Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book and a free audiobook from Raven Street Publishing, in exchange for an honest feedback.

Summary: Detective Erika Foster was on her way back home when she heard screams coming from a flat nearby. She goes to investigate and finds a woman crying at the entrance of the flat. The woman explains that she came to check up on her sister, as she didn’t show up for work, and she discovered the body of her sister was brutally murdered inside the flat.

The victim is Vicky Clarke, an aspiring true-crime podcaster. Who wouldn’t want to kill someone who’s having so much evidence and exposes criminals in her free time? From neighbors who act suspiciously, to her convicted brother-in-law, and even the brother of a senior police officer falls as suspect in this case.

Just when Erika and her team were about to have a clear lead, another young woman is found dead. So not only now there is a serial killer on the loose, but the victims are look-alike.

My thoughts: This is book seven in the Detective Erika Foster series, but you can read it as a standalone. I went with the audio version (narrated by Jan Cramer), as it’s been a while since my last audiobook. It’s my first book written by this author, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to be introduced to his work. The storyline is intriguing and there are a lot of suspects. I don’t want to give away too much from the plot, but for some reason I suspected that the criminal was another female. Especially one that enjoy… corpses for the sake of art? Let’s put it that way. At first, it may seem like an easy crime case, but it isn’t. I was wrong, and the plot twist was a good one. There were some parts/elements in the story that felt farfetched and unnecessary.

As a continuation of Erika Foster’s series, you have Erika starting a new life for herself and finally moving on, after years of pain, agony and regret, from the death of her husband Mark. Until a new murder happens just around the corner from her new home in Blackheath, it causes Erika to once again put her life on hold for the job she worked so so hard for. You also meet someone from Erika’s past life in Slovakia, and I loved this and I feel like it works really well. Erika deserves some kind of happiness, and I feel like this new character could be the start of something for Erika’s future…

Was I expecting this book to be good… yes! Did I expect it to become one of my favourite of Bryndza’s… absolutely NOT! It may have even knocked The Night Stalker off of the top my favourite’s of his…

The brutality of the murder in this had me on the edge of my seat, and in some ways I think I had an inkling of who was behind them… but yet I was equally as shocked when it was revealed? Bryndza throws in many curveballs throughout the novel, leading you down other avenues of suspects, and just when you think you have figured it out… you’re proven wrong!

I think it is obvious that Robert is by far my most favourite author, and he never ever fails… I cannot WAIT for more of Erika’s books, they are by far my favourite series of the two he currently writes!!

I wholeheartedly recommend this to every thriller lover out there, but maybe even people that haven’t got into the genre just yet… I feel like the set the bar high, and just continue to do so?! So yeah, everyone should buy this and the rest of the series because it’s just unfathomable how good they all are!

I am grateful to Net Gally and the publisher for an ARC copy in return for an honest review.
I had never read a book by Robert Bryndza, so when I was offered this book, I was intrigued by this thought - how do you find a killer who has destroyed all the evidence?
So, I read Fatal Witness, which is the seventh novel in the Detective Erika Foster series, even though it's been four years since the last book, Deadly Secrets. For all that, I found it read very well as a standalone novel, though I guess some better familiarity with the principal character Erika Foster, would have increased my level of enjoyment.
I was immediately engaged by this action-packed thriller. The plot is concise, with short chapters and excellent characterisation that keeps your interest. Robert has the barest modicum of needless writing, though there are more twists than your average mega-rollercoaster.
It was just a great read from start to finish with Erika Foster and her team once again solving a great crime thriller.
I also found that Robert Bryndza is very good at telling a story where you end up caring about the characters and where the support characters are as well fleshed out as the main characters.
So, if you have never tried Robert Bryndza, I would highly recommend giving it a try.

Admittedly this was my first book of the series, so I'm not sure how much it impacted my review of Fatal Witness. The synopsis of it drew me in, but when it came to actually reading it it fell short. The premise of a serial murderer podcaster seemed so juicy to me, but I think the character development was lacking because despite the gruesome murder at the beginning, I just didn't care enough about any of the characters, including Erika Foster the detective herself. I did enjoy a few of the twists, which I won't spoil here including a character may or may not be dead.

Perhaps I'm too accustomed to unrealistic detective novels, or just GB detectives but Fatal Witness stalled out at certain points and I had to force myself to continue the book. I did enjoy Detective Fosters side romance, and the ensuing awkwardness. For there being so much action in the story it still ended up being lackluster for me.

I am sad to say that this is the first book in the series that has left me disappointed. Erika Foster is such a great protagonist, and there was so little of her own story in this installment. It felt disjointed and choppy, and took a good third of the book before much suspense developed. The characters seemed more like charicatures than actual people.

Having said, I am a loyal fan of this author and his characters, and I will continue to read everything that he publishes!

Wow wow wow! Another great book in the Erica foster series. I actually tried to savour this one and not finish it too quickly but I just couldn't stop myself from picking it up constantly! Every spare moment I was reading this.

Love all the characters so much. They are very complex and well fleshed out. Great storyline as usual. Not too many suspects but just enough to make you question who it could be. Very easy to keep up with what is going on.

I recommend Robert's book to everyone I know and I will definitely be recommending this one. Can't wait for the next installment!

Not my favorite Bryndza novel. Stilted sentences had me rereading in order to understand. Possibly just a matter of style, but disappointing nonetheless.

While this one had a compelling plot and plenty or twists and turns I just found myself not really connecting with the character which made this a more difficult read for me.

As usual, Robert Bryndza delivers on a thrilling read that you simply won't want to put down.

The characters are fabulous and the mystery is so compelling. I'll warn you that some scenes are a bit disturbing, but the author delivers on atmosphere!

I didn't guess the who or the why and loved the way the author kept surprising me.

An excellent read!

This is Book 7 of the Detective Erika Foster Series. Detective Erika Foster is on a late night walk when she stumbles on a brutal murder. When she is assigned the case, she must uncover the killer before he striks again.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. I have not read the other books in this series and did not feel lost for having not done so. Lots of twists and turns, and man, the poor detective never gets any time off. I look forward to reading others in the series.

Posted a review on goodreads but it contains an error that will not allow me to grab a link to share at this time.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of Fatal Witness by Robert Bryndza from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. I was very excited to be approved for this book as I've been waiting 4 long years to read the next in the series. This book was absolutely worth the wait as it's fantastic! You do not need to read the prior books in order to enjoy this one however I say do yourself a favor and start at book one - it's a fantastic series!

Fatal Witness by Robert Bryndza
Detective Katie Foster #7

This is the third of seven books in the series that I have read, and it is easily read without having read the others. The story is a straightforward police procedural serial killer murder mystery starring Detective Erika Foster and her team. Erika has been a widow for four years, has purchased a fixer-upper to live in, is roughing it in her house, and has mostly work-related friends and family to interact with. She is work-focused and seems a bit of a loner.

The book’s prologue begins with a gruesome graphic murder that Erika comes across on her way home one evening. The team arrives, she talks to the victim’s sister, and then Erika and her team are assigned the case to follow up on. There are a number of people to get alibis from, some sketchy people that might or might not be red herrings, and a podcast topic that could be important to the case…if they can figure out what it is about and who the focus of the story is supposed to be.

There are hints about various team members and how they and their families as well as a few updates about Erika, her family, and her best friend. There is a new man that appears that could become a romantic partner for Erika – wouldn’t mind finding out if Igor is in the next book as a friend or as more and do hope Georgie the cat appears again, too.

As for the murder mystery and police procedural aspects – they were fine, but they did not grip me as the previous books I have read did. I didn’t feel as connected to Erika and her team or to the murders as I would have liked to have been but did enjoy catching up with them and would read another book in the series when it is finished.

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

3-4 Stars

I really got involved in this book. To be fair I didnt realise until I was writing this review that this was part of a series I had thought it was a start of a series. I enjoyed the different characters it makes a refreshing change, I am now going to explore more in this series

I was given a copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

This is the first time I read a book from this author and I was looking forward to it as I read every day without fail and also listen to Audio books. The storyline was enjoyable and the mystery story well written but a bit longer than necessary. The main characters could have done with a bit more further development, I did not quite connect with them. It is still a decent read and would recommend this book.

Fatal Witness is an excellent thriller that will have you rapidly turning pages right down to the last page of the epilogue. With the perfect amount of intrigue and twists and turns you will enjoy reading this book. There is no need to have read the other novels featuring Erica Foster to enjoy or understand this story but you will want to read the others once you’re done. It’s a great fun summer read.

Ever since we met Det Erika Foster in THE GIRL IN THE ICE, she has gone through many trying times while working to bring some very nasty criminals to justice. Robert Bryndza has kept her character consistent while still developing her sense of justice a little more each book. Her skills have grown, just as they would in real life.

In FATAL WITNESS, Erika has changed jobs to help her heal from her emotional wounds. Her first night in her new home, as she walks home from having dinner out, a woman's scream brings her to a gruesome murder scene. Gruesome is an adjective used for many scenes in this book. Bryndza does not shy away from writing scenes so descriptive, you react strongly. Each of the murder scenes is definitely memorable. As Erika works with her team while still learning her new home and community, she will find her first imoressions were all surface deep and once scratched, they will never look the same again.

Robert Bryndza's writing is descriptive, realistic and sometimes gruesome but when building the back story for a murder thriller, he's 100% effective in grabbing your attention and keeping it. This is book #7 for Erika Foster but could be read as a stand alone. This book is GOOD! You should read all of them.

This was such an addictive book. It read as a stand alone book. I raced through this and was sorry when I finished it. Interested to read more by this author. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

As always a brilliant crime book by Robert Bryndza. I have missed a couple in the series however it didnt affect my enjoyment of the book as its easy to follow and there is always a little catch up about Erika's life. A very well written plot and only one minor things that did bug me was the place names, in the book the author list Worthing as being in Kent but its Sussex. The description of the town and Worthing crematorium was good.

I was so glad to find another book in the Erika Foster detective series as it had been a while and I wasn’t sure if the author had decided to retire her!
In this episode Erika has recently moved house and on her way back home after a fish and chip meal she stumbles across a murder. Vicky Clark is a real crime podcaster and her sister, Tess has found her brutally mutilated body. Fortunately Erika is on hand and is able to secure the scene and call for back up.
Erika and her team start to investigate and discover a number of suspects including one very creepy neighbour who is actually related someone within the police making any arrest very difficult.
Along the way there are many twists and just when the reader thinks they know who has committed the crime there is another shift in the plot!
It was great catching up with Erika and I was delighted to see that there was a possibility of a new love interest in her life! Her new home is meant to be a fresh start too but there are a few issues with lack of furniture including a bed which makes it difficult for her to get much rest during a very complicated investigation.
This was an excellent addition to the series and I am hoping that there will not be such a big gap before we get to catch up with Erika again.
Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for my arc.