Book 9 in the Detective Chief Inspector Erika Foster series and for Erika this is where her past finally catches up with her present. Ten years earlier she lost her husband Mark when a raid on a suspected drug den went wrong and in the shootout he was killed, along with several other police officers. None of the suspects had been caught and the case remains open. As always this is a brilliantly executed police procedural and I raced through it. Briefly, December 2024 Erika has been called out to a flat in London. A body has been found after a radiator collapsed through a ceiling into the flat below. They cannot identify the body but enquiries lead them a parcel locker nearby. With traces of cocaine Erika tracks the owner down only to find herself face to face with her husband’s killer. He goes by a different name now, and she is told it isn’t him, but desperate to bring him to justice Erika goes above and beyond her bosses orders and finds herself in deep water. A seriously twisted and brilliant plot with some terrible truths coming into the light shocking Erika, and me, to the core. We finally know the truth about what happened 10 years ago and it’s a startling truth. Fast paced, edge of the seat stuff, this was a superb read, the writer at his absolute best!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Chasing Shadows by Robert Bryndza in return for my honest review. Chasing Shadows is the ninth book in the Erica Foster series and I can honestly say this series gets better and better, you can read this book as a standalone but I would highly recommend reading the whole series in order to get the full Erica Foster experience you certainly won’t be disappointed very tired maybe as these books will have you up all night. Eagerly waiting for the next instalment.

Here we are, book 9 of this cracking series and you know what's coming next wrt the usual series rules so I don't need to spell it out! This time, DCI Erika Foster is completely flummoxed when she and her team are called to the scene of a ceiling collapse where, on looking up into the flat above, she can clearly see the body of a dead woman. On entering the flat they are shocked at how clean it is, with any evidence they could have used having been forensically cleaned. Apart from cocaine covering the ceiling that is. Which leads them to a nearby parcel locker which in turn leads them to Jerome Goodman, the man who murdered her husband Mark. Although he is now Jerome, he is Kieron Bagshaw and all his details check out so, and he is squeaky clean, so obviously Erika must be wrong, so she gets suspended for arresting him and bringing him to the station. But this is not the punishment she initially thinks it is as it leaves her free to conduct her own investigation... Quite how the other case fits in I will also leave for you to find out, suffice to say it was all extremely well plotted and kept me on my toes throughout as, peppered throughout the present day narrative, we also revisit the past. Of how Jerome started out on his villainous career path and the people he teamed up with and the shenanigans that led up to that fateful day. And that's all I am saying as boy do you really need to know no more than this to get all the emotional shocks that this book delivers. I have always wondered whether the death of Mark and his colleagues would ever be revisited and wow, I really wasn't ready for the half of it, talk about warts and all. One thing I will say though is that I already loved Igor as a character but this book really brings him to life. And the ending. When the whole truth finally all came out. Oh. My. Gosh... Wow! There is going to be some fallout from all this, and I am itching to read all about it. Please don't make me wait too long.

DCI Erika Foster and DI James Peterson answer a call to attend a suspicious nearby death. The body, discovered when a radiator fell from the wall, through the floor and into the flat below, has been meticulously scrubbed clean. The victim’s flat is as sterile as the woman who was living there. Upon further investigation, traces of cocaine are found on the ceiling! This leads DCI Foster to a bank of parcel lockers not far from the flat. Could the lockers be being used to deal drugs? The registered owner denies having any interaction with the lockers and points Erika in the direction of her partner, Kieron Bagshaw. But the person who stands in front of Erika is not Kieron Bagshaw It is, without a shadow of a doubt, Jerome Goodman. The man responsible for a botched drug raid ten years earlier which resulted in Erika’s husband, DI Mark Foster, and several of their colleagues being gunned down in cold blood. Erika follows her instinct and immediately arrests ‘Kieron’. However, according to official records, Jerome Goodman died a few years earlier. Kieron Bagshaw appears to be unconnected, and he has the paperwork to prove it. With pressure from above to take leave, Erika – being Erika – can’t leave the matter alone. Determined to prove that Keiron IS Jerome, that she was right to arrest him, Erika, on forced leave, starts her own investigation. But the more information she uncovers, the more devastating the truth becomes… Woah! Chasing Shadows is a tense, emotional and highly suspenseful addition to one of my favourite series. Erika has always carried the weight of her husband and her colleagues’ deaths on her shoulders. The reader has always been aware of this highly traumatic event in her life, but here we get to dig a bit deeper. I love Erika Foster. I’ve been a fan of the character and the writing since, I feel, day one. But her approach, the passion she puts into finding the truth, is ramped up twentyfold in Chasing Shadows. Her dogged determination was relentless. She knows from the moment she meets Kieron that he’s not who he claims to be. ‘Kieron’ seems to recognise Erika too and begins to goad her a little, pressing her buttons. I’ve always felt that’s a bit of a stupid thing to do with Erika Foster. She won’t stand for it and tends to strike back with added bite. Erika has always been a fierce, determined character but in this latest book, we see a new fire. Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Chasing Shadows is utterly thrilling, completely unexpected and packed full of emotion. I loved the clever way the author brought all of the different components together (and there are quite a few components in this book!). It was a joy to be reunited with well-loved, familiar characters again. I revelled in being submerged in their world once more and I look forward to reading about them again in the future. The twists and turns are beautifully delivered with some real shocking moments for the reader to get their teeth into. I would say you can *probably* read Chasing Shadows as a standalone but why would you want to when there are eight superb earlier novels to get stuck into? I feel a little background knowledge, in regard to this book in particular, will go a long way. All in all, Chasing Shadows is a thoroughly gripping police procedural with bucketloads of heart. It’s tense, highly intriguing and doesn’t really stop from the moment you crack the spine to the moment you close the back cover. Riveting, fast-paced and totally immersive. Highly recommended.

So enjoyed this return to Erika’s world. It’s a great read, fast paced and very addictive. I’d always hoped Robert would return to the murder of Erika’s husband Mark and their colleagues back in 2014 because it really defines the way her character has changed over the years following such a tradegy and still impacts on the way she reacts to situations in the present. It certainly lived up to my expectations and I didn’t want it to end! I enjoyed the involvement of my favourite characters, Isaac, Moss and Peterson. They’re a top team! All in all, I’d thoroughly recommend this title. The series keeps getting better and better with each book. I can’t wait for the next instalment.