The Girl in the Ice

By: Robert Bryndza

Narrated by: Jan Cramer

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's Summary

Her eyes are wide open. Her lips parted as if to speak. Her dead body frozen in the ice...She is not the only one.

When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation.

The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound, and dumped in water around London.

What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?

As Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika.

The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong...resulting in the death of her husband. With her career hanging by a thread, Erika must now battle her own personal demons as well as a killer more deadly than any she's faced before. But will she get to him before he strikes again?

A pause-resisting thriller packed with suspense. If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, and Karin Slaughter, discover Rob Bryndza's new series today.

©2016 Robert Bryndza (P)2016 Bookouture

Good New Series

Plenty of twists and turns await the listener in this gritty serial thriller. Debut books in a series carry the added responsibility of creating a world. The main character needs supporting actors who can sustain our interest and sympathy into future stories. Bryndza succeeds here by populating DCI Foster's squad room with a handful of loyal coppers with back stories we glimpse and want more of. Will Peterson be more than a colleague in future? Stay tuned.

Some of the characterizations are too inconsistent for believability. It's done to obscure the killer, and we know that person is a liar. But everyone can't be unstable. Foster's boss, for example, drags her back to work the case, then he doesn't want her there, then he insists she's the only one who can solve it, and then he's openly hostile again. All this in the course of two conversations. This and other examples hampered my ability to plug into the story fully.

On the plus side, Bryndza takes us around London with ease, making us feel like natives on a crime scene tour. He evokes settings beautifully, setting the stage with juicy imagery we can taste, smell and feel. You will root for Erika Foster from beginning to end. The climactic scene --and I'm not going to spoil it--is one of the best and creepiest I've read in a long while.

Jan Cramer was excellent with the delivery of the story

18 of 18 people found this review helpful

mystery not bad but Erika needs improving

The mystery was intriguing enough, but I found Erika Foster lacking. Considering she was supposed to be s very experienced and supposedly capable investigator, she did not act like one. Loses her composure, acts unprofessionally, and ends up the damsel in distress too often for a 25 year veteran. The only reason we know she is supposed to be a damned good cop is because the other characters keep saying so, rather than by her actions.

At first I was not happy with the voice performance either, the reader's habit of ending sentences on an uplift made everything sound like a question - making the character sound annoyingly unsure. However considering the way the characterization went, I guess it was suitable after all.

There's more that I could say, but it would mean spoiling the plot, so I will stop here.

44 of 46 people found this review helpful

Great detective thriller!

I keep 40 to 50 audiobooks as my backup stash for when I run out of my preferred authors. After reading a recent review of this novel by one of the Audible listeners I follow, I dug into the stash to listen to the book. The Girl in the Ice is set in London, The protagonist, Detective Chief Inspector Erica Foster, is a brash, confident, insubordinate, capable, deeply damaged and ultimately brilliant 25 year veteran detective. This is a wonderful novel that I could easily listen to again. Highly recommended!

57 of 61 people found this review helpful

Okay

I had high hopes for this book. To be fair, it is an entertaining listen and I was somewhat interested to find out the details of the mystery as it unfolded. However, I never felt truly engaged. This is primarily because I found the character development shallow and boring. I couldn't bring myself to care one way or another about any of the characters. This is a deal breaker for me. Additionally, when the mystery/crime was revealed it seemed convoluted and silly. This book is adequate if you just want light entertainment. I would not read any additional books in the series.

33 of 35 people found this review helpful

The Girl in the Ice

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

YES, it's very entertaining, suspenseful, and the narrator is very good at her characterizations.

What did you like best about this story?

You couldn't guess the villain right away. Kept you guessing.

What does Jan Cramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Helped you to get to know the characters, especially, the main one.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The confrontation in her apartment with the killer.

Any additional comments?

Good book, read it in on sitting! Thank you Mr Bryndza! Looking forward to the "Night Stalker."

10 of 10 people found this review helpful

the great murder mystery

great story! This novel left you guessing until the very end. narrator was great especially for having a British accent, which can sometimes be difficult to understand.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Great detective work/Police politics

First let me say I felt as if I knew the main character from another story. Of course, it cant be true. She is a tenacious detective, self assured, irreverent, insubordinate and brilliant.
The opening pages introduce her convalescing after the death of her husband. She had led he and several others into an ambush in a previous case.

The mystery revolves around a murder of a socialite from an aristocratic family. This puts the family of the victim under the judgementsl eye of the media. Her family is polically powerful, which puts more pressure on the police. Most important, it exacerbates the contentious relationships between detectives and their headquarters.

It is a clever, witty novel. Sharp banter and never a dull moment. I liked it enough to immediately purchase its sequel.

And to spend an hour or so trying to discover who the herione reminded of.

DD Warren maybe. Inspector Gamache led his men into an ambush. One of Karin Slaughter's or Marsons???

37 of 40 people found this review helpful

BBC or Netflix Material

Would you consider the audio edition of The Girl in the Ice to be better than the print version?

Don't know. I have only heard the audio.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not the edge. But I did sit up once or twice. It just wasn't that type of book for me. The book had more of a cruise control feel.

What does Jan Cramer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Just how annoying Erica was.

Any additional comments?

Overall I enjoyed the book. It was like listening to one of those Netflix Original Shows, especially the crime ones. You knew it would be good.

26 of 28 people found this review helpful

Almost stopped listening

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The characters became predictable; I get particularly annoyed when the police do stupid, risky things when it's stunningly clear they're going to get into trouble. The "administrative" part of the police were particularly annoying and unbelievable: totally in the pocket of corrupt politicians one minute, good guys the next. I wanted to know who done it, so I listened to the end, but it was a chore.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

30 of 33 people found this review helpful

Thriller but not gory

Very suspenseful. Nice narration. Worth the time. I would buy the next books in this series for sure.

29 of 32 people found this review helpful

Just another British police murder mystery

So I'm giving this review three stars as I did finish the audiobook and enjoyed it to a certain extent. However, I felt the plot was slow paced and quite predictable, the other main issue I had was the characters didn't seem that believable or to have that much depth to them. The ones whom aren't on the main characters side to me weren't believable in their negativity. Further to this I found the performance of the reader in parts where characters were speaking to sometimes either get on my nerves or be poorly acted not portraying my view of the characters. I give the audiobook 3 stars as I did enjoy the story and it was a mystery until the end, however I really don't understand the rave reviews this book has been getting as it's essentially just your everyday British police murder mystery

8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Heart-pounding!

What did you like best about this story?

What a killer start to a novel! Heart-pounding, tense, and horrifying, it had me on the edge of my seat. And from that moment, I was hooked.
The author, Robert Bryndza, has created a fabulous cast of characters. The title of this novel, The Girl In The Ice, could as much be about the main character in this book as it is about the remains found in a frozen lake. DCI Erika Foster initially comes across as a cold woman – strong, feisty, but with little warmth. As the story proceeds, her heartbreaking back story is revealed, as is the vulnerability beneath her exterior. The more people, including colleagues, try to stop her from getting to the truth, the more determined she becomes, and the more I warmed to her. The author was incredibly clever the way he had ‘frozen’ Erika slowly thawing and coming alive again after everything that she had endured.
It did annoy me a bit, though, that Erika seems to find herself helpless and in need of rescuing several times along the way. It made me feel as if the book was paying lip service to having a strong female lead, but in reality she was just another damsel in distress. Hopefully, this minor criticism will be tackled in the next book though – one I’m very much looking forward to reading.
With so many possible suspects, I was kept guessing all the way through. There are section from the killer’s point of view, which I particularly enjoyed, and they really had me guessing. As the pieces of the puzzle were pulled together, the chapters became more and more tense. I listened to this on audiobook, rather than read it, and found myself wandering around the house with my kindle, unable to put it down because I was desperate to know how it would end. That’s the sign of a brilliant crime novel – and that’s exactly what The Girl In The Ice is.

17 of 18 people found this review helpful

5 stars book?!? What am I missing?

Would you try another book written by Robert Bryndza or narrated by Jan Cramer?

I probably would not. I just about made it through this one. Although I might give Mr Bryndza another try at somme point. He is a new author and deserves a break.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Jan Cramer tries her best but even the best narrator can’t work magic if the book is poor. Also her Eastern European accents sounded awful, at least to my Czech ears.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Girl in the Ice?

The book is about 3 hours too long. Many scenes are just stretched forever without adding anything to the overall narrative.

Any additional comments?

I was put off by the title. In today’s world of crime fiction, it’s almost a prerequisite to have the word “girl” in the title. The glowing 5 stars reviews from my fellow audio listeners persuaded me to give it a go. But now I am totally puzzled, did we listen to the same book?

The main character is just one big cliche. She is a maverick cop with emotional issues due to the tragic events in her past. Right! (The only surprise here is that Erika hasn’t got a drinking problem.) She is rude, she is reckless and she doesn't "do politics". (Yet somehow she still managed to rise to the rank of a DCI.) Right! And it just continues throughout the book: she fights with her boss; she is unfairly suspended; she doesn't follow the most basic police procedures because "she has a hunch"; she almost gets herself killed …… oh boy.

I think there is a good book somewhere in this mess but the final output falls short on so many levels. To be fair I don’t blame Mr Bryndza, he is a first time author who has a great potential. It’s the publisher's fault for not providing more support and editing guidance.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Superb....I couldn't put it down

If you could sum up The Girl in the Ice in three words, what would they be?

Gripping, intense, excellent!!

What other book might you compare The Girl in the Ice to, and why?

If you enjoy Peter James' Roy Grace series, or Angela Marsons Kim Stone Series you will love this book.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

This book grips you from the start and all the way through, i read it in 3 days! i couldnt put it down

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If i had the time, i would of definitely read this book in one sitting, but as it was, it took me just 3 days to read.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book immensely, the main characters have their own back story, which i hope will be delved in to more as the series continues. The narration was varied and exciting, and not monotone like many other narrators out there. the story had me gripped from beginning to end and i am looking forward to reading the next installment of the Erica Foster Series.

14 of 15 people found this review helpful

Rubbish

I undestand the author is an experienced Chick Lit author. This is evident in this book. Poor research, hackneyed, clichéd plot with 2 dimensional cartoon characters and a large serving of sexism - fat cheery lesion, unprofessional overwrought widowed policewoman... If you are 13 and have a library of Celeb "autobiographies" then you may enjoy this, but I doubt it.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

First class police procedural

I've made some bad choices recently with my purchases so it's a great relief to find a book that ticks all the boxes for me. Great story, interesting lead characters and a wonderful narrator. Looking forward to book 2.

20 of 22 people found this review helpful

Astounding and shocking Debut.

This incredible thriller debut by Robert Bryndza is often jaw droppingly astounding and intensely clever, leading to a twisted climax that the reader will never see coming. The strong female lead is as lovable as she is unlikeable, creating a new DCI that ranks alongside Peter Jame's 'Roy Grace'. The type of thriller that one picks up and after the first chapter, finds that it's almost impossible to put down. The audible companion is cleverly and effortlessly narrated by the talented Jan Cramer, who manages to further enhance the intricate and intriguing characters with her brilliant and wonderful tone. This book is a definite must read to add to your thrilling collection. I for one, couldn't recommend this powerful and clever story highly enough.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Mmmmm

It was ok. That's the best I can say really! Nothing v new or original and I got really fed up with Erika disobeying her senior officers on practically every page and getting away with it every time. Sorry but this Maverick cop going her own way and coming good against the odds is just a bit tired now.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Where do all the five star reviews come from .

It's unbelievable , no one can have that many friends and relatives , it's only friends and relatives that can think this foul mouthed load of old rubbish is any good . If these reviews are genuine then I despair and am saddened by what passes for the reading public of today . It says a great deal about our modern education system .

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Such a terrible book!

I just about managed to get through this book by sheer will. I simply do not understand the 5 star reviews.

I have listened to many crime/police thrillers and this is amateur at best. I think any real police officer would be genuinely offended by the portrayal of the bumbling detectives in this story.

The main character is so annoying and this is not helped by the awful narration. Erika foster is supposed to be Slovak but apparently has a Northern accent after living in Manchester for a few years. She leaps from disaster to disaster leaving the reader just wishing the murderer would just catch up with her and put us all out of our misery. The narrator sounds either bored or just aggressive all the time. I

This leads me to the character of the murderer... errggh, he is continually referred to as ‘The Figure’. Such weak writing.

One of the most cringe-worthy lines being ‘brown tress with bear trees’ - not sure if this was a narration mistake or just bad editing/writing.

The way the detective reaches her conclusions is just bizarre. Oohh Linda loves cats.. maybe she’s a copycat!? WHAT???

This book is poorly written, with frustrating characters. Save your time and don’t bother.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful