The Girl in the Ice is the first installment in author Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster series. Subsequent volumes include The Night Stalker and Dark Water .

The Girl in the Ice starts with a unique, creative premise and quickly develops into a thoroughly intriguing mystery that is not for the squeamish. And Bryndza skillfully keeps readers guessing right up to the end.

When the body of a young woman is discovered beneath a thick layer of in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is tapped to lead the investigation. But Foster has been out of commission recently following the death of her husband and four other officers. While executing a search, things went tragically wrong. Foster is not only mourning the love of her life. She blames herself, is struggling to learn how to move on with her career and personal life. Her colleagues are aware, of course, of her personal and professional circumstances, and the investigation puts everything on the line for Foster.

The victim is a young socialite from a wealthy and politically powerful family. Why she would have been in the neighborhood where her body was discovered is only the first question Foster is determined to answer. Soon, she finds links to three other unsolved murders. The victims were specifically targeted by someone who does not want Foster to find the killer(s).

Bryndza leads readers through the fast-paced, multi-layered investigation during which Foster bucks both the direct orders of her superiors and her own inner demons. At the same time, she strives to respect and follow the clues she discovered as a result of both her finely honed investigative instincts and the kind of intuition that is only developed through extensive experience. Along the way, she manages to stir up the media, police brass, politicians . . . and eventually track the killer.

Bryndza also infuses the story with a wide variety of colorful, quirky supporting characters who keep the story interesting. He injects enough clues at expertly-timed junctures to compel readers onward without spoiling the surprising conclusion.

The Girl in the Ice is an engrossing and emotionally resonant start to a promising new thriller series.

Wow! What a grilling & enthralling thriller! This novel is the first in its series and I think it is perfect for the start of a suspenseful series that many will love! The plot of this novel will have you captivated and you will be on the edge of your seat wanting more. The characterization was well done and thought the background of the characters was explained well and the characters were relatable. The mystery of the story was surprising and I just loved the twists and turns! I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great thriller!

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza is the definition of macabre. From the moment a body turns up frozen in a lake to the very last page, I was hooked.


And the story goes...


After losing her husband in shoot out in another infestation, along with several other members of her police squad, Detective Ericka Foster is on tentative ground with her squad. When the body of a a gorgeous socialite is brutally murdered and turns up frozen in a lake, she has a chance to turn her career around. Throughout her investigation, she runs into a constant stream of complications from her bosses and the victim's rich family, who wants nothing more than to see Foster gone and the investigation closed. Even victim's dowdy sister, Linda, who's partial to rompers covered in cats (I absolutely love this detail!) doesn't seem to particularly care that her sister was murdered.

Foster's investigation also uncovers signs of a serial killer, so she must work fast to find the truth before the killer takes another victim or worse, comes after her!

This book was a riveting read, with plot twists I didn't always see coming! I could not put it down (I say that a lot... but it's true!!) I was also excited to find out that The Girl in the Ice will not be the last time we hear from the unconventional and driven Detective Ericka Foster! I'm looking forward to future investigations, although this one will be hard to top!

Look for this title at bookstores near you, as it hit the shelves already! (Apparently I'm late to the party!) And keep a look out for more of Ericka Foster books by Robert Bryndza!

Special thanks to Net Galley and Grand Central Publishing for the advance reader's copy for my honest review!

Unable to share review. Ghostwritten for a website client. NDA protected (between website and writer).

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

The Girl in the Ice starts as its name says. On a cold late night, on the first days of January, Andrea Douglas-Brown walked up the hill of a lonely and dark street, she was drunk and stormed out of a pub after a fight with somebody. As she is trying to find a place to get a signal for her phone, a car rides next to her. Andrea knows the driver, but she starts to fear the driver and runs to the woods of the park next to the street, she stumbles, and her phone and purse are lost in the dark. The figure in the car catches up to her and drags her back to the car, where he binds her legs and arms. Andrea knows her attacker and tries to fight back, but at the end her life is taken away when she is strangled in the car. A week later, Andrea Douglas-Brown’s body is found in a frozen lake as her fingers are poking through the ice. Given that Andrea is the daughter of Lord and Lady Douglas-Brown, the media and police starts a witch hunt for her killer and are trying to find him very fast. In their quest to find the killer, the police set Erika Foster, Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) as the main Senior Chief Inspector (SCI) on the case.

Erika’s job is to find the killer as fast as she can without making many waves for the influential Douglas-Brown family. Erika has a different idea; her main priority is to find the killer and bring justice to Andrea’s death. But the road to finding the killer is filled with obstacles, she gets stalked once the killer becomes interested in the person leading the case, and higher ups start to mess up her investigation trying to preserve the image of the Douglas-Brown family.

The time starts to run out and a connection is made with previous women who were found dead in the same circumstances that Andrea was found with the only difference that Andrea was rich and from an influential family. Now Erika has a bigger case on her hands, she needs to stop the killer before he hurts anybody else and bring him to justice for her own safety.

I liked this story, I’m a fan of mystery and for that I like the adventure of finding who the killer is and the reason of why he does things. I liked when the story presents the reader more than one potential killer and the reader is solving the mystery as the main characters solves it.

The story of the Girl in the Ice is a story of privilege and discrimination, a mirror to a major aspect of our society. Andrea grew up privileged, her family was wealthy and spent ridiculous amounts of money on her and her siblings when they got in trouble or just to buy them things. This type of upbringing caused them to turn into awful people that expected the world to stop for their whims. Because Simon Douglas-Brown is a lord, the police system tries to bend the investigation to keep the dirty secrets of his family, and he even hides information that would help to find his own daughter’s killer.

Unlike the privilege that the Douglas-Brown family has, the rest of the characters (in the lower class) are discriminated against and they even treat each other bad among themselves. Male officers are not happy that Erika was given the job of head investigator for the case and at every chance they get to make her job even harder, they do. Later on, we learn that in the previous months there had been other women missing and appearing dead the same way that Andrea did, but the police and the media didn’t take their cases seriously because they were poor and foreign women, instead they painted them as prostitutes and forgot about them. The author did a great job describing a problem that we have in our current society and creating a character such as Erika Foster to help fight the injustice of the world even when she knew that she could lose her job and career.

The Girl in the Ice is not just about the murder mystery that has occurred, we also experience the life of Erika Foster as she works her way with life and job after being on leave for some time. Erika is having trouble being by herself, previous to the events in the book Erika lost her husband, who was also a detective, and her team during a stakeout. This incident caused her to be blacklisted by her old police station team at Manchester. Now in London, Erika is struggling to live her life without her husband and the career that she used to have, she now second guesses all her actions and is not sure how to navigate a new station and team.

There was one aspect of the author’s writing that I liked and at the same time I found irritating. There were times when Robert Bryndza, the author, would write in a great detail what is happening in a scene, the surrounding area, and describing what the characters are feeling at that moment; I found that in most cases this helps a lot to paint a visual image for the reader and explain better the idea of what is going on in the scene, I liked these scenes and what he wrote. But at the same time, there were some occasions where I think that this method didn’t fit with the narrative of the story and slowed down the scene, making it go around in circles. It could be me that felt that way, but I think that once the story started to pick up its pace this method stops helping, and in a scene in the last chapter it took too long to reach the point.

I liked the characters in The Girl in Ice, Erika was a great main character and her team members were a great fit for her. I liked the forensic CSI Strong… of the team and the two detectives, Moss and Peterson that helped Erika when others gave her the cold shoulder. I think I have a love/hate relationship with Chief Superintendent Marsh, at first, I liked him but later on he was annoying and then likeable again.

This is the first book in the Erika Foster series and I’m interested to read what the author has prepared for Erika and her team for future cases. If the next book is as mysterious as this one, then I’ll try to read it.

If you are a fan of Robert Bryndza and his work, then I recommend you read The Girl in the Ice. In this story, we follow the case of a woman found dead one could stormy day in January, her case would open doors and reveal secrets that many want to keep buried. Erika Foster has taken the lead in this investigation and once she finds the killer, heads are going to roll, let’s just hope it’s not hers.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review*

The Girl In The Ice – Robert Brynzda

I was fortunate to receive this novel as an Advance Reader Copy, in exchange for an objective review.

DCI Erika Foster makes her debut in this fabulous series by Robert Brynzda. Set in London, England, DCI Foster is returning to work after an incident on a drug raid left several members of her former team dead, including her husband Mark. Having been sidelined by grief and her own feelings of inadequacy, Foster is brought into another precinct to command a murder investigation.

A young girl has been found frozen in pond ice and has been determined to be the daughter of a prominent London family. Due to the family’s stature in the London community, the investigation is expected to be run low key, in deference to the family, a situation that Erika does NOT agree with. Almost immediately her actions are questioned by both the dead girls’ family, and her commander, s well as the former commanding DCI who relinquished the case to her unwillingly. Erica’s refusal to dismiss a sighting ultimately leads to her removal from the case, forcing her to continue the investigation on her own.

But investigate she does, and soon she finds a witness, who’s information helps build Erica’s theory and sends the investigation that much closer to home. Reinstated, Erica takes advantage of her superiors being out of town to pull of a stunning move – but will she catch her killer or become his next victim??!

This was my first encounter with DCI Foster, but it will not be my last. A feisty, get-er-done Detective, who’s not afraid to buck her superiors to get a job done, Erika is my kind of character! Since this writing, Mr. Brynzda has released several more DCI Foster mysteries, and I aim to read each and every one of them! Great series for mystery lovers!!

"The Girl in the Ice" eBook was published in 2016 and was written by Robert Bryndza (https://robertbryndza.com). Mr. Bryndza has published 13 novels. This is the first in his "Detective Erika Foster" crime thriller novels.

I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in modern-day London. The primary character is Detective Erika Foster.

Foster had been on leave. She had led a raid on a suspect's home and in the process part of her team were killed, including her husband. The police have discovered the body of a young woman frozen in a lake. An old friend of Foster's persuades her to come back and take the lead of the investigation team. This does not sit well with all of the officers working the case.

The murder investigation is complicated by the fact that the young victim is from a well to do family. As she digs deeper into the case, she finds evidence of three prostitutes being killed in almost an identical fashion. But associating the death of the socialite with the death of the prostitutes does not go over well with her family. This soon, and her brusque style, leads to her being sidelined from the investigation.

As the official investigation stalls, she is able to once again resume the role of leadership. As she narrows in on the killer, she is unaware that the killer had been stalking her. Will she be able to identify the killer before she becomes his next victim?

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 396 page mystery thriller. I liked the character of Foster. She is a bit flawed and broken, but a tough customer. I will look for more books by Bryndza in this series. I liked the cover art, but to be consistent with the story the frozen dead girl's eyes should be open. I give this novel a 4 out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

The Girl In The Ice is the first book in the DCI Erika Foster by the British author Robert Bryndza. I have to admit, I picked up this book on a whim because my past experience with British crime mysteries involving a female detective was pretty good.

And much to my delight, I’ve probably found yet another favorite author, along with authors like Sharon Bolton, M.J. Arlidge, and Mel Sherratt.

Full review at https://mysterysequels.com/girl-in-the-ice-by-robert-bryndza.html

First published in Great Britain in 2016; published in paperback by Grand Central Publishing on April 24, 2018

The Girl in the Ice gives the reader a standard crime novel plot: intrepid investigator continues to pursue leads after being suspended for an insubordinate disagreement with the investigative choices made by her bureaucratic bosses, who avoid upsetting powerful people by focusing suspicion on an easy but innocent target. The plot also includes a human trafficking element, which is the current trendy crime novel crime. Standard plots and trendy crimes are fine if they are made fresh, and The Girl in the Ice manages to stand slightly above the pack of standard but trendy crime novels with interesting characters and a solid story.

When a fellow finds a dead woman in the ice, DCI Erika Foster is assigned to the case. Foster has recently transferred from Manchester to London, carrying with her some heavy emotional baggage. The dead woman is the daughter of a prominent politician (and a baron, no less). The politician happens to be the wealthy owner of a private defense contractor, so PR is important, as is a quick and favorable resolution of the crime. Foster’s Slovak background is considered good for PR given the similar heritage of the victim’s mother, until Slovak discovers that the victim’s mother considers herself superior to Foster based on the respective cities in which they were born.

The investigation leads to a pub where the dead woman met a man — a pub that people are afraid to discuss. One of the fearful witnesses ends up dead, but Foster’s superiors view that as a coincidence, not as evidence that a serial killer is on the loose.

Naturally, Foster disagrees with her superiors and concludes that a serial killer is, in fact, killing attractive young prostitutes. And naturally, the politician doesn’t want his dead daughter lumped together with prostitutes, which accounts for the reluctance of Foster’s superiors to pursue her theory. But even if the politician’s daughter wasn’t a prostitute, she might have had something in common with the other murder victims, so Foster ignores her superiors and her suspension and investigates the crime in her own way.

Despite my weariness with human trafficking plots, The Girl in the Ice held my interest. The focus is not so much on trafficking but on a murder investigation that branches in several directions, and the killer’s identity is nicely concealed until the big reveal. Robert Bryndza takes time to build his characters and establish atmosphere, but the pace picks up considerably as the novel enters thriller territory in its stretch run. Erica is a bit of a stereotype, but she’s likable, or at least sympathetic. The novel has obviously benefited from effective marketing by its original publisher, but I enjoyed it, even if some of the accolades it has earned are a bit suspect. The Girl in the Ice is the first in a series, and while I might not go out of my way to read the next one, I certainly won’t avoid it.

RECOMMENDED

RATING: 4 STARS
(Review Not on Blog)

This is the first book in a new suspense thriller series by Robert Bryndza. Bryndza has previously written romantic comedies (I have not read them) so I was intrigued. This police procedural with a female lead, DCI Foster is well written. The plot is suspenseful, with realistic and flawed characters and great chemistry between characters. I would classify this book as a thriller as it is a bit graphic as the murders are realistically portrayed. I found myself at times not very fond of Foster as she can be too impulsive and sometimes a bit annoying. I feel all sort of anxiety on her behalf. Yet, like Harry Bosch (written by Michael Connelly) Foster has the best of intensions. I cannot wait to dip into the next book

Loved this book. Didn’t want it to end. Highly recommend.

Love love love. Incredible book. Fabulous book club pick too

First off, excellent cover!! It certainly drew me to this book, the first book in the Erika Foster series. Now the question is "There are four other books in this series, where have you been?" I'm not sure the answer to that question, but I can truthfully say that I am glad that I finally caught on to it.

Erika Foster is not your normal police detective (who is?). She's been involved several times where those around her were hurt during a case, namely, her husband who died on her last one. A fact that follows Erika to her new post. Of course, there is an A$$hole there who has problems with women cops on his team. And, because of her past, her reputation, while great in getting the job done, has left several people hurt, injured or dead in her past. A fact that did leave her with a precarious resume as to whether, as a woman, she could actually perform her duties.

I just love it when a woman is constantly chastised and criticized because she is a woman by egotistical (for absolutely no reason) man. A man who hates being one upped by a woman and will not even fathom looking at or considering her ideas because she is a woman. Yet the real problem here for this man is because she's smarter, way smarter, than him. Of course, not in his mind. And, always, always, always, that idiot is shown for what he really is just by doing his job "the way he thinks it should be done".

It also seemed to me that management had chosen Erika to be on their team so that they could bully her and ruin her career forever, while looking for a scapegoat in order not to clear this case properly. Erika hit resistance everywhere she went in this book. Suspensions, lies, and unsubstantiated or unreal facts were just part of her everyday life while working in this new job.

Even though there are a lot of sidetracks and wrong turns that the department is making Erika take against her will, she will and does come to the bottom of this thriller.

One that kept me spellbound and had me fist pumping at the end that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Kudos to the author and thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Net Galley for providing me with a
free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I'm surprised by how much I liked this book. I'm pretty picky when it comes to story lines after all the times a book sounded great, but ended up being a let down. This is not one of those books. I kept thinking I knew who the killer was, but I ended up wrong in the end, even though, looking back, it was probably pretty obvious. The author threw in a few tiny clues that I can't believe I didn't pick up on until the end. I did question a plot hole or two, but maybe those were mentioned during the parts where I was getting really tired and was nodding in and out of sleep; not because of the book, but because I was so into it, that I didn't want to put it down to get some sleep. I really liked it.

Well, I can’t say I get the hype surrounding this one.

The Girl In The Ice follows DCI Erika Foster, who’s recently been reinstated to the police force after a failed mission which resulted in the death of her husband. She’s investigating the death of young socialite Andrea Douglas-Brown, whose body was found in a frozen pond in London. Much tedium ensues. I guess I wouldn’t describe The Girl In The Ice as a slog, but it wasn’t exactly a page-turner, either. Especially thanks to a totally unnecessary conflict between Erika and her boss, which results in Erika being sidelined from the investigation and then spending many chapters just waiting for people to call her back and keep her updated. This book was so much longer than it needed to be because of this subplot.

Anyway, interspersed with Erika’s perspective are chapters from the point of view of the murderer, who is referred to (presumably in an effort to hide their gender?) solely as ‘the figure.’ It’s alright the first time Robert Bryndza does it, but then it just gets weird. “The figure watches Erika. She steps toward the window. The figure retreats. I want to kill her, muses the figure.” (That’s not a real quote, but it basically could be.) I mean, why wouldn’t you just write these chapters in first person?? Or use a gender neutral ‘they,’ or eliminate these kind of pointless chapters altogether, or just… do anything to avoid having to resort to ‘the figure’??

Which brings me to my main complaint with this book: the writing was startlingly, inexcusably bad. I obviously don’t read thrillers for their literary merit, but we’re almost verging into ‘how did this get published’ territory with lines like:

“‘DCI Sparks. I have just been to the crime scene and there are things…’ started Erika.

‘I said, I’m now in control of this crime scene and I’m ordering you to step aside!’ shouted Sparks, losing it.”

And that’s not even to mention the murderer’s eloquent declaration:

“‘You think you can analyze me. Rationalize what I did, why I killed? I did it because I CAN.'”

Yes, that’s a real quote.

When you have to put the book down during the big climactic scene because you’re laughing too hard, that’s never a good sign.

There’s one element of this book that I thought I was going to love – the criticism of how the investigation into Andrea’s death wasn’t being conducted properly in order to preserve the rich family’s decorum (e.g., Erika isn’t allowed to announce in a press conference the name of the shady bar where Andrea was last seen, because it would look bad for the family to be associated with a place like that). The problem is, it quickly becomes so heavy-handed, and no matter how much I agree with a message, I don’t like it being shoved in my face. You can never go wrong with crediting your readers with a bit of intelligence.

Thank you to Netgalley, Grand Central Pub, and Robert Bryndza for the copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

“She only looked surprised when my hands had been on her throat for longer than a minute. It was then that she realised she was going to die.”

I have seen the cover of The Girl In The Ice for a couple of years now. It has been on my TBR as well and I was happily surprised to find out it was available on NetGalley. So of course, I HAD to request it.

The Girl In The Ice is the first book in the Detective Erika Foster series.

The prologue pulled me right into the story. A young woman, Andrea Douglas-Brown has been abducted and later on found murdered under the ice of a South London park. Her father is Lord Douglas-Brown, a very influential man.

DCI Erika Foster is called back to work and ordered to take command of the investigation by Chief Superintendent Marsh. She's a seasoned detective who has been away from the force after her last investigation ended badly. During her last raid, her husband Mark perished and Erika has not recovered from her loss. Getting back to work can help her focus on something else, and for this she's thankful.

As the investigation progresses and leads start pilling up suggesting the work of a serial killer, Erika continues to find herself in murky waters. Her superiors and the Douglas-Brown family are impeding her investigation at every turn. Still, Erika won't be deterred. The five dead women are counting on her and she won't let them down.

Very good beginning into a police thriller series. I read a lot of them and it's always nice to see another good series beginning to take form. Mr. Bryndza does a good job creating relatable characters. As with other series, the main character is damaged. She also makes some hasty decisions that endanger her life but how else can we find the killer sometimes, right?

The Girl In The Ice had a cohesive storyline with a fast-paced action who kept this reader going.

Cliffhanger: No

4/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What I expected from the synopsis? A strong female lead with a dark and troubled past barely managing to stay one step ahead of a ruthless killer.

What I got from the book? A mess that was harder to get through that trying to trudge uphill through quicksand with ten pound weights attached to your ankles.

To begin with Erika as no business being the lead investigator on anything much less a high profile investigation. She's brash (she butts heads with everyone including the victim's parents), she has no respect for authority, and she goes off into dangerous situations half cocked. Its a miracle she wasn't killed (actually it was sheer luck, but that's a different story).



The story was slow moving, even for a police type novel. And key pieces of information were easily overlooked (without giving too much away, all I can say is the minute the words au pair came up during her investigation a critical piece of information should have immediately been recognized and wasn't). The ending again seemed to be more about luck than any solid leads (and again it blows my mind how the information that eventually lead to the arrest of the subject was overlooked before that point).

Overall, this story may still appeal to those who enjoy this type of novel, it just wasn't for me.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

This was a fun book to review because I had just read and reviewed the sixth book in the series featuring DCI Foster. When I started on the other one I had no idea that it was a book in series and it made a great standalone. Now that I have read the first one I can see that maybe it would have been nice to know some of the background of the people but not absolutely necessary. I love the series and am pretty sure I will buy books 2,3,4 and 5. Erika Foster is a very likable person. She does get into a lot of trouble because she has a little habit of not listening to her superiors when she thinks they are wrong and she is right. In both books she retreats to the country to her father-in-law to re-energize. The case is human trafficking and brings with it all the terror that follows. The only part of the book I wasn’t too keen on was the identity of the killer. That came kind of out of left field. I was provided this book by #NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased review. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes a good British mystery.

The Girl in the Ice in the first book in the Detective Erika Foster series, Erika has her work but out for her with this case.

DCI Erika Foster is the newest investigator called in to work the murder case of a high profile socialite. It’s the first case she’s worked on since the death of her husband and ther officers, while working a case. Yes, she is great at her job, but was she really ready to back on the job so soon. But she has a lot to prove to the “big boys” who don’t think she’s the one for the job. Being prior law enforcement, this was something I could certainly relate too. It’s not always to come in and take over, when some of those you work with, don’t really want you there.

The death of Andrea Douglas-Brown is the spotlight with all the news channels have the story being covered. Andrea comes from a family that is a prominent one, very wealthy, and very involved in the politics of just about everything. Including the police department. So, her death was big news, which of course just adds to the pressure of getting this case solved quilckly. So many questions loomed around her murder, why would a wealthy socialite be in the low-income part of London? The bigger question, why?

Andrea’s family is a mystery, they aren’t forth coming with any information when it came to the personal side of Anread and their family. Erika was not going to give up, and she is not one to keep quiet and just speak her mind. It might cause some waves, and get her some sideways looks, but her sheer determination to find out what happened to this young girl made me want to prove all those nay-sayers wrong. She was the right investigator for this case.

The course of the investigation uncovers some things that I’m sure this family would like to have kept hidden, but not only that, it leasds Erika to other cases that were similar. Her ideas get pushed aside by police politics, but this Erika we’re talking about. And that wasn’t going to stop her, even if it put her own safety in danger. This is one badass women!

There was no shortage of suspense and with the little snippets from the killer here and there, it was downright creepy in places. Everything unfolds layer by layer, and I was certainly fooled into believing that wrong person was the murderer. But that is something I certainly like when it comes to my thrillers, keeps my guessing.

This was such a great start for the series, and I have to say, I am looking forward to seeing what case DCI Foster will get caught up in next. The police procedurals and politics were spot on and kept me interested to see how it all panned out, add in the suspense and creepiness too, I was hooked. Book 2 here I come!

SO GOOD!

Addictive police procedural about a ballsy Detective Chief Inspector determined to take down a twisted killer.

Since there have been so many stellar reviews already written about The Girl in the Ice, I am going to write more about my reading experience vs. the plot.

Right from the start, this book grabbed me. It begins with the murder of a wealthy socialite and progresses to focus on DCI Erika Foster who is brought in to solve the case.

It only took me reading about 20% of this book before I knew that I was going to have to read all of the books in the series. I really took to Erika’s character--she’s tough as nails but vulnerable at the same time and she doesn’t always play by the rules (which often causes her to wind up in trouble). I also liked the supporting characters, and look forward to seeing how everyone develops.

What I didn’t like: While the killer’s POV added a layer of creepiness, it also annoyed me that they were referred to as “the figure.” I don’t know why I feel the need to harp on this, but it stuck out to me. There were a few moments that were hard to believe, and I wish at times that more subtlety had been applied.

The mystery surrounding the identity of the killer had some depth, although I suspected early on some of what was going on, I couldn’t put the pieces together. Overall, this is a fast-paced, suspenseful read with some good twists led by a dynamic heroine. Erika’s character is the reason why I will be reading all of the books in the series--I just wish I didn’t have so much catching up to do!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza is the first in a series featuring DCI Erica Foster. There are now six books in the series.

After the death of her husband, DCI Erica Foster is back in a new position. In fact, she hasn't even found a place to live when her first case begins to take over her life.

The prologue introduces the victim, her abduction and murder. A few days later, a young man stumbles on the body of the young socialite in a frozen pond. Erica has just arrived and hasn't even had time to take her suitcase to a hotel before she must visit the crime scene.

Erica is a strong woman and a capable detective, but she is still dealing with the trauma of her husband's death and her own sense of guilt and responsibility. Nevertheless, she begins making friends and allies as she initiates her investigation. Unfortunately, there is also an officer who wants to see her fail and her superior officer doesn't provide consistent support.

The victim Andrea Douglas-Brown is the daughter of a millionaire with political clout. There are similar murders that Erica believes associated with the case, but they are of young immigrant prostitutes, and the powers-that-be don't want a connection that might sully the Douglas-Brown family.

It is easy to cheer Erica through her challenges and to appreciate the cast of characters that support her in her battle to find the killer despite the opposition from the family and her own department.

I liked this first installment and hope to see the minor characters develop in future books.

Read in March. Blog review scheduled for April 20.

NetGalley/Grand Central Publishing

Police Procedural. Originally published in 2016; April 24, 2018. Print length: 396 pages.