Erika Foster is back! As usual, Erika is a no nonsense detective and this case is as twisty and turny as the others have been. I was drawn in within the first three chapters and was fully invested by the first twist. I found myself making time to listen because I needed to know what happened next! The narrators in the audiobook fit the characters well. The voices were pleasant to listen to and had the appropriate emotions when called for. Great job all.

I shouted out loud several times - those twists are intense. INTENSE. This is one of my favorite narrators - stellar job!
Finally Bryndza returns to Erika Foster - and I was not disappointed. I'm thirst trapped for the next book!
Erika finds herself walking her new neighborhood -- and of course stumbles onto a crime scene. A woman finds her sister brutally stabbed to death, rolled in her sofa bed.
Vicky recently began her own true crime podcast. But her latest episode wasn't uploaded. And her mic is missing. Her latest story concerns young women assaulted at Vicky's alma mater - a small drama school in south London.
Erika struggles to readjust her working relationship with Peterson. She bought a house - lol! Now tasked with buying essentials like a bed.
Lots of great humor but most importantly great suspense and thrills!

I felt the narration spoilt this book. It came across as old fashioned.
The story was interesting but let done by the tone. Whilst the initial murders were violently descriptive, the actual police work and characters felt more like something from an old thriller. I stayed on to hear the resolve and enjoyed the story but never really became attached

Fatal Witness is book 7 in the DCI Erika Foster series from Robert Bryndza.

"Erika is walking near her new house and hears a scream. Rushing into a nearby house she finds a woman hysterical because she's discovered her sister dead - stabbed on the sofa bed. As Erika and her team start investigating they take a hard look at the neighbors. One in particular has some odd behaviors. But he is also related to someone high-up in the police department. Erika knows they have to look at everyone but she's not sure they can solve this crime with their hands tied...especially after more people are killed."

This is a police procedural. Bryndza is good at leading the reader around - maybe it's this, maybe it's that - and it turns out to be something else. The ending is absolutely nuts. You wonder how Erika will survive this one.

Jan Kramer does an excellent job with the audio narration. It's more than just doing different voices - many of them had personality and inflection of the character.

Fans of crime fiction will enjoy this one. It's part of a series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Fatal Witness’ prologue hits you full in the face and the story doesn’t really let up right to the end. If you like you murder mysteries fast paced, with plenty of suspects, then this police procedural is for you. I haven’t read any of Robert Bryndza books before, but this book stands alone. If you easily shocked this book is probably not for you. There are a couple of things that happen in the story which are important, but I personally don’t think ring true in police procedures,, so only 3 stars for the story but more for the authors style. Read the book and make up your own mind. Thank you to Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for letting me listen to an audio ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Loved this audiobook. Liked the narration & amazing plot. Didn’t realise this book was part of a series I’m going to start reading it from the beginning.

Detective Erika Foster returns when a true crime podcaster, Vicky Clarke, is found murdered. Though her identity causes confusion initially. Erika looks into the sexual predator case Vicky was investigated and wonders if there is any connection. Though as the investigation deepens, not is all what it seems.
Another corker of a book by Robert Bryndza. Full of great characters, details and twists that make an epic read.
Can be read as a standalone or part of the series.

Story very well written & great narration. Amazing characters & captivating mystery. Kept me on the edge, page turner & easy to read..

I am voluntarily reviewing a copy I received free via NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this story but not the best idea to start it 10 at night as you're about to go to bed while home alone 🔪🔪🔪
I really enjoyed the characters and have to admit I didn't know who it was until it was revealed which was refreshing.

First time trying this author but definitely want to read/listen to more books. I was very excited to find out this was a series so purchased the first book from kindle.

I like the lot. But with audiobooks the performance is as important as the story or content. I love a British accent, but I found this narrator hard to listen to. So after a number of chapters I set it aside. I’m sure it’s a good story but listening to so many hours when it is coarse in the ears is hard.

EXCERPT: She cried out and kicked but he grabbed her legs, dragged her up off the floor and threw her back on the sofa bed.

He picked up the knife and she saw him looking around, working out what to do. He gripped the bottom of the folding frame and tipped it up, raising her legs. Her body was bent in half and then she felt his weight on top as he folded her into the mattress, the metal frame crushing her. He folded the mattress again using all his weight on top. She felt a roar of pain as her shoulders popped out of their sockets, and her knees were up around her head. The gag in her mouth moved down her throat, crushing her windpipe.

And then the knife sank into her back, and then sliced open the side of her cheek, it plunged into her hip and then the meaty padding of her calf muscle. He was stabbing the knife through the mattress.

She couldn't breathe, and the frenzied stabbing continued, the knife plunging into her body as she was crushed under the weight of the folded-over mattress.

She wanted death to come quickly, but the three long minutes before her wish was granted was an eternity.

ABOUT 'FATAL WITNESS': 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.

MY THOUGHTS: Isn't it amazing what trouble buying fish and chips for your supper can land you in! In Erika's case, it's a particularly gruesome murder. I think in future I'll be ordering in pizza.

This is a complicated case. There's an issue of mistaken identity for a start. There are people who are not what they seem, and some who are exactly what they seem. The difficulty is sorting out who is which. And then there's the second body . . .

There's no shortage of suspects and plenty of red herrings. I formulated theories, and as fast as I could dream them up, Robert Bryndza scuppered them.

The characters, as always, are magnificently portrayed. Cilla, the Scots drama teacher was probably my favourite, although Charles Wakefield and the imperious Henrietta Boulderstone are absolutely brilliant, if totally unlikeable.

The plot is fast moving and twisty, the characters realistic, and I loved almost every moment of it. But Mr Bryndza, why oh why did you subject us to that overly dramatic denouement? It left me feeling deflated and a little ticked off, and cost you half a star.

Although this is book #7 of a series, the author provides enough background for Fatal Witness to be read as a stand-alone.

I was lucky enough to receive both a digital and an audio ARC of Fatal Witness and so was able to switch between the two. Both are excellent. Fatal Witness is scheduled for publication 07 July 2022.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#ErikaFosterReturns #NetGalley

I: @robertbryndza #RavenStreetPublishing

T: @RobertBryndza #RavenStreetPublishing

#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #murdermystery #suspense #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Robert Bryndza was born in the UK and lived in America and Canada before settling in Slovakia with his Slovak husband Ján.

When he's not writing Rob is learning Slovak, trying to train two crazy dogs, or watching Grand Designs all in the hope that hell be able to understand his mother-in-law, build his dream house, and get the dogs to listen.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Raven Street Publishing via Netgalley for providing both digital and audio ARCs of Dark Water by Robert Bryndza for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon,Instagram and my webpage.

Name of Book: Fatal Witness
Series: Erika Foster Crime Thriller #7
Author: Robert Bryndza
Audiobook Narrator: Jan Cramer
Publisher: Raven Street Publishing
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: July 7, 2022
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐.5 Stars

Detective Erika Foster has just moved into her fixer upper new home in Blackheath. She has no furniture as well as no food and decides to go out and get something to eat. She hears a scream and as a detective she goes running and finds a woman brutally murdered. Vicky Clarke’s sister Tess found the body in Vicky’s apartment. Vicky is .a podcaster and has been working to uncover a sexual predator who has been breaking into the residential hall of female students and assaulting them. Perhaps he is also Vicky’s murderer. However, after the autopsy, it is discovered that the victim isn’t Vicky Clarke!
Young Bulgarian medical students Sophia and Maria Ivanova live across the hall from Vicky.
Sophia and Vicky strike up a friendship.


Vicky lives in a house that has several apartments. Two young Bulgarian medical students live across the hall from Vicky. Vicky strikes up a friendship with Sophia.

Story had me very curious but I found most of the characters so nasty and unlikeable. This story was also more disturbing that I like ~ the Prologue gave me a strong warned but I continued to read on.

I actually read this story as well as listened to the audiobook. I love a good audiobook but the descriptions of the murder and torture were not easy to hear.

I like Erica and her partner Peterson and I did love the ending!

I always enjoy reading the the ‘Author’s Notes. In this case, [author: Robert Bryndza] tells us he is working on another Kate Marshall, Erica Foster novel. Since both are in a series, I am wondering this he is going to have them team up?

Want to thank NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for my honest opinion.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 7, 2022.

This is the first book I have read from this author so I wasn't familiar with the series but this didn't impact on my enjoyment of the book and it certainly can be read as a stand alone.
The book opens with a graphic and chilling prologue that had me gripped from the start when
detective Erika Foster stumbles across a gruesome murder scene on a walk in her new neighbourhood. A wannabe true crime podcaster has been brutally murdered in her apartment. Trying to establish what she was working on and who her connections were proves challenging for Erica and her likeable team but as the detectives dig deeper all is not as it seems, especially when another woman is murdered in the same apartment block.
A very enjoyable twisty 'whodunnit' with some intriguing characters which had me guessing right up until the end.
I am grateful to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC of this book.

I really got involved in this audio version of the book. To be fair I didn't 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 was given the audio version by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

Read and listened to this book in equal parts so this is a joint review. Robert Bryndza is one of my go to authors who I can usually rely on to provide me with a good read/ listen particularly when I’ve ploughed through a poor offering. Unfortunately I wasn’t too taken with Fatal Witness which is less thrilling than others of his. It wouldn’t stop me reading more from the author as I do like his characters.

I’m also sorry to say I very much disliked the narrator. It’s a personal thing hearing a book read to you very unlike hearing the voices you give the characters yourself. I thought the choice of this particular narrator was a poor one.

This is the 7th book in the series but can be read as a standalone. I love a good police procedural read with a strong female character and thats what you get with this one. I really enjoyed the storyline and really liked the range of different characters. I was totally gripped throughout and it progressed at a steady pace to keep you interested. I found the last quarter and ending very rushed and a little flat for such a build up. That for me really let it down but overall an enjoyable read.

3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Raven Street Publishing for the opportunity to listen to #FalseWitness

This is my first book by Robert Bryndza and all I can think is that I wish I had found his books sooner. I absolutely loved this book, and I am so excited to read more of his books. His work is very similar to Angela Marsons' work, which I love, and I am thrilled to find another series of police procedurals to read.

I really liked the main character of the book, who is police detective Erika Foster, and I found her story interesting. She is a very loveable character and I enjoyed her role in this book. I look forward to reading more about her in the future.

I loved the narrator of this book, who is the same narrator that reads Angela Marsons' books, and so I felt like I was back with an old friend. I really love her voice, and the way she can change her accent to suit each character. I must admit that while listening to this book, I was missing Kim Stone :)

In this story, Erika has just moved house, and while she is out walking, she comes across a murder. Her and her team immediately get to work to try and solve the crime. Her team are all likeable characters and I look forward to getting to know them more when I read more of the books in this series.

I highly recommend this book, which is fantastic, and I am very happy to have another great author's books to read.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Back and still brilliant!

Erika Foster is back and just as good as ever! Bryndza’s abrasive, but relatable DCI Foster has another case where all is not as it seems.

Just when Erika is moving forward and settling down in London, she is pulled into a crime that is very close to home and is forced to walk a tight line at work….

Following a set of clues that result in Erika discovering he detective work of her victim, Erika is assisted by the her team…the wise cracking Moss, stalwart Peterson , eager McGory. and supportive Melanie.

Ready to move forward toward the future while running into a part of her past, Erika still manages to put the pieces together to try to stop a psycho who has covered their tracks before they can strike again. Will Erika and her team be able to outsmart someone who has been very clever, or will someone else pay a price?

I couldn’t put the book down! Bryndza really makes you care about the characters. It is easy to root for Erika even though she is not perfect, and in every book we learn more about her back story and how it affects who she is today.
Hopefully we won’t have to wait long for the next chapter in Erika’s story and see where she and the team ( Peterson?) go from here. The narration is TOP NOTCH as always and adds to the experience of reading the book.
Welcome back Erika! We’ve missed you!

Another great Erika Foster book. The death of a true crime podcaster leads to an investigation into historic stalker cases. As the death toll mounts Erika needs to find the victims of earlier crimes in an effort to unmask the killer. A gripping read.

Detective Erika Foster never has down time. She can't even go for a late-night walk without stumbling upon a murder scene. Vicky Clarke, a true-crime podcaster has been brutally murdered. Vicky has been working on a new podcast which focuses on a sexual predator who preys on young female students. Just how close was Vicky to naming the predator?

Erika is on the case and the body of a student has been found. This causes Erika to wonder if the cases are related.

The killer seems to be adept at covering his tracks and getting rid of evidence. All Erika must go on is her instincts and impressive detective skills.

This was another great installment in the Detective Erika Foster series. I'm always excited when I see a new book is coming out. This one did not disappoint. I had the audiobook and the kindle version, and I enjoyed going back and forth between the two.

Bryndza also pulled the wool over my eyes as I did not guess the big reveal. If you enjoy this series, you won’t be disappointed.

Thank you to Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.