Cold Blood

By: Robert Bryndza

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

She fell in love with a killer, now she's one too.

The suitcase was badly rusted, and took Erika several attempts, but it yielded and sagged open as she unzipped it. Nothing could prepare her for what she would find inside....

When a battered suitcase containing the dismembered body of a young man washes up on the shore of the river Thames, Detective Erika Foster is shocked. She's worked on some terrifying cases but never seen anything like this before.

As Erika and her team set to work, she makes the link with another victim - the body of a young woman dumped in an identical suitcase two weeks ago.

Erika quickly realizes she's on the trail of a serial killer who's already made their next move. Yet just as Erika starts to make headway with the investigation, she is the victim of a brutal attack.

But nothing will stop Erika. As the body count rises, the twin daughters of her colleague Commander Marsh are abducted, and the stakes are higher than ever before. Can Erika save the lives of two innocent children before it's too late? She's running out of time and about to make a disturbing discovery...there's more than one killer.

Brilliantly gripping, Cold Blood will have you hooked from the beginning and holding your breath to the heart-stopping and shocking ending.

©2017 Robert Bryndza (P)2017 Bookouture

It’s Cold Blooded Alright

Erika Foster is the toughest, most demanding Inspector in the police procedural genre. She known by her cohorts, superiors, and lovers as, in her words, “a raging bitch.” Yet she is also effective, thorough, persistent and that makes her invaluable to everyone. Most of all it makes her a character worth knowing to any fan of police procedurals.

Brynzda exposes the raw, emotional side of police work with clever humor, sexual tension, desperation to stop suffering and even killings, and frustrations with political and procedural handicaps. It’s captivating and fun to read.

What disturbs me about this book is the criminal element. And this isn’t necessarily a drawback. The author spends half the novel revealing the mind of a serial killer and the unraveling of a good girl gone bad. It’s painful to read about.

I recommend this to anyone who appreciates great police procedurals. Cold Blooded is part of a series, but it stands well enough on it’s own. In fact, each of the novels in this series can be read out of order. That’s great writing.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Author Robert Bryndza is among the elite...

...suspense mystery/thriller writers. Cold Blood is Book 5 in Bryndza's Detective Erika Foster series. In this serial murder mystery the primary antagonist takes evil and lack of concern for the lives of others to unimaginably low levels. The 5 star rating is an easy call, and had the top rating been 15 stars this novel would have earned that. Jan Cramer has narrated all Erika Foster novels perfectly.

I very highly recommend this new release!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Disappointing...

I love the Erica Foster character and was hoping for another exciting novel about her solving a crime. This story lost my interest a quarter of the way through because it seemed to be more about a violent uneducated killer and his codependent girlfriend then a real Detective solving a great mystery. Why try to fix something that's not broken? Characters are too difficult to even read about. Twisted, uncomfortable and doesn't flow. Disappointment...

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Loved it

I was very surprised by the twists in this book. I really had a hard time putting it down. The mystery was fantastic because the writer knows how to pull you in and keep you engaged. When is the next one?

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Spellbinding as always

Can't wait for Mr Bryndza's next Erica Foster.
Hope it won't be too far away.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Good Story. Very predictable though.

It was slow to start and had a very predictable ending. Not sure I like Erika's current romantic liasons. I will have to see how it changes in the next book. I like dark and brooding to some degree but it seems like she doesn't like anyone EVER. She especially doesn't like authority and is never happy. Even those with authority seem to have some contempt for her even when what she is requesting is reasonable. I definitely thought that there was animosity towards her even before she had a chance to provoke it. The story line was okay but wasn't a favorite of mine. Still love the books though. I hope she develops more relationships that will be lasting soon. She deserves to be a little happy.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I like Erika

This Erika Foster crime thriller started a bit slowly with the stage being set. But as the murders add up and the characters developed the story picked up steam. About half way through the book I was hooked and the story took off until finished.

This is the most recent book in the series. I assume there will be more and I'll look forward to the next one.

Erika is so driven and so lonely.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Well paced

Book moved along well. The narratives from first person‘s were timed right and made smooth transitions. Also like that the author did not resort to the cliché dirty housewife of the exes and Estranged mother real and likablemother and rather gave these character some dimension they had clean houses and they had caring in their hearts for other people.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

incredible as always. absolutely breathtaking.

love it, another amazing detective story. his books getting better and better. definately recommend it

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Totally hooked on this series

I have listened to all of them so far and I cant seem to leave my car. I am intrigued from the beginning and both the author and narrator do an amazing job bringing the characters to life.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Erika Foster is back!

Erika Forster, one of my favourite protagonists, is back and this series gets better and better with each book. This novel is darker, faster and more gruesome than the previous ones and I loved it! It will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will find it hard to put it down. At least I did.
Jan Cramer's narration is once again first-rate and makes listening to this audiobook a treat.
I can't recommend Robert Bryndza's books highly enough; a must read/listen to series!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great pacing, it never stops. Better Narration too

Bryndza has outdone himself with his latest thrilling detective novel. I am fully invested in these characters and the world they live in. Erika is a very good character and never feels cliched. She doesn't say no to food like most characters like this and can sometimes even be funny. The story here is great though the side story of the drug dealers was a bit random but I get a feeling it will add to the overall story arc of Erika and her relationships. Jan Cramer seemed to try more, she was never awful, but always seemed to be too jolly for a detective story. Nina was also a very interesting character and I had no idea why she was included at first but when it clicks, it clicks.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Cold Blood

I loved this storyline, several twists and turns to keep me hooked on the story

Great

Loved the series so far, looking forward to next book. Good Narrator. Worth a listen.

best yet!

Really enjoyed this one - getting better as the series develops. Please keep the quality of the books ahead.

Not has good as good as number 4
Got bored with the story
Love jan Cramer

Get your geography right!

Enjoyed this book a lot, but was disappointed to notice some basic errors in geography, which makes me lose some trust in the story in some ways. When describing that somebody lived in a place in Suffolk, near to Norwich, this displays a lack of knowledge of Norfolk and Suffolk, as Norwich is at least 30 miles from anywhere in Suffolk! It just takes the edge off believing in a story even though of course it is fiction! Would be helpful if this small mistake could be remedied in future additions!

Kept me up until 3am!!!!...best book in the series

What made the experience of listening to Cold Blood the most enjoyable?

The narration by Jan is, as usual, excellent, she really brings the characters alive - i found myself giggling to several parts of the book. she makes listening so easy and enjoyable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Apart from Erika, who i love because of her dead pan personality i very much enjoyed the character of Max in this book because i could imagine him in my minds eye and he was generally a good character. (I dont want to give too much awa)

Have you listened to any of Jan Cramer’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Yes, and she is on top form as usual, i am sure she sits in the studio acting out the scenes as she reads them?! she gets in to the story and obviously enjoys reading them, and thats what makes her fun to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

i had a few giggles - especially with the tazar scene

Any additional comments?

The best book in the series so far.... Robert you are a genius and i look forward to reading/listening to more of Erikas adventures in the future.

LOVED IT.

Great storyline

when's book 6 coming out. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what's next.

Book 5 of the series

Book 5 and by far the best one yet.

A thrilling story that pulls you along with the twisted emotional life and work of DCI Foster.

Really enjoyed this. Roll on the next to see where we go.