The Lost Victim

The best yet in this sterling series. The author takes us to London and a historic cold case which is enmeshed with the major case which has been woven through this series - the Nine Elms Cannibal. This is such a clever and satisfying mystery to solve with a really good red herring or two to make it extra interesting, I loved the complexities presented by the podcast and the characters linked to the case. This author makes characters come to life so clearly and colourfully that it seems you could reach out and touch them, and he has created some new monsters in this book. It is a testament to his capabilities in character creation that I always read these books and find the time and energy to loathe Tristan’s sister, Sarah so much, even when the focus is often gory and gut-wrenching murders. Truly, such a wonderful example of this incredibly talented author’s work. I can’t wait to see what next in this series.

I couldn't put this novel down until I had finished it. A top read and highly recommended. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.

Kate and Tristan's relationship is so brilliant! This story will have readers on the edge of their seats as the story unravels and takes you to places you wouldn't expect. Absolutely fantastic thriller!

Well what can I say another amazing Robert read, never disappointed only that its finished, love Kate as much as I love Erica, took me less than 24 hours because once I pick up one of Roberts books, I can't put it down

This is a book I found hard to put down, and kept me guessing until the very end! Loved this book, as I love all of Robert's book. Always a five star author for me! Thank you.

Massive fan of Robert Bryndza. His books are exciting with a huge amount of suspense which keeps you guessing until the very end.
The Kate Marshall series are superb, looking forward to the next thrilling instalment.

Robert Bryndza produces great novel after great novel and his latest, the Lost Victim, certainly lives up to its predecessors. Private Investigators Kate Harper and Tristan Marshall are searching for Janey Macklin, a school girl who disappeared in 1988 and whose case has gone cold. Kate and Tristan are approached by a true crime podcaster who is wondering if Janey could have been killed by Peter Conway, the notorious Nine Elms Cannibal. If Kate can solve this, it could prove to be her most lucrative case to date but will she be willing to dredge up the past? I was hooked from the start, the plot unfolds at pace and I was captivated with each turn of the page. I can’t wait to read Robert’s next novel. Thank you to NetGalley, Raven Street Publishing and the author for the chance to review.

I am a huge fan of Robert Bryndza and I was delighted to get the opportunity to read his newest book The Lost Victim. This was one of the most gripping and thrilling books I have read in a long time. I read it over the course of a day as I simply couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

Thank you Raven Street Publishing and Netgalley for another amazing read from Robert.
I have now read all of the Kate Marshall novels and I think this was one of my favourites (I grew up in London)
The storyline was different and just kept moving.
This is the most recent in a great series - please keep writing.
Maybe Erika and Kate could be in a joint story one day - just a suggestion.
If you haven't started this series you must.

Another fabulous read by Robert Bryndza !

Kate and Tristan are back, this time looking for a missing girl Janey, presumed dead but her body was never found. Compelling read, so much so, I read it in 2 days.

Highly recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

Another excellent unputdownable book by Robert Bryndza featuring Kate Marshall who was a policewoman but now a private detective with her partner Tristan. This novel begins with them being given a job investigating a missing girl named Janey Macklin. Enjoyed every minute spent reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good murder mystery which keeps the reader guessing to the final pages.

Love love loved this book! This series just keeps on getting better and i am a sucker for a cold case story. Just brilliant!!!!!#TheLostVictim #NetGalley

Robert Bryndza does it again! Book five in the Kate Marshall series. Fast paced and suspenseful. If you are looking for a new series, try this one. You will not be disappointed.
Robert Bryndza draws you in at the beginning of each book. His books are hard to put down.
The characters of Kate and Tristan are ones that you will enjoy and root for. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you to NetGalley, Robert Bryndza and ravenstreet publishing for a copy of this book to read and post an honest review.

I have read all of Robert Bryndza’s books and each one is better than the last. This is definitely the best Kate Marshall story so far.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the arc.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this eARC.

Wow, wow, wow - The Lost Victim exceeded all my expectations and is a very, VERY good read, and one of my top reads so far this year. I am a big fan of Rob Bryndza and he certainly grabbed my attention and interest right from the start and held it all the way through to the end. I've always liked Kate and Tristan, and here they look into a 30 year old police cold case of Janey Macklin, who went missing in London. I really enjoyed following their investigation as they revisit the case searching for new leads. Peter Conway returns and is believed to know something about Janeys disappearance. He is one of the most loathsome characters who just makes my skin crawl. The authors writing is, as always, very engaging and I think he really connects with his readers and knows what they want. The plot line is very intricate and well thought out and has lots of separate threads that slowly begin to come together and tie up towards the end. I felt like I was unwrapping layer after layer of secrets due to Kate and Tristan's tenacity and determination to find out what happened to Janey. This quickly became a very moreish read where I needed to know what would happen next, and that good it was hard to put down. The pacing is perfect and the writing is full of suspense, thrills and atmosphere. I honestly can't fault anything about this read, I loved it. If you like books with mystery and suspense then is for you, yes, it can be read on its own although I'd recommend you read the series in order to know the characters from the beginning.

5 stars

This is book #5 of the Kate Marshall series. Whilst it is part of a series it can be read as a standalone book, although I would recommend reading the books in series order for better understanding of the storyline. The storyline takes us back to 1988 when teenage Janey Macklin goes missing. Fast forward thirty years, and we find Kate and Tristan, her partner in their Private Investigator business, asked to look into Janey's cold case for a potential podcast story. The investigation takes Kate back to London, where she was a young police officer many years before. She also discovers that Peter Conway, her former boss, lover and the notorious Nine Elms Cannibal may have been involved in Janey's disappearance.

I've read every book of this series, and whilst they were all great, this one was definitely my favourite so far! I like Kate's character and despite all the problems she's had in her life, she seems the strongest and most settled that we've seen her - that is until Peter Conway comes back into her life again. I love her relationship with Tristan and they work so well together in this book. Tristan is definitely becoming more confident as an investigator as the series goes on. The storyline flowed along well, setting the scene in the seedier areas of London's King Cross both in 1988 and thirty years on. I loved the locations in London and found the differences over the years really interesting.

The storyline twists and turns while they try to work out what happened to Janey. There are plenty of suspects and scenarios to ponder over and I was kept in suspense before the big reveal. I loved having Peter Conway back, despite him being the epitome of evil who sent shivers down my spine every time. The tension throughout was kept high and the investigation is definitely fast paced with plenty of surprises. This author is definitely one of my favourites, and every book he writes is amazing - this one is no exception! A brilliant read which will keep you hooked until the very last page. Would definitely recommend.

My Thoughts /

First and foremost, a huge THANK YOU to NetGalley, Raven Street Publishing, and author Robert Bryndza, for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. Publication date is currently set for July 11, 2024.

Don't you just hate it when you get your Erika Fosters and your Kate Marshalls mixed up?? NO? Must just be me then. This is what happens when I am not up to date on my series reading. Or maybe because I'd not long finished Lethal Vengeance (Erika Foster #8) and she was still in my mind. But no matter, because I quickly refocussed and was on the right path…err, girl. Anyway, thankfully both of Bryndza's Erika Foster series and his Kate Marshall series make high star reading.

The Lost Victim follows two timelines:

It was 1988, when a then young girl by the name of Janey Macklin went missing just before Christmas. She was last seen in King's Cross on December 23, getting into the van belonging to a guy called Robert Driscoll. Driscoll was tried and convicted for her murder in 1989; however, Janey Macklin's body has never been found. At the time, Kate Marshall was just a young police detective.

2018, 30 years later, and there's been a lot of water flow under the metaphorical bridge. Kate Marshall is no longer in the police force. She has now partnered with Tristan Harper and together they run a small private detective agency in Thurlow Bay. The agency has been struggling a little of late, so when they receive a call from someone at the Stafford-Clarke Literary Agency with an offer of a job, it sees them on a trip to London. The Agency is researching and investigating the disappearance of Janey Macklin some thirty years ago with the intention of turning it into a true crime podcast. They want to hire Kate and Tristan to gather the much-needed background information and research into the cold case of the missing teenager. The Agency's podcast producer has also posed an intriguing line of investigation - what if Janey Macklin was killed by Peter Conway?

Peter Conway was an ex-police detective who served multiple life sentences for the murder and mutilation of five young women in and around the Nine Elms area of South London. Kate, who was then a young police detective, had worked out that the reason the Nine Elms Cannibal, (as he became known in the press), had evaded the police for so long was because he WAS the police. To muddy the waters further, Kate had been having an affair with Peter Conway when she cracked the case. Aye yai yai!

What is it about this author's writing that can keep a reader's eyes glued to every page? Maybe it's the bright, capable, intelligent, strong female mc? Maybe it's the well-developed cast of supporting characters? The well plotted, fast paced storyline? Or how he can manage to create a sense of the reader 'belonging' in the picture through well written descriptive text? Maybe, it's because of the suspense - from the beginning until the end, the story twists, turns, zigs and zags. Or maybe, it's just all the above? Either way, all I know, is that I was thoroughly engaged from start to finish and I loved every tense, nail biting moment.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Raven Street Publishing for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

#TheLostVictim #NetGalley

Poor Kate can’t escape the notorious killer Peter Conway. He’s like a bad penny that just keeps turning up. The new case that her and Tristan are working on, raises the question of whether the disappearance of teenager Janey was one of Peter’s last murders before he was sent down. This opens up a lot of old wounds for Kate.

There is a melancholy feel throughout as Kate has to battle not only with her demons but with the dreaded press who never seem to give her a break. Their quest into a cold case is both sad and surprising. I really felt for Janey’s mum and sister and it’s a reminder of how families are left to cope with the loss of a loved one, more so when they have been left years with no answers.

The storyline had me well and truly hooked. The duo make great progress in a short amount of time which for some reason doesn’t seem to go down to well with the clients who hired them. Everyone seems to be keeping things close to their chests and I was dying to find out just what they were.

The Lost Victim was full of cleverly crafted twists that had me pointing my finger at quite a few of the characters. With so many red herrings, you would need to be Columbo to have any hope of solving this one! At times it makes for some uncomfortable reading as the author knows how to create some seriously sick killers and the prison scenes made my blood boil. Grippingly brilliant and highly addictive, I can’t get enough of this serious!

The Lost Victim, the fifth book in the Private Investigator Kate Marshall Series by Robert Bryndza is a gripping, suspenseful, and twisty thriller that builds brilliantly on the books that have gone before.
The combination of a cold case involving a missing 15-year-old girl, a man convicted and then absolved of her murder, a trio of podcasters who clearly are hiding something, and not one but two serial killers who frequented the area where she disappeared at the time - one of whom has an intricate history with main character private detective Kate Marshall - makes for an intriguing and complex book.
Brilliantly written, The Lost Victim sweeps the reader away and keeps them turning the pages to the very end.
The author proves yet again that you simply can not go wrong with a Robert Bryndza book! He is one author I never need to read the synopsis of a book, I just grab it!
I was thrilled to get an ARC of #TheLostVictim from #NetGalley.

The Lost Victim by Robert Bryndza is a Kate Marshall private investigator series book 5. The book can be read as a standalone. The setting is in London and involves a cold case. As stated in the synopsis, when schoolgirl Janey Macklin disappeared from the seedy side of London in 1988, her case went cold, with no body and no witnesses. Now, 30 years later, private detective Kate Marshall has been approached by a true crime podcast producer with an intriguing question they need her help answering: What if Janey was killed by Peter Conway, the notorious Nine Elms Cannibal?

The Lost Victim is a good mystery with lots of twists and red herrings to keep the reader wondering what will happen and who is involved.

The plot was interesting, the writing style engaging as always with this author, and the characters continued to be well-developed and realistic. The Lost Victim has a clever plot with page-turning action.

I would recommend this book, this series, and this author.

#TheLostVictim #NetGalley

I do love a Kate Marshall thriller and this one, The Lost Victim, is an absolute belter. Faced with a large repair bill at the holiday park that she runs alongside her partner in Crime Fighting, Tristan, Kate agrees, on behalf of a team of True Crime Podcasters, to take up the cold case relating to missing London teenager, Janey Macklin, who had gone to the shops for her mother back in the late eighties and was never seen again. Despite the lack of a body, a local man was convicted of her murder but was later acquitted, leaving Janey's as just another of the many unsolved missing persons cases the Met Police face every year. The only thing that makes this particular case so special is that the podcasters have evidence that may link Janey to the notorious 'Nine Elms Cannibal', the man who made Kate infamous whilst also ending her police career. This case is personal, for both Kate and her son, but is it also a chance to right a decades old wrong and bring closure to the Macklin family, once and for all?

Now, unless you have been living under a rock, or haven't read any of the Kate Marshall books, the Nine Elms Cannibal needs no introduction. If you do need an intro, I would recommend you start at the beginning of the series and work your way back to here. The story is completely standalone, with Robert Bryndza giving just enough of a situational recap to make Kate and the Cannibal's history make sense. But, even though I am far from being a reading purist, I read out of order all the time, I do think that having the full backstory really makes this particular story work brilliantly, especially certain twists and tribulations along the way. This does feel like a bit of a turning point for Kate, so that missing history will help you to understand why. That said, if you want to just get stuck straight in and enjoy a brilliant mystery, packed with edginess, unease and tension, that's all good too. Mr B has completely catered for that.

This book had me feeling uneasy right from the start. As soon as you read that opening chapter you will understand why. Without even thinking that this might link to Kate's past, there is a certain element of the book which will have you wanting to take young Janey to one side and give her a really stern talking to. Looked at with a post millenium perspective, the kind of risks we willingly took as youngsters back in the 80's really does make you wonder how any of our generation is still alive. That's not to say that Janey is completely naive and trusting, but even without reading the blurb you will get those prickles on the skin that tell you nothing here is going to end well. it kept me on edge and had me completely invested in Janey's story from the off. I was on board with this investigation and did not want to put the book down.

There is plenty of misdirection and misinformation in this book. Sadly, due to the time that had passed since Janey's disappearance, access to witnesses and investigating officers was tricky, but what I love about Tristan and Kate is their determination and their ability to get people to open up, as well as the ability to get under people's skin, a skill that proved crucial in solving this case. There are so many angles in play, including people who want to misdirect for personal gain, and in this case it's not just the killer. There is a real emotional resonance in this case as well, both for Janey's mother and sister, and also for Kate where a change in personal circumstances leaves her a little adrift. I liked how the author explored this element of the story, of how it is not as black and white as it maybe should have been.

Did I have my suspicions about certain characters in this story? Absolutely - it is hard not to, to be honest. Did it stop me leaping to conclusions, or give away the full whys and wherefores of the plot? Not at all, and the clues are perfectly placed, and the story perfectly paced, to keep the key reveal to just the right moment. It is tense, without being too intense, the characters confusing and infuriating in equal measure, and laced with emotion and a kind of inevitable ending that sadly feels all too contemporary and authentic. But most of all, it's another totally absorbing case with characters I love to while away the hours with and I cannot wait for more. Definitely recommended.

I love Robert Bryndza books and know when I start one there will be very little work done. This was no exception I couldn’t put it down. The characters are very believable and he portrays the menace of the serial killers in a way that gives the reader a chilly shudder.
Excellent.