I'd heard so many good things about Robert Bryndza's series featuring DCI Erika Foster - but I'll admit that I was irrationally put off by the book cover (I am a bit freaked out by photos of people staring at me!) I was wrong to judge a book by the cover - this is a really good police procedural and everything I love in a crime novel.

In this book - this detective's seventh outing - Erika Foster stumbles upon a brutal murder in Blackheath where she has just moved into her new home. The woman is identified as Vicky Clarke, a true crime podcaster - a job that opens up many lines of enquiry as Foster and her team try to find out what Clarke was investigating. Add in a few suspicious neighbours and restrictions placed on Erika by her superiors and we have all the ingredients for a tense, tightly-plotted and twisty crime story.

I liked the fact that the story had a really decent pace - I raced through this book, especially loving the points where Bryndza threw in some brilliant twists. I couldn't put this down, especially as the sense of peril increased - I wanted to shout at Erika not to put herself in some of the situations she did, some of which worked out fine and others less so!

The narrative focuses very closely on Erika herself and she makes for a compelling lead. Her house move and adopted cat were eminently relatable and made for a good contrast to the intensity of her work life - I have been there with missed Argos deliveries... She seems like quite an isolated figure which makes her interesting as she makes strong decisions (and all her own mistakes!)

I haven't read any of the previous books in the series, but I didn't struggle to pick up Erika's story at all. I think it works well as a standalone as Bryndza gives us as much of the back-story as we need. I would definitely be interested in reading more about Erika and I don't think I know too many spoilers to enjoy the previous books.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys well-plotted and convincing police procedurals. If you're new to Erika's world, there's lots to enjoy here - and if you're a long-time fan then you don't need me to tell you this is good!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fatal Witness. It's like reading the Girl in the Ice all over again, if only for the thrill. It's fast-paced yet engaging. In this book you'll see more of DCI Erika Foster as a person and not just a generic main character to this series. For me there's a noticeable shift in the way this story is presented, in that, we as readers are given more details about her life and her struggle to let go and grow. I've also noticed that the author included other considerations that kept the story from being dualistic, black and white, hero and villain.

I haven’t read anything by this author before. Really enjoyed the main police detective Erika and her team. Good characterisation and an excellent story which kept me guessing till the end.
Will go back and read some of the previous books in the series now. Recommended.

This book was a stretch for me. I struggled to get into it but, I also couldn’t put it down. So I’m going to focus on the quality of writing.

The author does a phenomenal job connecting to the reader in a way that engulfs you in a journey of the written word. Each page was another ride through prose that seemed advanced for the genre it’s written in.

Erika Foster Is back, Love all these books. Well written, keeps me turning the pages !! Always gripping and keeps me guessing until the end.

Fantastic book that immediately pulled me in. I’ll be reading more from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I was very excited when I saw there was a new Erica Foster book as I am a huge fan of this series.
I was not at all disappointed by this latest outing. Had to wait a while for mu heart rate return to a more normal level to allow me to write my review. The tension is ramped up so high you're on the edge of your seat for most of the book.
I loved the podcast angle and it's great to see these new forms of media being included in fiction and they give a new angle on character interactions etc.
Robert has used this well and it creates an excellent story.
I won't ruin any of it, just tell you to go and read it immediately.

My first Robert Bryndza novel and I enjoyed getting to know the characters and will seek the rest of the series out. Interesting storyline

This is tense, gripping and completely addictive. I have felt as though I have been watching the events of this one play out. This is realistic and believable, guaranteed to send shivers down the spine of the reader.

This has been completely unpredictable and been a book I have devoured. I literally thought I had this figured out then BANG, a twist thrown in that completely pulls the floor from under you.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Another brilliant book that I could not put down.

Erika Foster is one of my fast favourites and she never seems to disappoint.

Not for the faint of heart but a cracking book none the less.

Plenty of suspense and intrigue, drama and mystery too.

A proper page turner that does not disappoint.

Highly recommended, 5 stars from me.

OMG. I am a fan. I am the fan of Erika Foster and her creator Robert Brydnza.
I will have to go back and read all the previous installments in the series.
Fatal Witness has a volatile cocktail of murder, mistaken identity, stalking, secrets buried deep, high school love reunion (I loved this bit so much. It's simply too magical that it just might be true in our blurred world).
Erika Foster is amazing. She is a faulty human with sad backstory, work obsession and screwed outlook on life. But she does have a friend or two, her cheeky younger sister and, yes, her first love-come back again hunk of a man to put her on the straight and narrow.
Fatal Witness is a thriller, don't get me wrong. It will keep you on the edge of your sit, bed, armchair (wherever you are reading this book) and will make you gasp in some places. But it has a human side too. And the balance of the two is what makes Fatal Witness so much thrilling and calming at the same time.
Enjoy

Robert Bryndza https://robertbryndza.com/ is the author of more than 15 novels. Fatal Witness was published in 2022. This is the seventh novel in Bryndza’s Detective Erika Foster series, and it is the 71st book I completed in 2022.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of violence, I categorize this novel as R.

One evening while on a walk in the neighborhood near her home, Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster stumbles upon the murder of Vicky Clarke. Clarke is a podcaster with a true crime series. When the woman’s notes and recording are discovered to be stolen, Foster believes Clarke was on the trail of a killer.

The investigation is complicated when the body of another young woman is found in the same building. It is one of the two Ivanova sisters who lived across the hall from Clarke. She had been brutalized and stabbed. Another young woman is missing. Will Foster and her team be able to find the killer before there are more deaths?

I enjoyed the 8.5 hours I spent reading this 372-page mystery. This is the second novel by Bryndza that I have read. The first was The Girl in the Ice.They have both been excellent modern British mysteries. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

I’m so glad to see the return of DI Erika Foster! I always know with this series that I’ll be binging this book greedily, rather like that box of chocolates you bought and wrapped for someone, but have to buy again because you keep eating them. Trouble always finds Erika, this time in the shape of a body she finds while taking a walk after moving house. This is not the best way to settle into a new home and only Erika could go out for a chippy tea and end up discovering a murder. The murdered woman is Vicky Clarke, a true crime pod caster who was investigating a potential serial killer. Could this be the reason for her very violent end? We witness the attack, which is brutal, so we know what happened, but we don’t know why. Erika is assigned to the case and finds herself steered towards Vicks’s old drama school, but nothing is what it seems here so prepare yourself for twists and turns enough to keep you on the edge of your seat.

If you’ve read the previous novels though you can also revel in the comfort of being back with the team. I thought the author managed to pitch this perfectly, linking the team to the previous novels with small details while giving the book a new feel too. The slight atmosphere between Erika and Peterson provides us with some continuity, while Erica’s new neighbourhood gives us a sense that she is moving forward both personally and professionally. The pacing of the novel is excellent, really ramping up the tension into heart-stopping scenes where, as usual, Erika has placed herself in significant danger. I couldn’t imagine how she might get away towards to the end. I think the author also gets a perfect balance in terms of the case; it has enough thrills and mystery to keep the reader gripped but on the other side he doesn’t forget the human cost of these terrible crimes. When we see family’s reactions, people in the depths of grief and also the effects of crime on it’s victims, we remind ourselves that murder isn’t simply entertainment. I love how Erika goes into each new case 100%, sometimes in the wrong direction and often placing herself in harm’s way. She’s a strong personality who needs to find a better work/ life split, but struggles to put a case down once she’s started. Yet I did hold out hope for her when an old face reappears, suggesting a different and perhaps happier future ahead? This won’t disappoint the fans who’ve been waiting for a new Erika novel and I hope it might bring new readers too.

As a big fan of this series of books, I was really excited to read Fatal Witness.
Whether you read this as part of the series or a stand alone book, which you can still do, Robert Bryndza is great at writing suspense and compelling stories.
I always enjoy following Detective Erica Foster and this was another great addition to the series.
It's a definite page-turner.
I will say, however, I feel like maybe it is starting to get more than a little bit repetitive when it comes to the endings of the books in this series.
The near-death experiences basically each and every time is starting to feel way too easy to predict, as we know there is no real danger of anything happening to our protagonist.
But I did still very much enjoy this and I will be sure to read the next in the series, if there are more.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to preface this review with the fact that I had never read any Detective Erika Foster books, so I was excited to find a new series I need to check out - this being her 7th book.

Erika discovers a true crime podcaster who was just murdered. When Erika finds out the case the podcaster, Vicky, was working on - she almost can't believe what happened. Vicky was working on tracking down a sexual predator who attacks young girls at night while they are sleeping. Does Erika know Vicky's true story?

This book was awesome! It had a ton of twists and turns and kept you on the edge of your seat. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars was due to the fact that I really wanted to read them in order and start from the beginning, not realizing that this book was part of a series. But, that was more a me issue than the books issue. Still, it's what stopped it from being 5 stars.

Another fantastic thriller from this author, this author has such a talent for writing fast paced gripping plots which keep the reader completely engaged and this one was no different, I found myself flying through the pages of this one!

This book is filled with twists and turns. You will not want to put this book down. It's compelling and very suspenseful. Definitely recommend for an exciting read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I enjoy Robert Bryndza's books very much, and like the detective / police characters in his 2 series. This book has a good plotline, and investigating events from the past created difficulties for Erika and her colleagues. The characters are developed more in this storyline, and I particularly liked the introduction of Igor, with the romantic element.
However the repetition of Kate's near-death experiences close to the end of the book is becoming a regular occurrence and maybe it's time for a change in this. There were also a couple of mistakes I noted - the new mattress Igor took upstairs seemed to relocate itself to the lounge within a matter of minutes, and anyone with medical knowledge at any level (and a lot of people without) would know that the superior vena cava is a vein not an artery, although it is a major blood vessel. I think these issues made this a weaker book in the series, not up to the author's usual standard so I have given it a 4-star rating rather than 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book.

I love Robert Bryndza's Erika Foster series. She's your classic spunky, slightly tortured police officer doing her best against a challenging system. But the added difference of Erika's Slovakian background provides and enjoyable point of difference from other crime series.

Erika has just moved in to her new house in London and stumble upon a murder near by. It's a pretty grim scene! It's the expected twisty turny story that is very enjoyable. While I don't want to spoil anything, I will say that as someone who assesses sex offenders, this book addresses this pretty well.

If Mr Bryndza keeps writing this series, I'll keep reading!