Erika Foster is no longer on the Murder Investigation Team in Lewishham Row, as she's been seconded and transferred to the Bromley Police Station working in the CID Division fighting organized crime. When they get a tip about drugs hidden in a disused quarry, the team heads off to find this evidence to put a notorious drug dealer away. While searching the bottom of the quarry, they find both the drugs and something else. The divers bring up the skeletal remains of a child, who turns out to be the body of a 7 year old girl who has been missing for twenty-six years. Erika begins to investigate the murder and disappearance, but someone doesn't want this cold case to be solved. Erika seeks out Amanda Baker, the original detective on the case, now retired. What is she hiding?

I am really enjoying getting back into this series. Erika is not easy to like. She is prickly, can be rude and arrogant, likes to be alone and is self-flagellating, blaming herself for the death of her husband. But, in her job, she is a great detective. She is tenacious, thorough, supportive and has great intuition. It was interesting to see her with her sister, Lenka, and Lenka's children. She loved them, but had a hard time dealing with having them in such close proximity. She gets frustrated easily, but who wouldn't? Overall, she is a great character, multi-dimensional and one I cheer for. Her team, Moss and Peterson are there as supporting characters as well as Isaac, the pathologist. The introduction of Amanda Baker shows us what happens when police can't solve that case and it eats at them for years. As the investigation progressed, I just couldn't wrap my head around this crime and how the family reacted, perhaps it was the only way they could deal with it? The plot of this story was well developed and kept me guessing. I had no idea what had happened and was listening intently to see if there were clues I had missed. This is a police procedural that is well presented, and I enjoyed how this investigation panned out, even though I was surprised by the conclusion. It was fast paced and never lagged, which made the story seem a lot shorter than it really was. I definitely recommend this series and can't wait to catch up.

EXCERPT: Autumn 1990

It was a cold night in late autumn when they dumped the body in the disused quarry. They knew it was an isolated spot, and the water was very deep. What they didn't know was that they were being watched.

ABOUT 'DARK WATER': Beneath the water the body sank rapidly. She would lie still and undisturbed for many years but above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.

The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news twenty-six years ago.

As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she must dig deeper and find out more about the fractured Collins family and the original detective, Amanda Baker. A woman plagued by her failure to find Jessica. Erika soon realises this is going to be one of the most complex and demanding cases she has ever taken on.

Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone is keeping secrets. Someone who doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

MY THOUGHTS: I love this series and Dark Water is an earlier book that I somehow missed reading when it was published.. It's a great addition to the series and I absolutely flew through this. It's fast paced and gripping.

Erika is one of those characters that isn't always easy to warm to. She can be rude and arrogant. But she is thorough and stands up for what she believes in and those workmates who deserve her loyalty. She can be quick tempered - with everyone, including her sister Lenka. Yet despite all this, I can't get enough of her.

Moss and Peterson continue with their supporting roles, as does gay pathologist, Isaac Strong. The original detective on the case, Amanda Baker is also an excellent character. Beaten down by her failure in the case, she has become an alcoholic recluse until Erika visits her to get her take on the case.

The Collins family, the family of the missing child, are hard to fathom. If you didn't know that they were a family, you would think that they were a group of strangers thrown together.

I had no idea, until it was revealed, just who had abducted and killed Jessica Collins. My jaw dropped. I really didn't expect that. And yet, it was just perfect.

Although this is book #3 of a series, the author provides enough background for Dark Water to be read as a stand-alone.

Dark Water is fast paced, gripping, absorbing and exciting!

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#DarkWater #NetGalley

I: @robertbryndza @bookouture

T: @RobertBryndza @Bookouture

#detectivefiction #familydrama #mystery #policeprocedural #series #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 hell be able to understand his mother-in-law, build his dream house, and get the dogs to listen.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Dark Water 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.

Robert Bryndza is an author I found on NetGalley. I can never put his books down once I open them. I love the main character Erika Foster! Totally worth the read.

Robert Bryndza is on my favourite author list but this book proved a disappointing read. It wasn’t that the story didn’t hold my interest because I was hooked from the very start. His writing style was as good as in other books too but the plot was so unlikely as to be almost comical. This is one of the Erika Foster series and I do wonder if authors try to get too much out of a character simply to provide a series. It’s an issue I’ve found before where one or two are really excellent and then one is so far off the mark you wonder if it’s the same author.
I won’t give up on Bryndza because he has real talent but it wasn’t on display overall in this effort.

Erika Foster is back, in the third instalment of the series featuring her. This is another fantastic book to add to the Erika Foster stable and what else would you expect with Robert Bryndza? An author who never fails to tick every box needed in his books.
The storyline is disturbing, while at the same time compelling, and will suck you in. I couldn't put it down at all. This time a skeleton of a young child is discovered and Erika needs to dig up the past as well as more recent happenings to find out the truth. A book that can be read as a standalone but can be appreciated more when read in order.
A brilliant series and an excellent instalment again!
Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for my copy of the book

Jessica went missing 26 yeas ago- her remains have just been found. Ericka Foster untangles family secrets and lies as well as corruption in this well done procedural. No spoilers from me. Don't worry- it will e fine as a standalone.

Erika Foster is working on a tip off that she receives about an importance evidence for a major narcotics case, the evidence is buried in an unused quarry in the outskirts of London - she orders a search, along with the drugs the skeleton a young child is also discovered!
This body has lied still for many years and has remained undisturbed, the discovery is just a beginning of many nightmares to follow!

The remains are identified as 7 yrs old Jessica Collins who went missing almost 26 years ago when she was on her way to attend a birthday party!

Erika, Moss and Peterson try to piece together new evidence with the old, but they have to dig deeper as they meet Trevor who was identified as a suspect all those years ago - but with a little tip off that a volunteer organization received thru the then investigating officer Trevor experiences a lot of harm to his face and body - sues the MET and ends up winning the case!
Was Trevor who was a registered pedophile responsible for Jessica Collin's death? Is her family really what is shown as to the outside world? Why is her mother Marianne so controlling? As the reader delves into the book so many truths are unraveled that it will leave the reader speechless!
Is someone in Jessica's family keeping a secret?
There is someone who doesn’t want this case solved & they will do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

Clearly another 5-star read from Robert Bryndza - an author who is superbly talented and has an unique writing style which gripped me from Chapter 1 of this book - jumping right into start the next book in the series!

Book 3 in the wonderful Robert Bryndza series featuring Detective Erika Foster doesn't disappoint. Another cracking storyline featuring the fabulous Foster.

Another extremely well written mystery thriller in the Detective Erika Foster series. A very enjoyable read.

It's been nearly TWO YEARS (oh gosh *hangs head in shame*) since I last caught up with my favourite Slovakian detective.  You can read my review of The Girl in the Ice (book #1) by clicking HERE and my review of The Night Stalker (book #2) by clicking HERE.  I was a little concerned as I started to read.  Worried that I wouldn't remember enough of Erika's history, worried that I'd forgotten the dynamics of her working relationships and, my immediate 'main' concern, why all of a sudden she was based in Bromley?!  I needn't have worried (although I am still trying to figure out the move to Bromley!).  Within a few chapters I was reminded exactly why I love this tough, determined and dedicated DCI as much as I do.

Erika Foster and her new team unwittingly find themselves in the middle of a heart wrenching cold case investigation.  In the dead of night, Erika and the Met Police Marine Recovery team are searching Hayes Quarry for ten kilos of heroin with a street value of four million pounds.  What they find is worth so much more than four million pounds to one family.  The grisly discovery of Jessica Collins' remains rewinds the clock by twenty-six years.  A high profile missing child case which was never solved and destroyed not only a family but the career of the Senior Investigating Officer, DCI Amanda Baker.

Of course, that doesn't stop Erika from wanting to jump into the driving seat of the case now it's been reopened.  And now that's it's become about a young girl's murder, Erika is determined to bring justice for Jessica.  But, just as DCI Amanda Baker failed all those years ago, it seems Erika might be destined to fail on this one too...

I love Erika Foster. I was also very happy to see, despite the move to Bromley, that Erika was able to recruit the DIs she worked with in South London; DI Moss and DI Peterson (two very familiar characters who I feel I know well, yay!).  Bryndza's characters are always so real and very memorable.  Other characters in the book also stood out for me.  I found myself loving the Collins family which may surprise some people.  I felt there was something the family unit was hiding; something....not quite right and I loved them for that.  It's always the darker characters, the secretive ones that grab my attention!

I'm afraid I managed to guess one of the major twists in the story fairly early on, but that certainly didn't put me off and there was a lot more to come!  Plus, I was keen to see what Erika was going to do and how she was going to solve the case.  I wanted to know what her break would be and how Bryndza would tie up the threads of the story.  That was more important to me than anything else.

Would I recommend this book?  Oh definitely.  I adore Robert Bryndza's writing and I absolutely love Erika Foster (it's true, I still have my #girlcrush on her!).  Beautifully detailed, devilishly good and a book that's hard to put down.  I promise to make a start on Last Breath (book #4 in the series) soon.  I DEFINITELY won't leave it so long this time!

Four out of five stars.

I chose to read and review an eARC of Dark Water.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Bookouture and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Dark Water. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

A dive team, headed by Detective Erika Foster, is looking in the quarry for the 10 kilos of heroin that suspect Jason Tyler may have dropped there. The team gets more than they bargained for when they discover a plastic package wrapped in chains, when opened reveals a small skeleton inside. The identification of the remains brings up a cold case, for which the main detective was forced into early retirement for failure to find missing seven year old Jessica Collins. The case is more complicated than ever, seeing that it was 26 years before that Jessica disappeared. With the help of the original policewoman on the case, will Erika and her team solve the mystery of the little girl's disappearance and death?

Dark Water has a good premise and solid main characters. Although some of Detective Erika foster's personal life is detailed here, the author strikes a good balance between this information and the criminal case as a whole. The book has a good pace and the investigative portion is right on point. I like Detective Erika Foster as a main character because of her strength, her determination, and her ability to see the truth through all of the lies. I would recommend Dark Water to readers who like police procedural thrillers and I look forward to reading more featuring Detective Erika Foster in the future.

My Rating: 5/5

Before I get into my review, I want to send a HUGE thank you to Bookouture for copies of this series on Audiobook. It has been a pleasure listening to them and I’m excited to share my thoughts.

Erika Foster. I hear that name and automatically think of strength. I’ve read a number of detective series and Robert Bryndza’s is one of the best. I can easily put it in my top three. There is suspense and anguish in every book, and just enough clues to keep you guessing the outcome. While I liked some books better than others, it doesn’t change my mind that I highly recommend this series.

Set in London, Erika Foster is a detective oftentimes leading a team of a murder investigation. She lives and breathes for her career, which can hinder her mostly non-existent personal life. Originally from Slovakia, she’s been living in London for a number of years, but hasn’t made any real ties. She is still dealing with the death of her husband two years prior on a drug raid gone wrong. All of this makes up Erika’s struggles. But, even though she struggles in the personal department of her life, she has a glowing track record of solving the most difficult cases.

My favorite of the books is probably Last Breath (and this book didn’t win by much!). This one is told from different points of views, the serial killer who preys on young, beautiful females and the detectives. The story is chilling to the bone! After kidnapping the unsuspecting girl, the man tortures and kills each one, leaving their bodies in a dumpster. It is so disturbing, especially during the moments when hearing it from his point of view and the pleasure he gets from torturing. Last Breath also develops the story line of Erika and a potential love interest. Seeing her alone all these years, I was excited to see her finally finding comfort in another person. I love how the author adds the story line as a minor plot, always keeping the focus on the crime itself.

I’ll emphasize again that while I like every book, The Night Stalker and Cold Blood are tied for my next favorites. Both are also told by alternating point of views (I’ve come to realize I favor this type of story telling). Both involve female killers, and both are equally disturbing. Mr. Bryndza proves his creativity with each book; no two stories are the same and all are intriguing until the very end. His writing is captivating and he provides just the right amount of detail to keep you yearning for more. There is enough recap in each book that they can ultimately be read as stand alones, but I recommend starting from the beginning and diving into each book in order.

I listened to these books on my long commute to and from work every day. The narrator did an excellent job! She didn’t overact, but read the story with enthusiasm. Being American, I also loved the British accent!!

Kudos to the author for writing a series that is not only top notch, but one of my favorites. I can only hope that Mr. Bryndza isn’t finished with Erika yet!!

RATING: 4 STARS

(I received an ARC from the NETGALLEY)
(Review Not on Blog)

Bryndza's third suspense novel in the DCI Erika Foster series, had me all over the place. I was constantly changing my mind on the killer/plot so I eventually let go and just let the plot take me where it wanted to. My emotions - over the plot and characters was just as messy. I am loving this series!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

The Erica Foster books by Robert Bryndza just keep getting better and better! Erica really seemed the personification of persistence in this book. Of course, that is a characteristic of a good investigator. And she is a very good one.

Book 3 in the Erika Foster series and just as good as the previous books. It is nice getting to know Erika more and her colleagues which makes it feel like you're reading about people you actually know!

I love reading about cold cases and this case, about the finding of the skeleton of a child that went missing twenty-six years ago is both tragic and chilling to read. This book is the third book in the Erika Foster series, but you can read them without any problem stand-alone.

Erika is a brilliant police, but with some problem with both keeping her mouth shut and her temper in check. She is still quite pissed about not getting the promotion she thinks she deserved, and changing unit after that have not made her life happier. She, therefore, is quite thrilled to get the chance to try to crack this case, although not many want it to be honest. The detective in charge of the case back in the 90s, Amanda Baker, career was ruined thanks to this case. But, Erika is hell-bent on solving it, despite lack of evidence.

Cases that involve children are always so tragic to read about and this is not an exception. It gets even worse when it is revealed that a pedophile was keeping the young girl under surveillance, although he apparently has an alibi. For Erica is this a tough case, trying to bring justice to little Jessica will be hard when so many years have gone by. I found this book to be just as good as the previous books in the series, and it was also nice for the first time to meet Erika's sister and her daughters. Although I did understand Erika's frustration with them. And, speaking of family, Erika is still mourning her dead husband, but she finally seems to be able to perhaps move on with a certain colleague...

Dark Water is a great book in a great series that I recommend warmly!

A competent thriller that I enjoyed but not as much as the preceding two. I enjoyed this book and found it a page turner but found the characterisation a little weaker than the others in the series. The plot was reasonably diverting but I found the characterization not as strong or captivating as it was in The Girl in the Ice. I enjoyed reading this and would still recommend it to others. I'm not giving up on Bryndza though and will still look out for his next book.

The third in the Erika Foster series by Robert Bryndza and another fantastic read. Well researched, well written and very enjoyable
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Dark Water by Robert Bryndza is the third book in the British police procedural series featuring Erika Foster.

Following a tip by the suspects wife Erika and the narcotics team are in search of a huge stash of drugs in a quarry . Along with the drugs they also find a dead body of a seven year old Jessica Collins gone missing 26 years back. The case was mishandled way back then which ended with the lead investigator , Amanda Baker, losing her job over it but Erika and her team do not intend to drop the ball again on little  Jessica.

This is a great addition to the series with Erika Foster at her usual abrasive, no nonsense self. A complex plot with an ending that caught me by surprise. A must read  mystery lovers

Many thanks to Bookouture &  NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

I love the author's other series of books and was shocked at how different this series is. Wow he's a talented writer! I am late in my review but not because I didn't enjoy the book. I did. Real life just got in the way. This book was gripping and now I plan to read the others in the series.