Robert Bryndza | NINE ELMS

Plot (via Goodreads):

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.

Review:

WOW. This is one really dark and superbly written thriller that will capture you within the first chapter and hold you hostage throughout the entire read. When I began this one, I was a little intimidated with the length of the novel but I was quickly immersed in the story and I found the actual story of the Nine Elms killer to be so dark and eerie which definitely left me finding myself in moments of being utterly creeped out.

First and foremost, this is my second Bryndza novel because I felt myself a little more drawn to this one than his previous series and upon finishing this one, I was so damn glad to know this is going to be a series. I absolutely loved Kate's backstory, where she was currently, and the entire dynamic of her character. She was ruthless, intelligent, and pleasantly realistic. This is definitely a character that will be able to carry the entire series (and I hope it's a long one) without breaking a sweat. The secondary characters all shone as well and helped keep me invested in this story.

The cast was seriously disturbing and I think that a lot of that was due to the brutality and the detail combined with Bryndza's prose that only someone like him could pull off. It almost read as a true crime novel in the sense that he doesn't hold back in bringing the ugliness and the brutality of these crimes to the forefront and nudges you to lock your doors at night with his ability to draw his reader into the story and take you along one hell of a terrifying ride whether you're ready or not. I loved how this story flowed and I felt that there was just so much happening throughout the entire thing whether it was related to the case or it was related to Kate's personal life. When the two forces do intertwine, I was even surprising myself with how quickly I was eating up this story.

If you want a creepy and well-developed story with great characters and a world that you can literally get lost in and binge-read throughout your week, I would definitely recommend Nine Elms. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Special thanks to Amazon Publishing for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4.5/5