First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Robert Bryndza, and Raven Street Publishing for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

Returning for another Kate Marshall cold case thriller, I was once more impressed with the writing of Robert Bryndza. In a story that takes the reader back three decades, Bryndza provides all the elements for a great piece and provides some chilling personal development regarding the protagonist. A quick read, but also thoroughly enjoyable!

It was just before Christmas 1988 that Janey Macklin disappeared without a trace. She was last seen in the sketchy part of London, but when no body was ever found. While there was an arrest and conviction, the courts eventually overturned the result and the accused whet free. With no other leads, the case went cold.

Three decades later, Kate Marshall and her investigative partner, Tristan Harper, are called on to help reopen the investigation. A literary group is eager to launch a review and potentially turn it into a podcast or tell-all book. They utilises Kate and Tristan to explore old leads and turn over anything they might discover. Some wonder if Janey could have been an early victim of the Nine Elms Cannibal, a killer with whom Kate is unfortunately well versed.

While Kate and Tristan agree to the contract, it will open up old wounds and many issues for Kate. Still, she is determined to get it the bottom of things and help bring some closure for Janey’s family. While the man once convicted of her murder says that he dropped her off inside a pub, others are sure they saw Janey outside in the cold. This same pub was a known hangout of the man, Peter Conway, who would become the Nine Elms Cannibal. His enjoyment of young girls and sadistic means of self-pleasure do not go unnoticed by Kate, who wonders if there is more to the story.

Exploring all angles, Kate and Tristan come up with a potential theory that could solve the case, but also jeopardise the contract they recently signed. If it means discovering the truth, it may be worth it. A chilling story with a few surprises, Robert Bryndza keeps the reader highly entertained.

I have long enjoyed the work of Robert Bryndza and his various thriller series. There is something about them that is both impactful and easy to read. The narrative flows well ask keeps the reader hooked as they try to discover all that is going on, never letting things wane. Strong characters and their backstories provide wonderful sub-plots that add depth to an already strong series.

The plot is strong and provides the reader with a few key surprises, peppered throughout this strong narrative. Using both past and present, as well as Kate’s own experiences, help enrich an already strong story, leaving the reader hooked as they race to discover the truth. Add in a few red herrings and the story has it all! I am eager to see what Bryndza has next and how he will breathe life into all that is Kate Marshall, while hinting that there may be an Erika Foster crossover eventually!

Kudos, Mr. Bryndza, for another chilling read.

Kate Marshall is back with a bang, I love this series and always look forward to what case Kate and Tristan are going to investigate next,

This book id no exception when a girl who disappeared 30 years ago is the case that needs solving, was the nine elms killer involved or is that just a distraction to the real reason she went missing.

A great red, fast paced

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for letting me read the fifth book in the Kate Marshall series by Robert Bryndza. Like all his books you are gripped from the first page which carries through until the last. Highly recommend this five star read and looking forward to book 6.

One of the things I enjoy most about reading Robert Bryndza's books is that the story takes off right on the first page and does not slow down. You are instantly hooked and want to keep reading. The Lost Victim is no different. We get a glimpse into the investigation to find, not only the lost victim, but the truth behind her disappearance. Though it's part of a series, you won't be confused or anything by reading it out of order. This will appeal to the true crime enthusiast!

Another suspenseful novel by the author.

Private Detective Kate Marshall is back with her partner, Tristan and they have been engaged to look into the disappearance of Janey Macklin, back in 1988. Her case went cold and with no body and no witnesses, the police have given up. The contract would be the most lucrative of Kate's career and with a potential link to Peter Conway, she is invested.

Another intriguing novel and it is so nice to see Kate and her partner back again. While this is part of a series, it could easily be read as a stand alone, as the author provides enough backstory for you to catch up.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for this gifted review copy.

The Lost Victim is a fast paced read with twists and turns that make it just one more chapter book.

Kate Marshall and her partner Tristan Harper have been hired by a podcast company to look into the disappearance and Janey Macklin in 1988,

Janey is thought to perhaps be one of Peter Conway's victims but he is not talking and his life expectancy is low.

Kate is facing her own demons with her history with Peter and worries for her son but together her and Tristan are determined to follow the clues and bring some closure to her family.

There is never closure but to bring Janey home would be beyond words for the family.

Robert Bryndza has written a taut thriller that leads the reader down a twisted path that keeps the pages turning.

The Lost VIctim can certainly be read as a stand alone but the entire series is captivating.

I hope one day that Kate Marshall meets up with Erika Foster ( another great series by Mr. Bryndza).

I cant wait to see what befalls Kate and Tristan in the next book of the series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for a pulse pounding read.

Robert does it again. I tried to make this book last but I read it in a couple of days (work and life getting in the way as usual!). The next book in the Kate Marshall series about a cold case from the 80s with a missing girl in London. I loved this book, so fast paced and a real page turner. I also really like learning more about Kate, her son Jake and Tristan (Kate's assistant and friend) but that the main thread in the book is about the case they are investigating. As always loved it! Would highly recommend and will continue to recommend to everyone I know!

Robert Bryndza writes both the Erika Foster and Kate Marshall series. Both series have strong female protagonists, and I highly recommend each series. This is book 5 in the Kate Marshall series. She is a former detective, turned college professor, turned private investigator and her police background makes this a quasi police procedural novel. Although it can be read as a stand alone, I highly recommend starting with book 1, "Nine Elms," and reading them in order. If you read them out of order, there will be significant spoilers for the earlier books. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for an advanced reader copy.

Christmas 1988 was the last time anyone saw Janey Macklin. Sent to the corner shop by her mum she never returned. Thirty years later, with true crime podcasts fast becoming a thing, private detectives Kate Marshall and her partner, Tristan Harper, have been asked to try and discover what actually happened.

Although they are eager to accept the new case they both know Kate’s past will be pushed back into the spotlight if they are successful. With a main suspect to investigate as well as Kate’s ex-lover and convicted serial killer Peter Conway, it's not an easy assignment but gradually, after relocating temporarily to London, they begin to make progress but after three decades and without a body will justice ever truly be served?

Book 5 in Robert Bryndza's excellent series is as full throttle as his readers have come to expect with the two main protagonists doing what they do best! Once again Kate has to acknowledge her tragic and traumatic past if she is to succeed but her reactions never feel contrived and the current case isn't overshadowed by what has gone before.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Raven Street, but the opinions expressed are my own. This was an excellent read which I can highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for the copy of The Lost Victim by Robert Byrndza. I have been waiting for a new Kate Marshall book so I was excited to read this! The cold case was linked to the Nine Elms Cannibal so it became personal for Kate and kept me wondering where it would lead for their relationship that has unfolded over the past four books in the series. Don’t worry though because you can read this as a standalone but I recommend you read the whole series because it’s so good! If you want a fast-paced book that is so well written you won’t want to put it down, pick up this one and you won’t be disappointed!

This series featuring Kate and Tristan goes from strength the strength. This time they are called by a creative agency to investigate the disappearance of Janey Macklin a teenager who went missing 30 years previously. Letters have been sent from a prisoner who suggested that Kates ex, the convicted detective Peter Conway, had some connection to the crime. This brings Peter back into Kates life just as she's getting herself back on track.
I raced through this book, I read the entire book whilst on a plane journey, I just couldn't put it down. I love Kate and Tristan's relationship they really work well together. Some previous characters also make a welcome return

The Lost Victim is book number 5 in the Kate Marshall series by Robert Bryndza and it is another well written book with lots of twists and turns that keeps the pages turning.

Definitely recommended.

I’d like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been a huge fan of Robert’s and this series since I found it so I couldn’t wait to dive into this one. This time we follow Kate and Tristan to London where they try to solve a cold case from 1988, and how is the Nine Elms killer connected if it all. I couldn’t put this one down and can’t wait for the next one.

Private Detectives Kate and Tristan have a new case, the disappearance of a young girl 30 years ago. A man was convicted of the murder but released on appeal as there was no body. The case could hit close to home for Kate. There are all sorts of twists in the story, no one is who they seem and a lot of them are lying. This one will keep you guessing. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This was such an enjoyable book. No matter what series (or standalones) Bryndza writes, he always delivers an amazing novel.

The Kate Marshall series is actually my favourite and I am so keen to see where this goes next.

The Lost Victim, the fifth book in the Private Investigator Kate Marshall Series by Robert Bryndza is a gripping, suspenseful, and twisty thriller that builds brilliantly on the books that have gone before.
The combination of a cold case involving a missing 15-year-old girl, a man convicted and then absolved of her murder, a trio of podcasters who clearly are hiding something, and not one but two serial killers who frequented the area where she disappeared at the time - one of whom has an intricate history with main character private detective Kate Marshall - makes for an intriguing and complex book.
Brilliantly written, The Lost Victim sweeps the reader away and keeps them turning the pages to the very end.
The author proves yet again that you simply can not go wrong with a Robert Bryndza book! He is one author I never need to read the synopsis of a book, I just grab it!
I was thrilled to get an ARC of #TheLostVictim from #NetGalley.

Poor Kate can’t escape the notorious killer Peter Conway. He’s like a bad penny that just keeps turning up. The new case that her and Tristan are working on, raises the question of whether the disappearance of teenager Janey was one of Peter’s last murders before he was sent down. This opens up a lot of old wounds for Kate.

There is a melancholy feel throughout as Kate has to battle not only with her demons but with the dreaded press who never seem to give her a break. Their quest into a cold case is both sad and surprising. I really felt for Janey’s mum and sister and it’s a reminder of how families are left to cope with the loss of a loved one, more so when they have been left years with no answers.

The storyline had me well and truly hooked. The duo make great progress in a short amount of time which for some reason doesn’t seem to go down to well with the clients who hired them. Everyone seems to be keeping things close to their chests and I was dying to find out just what they were.

The Lost Victim was full of cleverly crafted twists that had me pointing my finger at quite a few of the characters. With so many red herrings, you would need to be Columbo to have any hope of solving this one! At times it makes for some uncomfortable reading as the author knows how to create some seriously sick killers and the prison scenes made my blood boil. Grippingly brilliant and highly addictive, I can’t get enough of this serious!

The Lost Victim by Robert Bryndza is a Kate Marshall private investigator series book 5. The book can be read as a standalone. The setting is in London and involves a cold case. As stated in the synopsis, when schoolgirl Janey Macklin disappeared from the seedy side of London in 1988, her case went cold, with no body and no witnesses. Now, 30 years later, private detective Kate Marshall has been approached by a true crime podcast producer with an intriguing question they need her help answering: What if Janey was killed by Peter Conway, the notorious Nine Elms Cannibal?

The Lost Victim is a good mystery with lots of twists and red herrings to keep the reader wondering what will happen and who is involved.

The plot was interesting, the writing style engaging as always with this author, and the characters continued to be well-developed and realistic. The Lost Victim has a clever plot with page-turning action.

I would recommend this book, this series, and this author.

#TheLostVictim #NetGalley

I do love a Kate Marshall thriller and this one, The Lost Victim, is an absolute belter. Faced with a large repair bill at the holiday park that she runs alongside her partner in Crime Fighting, Tristan, Kate agrees, on behalf of a team of True Crime Podcasters, to take up the cold case relating to missing London teenager, Janey Macklin, who had gone to the shops for her mother back in the late eighties and was never seen again. Despite the lack of a body, a local man was convicted of her murder but was later acquitted, leaving Janey's as just another of the many unsolved missing persons cases the Met Police face every year. The only thing that makes this particular case so special is that the podcasters have evidence that may link Janey to the notorious 'Nine Elms Cannibal', the man who made Kate infamous whilst also ending her police career. This case is personal, for both Kate and her son, but is it also a chance to right a decades old wrong and bring closure to the Macklin family, once and for all?

Now, unless you have been living under a rock, or haven't read any of the Kate Marshall books, the Nine Elms Cannibal needs no introduction. If you do need an intro, I would recommend you start at the beginning of the series and work your way back to here. The story is completely standalone, with Robert Bryndza giving just enough of a situational recap to make Kate and the Cannibal's history make sense. But, even though I am far from being a reading purist, I read out of order all the time, I do think that having the full backstory really makes this particular story work brilliantly, especially certain twists and tribulations along the way. This does feel like a bit of a turning point for Kate, so that missing history will help you to understand why. That said, if you want to just get stuck straight in and enjoy a brilliant mystery, packed with edginess, unease and tension, that's all good too. Mr B has completely catered for that.

This book had me feeling uneasy right from the start. As soon as you read that opening chapter you will understand why. Without even thinking that this might link to Kate's past, there is a certain element of the book which will have you wanting to take young Janey to one side and give her a really stern talking to. Looked at with a post millenium perspective, the kind of risks we willingly took as youngsters back in the 80's really does make you wonder how any of our generation is still alive. That's not to say that Janey is completely naive and trusting, but even without reading the blurb you will get those prickles on the skin that tell you nothing here is going to end well. it kept me on edge and had me completely invested in Janey's story from the off. I was on board with this investigation and did not want to put the book down.

There is plenty of misdirection and misinformation in this book. Sadly, due to the time that had passed since Janey's disappearance, access to witnesses and investigating officers was tricky, but what I love about Tristan and Kate is their determination and their ability to get people to open up, as well as the ability to get under people's skin, a skill that proved crucial in solving this case. There are so many angles in play, including people who want to misdirect for personal gain, and in this case it's not just the killer. There is a real emotional resonance in this case as well, both for Janey's mother and sister, and also for Kate where a change in personal circumstances leaves her a little adrift. I liked how the author explored this element of the story, of how it is not as black and white as it maybe should have been.

Did I have my suspicions about certain characters in this story? Absolutely - it is hard not to, to be honest. Did it stop me leaping to conclusions, or give away the full whys and wherefores of the plot? Not at all, and the clues are perfectly placed, and the story perfectly paced, to keep the key reveal to just the right moment. It is tense, without being too intense, the characters confusing and infuriating in equal measure, and laced with emotion and a kind of inevitable ending that sadly feels all too contemporary and authentic. But most of all, it's another totally absorbing case with characters I love to while away the hours with and I cannot wait for more. Definitely recommended.

I love Robert Bryndza books and know when I start one there will be very little work done. This was no exception I couldn’t put it down. The characters are very believable and he portrays the menace of the serial killers in a way that gives the reader a chilly shudder.
Excellent.