The fourth book in Robert Bryndza's series featuring private investigator Kate Marshall and her associate Tristan, Devil's Way might just be the best yet!

After suffering a near-death experience when caught in a rip current during her morning sea-swim, Kate is drawn into the case of a child who went missing on Dartmoor eleven years previously. Kate and Tristan's investigations quickly lead them to the unsolved murder of the same child's social worker, only days after three-year-old Charlie went missing. While the two cases have never previously been linked, surely the two events occurring in such proximity can't be a coincidence? In a well-paced and intriguing story, Kate and Tristan pursue many tantalising clues, unearth new suspects and make a startling discovery on the moor. A somewhat bittersweet ending pulls all the threads together for a satisfying conclusion.

The investigation into three-year-old Charlie's disappearance raises some personal spectres for Kate, given that she lost custody of her own child at a similar age. Tristan takes on more sole responsibility in this instalment, given Kate's need to convalesce from her near-drowning. The English south-west coast and moorland settings are evocative and well-used by Robert Bryndza to enhance the drama of the plot. The supporting cast, including a couple of returning characters, are well-developed and intriguing and Bryndza weaves plenty of suspicious behaviour and misdirection into the story, keeping us guessing until near the end.

I'd enthusiastically recommend Devil's Way to any reader who enjoys twisty and atmospheric mysteries - it's a compelling read.

My thanks to the author, Robert Bryndza, publisher Raven Street Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Devil’s Way is the fourth book in the Kate Marshall series by best-selling, award-winning British author, Robert Bryndza. While private investigator, Kate Marshall recovers in hospital after almost drowning, she encounters a woman whose three-year-old grandson went missing eleven years earlier: Charlie Julings disappeared from the tent he was sharing with his grandmother, Jean, in June 2007. Police believed he fell into the raging torrent that was Devil’s Way River and was swept into a sinkhole: no remains were ever found.

But even though the courts have declared Charlie dead, Jean wants Kate and her business partner Tristan Harper to find out what happened. Eleven years on, trace evidence is non-existent, but they can examine the scene and talk to those involved: the police at the scene, the boy’s father, the tenants of the nearby farm, Jean’s lover. Their thorough research makes it apparent that Jean is being a little economical with the truth.

As they explore all avenues around the disappearance, and when they focus on a social worker with whom Jean had an altercation, it seems a bit as if they’re going off on a tangent but, intuitively, they persist despite the seemingly tenuous link to the case. A late-night episode with a ground-penetrating radar unit nets Kate and Tristan a dose of mace in the face along with a grisly result. Have they found the boy’s body?

While their agency is gaining a good reputation, Kate doesn’t hesitate to mention her police experience where it might facilitate cooperation with investigating officers. Tristan is proving himself capable and innovative.

The backstory fill-in is a little clumsily done but Bryndza throws in a good number of red herrings and twists to keep the reader guessing in the lead up to a dramatic climax and a very satisfactory resolution. Very readable British crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Raven Street Publishing