I haven't read the first 3 books in this series but after enjoying Devil's Way, I will be going back to the start! That being said, I had no trouble reading this as a stand-alone. Kate Marshall is a former Met police officer turned private detective. After getting caught in a riptide and pulled from the sea by a couple of young surfers, Kate ends up in the hospital where she meets Jean. Jean tells Kate about the night her grandson Charlie went missing 11 years ago and hires Kate and her partner, Tristan, to find out what happened to Charlie: did he drown and disappear into the Devil's way gorge, or is he still alive, as Jean "feels"? Even though I thought I figured out what happened to Charlie well before the reveal, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story (and there were enough red herrings to keep me not-quite-sure). The story is well written, the characters are relatable and have depth, and the mystery unfolds at a good pace.

I have to say, I am enjoying the Kate Marshall series of books as much as the Erika Foster ones :)

Kate goes for her customary swim in the ocean and ends up in a riptide, which causes her to have to be rescued. Whilst in hospital, she gets chatting to an older lady, Jean, about her grandson who went missing 11 years earlier. Kate agrees to take on the case of this missing grandson but she has no idea what a twisted saga this ends up being.

Luckily for Kate, she has her trusty sidekick, Tristan, there to help her out, and between the two of them and some help from others along the way, they unravel what happened to Charlie.

Great story from Robert, once again. I loved the setting of this story, and the Pixie Tree sounds really creepy! It doesn't make me want to wander around Dartmoor at night, that's for sure.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing.

Kate Marshall is a former police officer turned private investigator. She is pulled into a riptide on her daily swim early one morning and rescued by two surfers. While recovering in the hospital, she is rooming with Jean. Jean is a grandmother who lost her three-year-old grandson while on a camping trip. Although eleven years have passed, the case remains unsolved, and Charlie has been declared dead. Jean hires Kate and her partner, Tristan, to investigate the decade old case. As Kate and Tristan begin digging up the past, they uncover secrets, and a murder that may or may not be tied to the case. Was Charlie abducted or did he fall into the raging Devil’s Way River?

Review:
This is a suspenseful, mystery thriller with twists and turns, multiple suspects and red herrings. Kate’s character is well developed as is her struggle with aging, her relationship with her son and partner, Tristan and her battle with alcoholism. The setting of Devil’s Way is a character in the story with details and atmosphere allowing the reader to be present at the campsite on the evening of Charlie’s disappearance. The clue of a short story within this story was unique and an excellent part of the plot. Overall, a quick paced mystery with a realistic ending.

Note: This is the fourth book in the Kate Marshall series but can be read as a stand-alone. This book contains missing child, the death of a child, murder, alcoholism and suicide.

Thank you to Net galley and Raven Street publishing for and ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book was published on January 12, 2023.

Robert Bryndza writes riveting thriller that kept me turning pages and guessing. This one confirmed my opinion and I had a lot of fun, was surprised by the twists and love the relatable characters.
Great storytelling and plot developmnet.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

With an enticing start to the book, where Kate, a PI who is a sober alcoholic, gets caught in a rip tide and nearly loses her life, it sets the scene for a tense read.
There are few remote chances in this book, surviving a lone swim when caught in a riptide as well as a chance meeting with a woman whilst in the hospital recruiting her to investigate the disappearance of her grandson some years after his disappearance.
What proceeds is a convoluted but engaging read, as she and her PI partner uncover more, following up some good as well as some wasted leads to work it all out in the end.
Her personal demons, as well as the challenges of trying to run a successful PI firm are pertinently included. There is good collaboration, perhaps more than usual, from the local police, but delivers a show of very good detective work that keeps you intrigued and engaged via its carefully paced reveals.
Really enjoyed, not much of an afterburn once I put it down, but it did its job in entertaining in a very skilful manner.

Kate Marshall is now a PI a recovering alcoholic, while she was wild swimming she is caught in a riptide and while she is in hospital Jean the lady in the next bed asks for her help to investigating the disappearance of her 3yr old grandson 11yr ago, Kate and her young partner Tristan accepts the job.

Loved the storyline and the twists all woven together to get the end result, just couldn`t put it down.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC
Posted to Goodreads

One of my goto authors,always enjoy reading his books and this latest offering is no exception.
Great storyline, characters you can emphasise,very descriptive of the area where it is set with,twists and turns right to the end.
Brilliant read

Devil's Way is the 4rth book in the Kate Marshall series. I have read all the previous books. It's been half hit and miss for me. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me. What bothers me the most is Kate's and Tristan's chemistry. They have like a mother-son relationship. Tristan is immature and has no experience to be a private investigator. I enjoyed the story but the ending was predictable.

Thank you to NetGalley, Raven Street Publishing and Robert Bryndza for a copy of "Devil's Way" in exchange of an honest review.

Devil's Way is Book 4 in the Kate Marshall series from Robert Bryndza.

"Kate and her business partner, Tristan, take on the case of a three-year-old boy that went missing on a camping trip eleven years ago. They discover a dark past to his grandmother. Did that make him a target? A social worker that was concerned about him was found murdered a couple of weeks after he went missing. A couple on a nearby farm had suspicious behavior. Is the boy still alive or did he fall in the river?"

This is a police procedural from Bryndza. Kate and Tristan follow the clues and leads. There are several red herrings - one big one convinced me early that Bryndza was going a certain way. But he pivots in a different direction into a wild ending. Readers will have a hard time putting this down with all of the twists and turns.

This is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Crime fiction fans will enjoy this one. Another great story from Bryndza.

This is the first of the titles I highlighted in my "Looking Forward" post. Over three novels Robert Bryndza has established a very impressive crime series featuring Private Detective Kate Marshall and her assistant Tristan. Kate has moved on from her horrific back-story which featured in the first book “Nine Elms” and has settled to sleuthing in Devon whilst running a campsite she inherited in order to stay financially solvent.
After three books all of which felt quite different in tone to one another and which certainly displayed the author’s skills at crime writing he can’t be blamed for taking his foot off the gas a little with this 4th in the series and producing a solid, satisfactory work which is not as quite an exceptional read as the first three but would definitely be a fan-pleaser.
As in “Darkness Falls” the case here involves a long-time missing person. Here it is a three year old boy who has been missing ten years by the time Kate and Tristan get the case from a grandmother desperate for closure. The plot is not as rich nor as intense as in the other novels and the twists did not surprise me as much, in fact, unusually for me, I had things sorted fairly early on. What still works well, and why this book was no way a disappointment to me is the relationship between Kate and Tristan. Here Kate shows vulnerability with a near-fatal accident early on which switches the dynamic slightly between the two. Aside from the case I just enjoy these lead characters and I’m sure there’s a lot more mileage in their detective work.
Devil’s Way was published on 12th January 2023 by Raven Street Publishing. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

Another mystery thriller with an eeri atmosphere that I really enjoyed.

What I like:
- the mystery, lost child case is always heartbreaking.
- procedural mystery, it might be tedious, but I love folllowing bread crumbs of clues, gathering witnesses, interviewing witnesses, collecting suspects, it keeps me guessing what really happened.
- Kate Marshall and Tristan. Great to know about these two more, each has their own little story, a glimpse of their past and getting to know them better.
- the suspense, that last few chapters is pretty intense.

What I don't like: it's pretty predictable, but it doesn't take away all the fun

Recommended: yes especially if you love procedural suspense thriller mystery read

Charlie was 3 years old when he disappeared from a campsite in 2007. Now, eleven years later, his grandmother, Jean, wants answers. After meeting private detective Kate Marshall in the hospital, Jean wants her and her business partner Tristan to find her lost grandson. Will a cold murder case, an old farm house and a disturbing short story help them to discover what truly happened to Charlie eleven years ago?

Right off the bat, I'm going to say that Robert Bryndza doesn't ever disappoint me. His writing is gripping and his plots are haunting. That's why I immediately requested this e-book when I saw it on NetGalley and I was so excited when I got the news that I could read it before the rest of the world had a chance to.

Even though I haven't read a Kate Marshall novel before - this is the fourth book in the series - I knew before I even got started that I was going to love Devil's Way. Luckily, I was right. I was so intrigued by the disappearance of little Charlie that I couldn't put the book away, I just had to know what happened. Rob has a way of sucking you into a book and making sure you don't go anywhere until you've finished it. Do I have exams to prepare for? Yes. Do I first need to know if Charlie's still alive? Absolutely!

Devil's Way is full of twists and turns. You think you know what happened? Think again and here's a big plottwist to confuse you even more. I'm a huge fan of thrillers that keep me on the edge of my seat and constantly provide new information, so this really was a book for me. The characters felt fleshed out and real. Kate has a swimming accident at the start of this book and nearly drowns. Her struggle to get back in the water after this felt painfully accurate to me. The last chapter had me blinking some tears away.

If you are very aware and attentive, you might get what really happened to Charlie somewhere in the last 25% of the book. Even though I did have a pretty good guess towards the end, that didn't stop me from enjoying those chapters as much as I had the previous ones.

Overall, I'm really glad I read this book and I would definitely recommend it to fellow crime-loving readers. It's not too graphic, but still manages to creep you out every now and then. Devil's Way gets a well-deserved 4.25 stars from me!

Thanks very much to NetGalley, Robert Bryndza and Bryndza's team for providing me with an ARC! I'm looking forward to more of them in the future :)

Outstandingly good book.
Robert never fails to deliver an utterly gripping, unputdownable fast paced read.
My only frustration comes from it being over so quickly. I have it clear the decks as it’s addictive and consuming.
Kate and Tristan’s relationship draws you in. It’s enchanting to get to know them more.

Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza is a 5 ⭐️ read.
All I can say is WOW!! I’ve never read this author before and hadn’t really realised this was book 4 but I’m so glad I gave it a try and I was blown away by the writing style and how amazing the characters were. The story took me on a rollercoaster of emotions and as much as I wanted to find out how it ended I really didn’t want it to finish.

A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Raven Street Publishing, for the ARC of Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza in return for my honest review. This is the 4th book in the Kate Marshall series and what a brilliant addition to the series it is. Devil’s Way had me hooked from the very start making it really hard to put down, the plot is brilliantly written as are all Robert Bryndza’s books keeping you hooked till the end. Although this can be read as a standalone I would highly recommend reading the series from the beginning to get the full impact of the characters you will not be disappointed.

Entertaining thriller as Kate and Tristan investigate an old missing person case.

Kate and Tristan are running their fledgling detective agency on a shoestring and are always looking for new business. Kate, in the hospital after a near drowning incident, meets a fellow patient with a very sad story about her missing grandson. Even though it's been over 11 years, Jean can't accept that her 3-year-old grandson could really be dead. Kate and Tristan agree to start looking into old records and visit the location where Charlie vanished in the middle of the night. The more clues they discover, the more questions they have.

This is the 4th in a series that has really grown on me. I like the main characters -- Kate, a mature 47 mentoring Tristan, her former research assistant when she was professor in criminology. Her police background gives her credentials and respect, and he's a quick learner. Blessedly, no romance and Kate doesn't do stupid things to put herself in danger in this book. Nice and clever mystery with a predictable but satisfying outcome.

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for this e-book ARC to read, review and recommend. I look forward to the next installment.

When Kate is in the hospital after almost drowning, she gets in a late-night conversation with the other woman sharing the room. Jean tells Kate about how her 3-year-old grandson disappeared 11 years ago and asks for her help in finding him. Then what started as a missing person investigation turns into so much more as Kate and her business partner Tristan follow the clues, even though some of them don't seem to be related. But Kate keeps an open mind and eventually many secrets are revealed.

Devil’s Way by Robert Bryndza
Kate Marshall #4

Seven years into the timeline of this series we find Kate having defied death and Tristan doing more legwork as they take on a missing person case. The person missing has been gone for eleven years and was only three when he disappeared. What happened to Charlie has been a mystery and heavy burden for his family to carry. Perhaps a new look by the intrepid Kate and Tristan will find answers the police did not unearth.

What I liked:
* Returning to a well-loved series
* Catching up with Kate and Tristan though there was not a great deal about their private lives in this book
* The plot, writing, and the way clues were followed to more clues till all was exposed
* The professional relationship between Kate and Tristan
* The atmosphere provided by the landscape
* Thinking about how difficult it must have been for more than one character in this story to deal with the events of the story and the ultimate outcome
* Wondering what the next book will be about and if perhaps either Kate or Tristan might have a bit more of a social life
* Wondering about Kate’s son and if he will show up in a future book.

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about the choices made and how they impacted others in a broad and rather painful ripple effect while wondering how some would fare in the future

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

I am a big fan of mysteries and thrillers, and this one was great. Private investigators Kate Marshall and Tristan take the case of a missing child. Kate had met Jean, the child's grandmother, when they were both hospitalized. Kate had gotten caught in a riptide and almost drowned. Jean is ill and knows that she is running out of time. She has a renewed urgency to try to find her grandson and hires Kate to investigate.

Eleven years ago, the family - mother, father, child, and grandmother - had gone camping at Dartmoor. The grandmother, Jean, was sharing a tent with her grandson Charlie, who was only three years old. She left the tent for a while and when she returned, Charlie was gone. The case turns out to be more complex than Kate and Tristan thought at first, as Jean's daughter had been murdered shortly after Charlie vanished. There were dangers at the location, but not too close, and how far could a three-year-old walk at night?

One thing I really loved about the book was how thorough Kate was. For instance, she discovered a reason why the family's search for Charlie had failed that night, by examining their photos and video of the trip. Kate and Tristan start their search at the camping site and then widen the search to investigate the whole area, including a nearby farm. Then they make a gruesome discovery.

This is book 4 of the Kate Marshall series and can be read as a standalone book. I received an advance reader copy from the publisher Raven's Street Publishing via Netgalley and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

It's one of those 'please just read it' books.
Robert Bryndza hooks me in straight away, and I just sat, read and indulged myself.
Omg, I love this author. What a fabulous story, so clever. I raced through it.
A great plot, and a thrilling ride. It had me searching Devil’s Way on the internet, and looking for the landmarks mentioned.
The relationship between Kate and Tristan is a special one, and I look forward to more from the intrepid two in the next book. This is the fourth in a series but the author gives enough information of the back story to be read as a stand-alone.
I am a Robert Bryndza addict!
If you've never read any books by Robert Bryndza....why not?! You are guaranteed to love them.
I’ve recommended Robert Bryndza’s books to people all over the world and everyone loves them, he’s a global superstar!!
Thanks to Rob, Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for the review copy of this this fabulous book in which I give my honest opinion.