Once again a gripping read in this series, as always can be read ad a stand alone but I always think it better to read from the start, this is the second book and its was richer than the first. Kate take Jake driving during a visit and they come across a body. The starts up another investigation for her a Tristan. I felt the plot was fast and flowing and well written. Robert Bryndza has a knack of making up characters that really connect with the reader. What intrigued me the most was Jake, after having some counselling, he decides it time to visit his dad in prison. As always Peter has to has things on his terms and will only meet Jake once he has spoken to Kate. This was an intense meeting and great part of the book, you could feel the tension and then the confidence from Kate jump out of the pages. I'm looking forward to reading where these characters go next.

This book is the second in the Kate Marshall series. It is a fast paced with a fantastic story that me hooked from the very beginning.
What is supposed to be a nice quiet diving break for Kate and her son Jake turns into another intriguing case for former detective turned lecturer when they find the body of a young man in Shadow Sands reservoir. The authorities quickly label the death an accidental drowning but this does not quite add up for Kate, so she and her assistant Tristan decide to look into the case further. Added into this there is also the disappearance of a local woman known to Tristan that the authorities are also unwilling to look into. Kates determination and digging uncovers a series of linked abductions / disappearances that seem to go back over several years which seem to have a very sinister connection with a wealthy family from the area.
The story has a real sense of urgency throughout the story and I felt as frustrated with every stall and stumble in the case as Kate and Tristan do.
This book also brings about a huge moment in the lives of both Kate and Jake, and I was very interested to see how Kate would deal with this challenge, as well as the spectre of Enid, a very creepy character from the Nine Elms book. It also brought up a small detail about Jake that I had not realised before, that he has Heterochromia which is a condition that my youngest daughter also has.
Once again Robert has written a cracking good tale, and I cannot wait for the next instalment.
Thank you to Robert Bryndza, the publisher and NetGalley for furnishing me with this ARC in return for an honest review.

Oh, Kate Marshall, what a pleasure to meet again.

I remember how excited I was to read the first book in Robert Bryndza new series, Nine Elms. Well, I was literally buzzing when I heard of Shadow Sands. Reading it was a no-brainer for me. I couldn’t be happier to dive and try to capture the reasons why I believe you should read this novel.

Get ready for a mesmerizing and chilling start, as we follow Kate and her son Jack diving at Shadow Sands… Diving is not my thing. I am scared of what could be under the water! And you know what? Robert takes a usually normal and entertaining activity and turns it into the spark that will set the pages on fire.

The author reeled me in before any dead body appeared. The beautiful descriptions of the place, the characters, and where they were in their life at the beginning of the novel felt like slipping my feet in my favorite shoes. I was in uncharted yet familiar territory. Have you ever felt this way? You have no idea where you’re going, but you are in good hands.

Turns out Kate and Jack’s holiday comes to an abrupt halt when they find a body in the water. If Nine Elms had been heavy on details and gory, bloody scenes, they are not needed here. The shock was reverberated in Kate and Jack’s actions and feelings, poured on the page with sensitivity but honesty. How would YOU feel if you’d discovered a young man on your day off having fun?

The psychology is everything in Shadow Sands. Kate and Jack’s relationship is still rocky, although they’d sent the summer together and things seemed to get better. Kate is still lecturing at university, and Tristan her assistant is not far away. Those were the big walls around the investigation…

The case itself. Wow! The mother of the poor young guy who died is not happy with the conclusions from the police and turns to Kate for answers. This is where Robert’s series takes a 90° turn from all other investigation series. Kate used to be a cop, she was a private detective for a bit, on the side, but right now, she’s a woman trying to keep her life together, build a better relationship with her son, and enjoy her lectures at uni. Yet she’s drawn once again to the dark and pain ripples of a case. Is it fate? Is it an unconscious desire from Kate? Both? The fact she and Tristan are forced to walk the line of civilians, without having the right to move a toe towards the official police work is what seals the deal for me. Two characters, two brains, curiosity, courage, and skills. Oh, and a knack for either catching the subtle details that help, or get into trouble! It is so refreshing to have them outsiders with knowledge and no bias just take the plunge, at their own risk. How are you supposed to build a case when you barely have access to anything? Kate has become one of my favorite characters because she fights her demons, and others’, with what she has at hand. It allows for scary moments, on-the-edge moments, and most importantly, it leaves plenty of room for the author to toy with all the players and show once more how well he understands the human minds, what it does, and where it can lead.

“There was something very lonely about being around people who didn’t have to hide their emotions.”

When a pattern emerged, my brain jumped on the idea of a serial killer. We now believe we know enough about them… Well, Robert managed to surprise me!

Instead of being plot-driven and letting the action lead, Shadow Sands is very much character-driven, and it is their actions that lead the lethal dance. I loved learning more about Kate, Jack, and Tristan. The case itself could have ended up in any hands, but they are the ones who make it so memorable, and who, in the end, get the final word.

Shadow Sands is on the psychological side of a police procedural without the police, if that makes sense!!! This is a thriller that seize the attention, pulls you in, and demands answers!

I really enjoyed this book. Ex police officer turned university lecturer, Kate Marshall discovers the body of a young man when she and her son are diving in the Shadow Sands reservoir. The police dismiss it as an accident, but Kate is not so sure. As she and her research assistant Tris start to dig deeper they begin to find out about a number of disappearances in the area over the years. Then a friend of Tris' goes missing. This is a great story which will keep you guessing to the end. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I have just finished reading the first book in the Kate Marshall series, Nine Elms. Therefore it seemed fitting to continue with this novel called Shadow Sands.
I wasn't far into this story before I was drawn into the intriguing plot.

Kate Marshall and her assistant are still nominally working at a fictional University in a fictional town in South West England. However the book centres around their secondary role as private investigators.

Once again this is an extremely fast paced novel in the crime procedural genre. The author, Robert Bryndza has created the second in a series, as the central character is supported by a diverse selection of other characters.

My recommendation is to read these books in the order they are written if you can. They stand well on their own merit, but there is definitely a sense of continuity regarding the backgrounds of the central characters, to be gained via chronological order.

I really liked the accurate use of the multiple South West England settings, cleverly interspersed with a number of fictional places. Together these added a real sense of reality to the writing.

Without wishing to spoil the story, I feel that it is safe to mention that this book is built around the discovery of a body in a reservoir. Is it an accident or something more sinister? Add to that the abduction of a lecturer from the universty and it becomes more confusing. Then throw into the mix some earlier missing persons and the search for multiple truths is well and truly on.

Eventually the strands of the narrative come together in a tense conclusion.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy of this novel in exchange for this review. On the strength of these stories I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the Kate Marshall series.

A dark and twisty tale that keeps you hooked from the very first page !
This is the second installment in the Kate Marshall series by Robert Bryndza but you can definitely read it as a stand alone just like I did ! 🙈 This was my very first book by the author and I must admit that I enjoyed it more than I expected. It was fast paced and the plot was brilliantly executed. The character development was flawless. I loved the how Kate's and Tristian's characters develop throughout the book.
This book is written in multiple POVs which I think is perfect when it comes to a thriller as it helps get a better insight of the setting and makes it a tad bit difficult to guess the killer. And yes, I couldn't guess the Kidnapper/Murderer in this one ! 😌
So if you are looking for a good thriller, I would highly recommend this one ! This one is packed with some good suspense and mystery.

Shadow Sands, the second in the Kate Marshall series from one my favourite crime authors Robert Bryndza, is another gripping read. In this novel, Kate and her assistant Tristan find themselves caught up in a missing person case – and possible serial killer, though the local detective doesn’t seem to think so.

The plot is intense and dark, with some disturbing scenes depicting the current victim’s ordeal at the hands of the man who has abducted her – the fact that she is in some way linked to one of our main characters adds some extra tension to the story.

I enjoyed finding out more about Tristan in this novel, as his character is further developed throughout the book. The relationship between him and Kate is great and similarly I enjoyed reading a bit more about Jake following on from their traumatic ordeal in book 1. A brief ‘return’ (in a way) of an old character from book one offers a brief reminder of what happened to them both, and I really enjoyed the subplots peppered throughout this story – it’s not just about the hunt for the abductor/ serial killer but how Kate, Tristan and his family, Jake and others are getting on too.

Kate is a great character to root for; she’s as strong and determined as I remember her from Nine Elms – but, as before, not without her own faults. Shadow Sands is a welcome return to her world, offering a good does of grit and intrigue, and I’m looking forward to book 3 already!

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K./Sphere for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Shadow Sands’ by Robert Bryndza in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second in his Kate Marshall series of crime thrillers. Kate is a former Met police detective currently teaching Criminology in a Devon university. It is now 2012 and two years have passed since the events in ‘Nine Elms’. Bryndza does provide background for new readers though the first book is certainly worth a read.

While diving with her son, Jake, Kate Marshall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir. The local authorities quickly label it a tragic accident.

Yet for Kate the details don't add up, including the fact that the boy was an Olympic level swimmer, making drowning unlikely. So Kate and her assistant Tristan Harper begin to look into the evidence and make a far darker discovery . . .

There are local legends of a killer that hides in the fog and abducts his victims. Is the Fog Phantom real or a myth? Then Italian professor Magdalena Rossi, a woman known to Tristan, disappears while riding out on her Vesper. Fog was reported that day. With the police being unhelpful, Kate and Tristan have only a matter of days to save Magdalena from meeting the same fate as the others.

When reading ‘Nine Elms’ I had a few quibbles about aspects of the plot but these were absent this time around. Kate and Justin are an appealing team, not quite amateur sleuths given their backgrounds and they are certainly determined to find answers.

I flew through this and it certainly kept me glued to the my e-reader. I was pleased to see that Robert Bryndza write that there will be lots and lots of books to come. I know that I will be looking forward to more cases for Kate and Tristan.

I hate it that I’m not giving this latest Robert Bryndza a five star rating as I love his books but I have to give a true and fair review and Shadow Sands wasn’t quite up to the standard of all his other thrillers.
I love Kate and Tristan and I loved that we got to know so much more about them both. The scene of Kate being in the bar on her own was very realistic. I was glad Jake played an important role and that Peter was in this book too. It was just the plot that I couldn’t get into. It seemed off kilter somehow and I had to keep reminding myself exactly what role Kate and Tristan played as they acted like police officers and were seemingly accepted in this way which is unlikely to say the least.
If the book had been set in America it might have felt more appropriate as the gun laws here in the UK do not allow for what the gun toting bouncer seemed to say they did.
All that said I can’t wait for the next Bryndza book ... bring it on!,

Kate is diving with her son when they come across a dead body. It is soon out down to an accident but Kate isn't so sure. She quickly realises it was murder but by whom? Investigating for the mother, they learn of other missing people then someone they know goes missing and it becomes personal. Can they work it out in time?

I'm a big fan of Robert Bryndza and loved the first book. This one didn't thrill me as much as the first but it was still a really good read. I really like Kate, she is an interesting lead as she has quite a dark back stoy. I also enjoyed that we see a little of the nine elms killer in this too. The plot is quite pacy as different parts of the story ome together. The indentity of the killer was a clever develoment in the story. The ending was well concluded if a little quicker than I expected. I want to read more of Kate and Tristan's advntures. A good mystery and thriller.

Kate Marshall dives into a new case in Shallow Sands, the second book in this exciting new series from Robert Bryndza, when an initial discovery of hers brings something altogether more disturbing to the surface.

Shadow Sands sees the welcome return of lecturer and former police officer Kate Marshall, together with her research assistant, Tristan. Being reunited with these characters feels very much like picking up again with friends, who you might not see that often but when you do, it’s as if you’ve never been apart. It felt great to get back together again so soon after our first encounter, even if that did mean another serial killer might be at large.

While Shadow Sands is out within eleven months of its predecessor, the action itself starts two years on from that in Nine Elms, which found Kate and Tristan on the trail of a copycat serial killer. Robert Bryndza seamlessly feeds us what we need to know about what’s been happening since then and what we learned during that first case in order to appreciate what plays out here in Shadow Sands. (You don’t need to have read Nine Elms in order to enjoy this latest book but it’s such a great introduction to their pairing, while also providing Kate’s backstory and being an intriguing case in its own right, that I’d highly recommend you start there and then read this.)

Just as he does in Nine Elms, Robert Bryndza is adept at managing Kate’s civilian status and making it credible for her to become involved in the investigation. Or rather, investigations. Her discovery of the first body, while enjoying the last of the summer break with her teenage son, together with Tristan’s no-show of a date, put them within the orbit of both cases—one dead body, one missing person—enough to pique their interest.

I was practically raging about the potential injustices being done in each case and how various people’s apathy, or potential corruption, was responsible for there being more and more victims the longer things continued as they were. Once Kate and Tristan discover how quickly one investigation is being wrapped up or how little anyone else is bothered about the other, it seems only natural that they take them on. At this point, I breathed a sigh of relief on behalf of the victims, past and present, that Kate and Tristan weren’t willing to take things at face value and were prepared to look at the anomalies in each case, and dig deeper to get to the truth.

It’s one of the things I really admire about Kate Marshall: she doesn’t take the path of least resistance in any area of her life. She doesn’t cave or get lazy, and, although she’s tested and comes close to stumbling along the way, she always chases down that lead, questions a potential witness, listens to the other side of the argument and/or faces her demons to achieve the best outcome and be confident that she has given it her all. Shadow Sands will see Kate tested in a number of ways, both professionally and personally, as the investigation forces her to to question the actions of a police force she was once a part of, tests her sobriety, all while dealing with her teenager’s reaction to their find, along with the questions he has about his own identity, which forces an unwelcome reunion upon her.

Tristan will face his own challenges in this book, which gives me the character development that I was craving after having read Nine Elms. I liked how much more of him we saw in this book, and the part he plays in the investigation, including the courage he shows for someone without Kate’s police training or background. I also really like how mutually supportive of each other he and Kate become in this book; they don’t always have to say anything but they do seem to be aware of each other in a way that makes them sensitive to when one or the other has something going on in their lives. From sitting with Tristan and letting him talk, or extending a compliment, to turning up unannounced with a breakfast roll, these two seem to have a sound, albeit intense, working relationship and complement each other well.

Bryndza’s second outing for this fledging team of detectives makes for as compulsive reading as his first and led me on an adrenalin-fuelled hunt to find the missing person, before they added to the body count, and track down whoever was capable of committing such depraved acts, alongside Kate and Tristan. Shadow Sands pulled me in from the opening pages and didn’t let me up for air until I finished it. I don’t think I’ll be rushing to any local reservoirs after lockdown lifts this coming Monday, mind. Possibly not for a while.

Simon Kendal was a strong swimmer – there was no reason for him to have drowned when swimming in the Shadow Sands reservoir. When Kate Marshall finds his body floating in it, accidental death is the first assumption, but Simon’s mother asks Kate to look further. Having caught the Nine Elms Cannibal (and his copycat), she has garnered a sufficient reputation and decides to look into matters.

It soon becomes apparent that Shadow Sands is the site of many disappearances that have been overlooked over the past years, and when a colleague goes missing, Kate realises that she is in a race against time to find her before the killer claims another victim…

I rather enjoyed Nine Elms. The soap opera elements – having a son with her boss/lover/cannibal – surprisingly seemed to work, and the finale, while being a tad on the unrealistic side, was fun. I was curious how the series would continue – after all, the cannibal can’t escape every book. It reminded me of a book I read an age ago about an investigator whose brother was a serial killer who he’d go to for advice on his current case when his brother wasn’t out on a rampage. I wasn’t a fan of that book, but I found Kate a more sympathetic character so was hopeful for this series.

In the afterword, the author states that he originally planned not to include the cannibal in this book at all, but apparently readers loved him so much (!) he does make an appearance, and yes, it’s to give some advice to our heroine. But without this element, the book is a perfectly adequate thriller but is lacking any sort of distinctive hook.

At the moment, I’m really in the market for a modern book that wows me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been spoilt the past couple of months – Moonflower Murders, The Thursday Murder Club, for example – maybe it’s because of the current worldwide tribulations and a personal thing giving me the attention span of a hyperactive goldfish… well, this didn’t wow me. As I said, it’s a perfectly adequate thriller that fans of the genre will enjoy, but for me… no, it didn’t grab me. And the nature of the villain’s crimes is so unredeemably unpleasant, well that didn’t help either.

So, if you like serial killer thrillers with sympathetic leads, then do take a look. But I think it’s time for me to take a break from the genre.

Shadow Sands is out on 3rd November in hardback and ebook from Sphere. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.

When Kate Marshall finds the bloated body of a young man floating in the Shadow Sands reservoir, the authorities label it a tragic accident.

But the details don't add up: why was he there, in the middle of the night? If he was such a strong swimmer, how did he drown? As Kate and her assistant Tristan Harper follow the evidence, they make a far darker discovery . . .

This is only the latest victim in a series of bloody murders dating back decades. A mythic serial killer is said to hide in the rolling fog, abducting his victims like a phantom. And when another woman is taken, Kate and Tristan have a matter of days to save her from meeting the same fate.

Nine Elms was absolutely fantastic and the follow up did not disappoint

Kate is such a real character. She is a recovering alcoholic and I just feel the fact that she is a lead character with a problem, makes her more believable and likeable to the reader

We meet her sidekick, Tristan, in this book in more depth!

The book is a disturbing and chilling, yet absolutely brilliant read

I feel this book is perfect for fans of Peter James, Linwood Barclay and Peter Robinson

Robert Bryndza has hit the mark once again. I was drawn in from the very first chapter which had me gasping (as did the 2nd) . His descriptive writing pictures the scenes in the book so well and this is one of the things I love about Robert's writing.

Shadow Sands is Book 2 in his new Kate Marshall Series, and a follow up to Nine Elms. Kate is an ex detective (turned university lecturer, via a job as a Private Investigator) who we learned about in Book 1, she has a dark past and a child from a relationship with her old boss, who turned out to be a serial killer. This, understandably, disturbed Kate badly and she turned to drink, Jake then was brought up by her parents by court order.

There is a great recap in the early part of the book for anyone who hasn't read Book 1, but I' would highly recommend you read it first anyway, then you can just make the most of Robert Bryndza's writing and it is well worth it.

This book starts with Kate and Jake scuba diving in the Shadow Sands while he is up to visit her during his summer holiday. It is here, while exploring a sunken village, that they come across a horrifying discovery. The body turns out to be that of a very strong swimmer, whose mother isn't about to let it rest.... (I won't go into the story further so as not to spoil it)

Character development is excellent in this book, as it always is, and we come to learn a lot more about Kate, Jake, as well as about Tristan, her assistant in her work as private investigator., and I love this about the book. I enjoy getting to know Bryndza's characters and Kate is certainly another strong female protagonist, following in the footsteps of Erika Foster from his earlier series.

This book is sure to be loved by fans of Bryndza as well as by new readers. If you enjoy descriptive writing that gets you deep into the book, a fast paced, action packed story, and some gruesome scenes to get your teeth into, then give this a try. You will not be disappointed.

A big thank you to Netgalley, Little Brown Book Group, and Robert Bryndza for an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I will now go and wait for the next!

A gripping, gritty and highly entertaining thriller that kept me on the edge till the end.
Great plot and character development, a solid mystery that kept me guessing.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
It's highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Shadow Sands is the second instalment to feature Police Detective Constable turned Ashdean University Criminology lecturer and Private Investigator Kate Marshall. Kate is on a scuba-diving trip with her 16-year-old son, Jake, when they dive toward a shocking discovery: the body of a teenage boy entangled below the surface of the man-made Shadow Sands reservoir. The victim turns out to be 18-year-old Simon Kendal, who had been camping with his mate, Geraint Jones. The police and coroner have ruled his death an accident but Simon’s mother, Lyn, pleads with Kate to get to the truth of the matter whatever that may be, as she believes there's something more sinister at play. Ably aided by prodigious research assistant Tristan Harper, they both realise early on that the DCI’s too-quick narrative of a tragic drowning doesn’t add up. Only after anomalies in the post-mortem results are the police forced to concede that Simon was murdered. Meanwhile, Tristan finds himself a suspect in the abduction of Italian professor Magdalena Rossi, and as he and Kate investigate they realise just how dangerous and powerful those involved in the kidnapping really are.

This is a riveting, gritty and fast-paced read which has dark, intense undertones and a plethora of twists, turns, danger and exciting developments. You are always in for a treat with Bryndza thrillers as he knows exactly what crime connoisseurs want and provides it by the tonne. This is one serial killer thriller that I devoured; I found the tension palpable, so much so that my heart was pounding and my palms were sweaty as Kate and Tristan raced to save the lives of those who could be in future peril. We learn much more about both Kate and Tristan’s pasts and personal lives in this book and it certainly shows that Bryndza takes care to craft protagonists who are interesting, engaging and realistic. In fact, their lives are almost as compelling as the central plot and sometimes they overlap. Kate continues to work through the trauma of her past relationship with serial killer and ex-boss, Peter Conway, which had driven her to drink in the past. All in all, an unmissable and utterly absorbing page-turner that'll be thoroughly enjoyed by long-term fans and new Bryndza readers alike. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Robert Bryndza has again come up with a cracker of a book.

Some time has passed since the events of Nine Elms. Rather than pursue her notions of becoming a private detective Kate Marshall is back lecturing. But fate it seems has other ideas. On a scuba dive in a local reservoir she and her son are horrified to kind the body of a young man. It's quickly ruled as been an accident - too quickly for Kates liking. She was once a police detective so knows the procedures. Her gut tells her something isn't right. So when the boys mother approaches her and asks her to look into it she doesn't need much persuasion. Again her friend and one time partner in detection Tristan Harper is on hand to help. But soon its apparent there's something fishy going on at the Shadow Sands Reservoir....the young man wasn't the first body found there. And if Kate and Tristan can't persuade the uninterested local police he might not be the last.

So I have to say I'm still really missing Erika Foster. I had two favourites that I could absolutely not miss and she was definitely one of them. But Kate....well Kate is a bit different. She's more fragile, warmer and shut out from the police job she loved so much. She's steadier but always on the brink of some disaster be that the bottom of a bottle or rushing into danger. And for me the first EF book was just quite good then the series became brilliant. Kate is starting great and heading rapidly towards fantastic. Looking forward to much more from this series.

Another brilliant book from Robert Bryndza.
We’re back with Kate and Tristan and I loved every minute of it.
The book begins with a grisly discovery of a body for Kate and her son, Jake while they’re out diving in the reservoir.
The man’s body is recovered by divers and is ruled as accidental drowning but when Kate looks into this further, the investigation is opened as a murder investigation.
The man’s mum asks Kate to look into his death as she knows he’s a strong swimmer so it doesn’t seem right to her.
Kate and Tristan step on a few toes to get the information they need and when someone they know goes missing, it becomes more urgent.
It seems several people have disappeared from the area over the years and all close to the reservoir so they have a real challenge on their hands.
This is a brilliant second book and by the sounds of the ending we’re in for more investigations from Kate and Tristan, which I can’t wait to read.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

A really enjoyable book! I loved the pacing and thought the characters were spot on. Felt so real, I couldn't put it down. A great thriller which I'd recommend to anyone. I'll be looking out for more from Robert Bryndza, and will definitely pick up a copy of the first book in this series too!

I’m always excited to get into a new book by Robert Bryndza and this was no exception. Kate is a strong female lead with a difficult past to battle, with Tristan by her side they make a very good crime solving team. Looking forward to the next instalment already.