The Girl In The Ice - Robert Bryndza

Length 10 hours 7 minutes Narrator Jan Cramer

I love Robert Bryndza’s crime thrillers. Detective Erika Foster, together with her sidekicks Moss and Peterson, wrestle through police bureaucracy to save lives.

Story

Erika Foster is just back to work after losing her husband and several other officers during a police raid she was in charge of. She has to hit the ground running as she is put in charge of a the murder case of the daughter of a prominent politician. The girl’s father is interfering in the investigation as he doesn’t want details of his daughter’s unsavoury relationships to come out. Erika is reprimanded for maverick investigations but continues anyway, much to the dismay of her bosses. Meanwhile the murderer is still on the prowl and has Erika, herself, in his sights.

Narrator

Jan Cramer is an experienced narrator and does a great job of differentiating the voices of the various characters. I would, however, take issue with the fact that Erika is played with a strong Lancashire accent. As a Slovakian immigrant I would have expected some hint of Eastern Europe in there, no matter how many years Erika has been in the country. English is not her first language and this should occasionally break through, but it doesn’t. The only other thing I would say is that Erika is, at times very strident, though I feel this is a feature of the book not the narrator. Her boss, Marsh, had my sympathy in a way he didn’t when reading the story on the page!

When I read this book I read it fanatically, setting other things aside to finish. Similarly the audiobook took over my world for a couple of days and followed me round my life. Other books and tv programmes were cast aside till I had finished.

Addictive mystery thriller