Read and listened to this book in equal parts so this is a joint review. Robert Bryndza is one of my go to authors who I can usually rely on to provide me with a good read/ listen particularly when I’ve ploughed through a poor offering. Unfortunately I wasn’t too taken with Fatal Witness which is less thrilling than others of his. It wouldn’t stop me reading more from the author as I do like his characters.

When Vicky is murdered DI Erika disovers that she was a podcaster of true crime and that she was on the verge of unmasking the attacker who preys on young women and raping them at the halls of residence when her life was cut short. A mistaken identity.
As DI Erika and her team race against the clock trying to unravel the mystery of the young woman, Vicky is murdered.
Mystery, suspense and betrayal keep you intrigued as the the list of suspects have been narrowed down and Erika disovers that not only does her job wave in the balance but also her life.
Thank you Netgalley and the author for a digital copy. Read and reviewed voluntarily and the opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

My first read by this author and I wasn't disappointed. I was suitably impressed as, unlike other authors, he even made mention of the HOLMES unit. Working in the police world means that I pick up on inconsistencies so I tend not to read British Thrillers all that much 'cos I end up raving about "that's not right" or "where the heck is HOLMES?" However, my one wee gripe is that DCI's tend not to go out on interviews, etc but I'll give him artistic licence there lol!

Erika Foster has just moved into her new house. She just wanted her chippie supper after a long day. But heartbreaking wailing makes a copper take notice and she arrives at the scene of a murder. One that's not going to be straightforward. Erika and the team are going to have to battle mistaken identity, historical sexual assaults, nepotism, and eccentric/full-on batty secondary characters with plenty of red herrings and misdirects thrown in.

I enjoyed getting to know Erika and the team and how they all work together. The previous relationship with a team member and the prior loss of her husband gave another layer to the story. Dark topics are interwoven with the banality of dealing with her sister, becoming a new cat-mum and trying to get the furniture delivered when your job keeps getting in the way!

The final scenes left me gasping and I have to admit Igor grew on me.

TW - historical sexual assault/violence/animal cruelty

I was really excited when that another book to feature Detective Erika Foster was coming out. I read the first book in this fantastic series in 2016 and I have been hooked on this author and series ever since.
How do you find a killer who leaves no evidence? A great murder mystery and so much more. I had my list of suspects and I still got it wrong. I never want this series to end. Loved it and a very happy reader.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

A solid Brit cop novel that, on the whole, I enjoyed.

Two things:

1. The entire book was set in an italic typeface. Every word of it. Surely this is just a screw-up by the publisher and was unintended, but it was nevertheless darn annoying. The publisher should take greater care with controlling errors in the ARCs that they distribute. The writer deserves at least that much respect.

2. There was a scene near the middle of the book in which the murderer kills again in a surprising way and the victim clearly knows the murderer -- 'Oh, it's you!' -- although his identity is hidden from the reader. I hate this sort of thing. I know you often see it in Brit crime fiction (the murderer in the Inspector Morse television series was forever going up and down the stairs somewhere with only his/her feet showing), but I still hate it. Since everyone in the scene knows who the murderer is, and the writer obviously knows who the murderer is, the reader (or viewer) is left as the only one who doesn't. It makes the reader feel inferior and emphasizes the superiority of the writer. It's an insulting way to tell a story and entirely unnecessary. Just read any of John Sandford's Lucas Davenport novels for the right way to tell the story when you want to tell part of it from the murderer's point of view.

5/5
Mystery/Thriller, 372 pages
No Spoilers Review

Being a big fan of mystery thrillers, all I had to hear was that this was the next book in the Erika Foster series and I knew I had to get my hands on it! This has been a spectacular series to date, and I just couldn't wait for the next adventure.

Fatal Witness certainly did not disappoint, in fact, it was well worth the wait!

Even though this was the 7th book in the series, I believe it can easily be read as a stand-alone/without having read any of its predecessors. The story itself is phenomenal! I couldn't stop turning the pages to see where things went next. There are a number of (let's call them "interesting") characters, several unexpected twists, and developments that keep me guessing and re-evaluating whom I thought the killer was almost until the very end. Extremely well done! When I got to the end, I had only one question - when is book #8 coming out?

Things I liked:
The originality
The effect the case had on Erika
The suspense I felt while reading
The lineup of characters/possible perpetrators
The fact I wasn't able to identify the killer until the end
Things I didn’t like:
I can't say anything negative about this book.

I would recommend this book to anyone in a heartbeat. To those of you who like the genre, I have to ask why you're still here and not already out getting yourself a copy! Trust me, you won't regret the purchase!

An extremely well written mystery which will keep you guessing until the end. I liked the police characters, one could visualize them and their personalities, especially Erika, the main detective. Two murders, the first a young lady who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The second was deliberate as she was getting close to solving a long forgotten crime. If you like a good mystery this is it, I recommend it.

Very clever police procedural; tense, thrilling and with lots of red herrings. The pacing is perfect and the characters are really good, especially Cilla, who I can picture in vivid colour. I loved the little extras in this book, like the stray cat and the scene in the bed showroom. Highly recommended.

One of the better efforts in a good UK police procedural series. A little slow in places, but realistic and an interesting case, with characters to get invested in. Wrapped up a little sloppy, but overall, I enjoyed it. Hope there’s more…

Although this is the seventh book in the series it is a good standalone.I have read some of the previous books so I was looking forward to reading this new book and I wasn't disappointed.This is a brilliant Police Procedural set in London with excellent characters.I very much like Erika who is trying to move on after her husbands murder.A young girl has been murdered but that is only the start of this fastpaced ,action packed gripping story .It is one of those hard to put down books which I love ,the story twisted and turned and I didn't gues who the murderer was so it was a surprise for me the ending .Looking forward to reading the next book in the series .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC .

I had the privilege of reading an ARC of this fast-paced and unpredictable thriller. In this page-turning murder mystery, detective Erika Foster is trying to solve the gruesome murder of a young girl in her sleepy London neighborhood, Blackheath while simultaneously processing the death of her husband. As Erika begins to investigate it quickly becomes clear that everything is not as it seems and lots of plot twists and misdirection follow.

Despite its unpredictability and high entertainment value, this thriller wasn’t for me. I found myself wishing for stronger character development and more focus on our leading lady. Erika’s tendency to do everything without backup and nothing by the book made the story seem slightly unrealistic. The author treats whiteness as the norm, only describing the skin tones of BIPOC characters (with one exception) which really stood out to me and felt insensitive and tactless.

If you love a quick, gory whodunit, this would be a great book for you!

Fatal Witness - Robert Bryndza

Erika Foster book #7

I was eager to read this, I binged on the Erika Foster series a few years ago, and rate The Nightstalker as one of the best serial killer novels I've ever read.

Erika's character is great as always,the constant outsider, as a tall, widowed, Polish Detective in London.

The book gets off to a violent start with a brutal murder, an eccentric neighbour could be the obvious suspect.

It's a seemingly straightforward investigation, but there are some unexpected twists.

Maybe my tastes have changed in the years since Erika's last outing, and while it was entertaining enough, I found the plot a little light and I wasn't wowed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Raven Street Publishing

Fatal Witness is my first novel by Robert Bryndza and it was a definite thriller. The twists and turns leave you breathless and are very well scripted. You never even venture a guess as to who the culprit is. I am certainly checking out his past novels.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If you've read any of the Erika Foster books in the past you'll love this new addition to her story. Beyond the usual thriller, this one develops Erika's character even more, showing her vulnerability and the possibility of love in her future as well as her moving forward with her life in purchasing a home and opening herself up to friends for help.

This is my first book by Robert Bryndza and all I can think is that I wish I had found his books sooner. I absolutely loved this book, and I am so excited to read more of his books. His work is very similar to Angela Marsons' work, which I love, and I am thrilled to find another series of police procedurals to read.

I really liked the main character of the book, who is police detective Erika Foster, and I found her story interesting. She is a very loveable character and I enjoyed her role in this book. I look forward to reading more about her in the future.

In this story, Erika has just moved house, and while she is out walking, she comes across a murder. Her and her team immediately get to work to try and solve the crime. Her team are all likeable characters and I look forward to getting to know them more when I read more of the books in this series.

I highly recommend this book, which is fantastic, and I am very happy to have another great author's books to read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Fatal Witness (Detective Erika Foster Crime Thriller Book 7) by Robert Bryndza is an excellent detective murder mystery.

Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster is an incredibly developed character - strong and persistent and she never gives up in her investigations! I was hooked from the start. Well written and the plot was carefully orchestrated with many twists and turns that kept me spellbound until the end.

While this is the 7th in a series of crime stories featuring Erika Foster, this is the first one I have read. This did not detract from the story and I felt no disadvantage not having read the previous 6. However, given my enjoyment of this one, I will be taking the opportunity to go back and read the other 6 and also look forward to the next one in this series.

Highly recommended read.

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher Raven Street Publishing via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

What an amazing story this was! This was my first book by this author and I can see me picking up many more in future.
I understand this is part of a series but for me it worked well as a stand alone book. There were obvious area's that I would have known about had I read the previous books but they did not distract from the tale in any way.
This book is so twisty it's kind of amazing that anyone was who they seemed to be by the end of it with all the false trails that we were lead down. There is a very satisfying ending however and that is why I will be looking out for more of this authors works.

Book 7 in the Detective Erika Foster series and what a brilliant read. A number of threads all come together seamlessly as we are treated to an original and exciting plot line full of twists and turns and with suspects everywhere. There are some quite graphic scenes but they are not gratuitous.

Briefly, a woman, Vicky Clarke, is savagely murdered in South London and her body is discovered by her sister just as Erika is passing by. The murdered woman was a podcaster and Erika soon finds that she was investigating a case that Erika herself is working on: that of a sexual predator who has been attacking female students. Had Vicky found out who the attacker is?

This was such a good read it was difficult to put the book down. A really great thriller/police procedural with an amazing plot and I didn’t have a clue who the killer was - total surprise. Loved it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

'Fatal Witness' by Robert Bryndza is such a readable and interesting book. I did and didn't want it to finish. I was so engrossed in the story but I needed to know who and why. Surprises at so many points in the book. The ending had my heart racing. Loved every minute of it.

“Fatal Witness” is a gripping page-turner right from the very start! Drawn in from the very first page, I was held completely captive right up until the very last. Boasting interesting, likeable characters and a unique premise that’s twisty and suspenseful, I was hard-pressed to put this novel down!

This is my first Robert Bryndza novel, and despite being new to his Detective Erika Foster series, I had no issues reading this latest installment as a stand-alone--even without the backstory. Still, it did leave me with a desire to go back and read the previous 6 books in this highly captivating series.