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A review by _onemorechapter_
Dark Water by Robert Bryndza
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
๐ป.๐พ: Murder of a child, Paedophilia, Loss and Grief
๐ญ At the end of Night Stalker Erika Foster was put in for transfer after being passed over for promotion. Now working in south London investigating drug trafficking, Erika is working on a tip-off that she receives about a shred of important 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 the beginning of many nightmares to follow!
The remains are identified as 7-year-old Jessica Collins who went missing almost 26 years ago when she was on her way to attend a birthday party!
Erika talks herself into this murder investigation and once again is under fire from her superiors to produce results. When her request is granted, Erika is reunited with her old teammates, including Detectives Peterson and Moss.
The original investigation was led by former Detective Amanda Baker, who honed in on a suspect. However, Amanda had no choice but to release him and from that point, things went terribly awry. Amanda ended up retiring early and in the ensuring years has become an alcoholic hermit. But she has maintained a relationship with Detective Crawford, who was also assigned to the case years ago. He lost interest in police work years ago and Amanda pulled him into selling seized drugs fifteen years ago. When the investigation is reopened, Amanda demands that he funnel information to her, threatening to expose him if he doesn't acquiesce.
Erika and the team 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!
As the investigation proceeds, neither Erika nor Amanda is aware that their every movement is being watched and all of their conversations overheard. Someone has gone to great lengths to install listening devices in strategic locations and hack their cellular telephones to stay apprised of developments in the case . . . and ensure that Erika does not discover the truth.
In this one, Erika seems to have matured and even though she can still be quite abrasive and demanding, her approach reads as less reactive, and more restrained, than the previous offerings. Also, the story of the character of Erika Foster continues to develop and the reader gets to know her better. Readers of previous books know that her husband, Mark, was killed in a drug raid that Erika lead. Erika has been torn between holding onto Mark's memory and moving on. Having a close and intimate relationship with another man. In this story, she takes another step. Erikaโs sister Lenka makes an appearance in the later part of the book and I liked how the author weaved in some solid sequences for her.
There is always solid police work in the series, and that is true with this book as well. For quite a bit of the book, Erika and the team make very little progress and yet the book is very readable. And of course, the team including Moss and Peterson are always a delight to have around.
In terms of the storyline, there are many repetitive tropes from the first book including a body submerged in water, a dysfunctional family and a killer breaking into Erika's flat.
As clever as Detective Foster is at solving crimes, I feel like the author has really weighed her down with a lot of baggage and she is not as likeable as one would hope. She is in fact, a bit of a rude, snappier and harsher in this book(There was a lot of snapping happening for my liking which was one of the reasons not giving it four stars). I get that Crawford was meant to be a dislikable character, but when she took her anger out on him in chapter 41, I actually felt sorry for him! She not only had a go at him unnecessarily, but she also completely humiliated him, which was completely unfair! I definitely didnโt like her that much in this book.
I also think, for being such a great detective, Erika should probably brush up on her fighting and self-defence skills. I mean for such a brilliant cop, she sure gets herself โalmost killedโ a lot.
Overall, it was a fast-paced novel with enough crumbs laid out throughout the chapters that you don't want to stop reading. The cold case plot line was interesting so was the procedural.
On and all good read with some positive changes in the characters!
๐.๐ Marsh needs to stop hinting at Erika(Cringe!!)
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.75
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.26 (22623)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 3)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!
If you like crime fiction, this is a great series. While the books have standalone stories, it is still better to start with โThe Girl in the Iceโ as it provides a good context to Erikaโs character and background.
๐ญ At the end of Night Stalker Erika Foster was put in for transfer after being passed over for promotion. Now working in south London investigating drug trafficking, Erika is working on a tip-off that she receives about a shred of important 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 the beginning of many nightmares to follow!
The remains are identified as 7-year-old Jessica Collins who went missing almost 26 years ago when she was on her way to attend a birthday party!
Erika talks herself into this murder investigation and once again is under fire from her superiors to produce results. When her request is granted, Erika is reunited with her old teammates, including Detectives Peterson and Moss.
The original investigation was led by former Detective Amanda Baker, who honed in on a suspect. However, Amanda had no choice but to release him and from that point, things went terribly awry. Amanda ended up retiring early and in the ensuring years has become an alcoholic hermit. But she has maintained a relationship with Detective Crawford, who was also assigned to the case years ago. He lost interest in police work years ago and Amanda pulled him into selling seized drugs fifteen years ago. When the investigation is reopened, Amanda demands that he funnel information to her, threatening to expose him if he doesn't acquiesce.
Erika and the team 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!
As the investigation proceeds, neither Erika nor Amanda is aware that their every movement is being watched and all of their conversations overheard. Someone has gone to great lengths to install listening devices in strategic locations and hack their cellular telephones to stay apprised of developments in the case . . . and ensure that Erika does not discover the truth.
In this one, Erika seems to have matured and even though she can still be quite abrasive and demanding, her approach reads as less reactive, and more restrained, than the previous offerings. Also, the story of the character of Erika Foster continues to develop and the reader gets to know her better. Readers of previous books know that her husband, Mark, was killed in a drug raid that Erika lead. Erika has been torn between holding onto Mark's memory and moving on. Having a close and intimate relationship with another man. In this story, she takes another step. Erikaโs sister Lenka makes an appearance in the later part of the book and I liked how the author weaved in some solid sequences for her.
There is always solid police work in the series, and that is true with this book as well. For quite a bit of the book, Erika and the team make very little progress and yet the book is very readable. And of course, the team including Moss and Peterson are always a delight to have around.
In terms of the storyline, there are many repetitive tropes from the first book including a body submerged in water, a dysfunctional family and a killer breaking into Erika's flat.
As clever as Detective Foster is at solving crimes, I feel like the author has really weighed her down with a lot of baggage and she is not as likeable as one would hope. She is in fact, a bit of a rude, snappier and harsher in this book(There was a lot of snapping happening for my liking which was one of the reasons not giving it four stars). I get that Crawford was meant to be a dislikable character, but when she took her anger out on him in chapter 41, I actually felt sorry for him! She not only had a go at him unnecessarily, but she also completely humiliated him, which was completely unfair! I definitely didnโt like her that much in this book.
I also think, for being such a great detective, Erika should probably brush up on her fighting and self-defence skills. I mean for such a brilliant cop, she sure gets herself โalmost killedโ a lot.
Overall, it was a fast-paced novel with enough crumbs laid out throughout the chapters that you don't want to stop reading. The cold case plot line was interesting so was the procedural.
On and all good read with some positive changes in the characters!
๐.๐ Marsh needs to stop hinting at Erika(Cringe!!)
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.75
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 4.26 (22623)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 3)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!
If you like crime fiction, this is a great series. While the books have standalone stories, it is still better to start with โThe Girl in the Iceโ as it provides a good context to Erikaโs character and background.