Nine Elms – Kate Marshall Series #1

Author: Robert Bryndza
Genre: Crime Fiction
385 pages
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer, Seattle

Synopsis
Kate Marshall was a promising young police detective when she caught the notorious Nine Elms serial killer. But her greatest victory suddenly turned into a nightmare. Traumatized, betrayed, and publicly vilified for the shocking circumstances surrounding the cannibal murder case, Kate could only watch as her career ended in scandal.

Fifteen years after those catastrophic events, Kate is still haunted by the unquiet ghosts of her troubled past. Now a lecturer at a small coastal English university, she finally has a chance to face them. A copycat killer has taken up the Nine Elms mantle, continuing the ghastly work of his idol.

Enlisting her brilliant research assistant, Tristan Harper, Kate draws on her prodigious and long-neglected skills as an investigator to catch a new monster. Success promises redemption, but there’s much more on the line: Kate was the original killer’s intended fifth victim…and his successor means to finish the job.

My review
Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza is compelling crime thriller and an impressive start to a new series! It took me a little while to become fully immersed, as Bryndza was laying the groundwork for the series with his new protagonist, Kate Marshall — a mother struggling with emotional and psychological scars, raising a son whose father is a serial killer. Once I was hooked, I raced through the tense and dark storyline, excited to see how it ended.

The entire cast works well together, and the characters are well-developed and believable. Initially, I wasn’t sure if Marshall was the type of protagonist I would enjoy. When I learned she had been romantically involved with her boss, who later turned out to be a serial killer, I was curious and kept reading.

I enjoyed seeing Marshall’s growth as she struggled with her personal demons and was drawn back into a copycat serial killing spree. Her character development was compelling, from her initial struggles and lack of confidence to her determined and resilient response by the end. The supporting characters were equally intriguing, especially Marshall’s brilliant assistant Tristen, who added depth to the narrative. I would like to know more about Tristen and hope his character is more fully developed in upcoming installments of the series.

Nine Elms is a gripping, dark, and engrossing novel. Bryndza easily weaves together storylines from different points of view and seamlessly brings them together at the end in a way that’s believable. This is the first novel by Bryndza that I’ve read and I’m excited to see how the series develops, particularly how Marshall’s character evolves and how the supporting cast, especially her brilliant assistant, is more developed. This is a fast, entertaining read and easy to finish in a couple of days.

My recommendation: read it!