Devil's Way is a complicated cold case mystery investigated by private detectives with all characters with shady pasts that increases the suspense as the secrets are revealed. As you root for the amateur detectives, everything gradually falls into place making for an excellent novel.

This story, set in the English countryside, has many of the characteristics of an English novel. The newly minted private detectives, not widely known in England, have a case to solve but their provate lives and issues often intervene.

Tristan and Kate are partners in this agency as well as in the caravan park (aka mobile home). What happens to "give" them the case is when Kate, after a near-death experience finds herself in hospital. She is befriended by an older woman who talks about her missing grandson (from 11 years ago) and wonders if Kate can help find Charlie.

The rest of the story revolves around the investigative techniques that Kate Marshall has learned as a former police detective. She and Tristan, who was a former researcher at university, get into some interesting scrapes but the primary focus is on finding Charlie even if it may mean stepping on toes and maybe even being a bit deceitful and bordering on the illegal. Find Charlie could be their mantra!!!

Can they be successful when it seems that fate is conspiring against them? Read this interesting book to find out. Hard to put down once you start reading!!

Kate is a great investigation, but her assistant as a bigger role to place. The writing is easy to read. The characters are familiar and very realistic. The ending was extremely surprising and made the story satisfying. I thought the book was great!

Overall I enjoyed this book. Two private detectives take on a case of a missing boy from 11 years prior. One of them has just survived almost drowning in the ocean and it is possibly the young boy drowned as well. It got bogged down for me a bit with details of the geography of the area but I also understood that they had very little to go on in terms of clues so everything mattered.

3.5/5⭐️

This is my first from this author, and unfortunately I did something I try to avoid by jumping into an established series…this is number 4 in the Kate Marshall stories.

Kate, a former cop and her business partner Tristan are private detectives. While in the hospital following a near-death experience, Kate meets Jean who asks her to investigate her grandson’s disappearance (he was 3) eleven years ago from the family’s campsite on Dartmoor.

There are lots of twists and turns with an interesting assortment of characters trotted out. Did Charlie drown in a nearby river? Was he taken/murdered?

While the second half was engrossing, this was a slow starter for me. There were a couple of plot points that I questioned, and at times I felt like there was an over abundance of plot lines being pulled in. While I didn’t feel overly connected to Kate or Tristan, I’ll pass that off as jumping into a running series.

Enjoyable but not sure if it was enough to double back to the beginning.

My thanks to the author, NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for providing the free early arc of Devil’s Way for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Kate Marshall and her partner-in-criminal investigation, Tristan, have their work cut out for them in Robert Bryndza’s fourth installment of the series, Devil's Way. Kate suffers a serious injury while swimming when she’s overcome by a riptide and nearly drowns. While hospitalized, she meets Jean Juhlings, whose three-year-old grandson went missing more than a decade earlier during a family camping trip. Jean feels guilty for having left him alone in the tent, and she misses him terribly. He’s presumed dead, but Jean’s never stopped wondering what really became of her grandson.

Naturally, there’s much more to the story, and the more Kate and Tristan dig, the more questions they find. Early on, Tristan carries much of the load as Kate still suffers after-effects of her accident. Digging up witnesses and records after eleven years is not an easy task, but Bryndza finds creative ways to piece things together. Will our P.I.s find that Charlie indeed drowned all those years ago, or is he alive and well somewhere? I had a good hunch, which, surprisingly, turned out to be correct.

This was an enjoyable story in a very readable series. I’m grateful to NetGalley, Raven Street Publishing, and the author for an ARC version of Devil’s Way in return for my honest review.

4 stars

Wow! Robert Brynzda does it again! I loved this new thriller. Well written and great execution. The characters were all amazing. This story hooked me early on and never let go. Highly recommend
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

I’ve come to expect great things from the author’s two series, Erika Foster and Kate Marshall and I haven’t been let down. This is a Kate Marshall and I was hooked from the first page. Kate, who is into Wild Swimming gets caught in a riptide and almost drowns but it is while in hospital that she finds her next case from a fellow patient.An 11year old cold case of a 3 year old boy who went missing while the family were camping; no clues, no leads - he just disappeared. Kate doesn’t give up on unsolvable cases and together wit her business partner Tristan set out to find answers. Brilliant writing, atmospheric setting, dialogue that flows and characters to believe in lead through into a multi twisted plot. Loved it!

Thanks to Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Robert Bryndza has yet to disappoint. Kate Marshall and Tristan are back again with another interesting English seaside mystery. From Kate's harrowing beginning, Devil's Way becomes more riveting as it progresses. Bryndza's descriptions of the Devil's Tor were terrific as always and you just know he has experienced these scenes up close and personal. The ending was a bit abrupt, but maybe that's just because I was sorry to see the mystery solved.

Another corker of a book by Robert Bryndza!
Absolutely gripped from the start and literally couldn't put it down!
Highly recommended

Robert Bryndza first gained attention with his series of books about London police detective Erika Foster. The series had a strong serial killer theme to it and attracted a strong following, especially in the United Kingdom. In 2019 Bryndza shifted to a new character, former police detective Kate Marshall who was eking out an existence as a lecturer at a small coastal English university and trying to forget the traumas of her past. Containing hints of Silence Of The Lambs, Nine Elms was a significant step-up for Bryndza and was a gripping tale that held attention till the end.

Devil’s Way is the fourth book in the Kate Marshall series and once again Bryndza has produced a
well-crafted tale that entertains and surprises. After a brief prologue, the story opens with Kate, who is now a private eye, being rushed to hospital after being pulled into a riptide current in the sea off the southern coast of England. The near-death experience leaves her shaken. During her recovery in hospital, she befriends Jean, an elderly lady on the same ward. Jean tells the harrowing story of how her three-year-old grandson, Charlie, went missing eleven years ago during a camping trip to Dartmoor and was never found. By the time Kate is well enough to go home, she has agreed to take on the case to find out what happened to Charlie.

Still suffering from the effects of her near-drowning Kate, and her trusty sidekick Tristan, start to look into the events of that fateful night and find that things were not quite how Jean remembered them. As they peel back the layers of deception they find a connection to another horrific event around the time of Charlie’s disappearance. Suddenly their investigation takes a nasty turn and the pair find themselves caught up in a series of tragic events reaching back eleven years.

I really enjoy Bryndza’s Kate Marshall series. The characters are finely and convincingly drawn, the locations are very evocative and the plotting is credible and interesting. In Devil’s Way the after-effects of Kate’s accident mean that Tristan has to step up more, which brings a new dynamic to the series and creates some tension within their relationship. The story flows along at a good pace and moves through some good twists and turns before arriving at the thoughtful conclusion.

As always, the strength of the book lies in the cast of interesting characters, even the minor ones are finely tuned, and the great sense of place, especially the creepiness of the Dartmoor, that Bryndza creates. Some of the outcome is not difficult to guess, a telling clue is dropped early in the piece, but there are plenty of unexpected developments along the way. A very enjoyable read.

This book is part of a series, but I think it can be read as a standalone book. The characters are likeable and believable. The plot moved along fast (I ended up reading it in an evening). I did guess part of the ending earlier on, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment. I recommend this book

Fast paced read with Kate Marshall and Tristan Hartley Private Investigators trying to unravel the mystery of a missing boy.
Charlie went missing eleven years ago when he was three on a camping holiday near Dartmoor. Jean, the grandmother of Charlie, asked Kate to find out what happened to her little grandson. Jean feels he is still alive , even though the Police firmly believe that Charlie had died by accident .
Delving into the background of the Police investigation at the time , inconsistencies appeared which raised doubts into the Police stance on the missing Charlie.

Interesting and great book to read that keeps you guessing until the end , a good page turner.

This is another outing for Kate Marshall and her detective agency.
Eleven years ago a three year old boy went missing while camping by the Devil’s Tor on Dartmoor.
When she finds herself in hospital, Kate is asked by the boy’s grandmother to reinvestigate the disappearance.
Working with Tristan, she discovers links to a murder, and finds herself working in close co-operation with the police, as well as following her own path.
The final resolution was a little too neat, but it was worth it for the ending, which was not tidy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Raven Street Publishing for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed this new book about PI Kate Marshall . Kate and her partner Tristan are asked to look into the disappearance of a three year old little boy from a campsite eleven years ago who has never been found .This is a fast paced story ,a great plot,excellent characters with a few twists and turns ,a great read.Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

This is my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it!! Kate is in the hospital recovering from a near drowning when she meets an older woman in her room whose grandson has been missing for 11 years. When she finds out Kate is a private investigator, she hires Kate to find him. This is a great story and I thank NetGalley and the publisher for this early release in exchange for my honest review.

Devil's Way by Robert Bryndza is another explosive Private Investigator Kate Marshall book!
So happy Kate is back and ready for another amazing story.

Robert Bryndza sure knows how to build amazing suspense while unwinding his plot.
A well written, well developed and captivating story.
Despite the slowness I felt after the killer beginning, I found this to be hard to put down and riveting.
This novel has a twisty plot that is cleverly executed.
You know Bryndza is a master storyteller when he hooks me like he did.
This is an awesome, intense crime thriller that will leave the readers wanting more of it.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Raven Street Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Robert Bryndza continues to deliver! In this, the fourth Kate Marshall book, he deftly intertwines suspenseful subplots and interesting characters for a twisty mystery.

Kate is recovering in the hospital after after a swimming mishap when she meets Jean, a woman whose grandson has been missing for eleven years. Kate eventually agrees to look into the disappearance and together with her detective agency partner, Tristan, they begin piecing together the events leading up to Charlie's disappearance. All clues point to drowning but when they uncover secrets in Jean's past, they aren't so sure. Was Charlie actually abducted? And what did the gruesome death of a social worker have to do with the disappearance? These and other questions arise as Kate and Tristan delve into the case.

I admit I'm a big Robert Bryndza fan. I love both this and his Ericka Foster series for the simple reason that he is an excellent writer whose books are suspenseful and entertaining. Although the Kate Marshall series isn't as dark as the Ericka Foster, both can be psychological thrillers that take the reader down twisting paths few writers can match. If you haven't read Bryndza and you like well-plotted suspenseful thriller/murder mysteries, I recommend you try him.

Thank you NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for an advance copy for review. The publication date is January 12, 2023.

This latest Kate Marshall story begins with her getting caught in a riptide and waking up in the hospital where she meets a woman desperately in need of Kate’s PI skills. Her name is Jean, and her grandson, Charlie, vanished over a decade ago during a family camping trip. Although intrigued, Kate realizes that there’s not much hope for a positive outcome when so much time has passed. Her partner, Tristan, also shares her concerns but is as willing as ever to take the opportunity for work.

Most everyone involved with the original missing person case believed that Charlie simply wandered away from the campsite and fell into the river. Jean had stepped out from their tent for a few minutes and Charlie’s parents were in their own tent several yards away. But his body never turned up and there was a part close to a gorge where he would have become stuck so his family couldn’t help holding out hope that he was still alive. Although, Jean did have legally declared dead a few years later, so why the sudden change of belief that Kate and Tristan might discover something new?

It might seem impossible but if anyone can find new clues it would be Kate and Tristan. Their close friendship strengthens their working relationship and gives them complete faith in each other’s hunches. No many how weak the lead is, they know that if the other wants to follow something up, they will have their complete support. It’s great to read stories where the main characters aren’t complete opposites, always bickering or trying to compete with each other. And they know that any little tidbit could be the one that cracks a case wide open.

This series is such a joy to read and I loved this book and how the story unfolded. The ending wasn’t a surprise to me but it was quite bittersweet and I love that the author didn’t romanticize the situation. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series to see what Kate and Tristan get up to!

Kate Marshall is back!!! After being rescued from a riptide current and narrowly avoiding death, she is rushed to hospital. On the same ward is Jean who tells her about her grandson 3-year-old Charlie who has being missing for 11 years. Kate agrees to take the case on. What she finds out is shocking Charlie’s mother was murdered shortly after Charlie vanished. The plot is very dark and twisty. Robert Bryndza can certainly ramp up the suspense and has you on the edge of your seat. I highly recommend this book…. you will not be disappointed.