I received a free ecopy of this book in return for an honest review. Many thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity.

Having read and loved Bryndza’s Detective Erika Foster series I was interested to see what character he had come up with for this new crime series. Bryndza writes and good female lead and his thrillers are always fast-paced and attention grabbing.

The story begins with a wallop as young Detective Constable Kate Marshall discovers that the Inspector she has been sleeping with, is vicious serial killer. She almost dies bringing him down, unaware that she is carrying his child.

Fast forward fifteen years and Kate is a much more mature woman, still suffering the after effects of these earlier events. She is a recovering alcoholic, whose son is in the care of his grandparents. Forced to leave the police, she now lectures in criminology. When the father of a long missing girl, who believes his child was another victim of her ex, asks Kate to investigate, she reluctantly agrees. However a copycat killer is about to bring his own crimes much closer to Kate threatening everyone around her.

I have to say, I like Kate Marshall. It’s great to see a slightly older woman and also a mother as a main character. Like all fictional detectives, she has her issues, but she is very relatable. Kate has the knowledge and experience of a police detective but as a civilian she has the opportunity to follow less legitimate methods, which opens up a whole new world for the reader. Kate’s young assistant, Tristan adds a fresh, youthful aspect to the story, while her son Jake provides emotional jeopardy.

I found the murders and the murderer himself to be stomach churning. No murder should be comfortable to read about but I seem to be particularly squeamish about cannibalism. It is treated with such relish (no pun intended) that at times I had to put the book down and take a minute. Eating while reading was definitely not an option. This however is my own foible and not an indicator of how every reader will feel.

I am looking forward to the next Kate Marshall book, which I am excited to see already has a title. Hopefully I will not have to go vegetarian after reading that one.

One of the main things I always love about Robert Bryndza's books is the incredibly descriptive way he writes. There is so much detail I genuinely feel like I am part of the story. It's really special, and this book was no different.

I loved the Erika Foster Series and was so excited to hear that he had a new series coming out. Kate Marshall it turns out, is just as awesome as Erika, she's a strong, fearless character, described so fantastically, I feel I know her already. I can't wait to read more of her stories!!!

The book itself goes into the background of Kate, she had been a detective in the Metropolitan Police, chasing down a serial killer, until one day he comes after her. After living a quiet suburban life for the best part of 20 years, suddenly the past comes back to haunt her, and the murderer she once knew comes back with a vengeance. Can Kate stop him before he destroys her?

This is an awesome book with dark and gritty scenes, some of which made me bury deeper under the covers! There are some truly disturbing characters! I've genuinely never liked books this dark before but Robert is my absolute favourite author and am glued to everything he writes.

I highly recommend you give it a try. I'm already about to give it a 2nd read it was that good. I truly loved it.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group and Robert Bryndza for the advance copy to review.

I’m not good with change. I was ridiculously excited when I read that Robert Bryndza had a new book coming out and then I read that he had changed publisher and that the new book didn’t feature the tortured heroine Erika Foster. It didn’t bode well…

When I was sent Nine Elms for review about six weeks ago I toyed with the idea of putting it aside and reading it just before publication date. That decision lasted all of about 24 hours and then I just had to drive straight in. My only regret about that choice is that I’ve had to wait six weeks to share this gripping crime drama with you all.

When Kate Marshall was a young police detective she was instrumental in catching the Nine Elms Cannibal serial killer. A case that changed her life forever and ended her career with the police force. Life is now a quiet one lived on the shore with daily swims in the open water and a job as a criminology lecturer.

When a couple of young women with no apparent links are found dead it becomes clear that there is a copycat killer out there, emulating the crimes of the Nine Elms killer. Finding herself drawn back into the investigation Kate begins her own searches ably assisted by her university assistant Tristan. They soon find themselves in the middle of a living nightmare – one that might be a little too graphic for some more delicate readers. Bryndza doesn’t hesitate in his descriptions of some quite graphic crimes and situations.

Like his other books Bryndza wins on the creation of his characters. Most of his stories feature tough independendent women who all have a fatal flaw – some weakness that prevents them from being totally amazing. Having to be stronger and better than the men they work with in order to achieve the same recognition. Kate Marshall is another one of these damaged women. Her past unfolding as the story progresses and her secrets laid bare.

It isn’t a perfect book. Some of the action feels a little far fetched – mostly to do with the geographical distances that the characters were having to cover in quite short periods of time. Clearly this violent-crime filled universe is also traffic free! That said don’t let this put you off. NIne Elms is a fast paced crime thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat right to the very last page. Luckily this is the first in a new series so hopefully there will be another Kate & Tristan adventure very soon!

Supplied by Net Galley and Sphere in exchange for an honest review.

This started off quite promisingly. Kate Marshall gives up her career in the Met Police after finding the Nine Elms Cannibal, who turns out to have been her boss and one time lover.
I don't really buy that you would have a relationship with your boss, which would have been seriously frowned on and not using protection and not knowing that you were 4 months pregnant.
Kate starts a new life in Devon as a university lecturer. Several years later she receives an email from a couple asking her to help investigate their daughter's disappearance.
Lots of things don't ring true. Kate hardly ever seems to be in the university working, she uses the university email address and phone number on her business card, what! Threatens the Dean and gets away with it.
Civilians are present at a crime scene…… The list goes on and it gets to be a bit of a farce towards the end.
My biggest bug bear, the women don't speak, they trill!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in return for an honest review.

I've loved all of the previous books written by this author and loved the characters of the Detective Erika Foster books and was so excited to hear that he was writing a new crime series.
This was an amazing start to the new series, I loved the story, the characters and was hooked from the start. Any concerns I may have had that this wouldn't compare to the previous series were immediately quashed and I loved it from start to finish.

This was the first title I have read by this author but it certainly will not be the last. The style of writing is pleasing, not so much detail that your mind wanders but enough to form pictures/scenes of the characters and locations in your mind. The lack of any romance or romantic involvement between the two main characters is also pleasing in my opinion and helps the mind concentrate on the real story.

The pace of the book is set in the first chapter which gives the background to the rest of the book. Kate Marshall is a character with issues created by her solving a crime in her younger years. No longer a serving officer, but a lecturer in Criminology, she retains relationships which allow her access to current crimes and crime scenes. A little far-fetched possibly as are some of the "action scenes" but this does not detract from what is an excellent book and this is fiction after all!

I found the characters instantly likeable – well, the ones on the right side of the law anyway! – and I hope their backstories will develop in future books as this one left me wanting to know more about them. Essentially this is a “police procedural” novel without the main characters being police officers which adds an interesting dimension.

In a nutshell, this book is well written and left me wanting more. I will definitely be pre-ordering the next instalment (I hope this is going to be a series!) and also reading more by Robert Bryndza.

This is a new series by the wonderful Robert Bryndza featuring Kate Marshall. While I enjoyed this book, I didn't love it as much as the Erica Foster series, it just didn't grip me. I'm putting it down to it being a first in a new series. I will look forward to the second instalment and hope to fall in love with the series as much as I love Erica Foster.

My thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK

Sixteen years ago, Kate Marshall was a rising star in the London Metropolitan police force. Young, ambitious and driven, with a talent for getting into the minds of criminals, she solved several high-profile murder cases.

But when Kate was tasked with tracking down a vicious serial killer, even her instinct and ability to immerse herself in violent worlds couldn't help her find him - until he found her.

Now, years after her narrow escape, Kate lives a quiet life on the English coast, though her years with the police are still with her. And when one day she receives a letter from someone in her past, she is pulled back into the twisted mind of a murderer she knows only too well - and into a case only she can solve.

This is a brand new detective from the amazing author that brought us Erika Foster and Kate Marshall is just as feisty. Robert Bryndza does gruesome like no other author and this new book is no exception, right from the first few pages you just know that this is going to be a good story and it was so much more than that. The story is told in two timelines; Autumn 1985 when Kate is a police officer rising through the ranks until something so awful happens to her and her world is turned upside down and then 15 years later when she has made a new life for herself, but it seems history is about to repeat itself when she's confronted with a face from the past, can she overcome her fears and bring the killer to justice? You will just have to read it yourself to find out. I'm so looking forward to seeing more of this lady.

I'd like to thank Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and on Amazon on publication day.

I was so excited to read this book and I wasn’t disappointed.
This is a great start to a new series and I can’t wait to read more about Kate Marshall.
Kate survived a brutal attack as a detective and after the event, decided on a career change.
She is now a lecturer at a University but she specialises in cold cases.
Her attacker is the focus of her lectures at first and soon a family asks for her help in finding their daughter’s body, as Kate knew the man responsible.
Tristan is Kate’s assistant at the University and is keen to help with her investigations.
More murders take place and it seems they are copying those from Kate’s past case so she’s ask to comment and soon gets drawn in.
This is a gripping crime thriller that had me hooked throughout the book.
I love the way Robert Bryndza writes and really pulls you in to the story.
I can’t wait to find out what Kate gets involved in next.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

What a fantastic start to a brand new series. I love this author's work so i was really looking forward to this. And it did not disappoint!

The plot was dark and twisted, well thought out and kept you guessing all the way through. I was hooked from the first page right to the very last.

Kate is a great character and i can't wait to read more of her adventures.

When Kate Marshall began working on a case the press had dubbed 'the Nine Elms Cannibal ' she had no idea how totally and devastatingly it would change her life. Now, living quietly on the south coast of England and lecturing in criminology, Kate has no idea history is about to repeat itself and she is powerless to prevent herself being pulled back into the centre of things.

This is a story with a brilliant beginning,  5 stars all the way, but then it crashes, with way too much information about inconsequential things that even with hindsight weren't necessary in any way, shape or form. It does improve a little towards the end but there were still problems, not least being two detectives racing towards the capital from Devon as the officers in charge of the crime scene but also arriving before anyone else.

It is clear Robert Bryndza is a very good author but this is a book which could be so much more. Described as the first in a series maybe, if it doesn't concentrate on Kate so much, the next one will be a better read. There is enough good at the start of this however, to persuade me to try the second book but with fingers crossed.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review but wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone who didn't already like this writer's work.

If there is one thing that Robert Bryndza can be relied upon for, it is to open up his books in such a way that readers are instantly hooked. Completely and utterly sucked into the book, so much so that you don't want to turn away. The opening chapters of Nine Elms do exactly that, setting up the story instantly in a way that is equal parts gruesome and thrilling and with a delicious side order of the completely unexpected. We are introduced to our main character, Kate Marshall, but not as we will come to know her throughout the course of the book. Here we will find out just what it was that happened to end her career, even as it was only just starting ...

After such a brilliant and pulse racing opener, my expectations were high and I have to be honest, every single one of them was met. This is a case which borders on the taboo, the nature of the crimes very difficult to digest (no pun intended here as you will come to understand when you read), but never portrayed in a way that will alienate or offend readers. The story is clearly divided into the then and now: the case which ended Kate's career, and the one which is about to open up a whole new world of possibility.

When we meet her again, Kate is no longer a Detective but a college lecturer, providing the kind of insight her Criminology students appear to crave. She has moved from London live by the sea, and has tried desperately to put her past behind her, even though she has been left with a permanent reminder of her past, and not just bodily and mental scars. When a murder occurs near to her home, she is shocked by the startling similarities between the victim and those of the Nine Elms cannibal, but he is still safe behind bars and cannot possibly be responsible.So just who is the copycat, and how far are they willing to go?

Kate is a brilliant character. She is damaged by her past, but full of resolve and the kind of mental fortitude that the author instills so perfectly into his female characters. She has every reason to be fearful of what is happening around her, and to walk away, especially when the police don't initially believe her claims of a copycat, but she won't. She is strong in her own way, and very intelligent. Supported by her teaching assistant, Tristan, they made a formidable team and one I am looking forward to seeing develop.

The story picks up in pace as it moves towards its conclusion. The shocks keep on coming and the clues, and tension slowly build. We are faced with some very dark, and very skin crawling bad guys, and the threat oozes from each page, particularly when faced with the original killer. And then that ending ... Wow. Just when you think things can't get any more tense and that Robert bryndza can't push things any further, he does, and in dramatic and truly effective style.

I really enjoyed the fact that the author has chosen to take us away from the regular police procedural, giving us a character who is flawed but likeable, with all the skills of a police detective but none of the procedures to hold her back. The story keeps you guessing to the end, the parallels between the current murders and the case that ended Kate's career carefully drawn, holding back just enough info to keep us all in suspense. A brilliant start to the series and I am looking forward to seeing where the author takes us all next.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an advance copy of Nine Elms, the first novel to feature lecturer Kate Marshall, set in Devon.

As a young Detective Constable Kate Marshall caught the notorious “Nine Ems Cannibal” serial killer at great personal cost and she never worked as a detective again. Now she is a lecturer in Criminology at Ashdean in Devon. Her quiet life is interrupted when a copycat killer starts operating in the region. Slowly Kate and her assistant, Tristan Harper, get drawn into the investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed Nine Elms which is an eminently readable novel with an easy style and a twisty plot. It opens in 1995 with how Kate caught the Nine Elms killer and while it stretches credulity to a certain extent it sets the scene nicely for the present day events. These opening chapters give Kate’s story an immediacy and intimacy that flashbacks can’t offer. The novel then moves forward to the present, 2010 to be precise, and Kate is living a quiet life until the arrival of the copycat killer. It is a fast paced read from start to finish with plenty of twists and a couple of bombshells. The narrative is told from several points of view, notably Kate and the original Nine Elms killer. I’m not always a big fan of this approach but it works well here, giving the reader the ability to compare both sides of events and always pushing the plot forward. It is a clever, ingenious plot although it relies on a certain institutional laxness which doesn’t quite ring true.

I really like the way Kate Marshall’s character is developed. She is a woman with a past, obviously, but the secrets that are quickly revealed are doozies. Nevertheless, she soon develops into a strong character and I’m already looking forward to her next outing.

Nine Elms is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Wow Robert Bryndza has done it again! i am a massive fan of his Erika Foster series and it was a no brainer that I would read the first in his new series featuring Kate Marshall. And as expected, Nine Elms is addictive and brilliant. I loved Kate from early on in this book and I can't wait for more from her.

Kate Marshall is a police detective in London. She is young and passionate and working on finding the Nine Elms Killer before he strikes again. But she is attacked by him when he tries to make her his 5th victim. Only he fails and is caught, while Kate's life changes forever. 16 years later and she has moved to the coast for a quiet life. She is now a lecturer at a university but she has never really recovered from her attack. She is is recovering alcoholic and her teenage son lives with his grandparents. When an ex-colleague asks for her opinion on a case they soon realise that there is a copycat killer out there. Girls are being murdered brutally and the same way that the Nine Elms killer killed. Kate cannot let it go and starts looking into a cold case of a missing girl a DNA finds more similarities.

Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK, Sphere and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read. All opinions are my own and are in no way biased

Wow!!! Another fantastic book by Robert!! The only downside is that I now have to wait for the next instalment!

So the first chapter throws you right in and gets you hooked from the beginning. The protagonist is Kate Marshall, a police officer who catches a serial killer and almost dies doing it which ultimately turns her life upside down. She starts a new life by the sea and tries to forget what happened to her when the murders start again by what seems like a copycat killer.

Very fast paced, detailed (but not overly complicated) story with lots of things going on that keeps you wanting to read on and on into the small hours of the night!

I really love Robert's style of writing. I feel like I am completely immersed into the story when reading which for me is an indicator of a fantastic writer. Thanks again Robert for a great book! I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Absolutely, utterly brilliant. I am a huge fan of Rob Bryndza’s Erika Foster series & was very much looking forward to reading this new series. He has come up with another fantastic, compelling heroine with a stellar storyline. i am normally champing at the bit for a new Erika story but I really cannot wait for the next one for Kate Marshall.

Okay so most of you who follow me, know that i'm a huge fan of Robert Bryndza - in particular (of course!) the Erika Foster series. I was hesitant to start Nine Elms, purely due to the high expectations i have after devouring each Erika book. I have to say i was pleasantly surprised! Nine Elms is once again written fantastically by Robert, with yet another strong, engaging female lead (and her lovely young assistant). Robert just writes crime thrillers so well - they keep you invested in every character and i just couldn't put it down. I'll definitely be following the rest of this series!

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was absolutely fantastic! Robert Bryndza is a brilliant talent and I personally can’t wait to read more from him. I have read his other books and they never disappoint. If you want an book that you can’t put down , this is it. Likeable characters, good storyline and just grips hold of you!!! #NetGalley#NineElms

I did enjoy this book but i thought it would be a carry on in the series. However this wasn't the case.

I thought some bits of it were lacking ans it didn't grip me in as much as the others. I don't know if i set my expectations too high or not

I love Roberts books was disappointed when I heard he had
A new character but I loved it. Thank goodness. Well written was great and exciting