Thank you NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for the advance copy of this book - I was desperate for it when I saw it was being published so am really grateful.

This is the second book in the Kate Marshall series and as good as the first. Starting with finding a body in a reservoir to someone being kidnapped the story moves at a great pace. This is a great book and had me gripped from the first page until the last – and there is a nice touch at the end. I like Robert’s writing style as he keeps the story moving. Kate and Tristan are really good characters and you get to know more about them in this book - the third book should be interesting - not giving anything away!

I really look forward to reading the next book in the series – hurry up and finish it Robert!

Still reeling from her last case, Kate Marshall is happy to settle down to a quiet life. On a scuba diving trip with her Son, Kate discovers a bloated body of young man. While the police think it was an accident, Kate has other ideas. She begins to investigate the death along with her trusty research assistant Tristan. Kate’s suspicions are correct when a serial killer is confirmed. Then a female colleague of Kate and Tristan’s disappears and the clock ticks fast, giving them little time to find the killer and her.
A very cleverly put together book, with a good plot. It has everything you need in a murder/mystery. It is fast paced, gripping and a roller coaster of a ride. Kate is likeable, damaged and struggling with aspects of her life. You cannot help but like her as she tries to put right the mistakes from her past, whilst forging a settled future for herself and her Son.

Shadow sands by Robert Bryndza is the second book in the Kate Marshall series. I have read all the authors books and loved them all and this one does not disappoint.
Kate Marshall ex Police detective and Private investigator is now lecturing at the local university. On her day off herself and her son Jake decide to scuba dive at the local reservoir Shadow sands when the discover a body of a young teenager and the police think there is nothing suspicious and that he drowned.
But Kate is not convinced. Even so, when the boy’s mother contacts Kate after hearing that she used to be a Private Investigator. She tells Kate that her son Simon was destined at one time, to be an Olympic swimmer. So, Simon drowning doesn’t add up. She wants Kate to find her son’s killer. When more bodies turn up, with her side kick Tristan they go out of their way to find who is responsible. But the local coppers don’t like what they are doing and ask Kate to leave well alone.
This is another gripping thriller from the author that gets you hooked from the first page. It has a great storyline and I like how the author personalises his characters telling us of their not so perfect backgrounds. Kate who has a drink problem and goes to AA and Tristan has just has the courage to tell his family that he is Gay. It makes the characters/storyline more realistic. Five stars from me.

After her first experience as a private detective, Kate Marschall went back to her life as a university professor. However, after her son and her find a dead body while diving in a reservoir and the police is saying that it was an accident, she ends up investigating that death. And when another professor from the university is taken, she and Tristan have to find who did it in a matters of days.
I love Robert Bryndza other series and I really enjoyed the first instalment of that series as one. This book didn't disappoint. I couldn't put it down and read it in a few days.

Brilliant book! Had me gripped from the very first page until the last. A real page turner! I love the writing style of Robert Bryndza and very much look forward to reading his next book.

My thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for allowing me to read and review this advanced copy honestly.

Shadow Sands, the second in the Kate Marshall series is a very entertaining detective thriller. Should it be called a detective thriller as Kate is ex Job? She investigates in this instance, in a private capacity but hired by the mother of a young man seemingly drowned in a reservoir. Well, that's what the authorities would have you believe and Kate isn't convinced. It soon becomes apparent that there have been a number of missing persons last seen near the reservoir and when a fellow lecturer goes missing, Kate races against the clock to find her.

Whilst the story is good, there are inconsistencies and errors littering the novel like confetti after a wedding.

Here are a few that stuck in my mind:

The submerged church did it have a domed tower or a spire? Take your pick although the former would be unusual.

Amateur divers like Kate and Jake would use compressed air tanks, not oxygen.

No self respecting scooter rider would waste a hill descent to not bump start a scooter.

A moped isn't a scooter, it's a motorised cycle with pedals. A DCI should know the difference.

Night vision goggles of the type described use a photo-multiplier tube (hence the noise of the inverter) to amplify available light. No light equals no vision, so a pitch black room would be hopeless for one.

A gun doesn't expel spent bullets but their charge casings and some types don't even expel those.

Silvia Baker must have a memory problem as she asks at Hedley House who Kate and Tristan are, having already made their acquaintance together with Dylan at the campsite.

A shareholder's meeting normally has pen and paper, not sheets, shovels and a shotgun.

The kidnapper wanted to blast her with a shotgun despite the mess, yet wields yet another handgun.

Howlers aside, there are some really creepy lines such as the 'corpse's head twitched' but I'll leave the rest for the reader to gross-out over that one for themselves. I will award four stars in the hope that the next book in the series is sharpened up somewhat.

Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. Have read a lot of books by this author and was looking forward to reading this one. Another great read. Would thoroughly recommend.

This is a very thrilling book and I loved every page. Kate Marshall accidentally finds a body in the Shadow Sands reservoir and then Magdalena goes missing in the same area. Are these linked, if so how? Can Kate and Tristan find out when they are not sure the police are taking thing seriously.
Definitely gripping and look forward to future books by this author.

I absolutely loved all the Erika foster books and would love more ❤️. But I am enjoying getting to know Kim’s character. An easy enjoyable storyline but , for me , lacking a bit in Roberts usual punch , however i do still look forward to the next instalment of this series 3.5 rounded to 4

Ex-Police Detective turned University Lecturer and Private Detective Kate Marshall is back in the second instalment of her thriller series.

This time a young man’s body has been found by Kate whilst she was diving in the Shadow Sands reservoir with her son Jake. The police rule it as an accidental drowning but the boy’s mother is sure there is more to it and asks Kate to investigate.

Her investigation, with her young colleague Tristan, takes them on a frightening path, one that might just put their lives in danger. They are also looking for a missing lecturer from the university whose disappearance may just have something to do with the case they are working on.

I first came across Kate Marshall at the start of the year in Robert Bryndza’s book ‘Nine Elms‘. The book was so dark and terrifying in places and yet I couldn’t put it down, so when I heard Kate was back I just had to continue her story.

Whilst this book can be read as a standalone I do personally think that you miss out on Kate’s backstory and the hard relationship she has with her parents and her son, who her parents have custody of. You also miss out on a great story.

This time Kate reluctantly helps out the mother of a boy found dead in the reservoir, he was a champion swimmer and there was no way that he just drowned. She is convinced that his friend killed him and wants Kate to help. She feels sorry for the woman and also a little guilty at being the person who found his body. Under pressure from herself she agrees but what started as a simple case turns far more deadly and sinister.

Again I was captivated by the plot which just kept on giving. The main part of the story is Kate and Tristan trying to piece together what is happening in a place called Ashdean, where the Shadow Sands reservoir is. There are also sections from the missing lecturer Magdalena and her capture. You do get to understand that her kidnapping is related to the case Kate is working on and to a local family who owns much of the area but I hadn’t worked out who the person was by the time it was revealed, which doesn’t happen often.

Shadow Sands had me glued to the pages, I didn’t want to put in down once I had begun. In fact, I read it in just two sittings as I needed to know what was going on and who the culprit was. I now can’t want to delve back into Kate’s world and see what new cases come her way.

I have loved Robert's previous characters and was worried about a new main character. I feel this book followed on well from the first in this new series concentrating on the story but also giving us a little insight into the main character and her son's life and how it has moved on. It was nice to find out a little more about her sidekick too. The main story had lots of elements to it that make you really wonder how on earth they are all linked but then it comes together at the end. Loving the strong female characters. Can't wait for the next one.

This is the second novel in the Kate Marshall series. I read the first one Nine Elms and really enjoyed it, even if it was a little gruesome. Though this book can be read as a stand alone and there is a bit of the background of what happened to Kate to lead her to leave the police force and become a lecturer in criminology, I would highly recommend that you read Nine Elms first before reading this one. That way you will be able to fully appreciate the relationship Kate has with her son and also how Kate is able to work so well with her assistant Tristan, and see their working relationship becoming ever stronger.

I would say I perhaps enjoyed this second book more than the first for two reasons. Firstly it wasn’t quite so gruesome as the first book. It was thrilling, and there are some very scary moments in the book but this was more of a tense read that made you think what would I do in this situation, whereas the last one was a bit too repulsive for the faint-hearted like me.

The other reason I particularly liked this book was the personal stories of both Kate and Tristan. We learn a lot about Tristan, what makes him tick, his vulnerabilities as well as his ever growing enthusiasm for digging out information and wanting to solve the mystery. Then there is Kate’s relationship with her teenage son and his revelation further into the book comes as quite a shock both to Kate and the reader. This is what I like about Robert Bryndza’s books, as well as being an excellent crime fiction writer, he also brings emotions of the characters into the story too, so that you really feel for them. Obviously not the criminals but Kate and Tristan as well as the victims.

I enjoyed the plot. As mentioned in the blurb, it appears there is a serial killer at the root of missing people and bodies turning up in the bottom of the reservoir, add to that the investigating detective appears to be a bit dodgy too, but as with all mysteries and thrillers I would never have guessed ‘who dunnit’ in a month of Sundays, it came as a complete surprise to me.

Brilliant story and can’t wait for the next one.

just wow! Brilliant author Robert Brynza does it again! Another masterpiece full of intrigue, scarey in parts and a great plot. First class as always x

This is the second book about Kate Marshall and her assistant Tristan. I had not read the first book but that did not detract from my enjoyment as enough was explained throughout the story to fill in the gaps. I liked the relationship of mutual respect between the lead characters as they investigated the death of a boy discovered in the reservoir by Kate. the disappearance of a colleague adds to the mystery.
Hampered by a lack of resources and given little to go on they doggedly pursued every clue, calling in favours and using their wits rather than police computers. I enjoyed how the story developed and the case began to emerge as they followed the clues.
The ending was good, I did not have a clue "whodunnit" until the end and thankfully all loose ends were tied.

Robert Bryndza follows his first Kate Marshall detective novel with probably an even better sequel Shadow Sands.

Kate and her son discover a body of a young male while they are diving in Shadow Sands reservoir in Devon. The local police conclude his death was an accident but Kate thinks otherwise as the young man was an aspiring Olympian swimmer. When his grieving mother hires Kate to investigate his death, Kate and her assistant Tristan don't hesitate to take the case but they start to quickly realise the waters of Shadows Sands hide more secrets than meet the eye.

While the first book gave us an insight into the Kate's past, in this second installment we get to know her assistant Tristan a bit better who himself personally gets tangled in the Shadow Sands mystery. Dark, twisty, set in beautiful Devon, I don't think many readers will struggle to get sucked into this novel.

As much as I miss Erika Foster and would love to read more of her crime investigation stories, I'm progressively growing fond of Kate Marshall too and look forward to the next book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have liked everything this author has written and this was no exception, for me it is up there as one of his best. Great storyline, great characters. Loved it.

Shadow Sands is the second book in the Kate Marshall series, which I’m enjoying just as much as I enjoyed Robert Bryndza’s Erika Foster series.

This fast-paced thriller will keep you reading well into the night!

Absolutely fantastic read from this promising new duet. They have such energy and life you can almost imagine you could use there services for real. I can’t wait for the next instalment,!!!#ShadowSands #NetGalley

When Kate Marshall has a day out with her son, they go diving by the reservoir. While they’re there they find a body and Kate is shocked when they don’t rule it as a murder.
When Kate decides to do her own investigation her assistant at the university, Tristan is intrigued enough to help. When someone else dies on a camping trip near to the previous body, their interest is peaked.
However, the owners of the reservoir don’t want them poking around. Have they got something to hide?
The second book in the series further shows Robert’s talent for creating great characters and keeping the reader on their toes. I for one can’t wait for the next book!

Shadow Sands is the second book in the Kate Marshall series and although it can be read as a standalone I really recommend reading Nine Elms to get the back story.

I have read every book Robert Bryndza has written and couldn't wait to get my hands on this one as I love his writing style. As per usual it didn't disappoint. It is a well paced, gripping story, with well drawn characters and a plot that keeps you guessing.

If you like your police procedures dark and creepy then you won't be disappointed.

4 stars