Erika Foster #7

Detective Erika Foster is on a late-night walk near her 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, stalking 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.

It was so nice to have DCI Erika Foster back. The opening chapter captured my attention. With lots of twists to keep us guessing and some likeable characters, I could not read this book quickly enough. I don't want to say too much about this well written and cleverly crafted story.. The pace is perfectly set. I do enjoy Robert's new crime series featuring Kate Marshall, but Erika Foster will always be my favourite detective. I hope we don't have as long to wait for the next book in this fantastic series.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #RavenStreetPublishing and the author #RobertBryndza for my ARC of #FatalWitness in exchange for an honest review.

Robert Bryndza first gained attention with his series of books about London detective Erika Foster, before shifting his attention in recent years to a new lead character in the form of former police detective Kate Marshall who is eking out an existence as a PI and lecturer at a small coastal English university. His most recent book in the Kate Marshall series, Darkness Falls (2021) was a terrific read and was one of my favourite detective novels from 2021.

Now, after a four year break, Bryndza returns to London detective Erika Foster. Fatal Witness (Raven Street, 7 July 2022) opens with Erika stumbling across the brutal murder of a young woman while on a late night walk near her new home in Blackheath. The victim appears to be Vicky Clarke, a struggling 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 suspect that Vicky may have been close to unmasking the attacker. The case takes a disturbing twist, however, and Erika finds herself desperately trying to prevent another killing.

This is a well plotted and very enjoyable detective novel. The pacing is good and Erika is a very engaging character who ably guides the reader through the various twists and turns. With the exception of one false note, the other characters are also well crafted and credible, and add good depth to the story. Red herrings and false leads are adroitly woven into the plot, and the book builds to a surprising conclusion. After a good build-up, the tension wanes a little in the end, but not enough to undermine what is a very good crime thriller.

Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

How excited was I to learn just a few months ago that Robert Bryndza was not quite finished with one of the best literary detectives ever created? The even better news was in the author's note that we have not yet seen the last of DI Erika Foster!

Book Synopsis:
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 Two Cents: If you are going to bring a fictional character back after a 4 year absence( book 6 was published in 2018), then you have to do it with the style and grace of Robert Bryndza. I absolutely adored the arc of Erika's personal life. I love career driven Erika but this woman needs a little happiness in her life and if it comes in the shape of an old boyfriend from Slovakia, then bring it on!

The crime scenes are pretty grisly and though it didn't stop me from reading onwards, trigger warnings for my fellow cat lovers! If you've never had a chance to read this series, technically, you could read this as a standalone but I would highly recommend starting from the beginning.




Expected Publication Date 07/07/22
Goodreads review published 04/07/22

ErikaFosterReturns #NetGalley.

Special thanks to NeyGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: July 7, 2022
DCI Erika Foster is walking through her new neighbourhood when she hears a scream. Instantly, she runs toward the sound only to find a distraught woman, and a dead body. The woman is inconsolable, insisting her sister, Vicky, is the murder victim, and Foster immediately calls in her team to investigate the gruesome death. When the murder victim’s identity is discovered, and it is indeed NOT Vicky’s body, Foster doesn’t get a chance to be relieved- as Vicky’s body is found stabbed to death in the same building. Vicky, it turns out, was a true crime podcaster and Erika is convinced her recent unpublished podcast was what lead to her death. Now all she has to do it prove it.
Robert Bryndza brings Erika Foster back with his new novel in the series, “Fatal Witness”. This seventh novel is just as engaging and heart-stopping as the other six, and I was thrilled to get a chance to read it!
“Witness” continues the story of Foster and her team, but beyond getting a deeper character understanding, it is not necessary to read the previous novels in order to keep up with the plot. Moss, Isaac and all of Foster’s colleagues make an appearance, and we are introduced to charming and lovable Ivan, a furniture delivery man (and potential love interest) from Foster’s home country. I love Bryndza’s characters, and each and every one in “Witness” (and the rest of his Foster series) just proves how talented Bryndza is at creating a likable, relatable group of police investigators.
The story is written from Erika’s viewpoint, and I was instantly pulled into the tension and drama that Brnydza’s plot provides. Each chapter left me dangling, and “Witness” became an instant page-turner. The ending had the right amount of unexpected surprise and believability, and it wrapped the novel up perfectly. I am a huge fan of Bryndza and his Erika Foster series, and I hope to see more! This is one of those series’ that I can never get enough of, and I hope Bryndza continues to pull me into Foster’s world.

This is a favorite series, and I must say I enjoyed this latest entry (the seventh). It checked all the boxes for a great crime story, put the star of the show, Chief Detective Erika Foster, in all kinds of situations in which she doesn't want to be (including possibly dead) and kept me turning the pages right up to the end. The only downside is that it was four long years in the making.

The story begins as Erika makes her way back to her new fixer-upper home in Blackheath after fetching fish and chips and hears blood-curdling screams. Coming from a flat near her home, she learns the screams are coming from a woman who has just found her brutally murdered sister inside the flat. The woman, named Vicky Clarke, was a true-crime podcaster, making Erica and her team suspect that the victim had stumbled onto something her attacker didn't want broadcast for all the world to hear.

From that point on, things quickly become complicated - and revealing much more wouldn't be prudent. I'll just say that relationships dominate the story - those of the victim and her circle of friends and neighbors and those of Erika herself. Her old fling and coworker Detective Inspector James Peterson, for instance, is no longer the former but still the latter (with a new main squeeze, no less), which creates a few moments that are awkward at best. A couple of sets of sisters bring out the worst in sibling rivalry, and a prime suspect must be treated with kid gloves because of his ties to department powers-that-be and an old friend makes a surprise appearance.

All told, it's an engaging page-turner that brings Erika back into action after a four-year-or-so hiatus; I'm happy to see her, and I'm sure other readers will be as well. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get to know her again through a pre-release review copy. And to the author, please, pretty please, don't wait so long to write the next installment!

Thank you to NetGalley, Robert Bryndza and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fatal Witness is the 7th book of a series that focuses on detective Erika Foster. It’s a fast-paced crime thriller, and just when I began to suspect someone there was always another plot twist. I also loved how the ending wasn’t obvious.

I haven’t read the other books in this series, but I’m definitely interested in doing that now

DCI Erika Foster has just moved into her new home. It’s the worst house in a great neighborhood and yes, it definitely needs work. And furniture. And more time than Foster has to spare. While walking home after a quick dinner break, Erika follows the sound of a scream to find a woman grieving over the body of her dead sister Vicky. The woman has been brutally murdered and Erika’s investigation turns up several interesting leads: the other inhabitants of the apartment building are all behaving oddly and may be hiding something; Vicky was working on a podcast about students who had been attacked at their drama school residence; and a medical student who lives across the hall from the dead woman is missing. How are these leads related? This complicated case challenges Erika’s team and leads her into a dangerous world and a life threatening situation.

Robert Bryndza delivers a multilayered, character driven police procedural. This is the seventh in the Erika Foster series and although it can be read as a standalone, seeing how Erika’s relationships with members of her team have developed gives it extra depth. For instance, her former lover DI Peterson is now living with the mother of his son and Erika is not sure of that what she feels for him is friendship. She’s just met Igor Mak, a fellow Slovak, and I look forward to seeing him again. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Raven Street Publishing and Robert Brenda for this ARC.

After a few years the series resumes (?) with DCI Erika Foster having bought a slightly run down house in London, and perchance hears a scream whilst out walking; suddenly comes across a murder on her way home one day.

Whilst we had a dodgy identification of the body, the story disappears with an even dodgier brother in law and a failing restaurant.

Maybe I was expecting more but the story disappoints and I won't be looking forward to more of Erika, sorry.

Thanks to Net Galley and Raven Street Publishing for the chance to read and review.

** THIS ONE GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS **

First I want to jump with joy that Erika Foster is back!!

I like the way this book opens - Erika Foster has moved to a new home, after a tiring day she steps out to get dinner and when she is returning back she hears a scream ….and voila thus begins the case where Erika & her team have to find a killer who has managed to destroy all the evidence.
After the discovery of a body Erika soon discovers that Vicky was working on a new podcast episode, hence all the evidence had been missing from her flat.
Erika and her team have more challenges as they start unraveling the mystery behind everything that is happening in Vicky's building.
Thanks to Raven Street Publishing, Robert Bryndza, Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an unbiased, honest review

Ericka Foster is a superhero in the law enforcement world. She commands an intense team of capable detectives, tackles the toughest cases and manages to have a personal life - sort of. After moving to her fixer upper home she goes for take out and stumbles upon a murder victim. Nothing is simple about this story. At some point it’s like the case is never ending because it takes a new turn and then the suspect changes. It’s a puzzle with a 2000 pieces and Ericka finds every one of them. I love to read a Bryndza book because I know I can get lost in the characters and attempt to solve the mystery myself, which never happens because I’m genuinely surprised by the actual criminal. Any of the Ericka Foster books can be picked up randomly but you’ll get the full story about Foster and her past if you start at the beginning. I’m thankful for my early copy and have provided my review voluntarily.

Walking in her new neighbourhood, Detective Erika Foster stumbles upon the brutal murder of true-crime podcaster, Vicky Clarke. Before she died, Vicky was working on a new episode about a sexual predator who operates in student halls of residence around London. Discovering that her episode notes are missing, it leads the detective to believe that Vicky had uncovered some vital evidence, culminating in her death. The case takes a sudden turn when the body of a second woman is found in the same building, leaving Erika questioning everything she thought she knew. Can she find the killer before they strike again?

It has been long four years since the last Erika Foster book but she is back, and definitely back with a bang! It took no time at all to reacquaint myself with the characters but first time readers of this series will be happy to know that this could be read as a standalone. I did enjoy the little reference to the author’s Kate Marshall series though!

Robert Bryndza always has the knack of grabbing your attention and he has certainly done the same in Fatal Witness, with a prologue that details a particularly gruesome murder. This immediately drew me in to the story, prompting me to wonder what could have taken place prior to this to warrant such a violent death.

The plot continues to be chilling throughout as Erika uncovers what the woman was working on and tries to make connections to her death. The case is not a simple one, however, and there are plenty of twists that surprise both the police and the reader, each one delivered perfectly by the author. There are enough suspects to keep you guessing, culminating in a satisfying, if violent, denouement.

I had been longing for a new Erika Foster book and was not let down! Fatal Witness is a gripping page turner that had my heart racing. Hopefully it won’t be another four years before the next one!

4.5⭐

This is my first introduction to Detective Erika Foster and author Robert Bryndza and if this story is anything to go by I will definitely be reading more!

As Fatal Witness was a gripping crime thriller that sees DCI Erika Foster stumble across a crime scene when on a late night walk in her new neighbourhood she hears a blood curdling scream coming from some flats and finds a woman who has discovered her sisters mutilated body.

And as Erika and her team including the wonderfully named Kate Moss dig a shocking discovery is made and a neighbour is arrested. But with a powerful ally in his corner, Erika is going to have to tread carefully.

Yet, with all evidence of the victims latest true crime podcast recordings missing and a second body discovered nothing is making any sense.

And with a long list of suspects this was certainly a story that kept me guessing and I was sure I had the killer nailed. But I couldn't have been more wrong if I tried; and with a shocking confrontation with the real killer this was a compelling read. That fans of the series and genre are sure to love.

Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster series never fails to deliver. I have a long TBR list, and I immediately snagged this one.

I’m a huge fan of this series and was delighted to see a new book coming out after a hiatus of 4 years by the author to write other ventures.
I was a little wary as I read and didn’t really enjoy his output in between.

Here we have Erika in a newly bought run down house in London and stumbles across a murder on her way home one day.

What follows is a somewhat disappointing and long winded story that promises much at the start but fizzles out into a somewhat disappointing and uninteresting conclusion.

This would be a 2 star review but upped to 3 stars because it features Erika who is one of my favourite characters in the genre. Unfortunately this feels like a poor and padded out film sequel to one of your favourite films. I do wonder, after reading the authors other output since the last book in this series has he peaked and if there’s anything left in this series. This certainly was an underwhelming and certainly the weakest in the whole series.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC though Netgalley.

I’d like to thank Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Fatal Witness’ written by Robert Bryndza in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

DCI Erika Foster is walking back to her new home in Blackheath when she hears screaming coming from a woman, Tess Clarke, who identifies a body she’s found in her flat as being that of her sister Vicky. As Erika is at the scene she’s takes over the investigation but it isn’t going to be as straightforward as she would hope for especially as the main suspect is related to a police officer higher in rank than herself.

Although ‘Fatal Witness’ is the seventh in the Detective Erika Foster series it’s the first one I’ve read, and I have to admit this is my only novel by Robert Bryndza. The story starts well and I don’t feel disadvantaged that I haven’t read the others, but as much as I wanted to like the main character I thought she was very unprofessional and downright rude at times. I didn’t like the way she spoke to the assistant in the bed store, swearing is never necessary especially coming from a DCI in the Met, or to the person in the police laboratory rushing to do her DNA testing. And for a police officer in her position, you think she’d be better organised and remember to take her notebook with her! I kept reading but couldn’t get involved with the story or the characters and I was glad to eventually reach the last page. Even though I haven’t enjoyed this novel I’ll still look for more by this author but will be giving DCI Erika Foster a miss.

In the immortal words of DKM, "It's been a long time coming"... but instead of the Boys being back, it's Erika Foster, and she's definitely "Looking for trouble"...
All joking apart, sometimes you don't realise you miss something so much until you reconnect with it after a while... and it's been over four years. But it was worth the wait as Erika is definitely back with a bang...
So, Erika has a new house which is pretty bare still. She is out walking in her neighbourhood when she hears a scream. Obviously she investigates and finds herself first on scene at a rather brutal murder. That of Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster. Obviously she gets assigned the case and, together with her team, begin their investigations in earnest. They begin with the obvious - being a true-crime podcaster, what true crime was she currently investigating and was that what got her killed? But with her notes and devices missing, there is initially no way of knowing so this line of enquiry goes dead.
And then they make a rather shocking discovery...
And I'll leave you to find out what that was as the author intends. No spoilers here! Suffice to say it's a bit of a doozy and, well, turns things on their head somewhat.
I've already said I have missed Erika, well that's also true of her team too. Peterson, Moss (that's Kate dontcha know), McGorry, Crane, and pathologist and Erika's best friend Isaac Strong. It was actually pretty cool reconnecting with them and felt a bit like coming home to family. And, to top that, they are also all pretty good at their respective jobs.
Erika also has a bit of good happen in her private life too. Which is nice as the author has given her the runaround somewhat in that department previously too. But only time will tell as to what will happen there...
Writing is tight and the skillful plot is well executed, keeping my attention throughout, spitting me out at the end wholly satisfied. There's good banter between the characters which adds a bit of light relief from the crime and also no superfluous padding or waffle to distract so it gets on with itself very well.
All in all, a cracking addition to an already well impressive series. Just please don't make me wait 4 years for the next one. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Erika Foster is back!! . So pleased that the author has brought Erika back to us, it’s been a while!
A great main plot as Erika and co. (there’re all here) deal with the gruesome death of a young woman.
The plot twists and turns and as always we’re blindsided by who the actual villain is. While the main plot is a brilliant stand alone read, if you’ve not read the series I urge you to the start at the beginning and I envy you the binge read. The subplot is a delight, not just to catch up with what’s happened to Erika but the hope for what’s lined up for her in the future.

Another brilliant read in the Erika Foster series!

The storyline moved at a quick pace and I raced through to the end - I just couldn’t put it down!

Robert Bryndza took his time but the wait was worthwhile, Fatal Witness is another excellent story with Erika Foster. She is finally getting into grips with her past and whilst working very hard she finds time to think about starting over, and that's just wonderful. Someone with such a dark daily life is still able to see the light in the future! This story is a roller coaster of emotions, full of twists and turns that once you start reading you can't leave alone until you see the end.
I downloaded a free copy of this book through NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

My Thoughts:
Ok this book starts off with the murder mystery right away which I liked. This is a great murder mystery that has suspense action and a great plot. This story takes you to where you think you’ve figured it out but then nope the authors says I am going to take you on a little more of a twist and turn. Although this is the 7th book in this Detective Erika Foster Crime series it will not make any difference.
This is a good murder mystery I would recommend reading.
Thank You netgalley for letting me read this.