From the breakthrough international bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice, a breathtaking, page-turning novel about a disgraced female detective’s fight for redemption. And survival… 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.
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Crime fiction at its best!
*5 Stars*
I’ve been meaning to read this for ages, as I discovered Robert Bryndza through his Erika Foster series, which I absolutely love, and was keen to get started on this new series about Kate Marshall.
I was captivated straight away by this story, and I really enjoyed discovering all the nuances to the cases as the story progressed. I really liked Tristan and Myra, and I hope we continue to see them in the future books.
I had no idea who the culprit was until things all came together towards the end, and the elaborate detail of some of the plans in this was amazing. Chilling, considering the storyline, but a well thought out plot by the author.
I highly recommend this and can’t wait to read the next book!
NINE ELMS (A Kate Marshall Thriller Book 1) by Robert Brynzda is the debut suspense/thriller book in a new P.I. series. I love Mr. Brynzda’s DCI Erika Foster series and was thrilled to receive an early copy of this book. I could not put it down!
Kate Marshall was a young police detective when she was placed on the task force for the Nine Elms Cannibal case. She was determined to prove herself. She caught the serial killer, but at great personal expense, physically and mentally, to herself. Due to a bad personal decision during the investigation, she went from hero to villain during the trial and it ended her career on the police force.
Fifteen years later, Kate has become a lecturer in criminology at a small university. She has worked hard to get her life in order. She attends AA meetings and has rebuilt her relationship with her fourteen-year-old son who is in the custody of her parents.
Kate receives a call from the original medical examiner on the Nine Elms case. He has been called to the scene of a murder which is an exact replica of a murder from that case. As more bodies are found, Kate knows they have a copycat, because the original killer is locked up in a psychiatric prison.
Kate is told to stay out of the investigation by the local DI handling the case, but she cannot ignore the fact that she feels she can help. She enlists the help of her research assistant, Tristan Harper and the two set about combing the new and old facts to find the copycat. What Kate does not realize is that the killer knows who she is and plans to finish what the original Nine Elms Cannibal did not.
This is an amazing debut that kept me turning the pages to the very end. The plot is tightly woven between past and present. It is dark, thrilling and delivers discoveries that surprise throughout. The crime scenes are written in explicit detail and may be disturbing to some, but this antagonist is a cannibal serial killer as is his copycat, so it is not gratuitous. Kate is a memorable character realistically flawed, intelligent and dogged in her pursuit of the copycat killer. Tristan is an interesting character who is great at doing the research that Kate requires, but Kate is definitely the mentor in their partnership. I am looking forward to learning more about Tristan in future books. I am also looking forward to reading how Mr. Brynzda handles the character arc of Kate’s son in future books.
I highly recommend this debut thriller and I am looking forward to many more books in the Kate Marshall series!
Robert Bryndza is fast becoming one of my favorite authors—first with the Erica Foster series and now with his new Kate Marshall series. Kate has had a rough life and now, even with her new teaching job, struggles with alcoholism and nightmares. She also has a teenage son, Jake, to protect from his father, Peter Conway, the serial killer who tried to kill Kate fourteen years ago. Her life is complicated and turns downright terrifying when Peter’s copycat killer comes to call. Robert Bryndza is skilled at creating flawed but strong female protagonists, and he certainly hits the mark with Kate. Barely able to keep herself sober, she still manages to solve a cold case, stand up to her boss, and save those she loves from disaster. I can’t wait to see what the next book has in store for her.
Robert Bryndza is the author of the six-installment Erika Foster series that includes The Girl in the Ice, The Night Stalker, and Dark Water.
In Nine Elms, he introduces another female detective, Kate Marshall, with a troubled past. But unlike Erika, Kate’s career is cut short. Young and ambitious, the story begins in 1995. Kate foolishly had a brief affair with her handsome and charismatic supervisor, Peter Conway, but it was over by the time Kate solved the Nine Elms case. Not only did she figure out who was abducting and brutally murdering teenage girls, she almost lost her own life when the killer, realizing that Kate had solved the mystery, tried to make her his fifth victim. Kate was seriously injured during the attack. She survived, as did the unborn child she did not yet know she was carrying, but her career did not. The scandalous circumstances forced her off the police force.
Fifteen years later, Kate has struggled to get her life back on track. Now an alcoholic in recovery, her son, Jake, lives with her parents and Kate cherishes the time she spends with him. Kate lectures at a small university that provides her with a home on the beach. She swims in the sea every morning and attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly with her sponsor and next-door neighbor, Myra, who operates a surf shop. Kate works hard to maintain her six years of sobriety, substituting iced tea for the late afternoon cocktail that she still craves.
Her young research assistant, Tristan Harper, lives with his sister, Sarah, and absorbs knowledge from Kate, accompanying her as she launches into an investigation into a new series of murders that bear frightening similarities to the Nine Elms killings. The Nine Elms killer remains imprisoned in a mental institution, so the killer must be a copycat. But is there a connection?
Bryndza has crafted another intriguing and empathetic female protagonist. Kate is flawed and she must confront her own shortcomings on a daily basis. She is not living the life she envisioned for herself — she sorely misses being a police detective and is still bitter about the manner in which her career was derailed. Which is not to say that she does not recognize and accept how her choices led to that result. She does. But the combination of losing the job she loved so much and being a single mother propelled her into a downward spiral of depression and alcoholism. Thankfully, her parents have always assisted, including when they took Jake to live with them while Kate sorted herself out. Now, however, it still galls Kate that she does not have custody of her only child and must negotiate his visits with her mother.
When Kate finds herself investigating a new series of murders, she is invigorated and reevaluates her life in academia. Joined by her assistant, Tristan, she must operate off the grid since she is no longer a member of the police force to determine if the murders are tied to the killer she caught all those years ago.
Brynzda has masterfully crafted a clever, terrifying thriller with an empathetic and endearing character right in the middle of the action. There is not a superfluous word or scene in Brynzda’s tautly constructed mystery depicting a truly deranged monster and the woman who must outsmart him for her own sake, as well as her child’s. The pace never slows, making the book impossible to put down. Kate’s combination of determination, superb skills, and emotional vulnerability compel the dark story forward, full of twists and turns that readers never see coming. As in his Erika Foster series, Brynzda candidly describes his characters’ deeds, and the murders in this story are brutal and graphically, but never gratuitously depicted. Brynzda has surrounded Kate with a cast of supporting characters who are every bit as interesting, including, chiefly, Peter Conway and his mother.
Nine Elms is an exciting launch of a new series that promises to be a perfect combination of chilling mysteries and a fascinating character study.
Kate Marshall was once a young police detective who had a bright future ahead of her. Her dream turned into a nightmare. She caught the elusive Nine Elms serial killer … who turned out to be her supervisor …. the man she was sleeping with .. the man who was the father of her unborn child. She was supposed to be his 4th victim. Fifteen years have passed .. the Nine Elms killer has been in a psychiatric lock down since his conviction.
Kate is now a professor, teaching at a small English university all about serial killers. When her good friend, the medical examiner, gives her a heads up about a new body that was just found, she and her research assistant find themselves involved in a copy cat murder … the body has all the earmarks of the Nine Elms killer.
That’s not the only body found in the same condition. And Kate now has a target on her back… the copy cat wants to finish what the original killer started.
This is a brand new series by this author .. and it’s a real doozie. Not for the faint of heart …. the descriptions of the crimes committed are quite explicit and graphic. The Nine Elms killer was cannibalistic. That aside, the suspense starts from the very beginning and increases as the story continues. The characters are deftly drawn… the interactions between these characters are critical to the plot development. The ending came fast and furious and was surprising. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
Many thanks to the author / Thomas & Mercer / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
your usual crime fiction.
I read a couple of books from Bryndza’s previous series, his Detective Erika Foster series, and I really enjoyed them. So even though I haven’t read them all (this cheap-ass me is waiting for further price drop on Kindle. I need books 3 and 5. lmao), I decided to grab this one when I saw it on Kindle Deals!
Nine Elms follows Kate Marshall, a former police detective, who was involved in the capture of a notorious serial killer called the Nine Elms cannibal. 15 years later, she has a son who doesn’t live with her due to her alcohol problems and she’s now teaching criminology in a university. Now a Nine Elms cannibal copycat killer has emerged. Alongside this, a couple has contacted Kate regarding a cold case of their missing daughter who they believe is a victim of the original Nine Elms cannibal.
As a whole, this novel really fits the usual crime fiction. So if you enjoy crime fiction with the following things, you’ll enjoy this: (1) private detective / ex-police, (2) a main character with baggage, (3) graphic descriptions of dead people, (4) there’s murderer / suspect POV, (5) triggering psychological crimes (does that makes sense? lmao), and the classic (6) the main character piecing things together when the suspect is about to attack her.
I mean I know I’ve not read that much but that basically is like the usual things for me and somehow I’m okay with that. I liked Kate Marshall and I felt bad for the things she went through. I like her relationship with her son and how protective she is of him. I LOVE her assistant, Tristan. He’s an innocent but also very eager. He gets those somewhat I’m feeling weak-on-the-knees moments but he remains brave. The in-betweens are so good and I’m constantly intrigued at how things will go. The conclusion is what kept me a bit off. Not exactly the reveal but more of how things actually went. I basically just had this ending in my head that I kind of want to happen and it went another way. But all is good. Not really a book problem but a me problem.
The mystery aspect is okay. It’s not a whodunit so it isn’t really one of those books that will make me think who did what since the POV of the suspect is included. And you somewhat see his backstory, his steps, how he laughs at the police and plans things out. You see many things but not everything. I’m usually at the edge of my seat generally because of the things Kate does to get information (believe me because I was especially at the edge of my seat when she and Tristan entered an establishment to take some incriminating evidence. damn I’m trying to keep this as vague as possible. hahaha).
OVERALL, Nine Elms is a recommend crime fiction. You’ll enjoy it given you enjoy the story tropes (?) I mentioned. It’s quite thrilling and I really like Bryndza’s writing. I already have the second book and I’m really excited to get to it!
In Nine Elms, Robert Bryndza introduces us to Kate Marshall, criminology professor at a small college in the UK, and former police detective who left the force after catching a serial killer. Kate fell into serious drinking when she found out she was pregnant by the killer, but she had the child and got sober in AA, and is trying to start a new life. But then, an eerily familiar killing spree starts again…
Kate and her academic assistant and investigative partner Tristan find themselves tracking the killer. The story has a lot of twists and turns and Kate and Tristan prove to be likeable characters you can root for. However, I docked the book a star because I thought the ending was a bit contrived and predictable. That doesn’t mean that I found Nine Elms a less than enjoyable read.
A page-turner that kept my attention from the beginning to the end.
Kate Marshall is a former police detective turned college instructor. Several years earlier she helped to catch the Nine Elms serial killer, which led to the end of her career with the police. She moved on and her teaching has helped her accept what happened. But when a copycat of the Nine Elms serial killer starts leaving victims in the same situations as the original, Kate and her teaching assistant Tristan get involved. Her investigative skills are as sharp as ever and she uses them well.
This was a fabulous read and I cannot wait for the next book in this great new series by Robert Bryndza. The characters were believable, and the story just grabs you from the very first page. Don’t plan on getting anything else done while you are reading this gem. Very strongly recommend.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author Robert Bryndza and the publisher Thomas and Mercer for a free ARC of this well written and utterly absorbing book. This is my honest opinion.
too gory
Great first book in what will be the Kate Marshall series. Terrific way to pull you into the story line – had me hooked from the beginning. Creepy serial killer, strong yet understandably wounded protagonist, fast pacing. Raises the stakes to the very end and still delivers a twist! Really fleshes out all characters (not simply the primary ones). Can’t wait for the next book in the series.
A must read for Robert Bryndza fans. This book pulled me from Chapter 1. Can’t wait for the next one.
Compelling characters, intrigue that keeps a reader engaged, and a final twist filled with action, danger, and emotion. I would expect nothing less from this author. In Kate Marshall he has developed a character that comes off the page and connects with the reader. She is intelligent and skilled, filled with love for her son, yet also flawed and vulnerable, which makes her very relatable. I also love how the author grew Kate’s associate Tristan, from a seemingly supportive intern to an intuitive partner. Can’t wait to see what Kate’s next case is.
An intriguing new series from one of my favourite authors Robert Bryndza. A young police detective, Kate Marshall, had taken down a notorious serial killer, but due to internal politics and corruption her short career ended in scandal. Now a copy cat murderer is killing women, and Kate is on the hunt as a private investigator. Great entertainment. Cheers Lynda L. Lock (Isla Mujeres Mystery series).
I loved the previous series written by Robert Bryndza so I did not hesitate in buying Nine Elms. It has proven to be a difficult book to read as it’s main characters are really, really dark with gross addictions. The story is however well built although some passages are difficult to believe they are doable. On the good side is the relationship of Kate Marshall with Tristan (her assistant) which gives a somewhat light touch to this book.
I did not enjoy this book. The writing was okay, but there was just too much “women in peril” or maybe it would be better to say “teenage girls in peril” throughout the whole book. The author hits you over the head with multiple old serial murders, followed by a new series of copy cat murders, and then even the private investigator is targeted. The evil doer is revealed to the reader early on in the story, but the P.I. spins her wheels investigating dead ends for at least half the book. The story needed something more than just racking up the body count. It was just an okay read.
Just a tad unbelievable. Pregnancy (from rape) not discovered despite intensive medical care. When found, not aborted. Gruesome pedophiles among us. A difficult subject.
Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza is a fast-paced trail of murder spanning the tragedy that marks Kate Marshall’s life.
Will Kate find the murder? If she does, will she lose more of herself?
Kate Marshall
Kate Marshall is a rising detective until she makes some serious mistakes and solves the Nine Elms serial killer case. She finds that even though she figured out that her boss was the serial killer they were searching for, nothing would be the same. Kate’s life spins out of her control after the events of the arrest, and trial.
The thing I like most about Kate is that she is so completely believable. She faces each day with as much strength as she can muster. Even when the odds are stacked against her, she doesn’t give up. Kate is a fighter. I hope to see that she continues to stay realistic in the next installment.
The Mystery
I should say that there is more than one case being worked throughout the story. Kate and Tristen are working a cold case, and they are also involved in the copycat serial killer case. They do some serious old fashioned police work, by knocking on doors and going back over the crime scenes is my favorite part. I love the way they figure out what is happening. Let’s just say that Peter Conway is one sick dude.
Five Stars
Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza is such an amazing book. I couldn’t put it down and had to finish it before I could sleep. So, that makes it a five-star rating. I can’t wait for the next book, and I highly recommend this to all of you thriller readers out there.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
If you would like to see other reviews like this one, check out BaronessBookTrove.com.
Robert Bryndza’s characters are so vividly drawn — even the slightest character — and fully human and uniquely imperfect. His plots are clever and original and cool and his sense of timing is excruciatingly flawless. Nine Elms is Robert Bryndza spreading his already formidable wings to thrilling effect.