A review by sanne_vds
Fatal Witness by Robert Bryndza

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

 
Whilst walking home from the chip shop, Detective Erika Foster hears a blood-curdling scream from an apartment block nearby. Inside she finds a distraught woman and the brutalised body of a young woman. All of the sudden Erika and her team are sucked into a murder investigation which involves mistaken identities (whoops), eccentric and confusing witnesses (choose your next door neighbours well), and a serial-rapist who may or may not have turned serial-killer. 

This is the 7th book in the Erika Foster series and can easily be read as a standalone. It was my first Erika Foster book and I could easily follow along given the bits and pieces of information from her past. I did not feel like I was missing vital information. 

I listened to the audiobook and got sucked into the story almost immediately. The narrator has a way with making each character easily distinguishable from another without it becoming a nuisance. The story itself was a true page-turner. It kept me guessing all the way through and made me gasp on multiple occasions with the many plot twists and details coming to light! Highly recommend this novel to lovers of crime, mystery, and thrillers! 

I’d like to add a trigger warning though: The book starts on an incredibly violent note detailing a heinous murder. Not soon after the detectives also come across the bodies of decapitated cats. This happens in like the first 10% of the story, but I’d rather warn people about this before picking up this book. After all this is sort of calms down and most of the brutality depicted is less intense. 

I received an ARC audiobook of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

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