The last investigation Erika led went badly wrong. What dark secrets is the girl in the ice hiding?Īs Erika inches closer to uncovering the truth, the killer is closing in on Erika. Yet when Erika begins to dig deeper, she starts to connect the dots between the murder and the killings of three prostitutes, all found strangled, hands bound and dumped in water around London. The victim, a beautiful young socialite, appeared to have the perfect life. When a young boy discovers the body of a woman beneath a thick sheet of ice in a South London park, Detective Erika Foster is called in to lead the murder investigation. Her dead body frozen in the ice.She is not the only one. Pick this one up for a weekend binge-read - you'll find Bryndza's world instantly-accessible, his characters compelling and endearing, and his story's central mystery wholly engrossing.

Arlidge will find Bryndza’s work right up their alley - THE GIRL IN THE ICE has a similar tone to Arlidge’s DI Helen Grace books, which, if you know me, you’ll know I mean as a high compliment. From its compelling female lead to its breezy pacing and addictive tension, Bryndza’s police procedural struck exactly the right chord for this reader. THE GIRL IN THE ICE by Robert Bryndza (Grand Central 4/24/18) was simply a comfort read for me - and I mean that in the best possible way.

Today’s featured title is exactly that kind of read: the crime novel that you can easily pick up and get swept up in.

Cheering for the good guys as they track down the bad guys and pursue justice-that’s something I can always get behind. Of the many subgenres of crime fiction, one that provides some of the most reliable “comfort reads” for me is that of the police procedural. There’s nothing like the familiarity and comfort that can come with reading a really great crime novel-no matter how dark the subject matter, crime fiction just always feels like exactly what I need when I’m looking to escape reality for a while (or, sometimes, when I'm looking to understand reality better). which sounds a bit strange, considering the subject matter these books explore, but it’s always been true for me. One of my favorite elements of crime fiction has always been its ability to deliver “comfort reads”.

The Verdict: a familiar-yet-addictive police procedural

The Girl in the Ice by Robert Bryndza