed. A wonderful mystery with intriguing characters and the main characters are fun as well as great at their jobs. You just have to read and if you love a blissfully intriguing read you well. Enjoy!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Robert Bryndza. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed all his previous books I didn't hesitate when I had the chance to read this one, the second book about Kate Marshall. It did not disappoint. While scuba-diving, Kate and her son Jake find the body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir. The police label it a tragic accident, but Kate is not convinced - the man was a champion swimmer, and why was he swimming there in the middle of the night?

In her search for the truth about the youg man's death she is aided once more by research assistant Tristan Harper. While the solving of the mystery was satisfying, it was also good to learn more about Kate, Tristand and Jake. I am looking forward to the next Kate Marshall book.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read from a quality author. A fast-paced thriller is full of twists and turns. This is the second in the series I am already looking forward to the next one. Recommended.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book, as ever an amazing read from Robert. Never read a bad book from him and so You won't be disappointed!, fully recommend it

I am a huge fan of Robert Bryndza's books, they are exciting and believable with a very likeable lead character. This second book in the Kate Marshall series does not disappoint.

Kate and son Jake are diving in a local reservoir when Jake comes face to face with a body in the water. Kate tries to find out what happened to this young man and how he ended up drowning when, in fact, he was an Olympic grade swimmer. Shortly afterwards, a young Italian teacher from Tristan's college goes missing, Kate and Tristan wonder if possibly these events are connected. You just know there will be trouble ahead! Throw in an encounter with Kate's ex - former police officer turned serial killer, the Nine Elms Cannibal and you have a book that makes for gripping, compulsive reading.

Robert Bryndza's writing flows on the pages, it makes for pretty easy reading and sucks you right into the story from the outset. Kate and Tristan's personalities are developing and while they are flawed and altogether human characters, they are also captivating in a way that makes you cheer for them as the book goes on.

Looking forward to seeing what this crime fighting duo get up to next.

Even better than Nine Elms!
I am looking forward to seeing what comes next for Kate and Tristan, I hope that some other characters make an appearance in future books too, such as Henry Ko. I am interested to see what becomes of the story as it continues. I'll be eagerly awaiting the next instalment from Robert Bryndza.

Kate Marshall returns in another pulse-pounding adventure full of unexpected twists and turns, and a shocking conclusion.

Author Robert Bryndza follows up Nine Elms, the fast-paced mystery in which he introduced Kate, her teenage son, Jake, and Peter Conway, the psychopathic serial killer who was Kate's supervisor when she was a detective. Having discovered the identity of the copycat Nine Elms serial murderer of young women, and barely escaping with her own life yet again, Kate is back at work as a lecturer at a small English university on the coast. She and Jake have enjoyed spending his school holiday together. As it draws to a close, they are scuba diving in the old Shadow Sands reservoir, a pastime the two of them have take up during the summer. Several small villages were flooded in order to construct the reservoir and the buildings that comprised those little towns remain submerged. As Jake explores an old church spire, he finds the body of a young man and, shaken, alerts his mother. Kate simply can't believe it. After all, it's Jake's last day with her before he must return to her parents' residence and start the new school year. Now she has to inform her mother that her dream of having a normal family life has again been shattered. "The average person in the world didn't stumble on dead bodies, but here it was, happening again to Kate. Was the universe trying to tell her something?"

Kate becomes suspicious when the death of Simon Kendal is quickly ruled an accidental drowning -- and not by the coroner who usually conducts such forensic examinations. Simon's mother doesn't believe her son drowned. He was a champion swimmer and his injuries were not consistent with drowning. Detective Chief Inspector Henry Ko brushes Kate's interest aside, anxious to wrap the matter up quickly. But why? Does he have a vested interest in ensuring that the case is closed without further investigation?

Kate cannot let Simon's death be so easily dismissed. But as she and Tristan begin investigating, a beautiful new professor of philosophy and religion, Magdalena Rossi, suddenly goes missing. She asked Tristan out on a date, but never showed up. Tristan has his own secrets that cause the police to consider him a subject in the case. Terrified, he realizes that there are aspects of his life he can no longer keep hidden. But while divulging the truth might convince the police of his innocence, it also might cost him the love of those dearest to him.

Someone is holding Magdalena hostage. But who? And why? She finds herself in a dark room on a filthy mattress and her captor visits periodically to torment her. As her nightmare is unfolding, Kate and Tristan work feverishly to find out what really happened to Simon and how his death might be connected to Magdalena's disappearance.

In the midst of the investigation, Kate must deal with yet another crisis involving Peter Conway. He defined her life for many years and her "greatest triumph, catching Peter, had also been her greatest failure." The tabloids made the story known to everyone. She still blames him for the unraveling of her life: her ouster from the police force, her alcoholism, and her difficult relationship with Jake. All of her anger, resentment and fear turned Peter "into an almost mythical creature. A monster crouching in the dark to torment her forevermore." So she has to muster all of her strength when she learns that Jake wants to meet Peter, who has only agreed if Kate accompanies him. Kate's mother counsels her to "demystify Peter Conway . . . for your own sanity and Jake's too. He's many things . . . but he's also just a person. He's held all of us in his grip for too long." But can Kate heed her mother's advice and maintain her fragile grasp on her sobriety?

Bryndza reveals that in his first draft of Shadow Sands, Peter was not part of the narrative. However, the character was inserted into the story due to demand from readers who reached out to let Bryndza know how much they loved to hate him in Nine Elms and inquire about what happened to him next. Bryndza correctly opines that the book is better with the storyline involving Peter. Indeed, he is a despicable character, but intriguingly so, especially in light of his history with Kate and connection to Jake. It's difficult to imagine the books without him.

Once again, Bryndza's story is entertaining and gripping, with blunt descriptions of horrifying criminal behavior and a further exploration of Kate's drive to keep her life on track despite the challenges that threaten the tenuous normality she has established for herself and her son. Tenacious and skilled, she is determined to uncover the truth about Simon's demise and find Magdalena, assisted by Tristan. A cast of colorful supporting characters, including a woman no one believed when she described almost being abducted out on the foggy moor, provide interest and give Kate and Tristan much to do and evaluate as their investigation proceeds.

Bryndza again delivers a superbly-crafted story that ramps up with a pulse-pounding prologue and never slows down until all is revealed. Hopefully, Shadow Sands is only the second of many installments in his highly enjoyable Kate Marshall series. And Peter Conway appears again, too.