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A review by _onemorechapter_
The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
๐ป.๐พ: Murder, Violence, Trafficking and prostitution
๐ญPromising start with an enticing prologue that pulled me right in, but overall (for me) nothing really new or out of the ordinary here. This was my first Bryndza novel, and if Google hadn't told me differently, I might think it was Bryndza's first novel as well.
The Prologue. Page 5. Gosh, it bothered me for the next 390 pages. Where exactly did she hide that phone? Yes, it was a clever and attention-grabbing effect to open the book from Andrea's last point of view. It worked. It had my attention immediately. It's just that damn phone and the thong. Then again, glitzy Andrea did prove to have a few glitches.
Detective Erika Foster and her team are assigned the task of searching for the killer of a young woman named Andrea Douglas-Brown, the daughter of the wealthy; powerful; and politically connected Lord Douglas-Brown. Of course, the case is given priority, and after Erika offends the family of the dead woman, political action is made to take Erika off of the case.
That doesnโt stop Detective Erika Foster. Unable to take no for an answer, she continues to search for the killer, putting her life and other people in danger. When the reader first meets DCI Foster she is not very likable. She snaps at people, is aggressive, and makes bad decisions. She is not ready to return to work. I think my biggest problem was the character of DCI Foster. She was incredibly pigheaded to the point of stupidity at times, veering on unlikeable for me.
I didn't really get any deep connection to any of the characters. The first time Erika walked into the office, my impression was that she wasn't welcome. Then Wolff and others on her team seemed to suddenly support her and her efforts. I really wanted to see some kind of repercussion for DCI Sparks with his condescending attitude, other than just being removed from the case.
Bryndza does a solid job with descriptive narrative, and the settings are vivid. The cast of supporting charactersโmost notably Detective Mossโis well done. The plot is interesting, although a bit disjointed and underwhelming. It touches on the horror of human trafficking but the subplot feels underdeveloped, languishing in the shadow of a pedestrian investigation.
I thought I was entering into a serial killer thriller, but it seemed much more like a standard police procedural novel to me, with much more focus on police questioning, and less of the thriller and character development I had hoped for.
Although I found the story reasonably enjoyable I just didn't find it tense or thrilling. I think for me, a crime novel needs to be really dark, clever or unusual to really grip me.
The thing really bothered me: the girl who Erika talked to at the Glue Pot and then ran off. What happened to her??? The other thing that really bothered me was that the author referred to the killer as "the figure." UGH!
Overall, THE GIRL IN THE ICE is still a decent crime mystery involving kidnapping, murder and a feisty detective with a haunted past and a smart mouth who doesn't always play by the rules. This is a solid first attempt at voyaging into the thriller genre. Hopefully, the Foster character will evolve and future storylines will delve deeper into the psychological and police procedure side.
Granted, this is the first book in a series, so many slots can be filled. The potential is definitely there. Detectives Peterson and Moss showed strong character development and there might just be a strapping team lurking here in future.
๐.๐ I love the book cover!!
๐.๐.๐ I have a question. Why do all police officers ( either men or women) in crime novels follow the same pattern? All of them are
-troubled, traumatized by some really bad experience in the past
-insubordinate
-confronted with authority
and Robert, Erika is no exception.
Maybe it is not a bad idea to have a happy police officer sometimes, for a change.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.5
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 3.96 (80691)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 1)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!
๐ญPromising start with an enticing prologue that pulled me right in, but overall (for me) nothing really new or out of the ordinary here. This was my first Bryndza novel, and if Google hadn't told me differently, I might think it was Bryndza's first novel as well.
The Prologue. Page 5. Gosh, it bothered me for the next 390 pages. Where exactly did she hide that phone? Yes, it was a clever and attention-grabbing effect to open the book from Andrea's last point of view. It worked. It had my attention immediately. It's just that damn phone and the thong. Then again, glitzy Andrea did prove to have a few glitches.
Detective Erika Foster and her team are assigned the task of searching for the killer of a young woman named Andrea Douglas-Brown, the daughter of the wealthy; powerful; and politically connected Lord Douglas-Brown. Of course, the case is given priority, and after Erika offends the family of the dead woman, political action is made to take Erika off of the case.
That doesnโt stop Detective Erika Foster. Unable to take no for an answer, she continues to search for the killer, putting her life and other people in danger. When the reader first meets DCI Foster she is not very likable. She snaps at people, is aggressive, and makes bad decisions. She is not ready to return to work. I think my biggest problem was the character of DCI Foster. She was incredibly pigheaded to the point of stupidity at times, veering on unlikeable for me.
I didn't really get any deep connection to any of the characters. The first time Erika walked into the office, my impression was that she wasn't welcome. Then Wolff and others on her team seemed to suddenly support her and her efforts. I really wanted to see some kind of repercussion for DCI Sparks with his condescending attitude, other than just being removed from the case.
Bryndza does a solid job with descriptive narrative, and the settings are vivid. The cast of supporting charactersโmost notably Detective Mossโis well done. The plot is interesting, although a bit disjointed and underwhelming. It touches on the horror of human trafficking but the subplot feels underdeveloped, languishing in the shadow of a pedestrian investigation.
I thought I was entering into a serial killer thriller, but it seemed much more like a standard police procedural novel to me, with much more focus on police questioning, and less of the thriller and character development I had hoped for.
Although I found the story reasonably enjoyable I just didn't find it tense or thrilling. I think for me, a crime novel needs to be really dark, clever or unusual to really grip me.
The thing really bothered me: the girl who Erika talked to at the Glue Pot and then ran off. What happened to her??? The other thing that really bothered me was that the author referred to the killer as "the figure." UGH!
Overall, THE GIRL IN THE ICE is still a decent crime mystery involving kidnapping, murder and a feisty detective with a haunted past and a smart mouth who doesn't always play by the rules. This is a solid first attempt at voyaging into the thriller genre. Hopefully, the Foster character will evolve and future storylines will delve deeper into the psychological and police procedure side.
Granted, this is the first book in a series, so many slots can be filled. The potential is definitely there. Detectives Peterson and Moss showed strong character development and there might just be a strapping team lurking here in future.
๐.๐ I love the book cover!!
๐.๐.๐ I have a question. Why do all police officers ( either men or women) in crime novels follow the same pattern? All of them are
-troubled, traumatized by some really bad experience in the past
-insubordinate
-confronted with authority
and Robert, Erika is no exception.
Maybe it is not a bad idea to have a happy police officer sometimes, for a change.
๐ธ๐ด๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: โญโญโญ.5
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐น๐๐๐๐๐: 3.96 (80691)
๐ธ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense and Police Procedural
๐ธ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐: Detective Erika Foster (Book 1)
๐ธ๐น๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐: Yes!!