Private Investigator Kate Marshall has always found her morning swim in the sea a good way to start her day until she is caught in a riptide & nearly dies. Whilst she is recovering in hospital the woman in the next bed tells her of her grandson Charlie who went missing on a camping trip eleven years ago. It had been presumed that he wandered away from the tent & fell in the river. Jean assures Kate this wouldn't have happened. Along with sidekick Tristan they look into this & find themselves looking into more than a child's disappearance. This is an enjoyable series of books with interesting characters & settings that the reader can visualise easily. I didn't work out the answer- but then I'm used to that! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book

Kate Marshall and her able assistant Tristan are back in this excellent mystery set in Devon. They are now running their own Detective agency as equal partners as well as earning a bit of extra cash from a holiday caravan site left to Kate in a will. Kate is using her metropolitan police background to investigate and train Tristan However she still has an alcoholic tendency and swims every morning in the sea to clear her head. One day whilst swimming she is sucked under and although fortunately rescued she ends up in the hospital where she shares a room with Jean, Jean has her own dark past which is pulling her down- 11 years earlier her 3 year old grandson vanished on a camping trip on Dartmoor and has never been found. She feels responsible as she was looking after him at the time and when she discovers Kate’s occupation she begs her to look into the case. However it soon becomes apparent that Jean has demons of her own which may have lead to Charlie’s disappearance. I loved catching up with Kate and Tristan and hearing about their lives. The mystery itself was heartbreaking- the thought of a young child disappearing was awful- what parent has not had that feeling of dread when they can’t immediately locate their child? I know I have. I liked the way the investigation was very methodical with several different strands and I was pleased to see Tristan’s eventual maturity when he had to continue with everything alone as Kate recovered. There were also some humorous sections, particularly when Maureen, one of the witnesses, was attempting to go on a cruise. This lightened the tone of a very dark story. I definitely recommend “Devil’s Way”to all crime thriller fans and if you’ve read the previous books in the Kate Marshall series you will certainly love this new one which is published in January. Thanks to NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing for my advance copy.

I’ve not read anything by this author before, but I’ll be looking out for his name now. I liked the pairing of Kate, ex- police officer turned Private Eye with Tristan, young ex-researcher now partnering Kate. They bounce off each other nicely, with Kates mature view of life balancing nicely with Tristan’s more innocent view. The story is an emotive one, as anything involving the loss of a child always is. This felt very realistic, from the depth of the distress of the child’s family, to the actions of both the PIs and the Police. Often there is no evidence to be found, and in this case especially although mistakes are made, this could so easily be a true story. Excellent read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The fourth book in Robert Bryndza's series featuring private investigator Kate Marshall and her associate Tristan, Devil's Way might just be the best yet! After suffering a near-death experience when caught in a rip current during her morning sea-swim, Kate is drawn into the case of a child who went missing on Dartmoor eleven years previously. Kate and Tristan's investigations quickly lead them to the unsolved murder of the same child's social worker, only days after three-year-old Charlie went missing. While the two cases have never previously been linked, surely the two events occurring in such proximity can't be a coincidence? In a well-paced and intriguing story, Kate and Tristan pursue many tantalising clues, unearth new suspects and make a startling discovery on the moor. A somewhat bittersweet ending pulls all the threads together for a satisfying conclusion. The investigation into three-year-old Charlie's disappearance raises some personal spectres for Kate, given that she lost custody of her own child at a similar age. Tristan takes on more sole responsibility in this instalment, given Kate's need to convalesce from her near-drowning. The English south-west coast and moorland settings are evocative and well-used by Robert Bryndza to enhance the drama of the plot. The supporting cast, including a couple of returning characters, are well-developed and intriguing and Bryndza weaves plenty of suspicious behaviour and misdirection into the story, keeping us guessing until near the end. I'd enthusiastically recommend Devil's Way to any reader who enjoys twisty and atmospheric mysteries - it's a compelling read. My thanks to the author, Robert Bryndza, publisher Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

The fourth book in the Kate Marshall series starts dramatically with private investigator Kate ending up in hospital after a near fatal swimming accident. It is whilst she is recovering there that she meets Jean who is in the bed next to her. Upon hearing that Kate is a Private Investigator, Jean tells her the tale of her grandson, Charlie, who went missing eleven years ago at the age of three. Once Kate is well enough to leave hospital, she and her investigative partner Tristan take on the case. But as they start to investigate it is clear that Jean is hiding things from her past and Kate and Tristan have many questions and theories to solve. Once again Robert has written a fast paced, tense, roller coaster of a story which grabs you from the start and keeps you guessing until the end. Obviously, anything involving a child tends to add to the intensity of stories and this one was no exception. But Robert’s brilliant character depictions and the depiction of Dartmoor itself was very evocative and added to the tense, moody feeling of the novel. Another first class read.