Thank you Raven Street Publishing, the author & Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced copy of Fatal Witness in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Raven Street Publishing
Published: July 7, 2022
Summary:
Detective Erika Foster is back in Fatal Witness–with a chilling new serial-killer case in Robert Bryndza’s multimillion best-selling crime-thriller series!
How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?
Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her new house in Blackheath when she stumbles upon the brutal murder of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster.
Erika is assigned to the case and discovers that Vicky had been working on a new podcast episode about a sexual predator who preys on young female students around South London, staking out his victims in their halls of residence before breaking in at the dead of night.
When Erika discovers that Vicky’s notes and sound recordings were stolen from her flat at the time of her murder, it leads her to believe that Vicky was close to unmasking the attacker, and she was killed to guarantee her silence.
The case takes on a disturbing twist when the body of a young Bulgarian student doctor is discovered in the same building, and this makes Erika question everything she thought she knew about Vicky. With very little evidence, the clock is ticking to find the killer before he strikes again.
My thoughts:
She’s back!!! Erika Foster is back and I could not be happier! This is the 7th installment in Robert Bryndza’s Erika Foster series and it’s been quite the wait for this book. Yes, he did start another series, the Kate Marshall series, which I do happen to really like, BUT, my true love is really Erika Foster and I am so glad we have her back…and let me tell you what a doozy of a case we get!
This one starts with a bang and doesn’t let up, which is true to form with this author and I love it! It’s dark and gruesome and keeps you on the edge of your seat most of the time. This is one of my favorite police procedural series from the way the story is told to the amazing character development. I love that while most of the story is told from Erika’s point of view, we also get chapters here and there from her colleagues as well as from the guilty party, which is always my favorite perspective to get because while we don’t know who it is until the end, it’s always so creepy hearing their thoughts.
Expertly plotted, with plenty of misdirection and red herrings, this is sure to keep your attention glued to the book, as it did mine. Once I started this one, I had a hard time putting it down – it’s just such an addictive, captivating story, despite how gruesome and dark it is. I do hope that because we got this book after such a long hiatus that this means there are more Erika stories coming!
Audio thoughts:
It just seemed fitting that I listen to this book as I had listened to the entire series up to now. I was thrilled to see that Jan Cramer was back to narrate – she had been the narrator for all 6 books prior and I am such a big believer in having the same narrator in a series whenever possible. It may have been a few years since the last Erika Foster book, but picking this one up with Jan Cramer as narrator made it feel like yesterday – that’s how consistent she is with her voices and I just love it! This story really just came alive with her narration, really making it such a treat to listen to!
Books in this series:
- The Girl in the Ice
- The Night Stalker
- Dark Water
- Last Breath
- Cold Blood
- Deadly Secrets
- Fatal Witness
