I really loved this suspenseful crime thriller, my first book in this series, and by this author. Upon finishing, I promptly decided that I needed to go back to the beginning of the series, catch up on all the books, and find out more about our heroine Erika. She and her fellow officers were likable characters, as well as Igor, Erika’s love interest in this book. The story was fast-paced and exciting, taking numerous twists and turns, so that my heart was racing, along with Erika, as she chased after her various suspects. Author Bryndza wrote this book in such a skillful way that I felt Erika’s hunger, her exhaustion, her frustration, and eventually, her relief at the very satisfying conclusion of the case, and this book. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley, and have given my honest and voluntary opinion.

I have read all the books in this series so far and each one has been just as interesting, intriguing, and entertaining has the one before. This to me is a must read series! I would recommend this series to anyone who is interested in mystery and suspense.


I received a complimentary copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

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.

Long a fan of Robert Bryndza and his writing, I rushed to get my hands on the latest DCI Erika Foster thriller. A short hiatus could not extinguish my eagerness to see how Foster would storm back onto the scene with a crime that is both chilling and mysterious. Bryndza picks up as though no time had passed and creates a stellar story sure to impress many who love the genre, as well as fans of Erika Foster.

Many changes are taking place for Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster, not the least of which is a move to a new flat. While trying to iron out all the details of organising, Foster hears screams and rushes to the scene of a nearby apartment complex. There, a woman’s body is discovered by her sister and Foster is ready to call in the team to begin a new murder investigation.

Soon identified as Victoria Clarke, the body is found to have been mutilated by the killer. Foster and her team begin sifitng through the evidence and commence interviews, only to stumble upon something odd. Victoria was a podcaster and worked on something in the true crime genre. Her fans loved the work, but there would certainly be those who failed to see the glory in turning over every loose stone.

With a handful of potential suspects in Victoria’s life, Foster and her crew will have to narrow it down, especially when a second murder takes place, putting things into better perspective. Victoria Clarke must have been on the trail of a ruthless killer whose victims came from a single place. Now, it will be time for Foster to set the trap or risk being another victim. Bryndza does a wonderful job at laying the groundwork, letting things develop from there.

While I cut my teeth on this series by Robert Bryndza, I have also come to love some of his other recent thriller work. He has a way with words, spinning stories that are sure to impress the fans of the genre. Great characters and an ever-evolving DCI Erika Foster, the stories takes on a new life and keeps the reader flipping pages well into the night.

Bryndza has long been using a recipe for success when it comes to storytelling, proving the reader with a strong narrative on which things are sure to build. He builds up the suspense and keeps readers wondering, while injecting an entertaining list of characters to provide some great balance. Erika Foster receives some deserved development, both in a personal and professional sense. Plot lines crescendo as the story advances and the reader must wonder what is to come. The book reads so easily that I devoured it in under twenty-four hours, without needing to invest huge swaths of time or concentration. That’s my kind of summer read!

Kudos, Mr. Bryndza, for another success. I will have to keep my mind fresh as you publish both your series in tandem.

Erika Foster is apparently a well loved series that to my shame I haven’t heard of or read before. But that will change soon.

Fatal witness was amazing. From the gore prologue to the last page, it’s a story that will give you chills and make you doubt your theories throughout the whole story.

Who is that skilled killer that was trying to hide all his marks and clues when murdering Vicky?

The author is giving clues about how twisted this web of lies and deceit works and towards the end, if you take a moment to contemplate what the heck have you read, you’ll see the truth.

Trust no one and go in blind if you dare, that’s how I would summaries this book.

🆓📖Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

This is the seventh in the Erika Foster series - and being released 3 years after the last instalment, it's one I didn't think we'd be getting at all!

Unfortunately it fell a little short of my expectations this time. I don't know if I was expecting more, or had built it up in my head because of the long wait, but Erika Foster is one of my favourite detective series heroines and I just wanted a bit more than I got.

The storyline was good. It had a few pot holes, well not holes I suppose more obvious reveals. I guessed the baddie pretty early on and there were some bits that didn't quite make sense to me,

However, that being said, I did enjoy it and I did read it all. It was good to go back to a familiar character and her development in the book was really well done. I like the comfort of reading a character that we already know so much about.

Glad I got to read this one, but not quite as good as the previous instalments. :/

Recommended to fans of the series already, or people wanting a police procedural with some gory serial killer detail thrown in.

My first book by Robert Bryndza???

And I'm honestly impressed.

I managed to read this one in one sitting because it was SOO good. I just wish the trigger warnings were more visible because like the first few chapters threw me off-guard but ALSO made me wanna read the HELL out of this book.


It was amazing?? Just how I like my crime?? Which sounds bad but I SWEAR this book is THE shit when we talk about gore.

O……….M……….G that prologue!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I felt physically sick as it finished! Oh lordy! That is a huge sign I’m in for a treat as I return to the world according to Erika Foster!

Vicky’s family circumstance is complicated to say the least. I really didn’t know what to make of this complex relationship bubble and then her friendship were again complex and rather unusual. I really felt for Vicky as I got to know her through those around her. She had big dreams trying her hardest to realise them.

I kept switching my lead suspect as the clues kept appearing on my kindle before me. The more I read the more engrossed I became. This case really had me flummoxed. But as the why became clearer the waters were less muddy but still I struggled!

Another absolutely brilliant crime thriller from Bryndza. I love the Erika Foster series and it was so good to be back following her investigation! Erika Foster is back and I loved it!

I love the storyline and thought it was well written. It did finish or wrap up rather quickly, but thankfully there was an epilogue to tie up a few loose ends. Not sure how I ended up on Netgally UK but glad I know enough British English to easily understand the terminology for items, phrases & places.

This is action from the start! I was really concerned about the rest of the book and feared it would be boring with al the action and what I thought was the main case being revealed so quickly — I thought “well shoot when you start like that where can you really go” but I will tell you the story keeps kicking and holds your interest and causes you constant wonder! There are some characters in this story and many are just up to no good - when you think you know who it is something is added in to make you question everything.

I am shocked I hadn’t heard of this author before - I love crime thrillers and this is on of many in the Erika Foster series and he has another series with a female lead - Kate Marshall series! I will most definitely be looking into these because I really enjoyed this and definitely did not figure it out and really enjoyed the read ! In the end the author talks about his love for reading and how stories are an escape and that no matter how different we may feel we often enjoy reading the same things and that books and stories are welcoming to everyone no matter who you are- I thought that was one of the loveliest and truest things ever said and this and the fact his IG has many snaps of his adorable dogs made me appreciate him even more - highly recommend you check this out but also maybe read the whole series , I am def adding it to my tbr!

Thank goodness! Erika Foster is back!! I have missed her, her coworkers, and the unique cases they have to solve. This case was no exception! There were so many ways it could go and so many opportunities for Foster and her crew to get it all wrong. The reader had to hold on to follow all the twists. On top of that, Erika is finally moving forward a bit in her own personal life. Sometimes in a series, an installment will give too much time to character development and sometimes too much to the mystery. This one felt like the perfect balance with surprises in both the case and Erika's personal life. I also really enjoy how the author brings Erika's ethnicity into the story. I do not think there are enough stories that feature immigrants in a positive way. When is the next one being published? I'm ready and waiting!

Wow!!! Absolutely loved this riveting thriller it was a really gripping read.
Apparently it is book seven in a series of detective Erica Foster novels but can also be read as a stand alone.
I will definitely be looking at her other books to read as I enjoyed this one so much I couldn’t put it down.
Detective Erica Foster has stumbled upon a very brutal murder near the vicinity of her new home she has just moved in to.
The dead girl Vicky had been working on a podcast about sexual predators.
Did Vicky get a bit too close to unmasking the attacker ?
Erica is assigned to the case which takes on a lot of disturbing twists.
With little evidence time is running out to solve the case.
This was a really thrilling exciting storyline that held me throughout.
Brilliantly written with plenty of action & full of suspense & intrigue.
A wonderful complex plot with interesting characters that were well developed.
This was a gritty engrossing read I could not put down till I’d finished.
Absolutely loved this page turner & will be looking out for further books about detective Erica Foster.

Four years after the release of book six in the Erika Foster series, Fatal Witness, is finally hear.

Unfortunately, this is my least favourite book in the series. If it wasn't for the characters I know and love -Erika, Peterson, Moss, and the gang- I would have rated this 3.5 stars. The mystery wasn't the best, the whole whodunit aspect didn't have me on the edge of my seat trying to guess like it usually does. Don't get me wrong, as with all the books in this series it was quick to get through and the atmosphere was great. However, I think if you're going into this having not read the other books it might be a let down. Although I enjoyed it overall as a Erika Foster fan, I didn't find it as compelling as the previous books.

Still, I look forward to the next installment.

How do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?
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.

This is a wonderful addition to this thrilling series!
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and action with wonderful world building that adds so much to the story.
Such a thrilling read that I couldn't put it down.
Can't wait to read more of these.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review. This book was a true murder mystery with many twists and turns. It was a well written descriptive book with a few red herrings for good measure read and enjoy. 5 stars

Fatal Witness was my first encounter with Robert Bryndza and his lead character, Erika. Although this book is the eighth in this crime series, I did not feel in any way disadvantaged by not reading the previous instalments. Bryndza afforded me enough glimpses into Erika's background and some of her tragic past experiences to form a clear picture of who she was, what made her tick and how she left. I really understood and liked her. Her work taking precedence over such trivial matters as buying a bed for her new house and having to sleep on the floor with a stray cat made perfect sense in the context of her deliciously fleshed out personality.
Bryndza hit the bull's eye with the pace and tension of this story. There were twists galore with the case of mistaken identity of the victim at the start of the book carrying a huge amount of emotional ordeal for the victim's sister. Each chapter led into the next and I felt riveted to story, unable to find the right place to take a break.
Fatal Witness is sort of a dual crime case: firstly, the victim Vicky was hot on the heels of a serial rapist before she was killed; then Erika stepped in to pursue not only Vicky's murderer but probably also the rapist who had so far eluded justice.
I don't think this will be my last book by Robert Bryndza. A riveting read.

oh wow this mystery thriller book is really intense, from the prologue the suspense is off the roof, it might a bit slowing down in the middle but it went back up in the last few chapters, but still it's a captivating, page-turner, edge-of-seat read.

The case for Erika this time is a brutal murder of young woman who's a true-crime podcaster, the gory details on the murder at the prologue really got my heart racing, it's really gruesome and definitely not for a weak heart and I suggest to read the trigger warning first because there's really some stuff that really hard to read. Then there's twist after twist, lots of suspects and love how the author put doubts in my head when I take a guess of who's the murderer.

As for the character, well I'm a fan of Detective Erica Foster, although sometimes I think that she's a bit reckless, in this book love to see her vulnerable side, it's make her more human and I admire her more, I can feel her loneliness, her jealousy and all her feelings.

Intense page-turner mystery thriller suspense read with great heroine, definitely highly recommended.

This is the first book I have read from this author and my first encounter with Detective Erika foster. I am a sucker for a good serial killer storyline. This definitely does not disappoint.! Twists and turns, nail biting suspense. Will Erika solve this mystery before someone else has to die? looking forward to reading more from this author and more from Erika.

Oh, I was super excited to realise that Robert Bryndza, one of my fave authors, had written another book, and an Erika Foster one, to boot! I was not disappointed :)

The start of this book finds Erika having bought a "fixer upper" house with inadequate heating, bare floorboards, no hot water and no furniture. Despite this, Erika has moved in and is determined to make the best of it. On her way back from her local chippy, she hears a scream and discovers a distraught sister who has discovered her sibling's body in her flat. This is just the start of a twisty, turny case that Erika and her colleagues try to figure out and as the body count mounts, so does the pressure to solve it.

I enjoyed re-connecting with the characters in this series and there is a bit of romance going on for Erika too, which was rather sweet and fully in keeping with the sort of person she is.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing.

There have been a few years between The Girl in the Ice and Fatal Witness, but Erika Foster is back.

Fatal Witness’ dark and terrifying beginning leaves a family torn and blood everywhere. Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster of the London Metropolitan Police is tasked with catching a killer. Foster has been battered and bruised before and she’s lost a husband to the crimes that she still battles day in and day out, but she doesn’t quit.

Bryndza brings horror and reality together into a twisted and dark story of survival. The battles the characters face are no different than anyone else in this world, but by intertwining those with the brutal murders of young women, Bryndza creates drama at every turn. The characters are complex enough that you don’t know who is guilty and who isn’t, and there is no shortage of misdirection while Foster and team unravel the truth. The word gritty has been used in a ton of reviews that I read for Bryndza’s thrillers, and it more than personifies the style of storytelling that he brings to the table.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

This is book # 7 in my all time favorite series.

Because it is a series, I don’t want to say too much - the badass Detective Erika Foster is back, chasing another killer…..

I will tell you what, Bryndza does not tiptoe into a story - it literally HURTLES from page one. That opening scene is WILD! I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about it, with my shoulders hurting (you will have to read it to see what that means) 👀
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I can’t recommend this series enough - the first is THE GIRL IN THE ICE. If you like gritty, action-packed, police procedurals with deeply complex characters, led by a kickass female cop, this series is for you.