Book Review: Shadow Sands

Synopsis:

The moors are a perfect hiding place for a serial killer. And a chilling return to the past.

Criminology academic and nascent private investigator Kate Marshall is on a scuba jaunt with her son, Jake, when Jake dives toward a shocking discovery: the body of a teenage boy entangled below the surface of the Shadow Sands reservoir. The detective chief inspector’s too-quick narrative of a tragic drowning doesn’t add up. When Kate follows the evidence, it leads to a darker discovery.

The victim is only the latest in a series of mysterious deaths and disappearances linked to the moorlands — and a mythic phantom said to hide in the rolling fog. When a researcher of urban legends vanishes without a trace, Kate and her associate, Tristan Harper, must act fast and look deep if they hope to find her alive.

But the elusive serial killer they’re hunting isn’t the only one a step ahead of Kate and Tristan. Someone else is working hard to make dead certain that the secrets of Shadow Sands stay buried.

Review:

Kate Marshall returns in another pulse-pounding adventure full of unexpected twists and turns, and a shocking conclusion.

Author Robert Bryndza follows up Nine Elms, the fast-paced mystery in which he introduced Kate, her teenage son, Jake, and Peter Conway, the psychopathic serial killer who was Kate’s supervisor when she was a detective. Having discovered the identity of the copycat Nine Elms serial murderer of young women, and barely escaping with her own life yet again, Kate is back at work as a lecturer at a small English university on the coast. She and Jake have enjoyed spending his school holiday together. As it draws to a close, they are scuba diving in the old Shadow Sands reservoir, a pastime the two of them have take up during the summer. Several small villages were flooded in order to construct the reservoir and the buildings that comprised those little towns remain submerged. As Jake explores an old church spire, he finds the body of a young man and, shaken, alerts his mother. Kate simply can’t believe it. After all, it’s Jake’s last day with her before he must return to her parents’ residence and start the new school year. Now she has to inform her mother that her dream of having a normal family life has again been shattered. “The average person in the world didn’t stumble on dead bodies, but here it was, happening again to Kate. Was the universe trying to tell her something?”

Kate becomes suspicious when the death of Simon Kendal is quickly ruled an accidental drowning — and not by the coroner who usually conducts such forensic examinations. Simon’s mother doesn’t believe her son drowned. He was a champion swimmer and his injuries were not consistent with drowning. Detective Chief Inspector Henry Ko brushes Kate’s interest aside, anxious to wrap the matter up quickly. But why? Does he have a vested interest in ensuring that the case is closed without further investigation?

Kate cannot let Simon’s death be so easily dismissed. But as she and Tristan begin investigating, a beautiful new professor of philosophy and religion, Magdalena Rossi, suddenly goes missing. She asked Tristan out on a date, but never showed up. Tristan has his own secrets that cause the police to consider him a subject in the case. Terrified, he realizes that there are aspects of his life he can no longer keep hidden. But while divulging the truth might convince the police of his innocence, it also might cost him the love of those dearest to him.

Someone is holding Magdalena hostage. But who? And why? She finds herself in a dark room on a filthy mattress and her captor visits periodically to torment her. As her nightmare is unfolding, Kate and Tristan work feverishly to find out what really happened to Simon and how his death might be connected to Magdalena’s disappearance.

In the midst of the investigation, Kate must deal with yet another crisis involving Peter Conway. He defined her life for many years and her “greatest triumph, catching Peter, had also been her greatest failure.” The tabloids made the story known to everyone. She still blames him for the unraveling of her life: her ouster from the police force, her alcoholism, and her difficult relationship with Jake. All of her anger, resentment and fear turned Peter “into an almost mythical creature. A monster crouching in the dark to torment her forevermore.” So she has to muster all of her strength to maintain her sobriety when she learns that Jake wants to meet Peter, who has only agreed if Kate accompanies him. Kate’s mother counsels her to “demystify Peter Conway . . . for your own sanity and Jake’s too. He’s many things . . . but he’s also just a person. He’s held all of us in his grip for too long.” But can Kate heed her mother’s advice and maintain her fragile grasp on her sobriety?

Bryndza reveals that in his first draft of Shadow Sands, Peter was not part of the narrative. However, the character was inserted into the story due to demand from readers who reached out to let Bryndza know how much they loved to hate him in Nine Elms and inquire about what happened to him next. Bryndza correctly opines that the book is better with the storyline involving Peter. Indeed, he is a despicable character, but intriguingly so, especially in light of his history with Kate and connection to Jake. It’s difficult to imagine the books without him.

Once again, Bryndza’s story is entertaining and gripping, with blunt descriptions of horrifying criminal behavior and a further exploration of Kate’s drive to keep her life on track despite the challenges that threaten the tenuous normality she has established for herself and her son. Tenacious and skilled, she is determined to uncover the truth about Simon’s demise and find Magdalena, assisted by Tristan. A cast of colorful supporting characters, including a woman no one believed when she described almost being abducted out on the foggy moor, provide interest and give Kate and Tristan much to do and evaluate as their investigation proceeds.

Bryndza again delivers a superbly-crafted story that ramps up with a pulse-pounding prologue and never slows down until all is revealed. Hopefully, Shadow Sands is only the second of many installments in his highly enjoyable Kate Marshall series. And Peter Conway appears again, too.