Devils Way - Robert Bryndza

 Devil’s Way - Robert  Bryndza

Release Date: January 12, 2023

She read

This is the fourth in the Kate Marshall private detective series; it is the second I have read. 

In 2007,  three year old  Charlie went missing from a campsite.  He had been sleeping in his grandmother’s tent, while his parents were in a tent nearby.  Eleven years later, after a chance meeting, the grandmother hires Kate and her partner Tristan to find out what happened to the boy.  Did he really drown in the river as the police supposed?  The discovery that a social worker who had investigated the family was murdered after Charlie’s disappearance nags at Kate.

Bryndza writes fast moving, quick reading, entertaining police/detective procedurals and Devil’s Way is no exception. Although the resolution to this case was not a big surprise, I couldn’t put the book down.  As in prior novels, Bryndza creates a good sense of place; I could picture the fast moving river, the boggy terrain,  the “ear” tree. 

Kate is a bright, capable, strong, but vulnerable female character despite her earlier difficulties in life.  Tristan, her once research assistant, is growing into being a valuable partner.  I enjoy these characters.

Although this is part of a series, I think it can work well as a standalone. This series along with Bryndza’s Erika Foster stories are both on my “don’t miss” list.

Thanks to #netgalley and #ravenstreepublishing for the arc

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