Another fantastic, well-written release from Robert Bryndza and the Detective Erika Foster series, which has quickly climbed to one of my favourite detective/ crime series, and which never fails to draw me into Erika's world so completely. I know once I pick up a novel in this series I won't be able to do anything else until I've finished it!

As well as lots of gripping investigation and police work, plus glimpses into the life of a disturbing killer, we also see a bit more of Erika's soft side as she helps her father in law and deals with some surprising news from a certain someone...

I love the police procedural element of the story - as always the plot is gripping, tight and excellently written, with the perfect mix of personal elements surrounding Erika's team and the police work itself.

Deadly Secrets could be read as a stand-alone, but with five previous (brilliant) novels to get stuck into, I recommend starting from the beginning so you know as much as possible about Erika and her background, as this only enhances each story!

I was thrilled to receive the latest Robert Bryndza to review as I have been waiting with great anticipation to reading the next Detective Erika Foster. I was not disappointed. I enjoyed the further insights into all my favourite characters against a background of a series of killings with all sorts of possible suspects in this chilling mystery. The excellent writing, well-drawn characters and my favourite edgy and complex Detective Erika Foster makes this another winner!

Deadly Secrets is a perfect stop-doing-everything-else thriller and, in my opinion, the best Erika Foster novel to date and surely destined to be one of my top books of 2018!

Robert Bryndza is an extremely accomplished writer and with each one of his books you know you’re in for a well-written story and well-structured plot, but – because I always prefer a story where you don’t know whodunit – I found this one to be particularly gripping and raced through it in about 24 hours.

It starts with a really quite unnerving prologue and continues with twists and turns a-go-go throughout, with the plot taking off in unexpected and complex directions. There is nothing predictable about this story and Bryndza is really good at pulling the carpet out from underneath you the minute you start to feel comfortable!

As anticipated, Deadly Secrets is skilfully written and expertly plotted, with believable, sympathetic and fully-formed characters. You flow through the story without even realising that you’re reading: you can see the images playing out as clearly as if it were a film on a screen. It is also very atmospheric, with the snow and the weather in general, and the contrast of Christmas celebrations alongside such a gruesome story.

Gruesomeness aside, there was still a good balance with the regular character interactions and banter and I was pleased to see that my favourite, Moss, was a little more in the limelight this time, as was the equally likeable Isaac.

The ending is shockingly, brilliantly clever and I cannot wait to see what’s next for Erika (and Moss! Do not forget Moss).

Hugest of thanks go to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of Deadly Secrets.

Review goes live on the blog on Apr 14 and will show up on Goodreads sometime later.

In a Flutter: A heartfelt “Holy shit
Fluttering Thoughts:
Worldbuilding: London setting, winter Holidays.
Characters: Erika has a lot of history and is easy to empathize with. She goes through a lot in this story, and has gone through a lot more during previous stories in the series (which I didn’t read, btw – new to me series). She gave me this interesting vibe of being stuck in time, somehow frozen, while everyone around her went on with their lives. There’s something a bit broken about her, and I love that in a character.
Other characters were interesting too, like Moss for instance, and I appreciated the nod to diversity.
Plot: Marissa’s murder and the gas mask attack was an interesting and dark ride, and I had a couple of suspects in mind. I really enjoyed the investigative process. The ending is surprising, and I won’t say more than a heartfelt “Holy shit!” there.
Writing: Third person, past tense narrative, multi POV – which I’m not a fan of personally, but here it was necessary due to story structure.
Curb Appeal: Cool cover, hooking blurb – impulsive buy material for my procedural needs.

I recommend Deadly Secrets to fans of procedurals with multi POV style which includes a bit of the culprit’s. Atmospheric and fun!

Deadly Secrets (Detective Erika Foster, #6) by Robert Bryndza has us once again thrown into the life of Erika Foster and her team; this time shortly after she rescued a colleagues two young daughters. This time their case involves a young woman who was brutally murdered on her own doorstep. But at every turn there are more questions than answers while the suspect list just keeps growing.

But bad turns to worse and a personnel matter sidelines Erika and close friend Moss steps up to fill her shoes. Inexperience and maybe Erika rubbing off on her only leads Moss into more danger and missed clues. But the team is determined to figure out who the murderer is as they put the pieces together.

A definite read, even if you missed the others books in the series. I can’t wait to see what is next. I received a copy through NetGalley and this is my honest review

Omg, so worth waiting for, Erika foster is back with a brilliant storyline, kept me up all night because every time I turned my light out my brain kept going, still managed to shock me, Robert Bryndza is such an excellent author, truly recommend reading the whole series

5 STARS!

Another excellent addition to the DCI Erika Foster series!!
Damn, Robert Bryndza keeps writing great books with this series! I’m impressed with his writing skills and imagination for all six books. I always look forward to reading these books as soon as they are published or available on NetGalley.
You guys, I finished Deadly Secrets in a day! Yeah, it was that binge worthy and I just couldn’t put the book down.

Deadly Secrets is the 6th book in the DCI Erika Foster series and one of my favorites! I loved where Bryndza is taking the main character along with the secondary characters of Detective Moss and Detective Peterson. He has developed Erika’s character to have flaws along with a kick-ass attitude on getting justice for her murder victims. I’ve always enjoyed a flawed and imperfect character in books and Bryndza has delivered this with DCI Erika Foster.
I especially enjoyed the Starbucks chapter in where Erika loses her cool. I laughed out loud!

The book starts off with a beautiful, burlesque dancer getting murdered outside her front door. Marissa Lewis, or going by Honey Diamond in the burlesque business, was brutally murdered by a man wearing a gas mask. DCI Foster starts investigating the murder and life of Marissa Lewis. And let me tell you, this young lady has a ton of secrets and questionable motives on getting money.

DCI Foster comes to find out there are plenty of suspects and the case is very complicated.
As DCI Foster and her team are investigating Marissa's murder, London is being terrorized by a large man wearing a gas mask. He is choking and raping random victims and the Metropolitan Police Service has no idea who he is and how to catch him.

Bryndza has figured out how to write a great crime detective series! He gives us characters to love and cheer for along with murder cases that tap into some of our deepest fears. The suspect in this book scared me because of the violence and evil that was part of his personality. I had a few moments in the middle of the night in where I woke up and wondered if the door to the house was locked. I’m not easily spooked either. I’m always reading thrillers and horror books!

I think this is some great writing since Bryndza has a way of writing dangerous and evil predators. Well done sir!!

If you are looking for an excellent and binge worthy detective series, look no further than the DCI Erika Foster series. I don’t believe you will be disappointed since each book has different plots, great characterization and wonderfully written police procedure. It feels like you’re right in the action of the ongoing murder case!

Oh thank goodness Erika Foster is back! After a rough cobbling of a book in #5, Foster is back on the hunt for a masked man who has killed a woman on her own doorstep. At the same time, she is dealing with the return of Peterson. I somewhat guessed (correctly) at Mr. Bryndza's twist this time but it did not dull my appreciation for the well thought out puzzle presented. I also liked that Foster spent some time getting herself put back together emotionally. This time, the absence didn't seem to take away from the story, it just left another member of Foster's team open to shine. In addition, Mr. Bryndza included a nice little extra twist in the story that added to the depth of the story. I see bad things for criminals and good things for Foster in the next book!

This is the 6th book in the Erika Foster series and while all of this authors books can be read as standalone, you get a better understanding of the background of the main characters if you read them in order.

This one begins with the brutal murder of the beautiful Marissa, a 22 year old Burlesque dancer who has quite a reputation in her neighbourhood, right on her doorstep by someone wearing a gas mask, is it the same person that has carried out a series of attacks recently? Erika and her team are determined to find out and bring the perpetrator to justice.

I was drawn straight into this one from the first page, as I have been with all the books in this series, just when you think you've got it all worked out the author hits you with a twist that sends you spinning off in a completely different direction.  I am a huge fan of Robert's books and this one is no exception, i loved that you get to see more of Erika's vulnerable side in this one and that endeared me to her even more than before. Bring on book seven!!!

Thank you to Bookouture for the auto approval,  I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.

Oh. My. Gosh!
They just keep getting better.
I couldn’t wait to get started with this one. What a great plot.
Robert Bryndza has the ability to hook me in straight away. Right from Marissa getting off the train I was hooked, and the tension was there as you felt her being followed.
I read it in a couple of days, which is fast for me.
On to Erika Foster. I love this woman!
She is a great, ballsy and smart character. I feel I get to know her more with each book, little snippets that you find out. Her father-in-law is a lovely old guy and it was nice to be reacquainted with him.
It was good to see Peterson back at work, and Moss had a big part in this one too.
A brilliant story, gripping and thrilling. Some unexpected twists and turns that made for an unputdownable book.
I just couldn’t stop reading, it’s packed with action and is very believable. I feel like it’s something you’d see in the news, one of those horrible things that shocks the nation. That gas mask had me really creeped out.
I’ve recommended Robert Bryndza’s books to people all over the world. Everyone loves them, he’s a global superstar!!
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the review copy in which I give my honest opinion.

Deadly Secrets by Robert Bryndza is the sixth book in the Detective Erika Foster police procedural series. Each book in the series features a new case for Erika and her team to solve so if necessary they could be read by themselves but the character’s stories carry over from book to book for those that have followed the entire series.

In this new installment of the series a young woman is on her way home late at night alone when she is attacked. The next morning she is found with her blood freezing in the snow covered ground.

Erika was just on her way to a Christmas get together when she comes across the scene and with the detective on duty off at another crime Erika jumps into the case finding that killers don’t seem to take the holidays off. From the moment of inspecting the scene Erika and her team find themselves tracking down clues and putting together a list of suspects.

Ok folks, this is the sixth book of this series and I’m still reading them like clockwork so that alone should tell you how I feel about this gritty detective thriller. At this point I really feel like I’ve said it all but I’ll say it again…. pick up this series if you are a fan of police procedurals or just want to give them a try!

Returning to a crime with Erika and her team is a bit like returning to family at this point, family that will go to all lengths to catch their killer to keep others safe. The investigations are solid police work that doesn’t stop until the very end with plenty of twists and turns along the way that are sure to keep the pages turning.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

As always Robert Bryndza keeps you on the edge of your seat while you wait for the next shock.
Erika Foster is a well written character, who just gets better in each book despite her (many flaws)

I'm going to start with a wee word of warning:  Do not read this book before you are going on a night out and then making your way home alone! Outside your house is not always the safest place to be! Oh my lord that freaked me right out! Right from the start "Deadly Secrets" hooked me right in and kept me glued to the pages all the way to the very end!

It has to be said that Robert Bryndza provides fabulous plotting, perfectly paced and with all the elements that tick my box for a police procedural! "Deadly Secrets" has it all, lies, secret lives, blackmail, revenge and murder! Twists and turns and suspects flitting in and out of the frame, little clues dangled like carrots before being snatched away from under your nose! And, what a plot! While we only really get to know Marrissa after her death, it is clear that she was a girl who made a big impression on everyone she met. Impressions are not always good though and quickly a whole cast of suspects start to come to the attention of DCI Erika Foster and her team. The gas mask as a calling card was a brilliantly twisted move by the author. Painting a fear inducing picture of being watched and stalked by someone wearing a gas mask sent shivers down my spine. Watch out who is watching you the next time you are out and about #JustSayin!

As with each book in the series, we get to delve a little deeper into the mind of Erika Foster and "Deadly Secrets" saw a more vulnerable character. Her past is haunting her and her present is terrifying her as she explores and analyses the relationships she has with others. I found myself really connecting with this other side of Erika as she struggled to come to terms with her solitary lifestyle and the impact that her past has had on relationships. When DI JamesPeterson returns to work, it was easy to see that his return knocked Erika for six, does she realise how much she misses him and is it too late for them to pick up where they started off with? Peterson has come back a changed man and without giving away any spoilers, I am dying to know what is going to happen with him next! I wanted him to ask so many questions and take the blinkers off! This could take a brilliantly twisted turn (I hope!).

When Erika is called to Manchester, DI Kate Moss, is given a starring role as she is promoted to acting DCI and SIO. This was a fabulous opportunity to find out more about Moss, her personal life and her fears. The struggle to fill Erika's shoes was very real for Moss and led her to making some choices that might not have been in her best interests!

Deadly Secrets is a cracking police procedural, it is a "just one more chapter" kind of read that will have you up all night as "just one chapter" is never enough! It kept me guessing all the way to the end, it had me slap bang in the middle of the investigation team and with a shocking revelation as to the "whys" my jaw was firmly dropped on the ground! If you haven't read any of Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster series then it is time you did!

A darkening of the moon........

Marissa Lewis makes her way from the train platform in South London on a late frigid night on Christmas Eve. Her heavy fur-trimmed coat provides a cover for the burlesque dancer outfit she wears beneath it. But there's no hiding the questionable reputation that Marissa bears as her footsteps pick up speed. She glances at the homes in the neighborhood where she has engaged in relationships with married men. Very willing married men, in fact.

Her keys held in nervous hands slam into the lock. But the figure clad in a long dark coat and an omnious goggled gas mask is too quick for her. And so is that cruel knife that finds its way to Marissa's slender neck. Never another dance step to be had.

DCI Erica Foster finds herself involved at the murder scene. She had been on her way with presents in hand for Commissioner Paul Marsh and his family's Christmas Day lunch. Marissa's body had been found by her mother, Mandy. In the course of examining the crime scene, a young man with a camera runs from the scene. Later, Joseph Pitkin may know more about Marissa with film to back that premise up in color.

Robert Bryndza widens the arc of his storyline with multiple characters both up-standing and sleazy. Bryndza has a superb penchant for leading the reader down many a forked road. This gas masked hellion is not going away any time soon and Foster will have her work cut out for her. As readers, we are delighted to walk amongst some favorite characters once again like Isaac Strong, forensic pathologist, DCI James Peterson, and DI Kate Moss. Moss gets a bigger slice of the pie in this one and we couldn't be happier.

Bryndza's Erica Foster character is being presented in a different light in this one. It's quite the inner conflict occuring here. Time is tapping on her shoulder and our Erica acknowledges it full out. There's a scene that takes place in a Starbuck's that Bryndza writes with quite the flourish. Foster takes no lip from anyone except that which comes from her own.

I received a copy of Deadly Secrets through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Bookouture and to the very talented Robert Bryndza for the opportunity.

This is the 2nd Erika Foster novel I’ve read and it is a captivating read. Even though it’s the 6th book in a series, I think it can stand alone as well. A young woman with a questionable background is murdered on Christmas Day and Det. Foster is left to investigate interesting suspects and witnesses to find the truth.

I would have said it would be impossible to follow the brilliance of the last book but yet again Robert manages it. Erika's character develops further and a tiny insight into her (possible softer side) emerges.

Loved it

A gripping tale that is so full of suspense. The characters show just why they really do make such a wonderful team.

This book also deals with a bit of family for Erika which I loved as it really shows a softer side to her.

Still raw from a harrowing murder/ suicide case, Detective Chief Inspector Erica Foster happens upon a gruesome murder scene. She stops to investigate and is thrown headlong into what becomes another chilling case.

As in all of Erika Foster books, the story takes place in London. Marissa Lewis was headed home late one Christmas Eve when she is brutally murdered. She was found the following morning. As the immediate investigation ensues, Erika and her team discover their first suspect.

In large part, due to the victim's lascivious lifestyle, there is no shortage of suspects. Or, perhaps she was being stalked. The young woman was a burlesque dancer, and often attracted the wrong sort. However, Erika soon discovers that there have been several similar assaults. This makes finding the perpetrator even more challenging.

Deadly Secrets is a fast-paced thriller. Erika is spot on, even in the face of family hardship. This exciting book has some truly heart-stopping moments! Erika's team is very involved in this case, and it is really nice to see their characters fleshed out even more.

Erika's likeableness, as well as her uncanny intelligence, leaves the reader with excitement for future books in this series.

Erika Foster returns for the 6th book in this detective series. This time she is faced with a murder while traveling to a luncheon on Christmas Day - but she jumps right in and quickly searching for a new killer. This was a grisly murder of a burlesque dancer who was not really well liked. Everyone she knew became suspects. Another series of murders involving a man in a gas mask comes to Erika's attention and suddenly they are searching for a serial killer.

Tension builds quickly as the investigation proceeds. Just like the previous Erika Foster novels this is a page-turner and I didn't want to put the book down so I read it quickly. Erika's relationships falter as work takes over her life.

I really enjoyed reading this one as it kept me guessing what would happen and who the killer would turn out to be. I was wrong - again. All of the books could be read without reading the prior ones, but as with any story it's good to have the earlier books as background for what makes the character. I was glad I had started with the first book and kept reading as each new one appeared. I will looked forward to the next Erika Foster intrigue.

Many thanks to Robert Bryndza and Bookouture through Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.

Copy furnished by Net Galley for the price of a review.

A sicko wearing an old-fashioned gas mask and lurking in the darkness doesn't seem to be particularly picky about who he attacks.  An encounter at a camera obscura shoppe turns into a bad scene for one of the team.  A young burlesque dancer who is not above using blackmail to further her ambitions returns to the proverbial well once too often.  This time, she will be the one who pays.

Meanwhile, Detective Erika Foster is wrestling with her unsettled personal life, the failing health of her father-in-law, a relationship that has gone sideways, and the onset of menopause.  Her colleagues are there to help take up the slack.   

Opening up a new Det. Erika Foster novel is starting to feel like coming home.  I have to say that the final tweak strained my credulity, but it matters not.  This is fiction, none of it is true.  Terrific series.