“The Truth Hides in the Dark” Devil’s Way, the 4th instalment in the Kate Marshall series, was another one sitting read that had me captivated from beginning to end. I always go into each book with the intention of taking my time and savouring it, but it is impossible to do so when each are just so good! He has such a gift for delivering stories that just consume you and unable to tear yourself away from. Right from the outset this one hit the ground running at breakneck speed. It is quite an emotional tale that did get under my skin. It’s never easy reading about the disappearance of a child and even worse the case never being solved. Kate and Tristan continue to work well together to solve the mystery, but its not without challenges. All round this is a gripping and intense tale and my favourite in the series to date.

This is the 4th book in this excellent series and, as usual, although the main story is self-contained, I am going to recommend you start from the beginning to get the best out of the characters. So... Kate is still doing well in her recovery. One of the things she finds helpful is her early morning swim. It really invigorates and sets her up for the day's shenanigans. She is usually good at reading the conditions but one morning is caught up in a deadly riptide and ends up being rescued and taken to hospital. She is knocked for six by what has happened to her, understandably. But she is taken out of herself when the lady in the next bed to hers starts to talk about a tragedy that happened to her family 11 years ago when, on a camping trip, her young grandson Charlie went missing. After a short period of recuperation, Kate is released and starts to look into what happened to Charlie. Did he wander off and get lost, did he wander off and get into trouble, or was he taken? With Kate still a little shaky, it falls to her partner Tristan to step up and between the two of them they start to discover the truth. But not before they link the case to another brutal murder... I do love this series. Kate is a cracking character in herself but when partnered with Tristan, who takes a bigger role herein, forms a formidable crime busting duo. No stone remains unturned as they try to work things out. They have a knack of getting information where others have failed. Tenacious is an understatement! The story ramps up as more of the truth comes out, culminating in a wholly satisfying ending the half of which I never saw coming. All in all, a worthy addition to what is rapidly becoming a cracking series. Roll on next time.

I am a HUGE fan of Robert Bryndza’s writing and his Erika Foster series. I have a full-blown girl crush on Erika, and the arrival of the seventh book after a small wait was one of the highlights of my year in 2022. However, and I am hanging my head in utter shame here, until recently I hadn’t had an opportunity to pick up any of Bryndza’s Kate Marshall novels. I know. Fan girl fail of epic proportions, right? But I have now righted that wrong, phew. Devil’s Way was my introduction to Kate and Tristan and I loved every single second of it. Recovering in hospital from a riptide which nearly killed her, Kate Marshall starts to chat to Jean, the elderly woman in the next bed. Jean shares a heart breaking tale of a family holiday gone horribly wrong. Camping on the moors one evening with her daughter, her daughter’s partner and their young son, Jean, who was sharing a tent with young Charlie, became distracted for a few moments allowing Charlie to disappear. Eleven years later and Charlie is still missing. The devastation caused in that one moment tore the family apart and still consumes Jean’s thoughts. Realising Kate is a private detective Jean asks her to investigate Charlie’s disappearance. Still recovering from nearly drowning, Kate agrees. As Kate and Tristan start to investigate it becomes clear that Jean has a dark past. Could she be the reason Charlie vanished? Or did Devil’s Way, a fast flowing river near to where they were camping, wash Charlie away…? Devil’s Way is a skilfully written, immersive, slow burn mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed. This was my first introduction to the character of Kate Marshall and it’s safe to say, I cannot wait to be reunited with her. So much so, I now have all three earlier books on the TBR waiting for me. I will be interested to see if Kate’s traumatic past, which is referred to in Devil’s Way a couple of times, is covered in depth in one of the earlier books. I am so intrigued and I want to know everything that’s happened to this woman! What I will say, being a crime fiction reader and having an unspoken rule about not starting a series part-way through (normally!), I found this book so easy and straight forward to dive into, not knowing anything that’s happened to these characters before. Often, when starting a series part-way through, I feel quite lost. Events are referred to that you know nothing about. Relationships are discussed and it can get confusing. Who? What? Where? Huh? That was definitely not the case here. This is the most standalone-part-of-a-series novel I can remember reading. Ever. It’s incredibly well done and I commend the author on making it easy for the reader to pick up and just enjoy. If you haven’t read this series before then please don’t worry. Devil’s Way works incredibly well as a standalone. But I guarantee you’ll be doing the same as me and adding the first three books to your TBR when you reach the end! Eleven years is a long time. Evidence gets lost. Memories change, sometimes changing altogether and witnesses are no longer around to talk to. Kate and her assistant, Tristan, struggle to make head way on the case. Not helped by Kate’s slow recovery following her near drowning. I was completely immersed in the lives of the characters and the investigation as a whole. As each stone was unturned, I became more gripped. The book is beautifully paced keeping the reader fully within the pages of the story, desperate to discover what happened to Charlie. As it’s a cold case, it does move at a more sedate pace in parts, but for me, I love that gradual unravelling which the author has done so well here. And of course, being a Robert Bryndza novel, there are perfectly placed moments of high tension which had me holding my breath. Marvellous stuff! Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I loved Devil’s Way and I cannot wait to read the first three books in the series as soon as humanly possible. This is such a well-written mystery with superb characterisation and the most breath-taking setting which the author brings to life with ease. I loved everything about Devil’s Way and will be recommending it to everyone. Yes, it’s the fourth book in the series but it absolutely DOES work without having read the others. Robert Bryndza remains one of my favourite authors and I’m very excited about the author’s first standalone psychological thriller, Fear the Silence, which is hitting bookshelves this Summer! All in all, an eminently readable, thoroughly enjoyable, completely gripping and atmospheric cold case investigation featuring a new favourite character. Nice to have a private detective at the helm for a refreshing change of scene. Highly recommended.

4.5 which I am rounding up to 5 for the the sheer fact that I could not put down Devil's Way. Robert Bryndza is a born story teller and he always succeeds at grabbing your attention from the first to the final page with twists and turns and of course secrets that are bound to come out. Kate along with Tristan are trying to solve an old case of a missing boy Charlie. Kate met his grandmother while in hospital (oh Kate you worry me) and something about Jean's story intrigues Kate. Although this is the 4th book in the series you could read it as a stand alone but I guarantee you that you will want to go back and start with book one. Highly recommend the Kate Marshall and Ericka Foster series by Robert Bryndza and I for one cant wait for Book 5 and the next case of Kates

Devils’ way by Robert Bryndza is the fourth book in the Kate Marshall series and what a fab edition to the series it is. While Kate goes on her daily swim at Thurlow bay, she gets caught in a riptide and wakes up at the local hospital. The doctor told her she was lucky that there were two surfers nearby who rescued her. While she is recuperating, she meets Jean who is in the same ward as her. After discovering Kate is a private investigator, she tells Kate about her three-year-old grandson Charlie that went missing 11 years ago never to be seen again, when he was camping with his parents at Devil’s Tor in Dartmoor. Did Charlie drown in Devil’s way of was he abducted? When Kate leaves the hospital and has recovered from her injuries. Herself and her partner Tristan decided to take on the case of missing Charlie. But they discover a social worker that was concerned about Jean and the welfare of Charlie was lying for 12 days in her home dead when she was discovered. Kate after hearing Jean’s plight releases that the case is not as straightforward as she thought and starts delving into the family’s history. Thank you, Raven Street Publishing, for a copy of Devils Way. I have been a big fan of this author and yet again he does not disappoint. This another well plotted story with great characters and although I did predict the last few chapters of this story I still thought this was another excellent read by Robert Bryndza. 5 stars from me.