The Girl in the Ice

DCI Erika Foster has just arrived at Lewisham Row Police Station in London and is immediately plunged into the investigation of a missing young woman whose body has just been found in a small lake frozen in the ice.  Foster is going to be taking the lead on the investigation.

After the parents have been informed by Foster and the two detectives working with her of their daughter’s death they demand DCI Sparks be put back in charge of the investigation.  Because they are wealthy, they seem to feel they have that kind of power.  However her Superintendent Marsh stands behind her.

Sparks presents circumstantial evidence, which Superintendent Marsh prefers to go with rather than the evidence that Foster has gathered, which upsets her.  Sparks’ suspect is quickly eliminated by the team, Foster highjacks the press conference, which upsets both Sparks and Marsh.  Then one of her witnesses is found in another pond.  The witness is a well known prostitute.

At the scene, shortly after her arrival, Sparks arrives and claims to now be the SIO.  Foster is then called onto the carpet, and then officially suspended pending a psychological assessment.

Frustrated, Foster approaches the pathologist, Issac Strong.  He informs her that he has come up with three cases in the past in which prostitutes were killed in the same manner as her two victims.  Foster’s former team members start feeding her information.  They don’t agree with Sparks’ theories.

While at the funeral for the witness, Foster gets a potential lead.  That night, she is attacked in her own flat.  Has the killer found her?  Will Foster be the next victim?

Author Robert Bryndza’s first novel in this series is well written, exciting and will leave the reader on the edge of their seat.  Hints of the perpetrator are given, but nothing is revealed until the final pages, and therein lies a surprise.  An excellent read, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequels.