Shadow sands

Early in Bryndza's dazzling sequel to 2019's Nine Elms, former police officer Kate Marshall, now a university lecturer in criminology, finds the body of a teenage boy while scuba diving in a reservoir near her home in Devon, England. Kate, who has acted as a private investigator in the past, is reluctant to get involved, until the dead boy's mother persuades her to look into his suspicious death. Kate enlists the help of her assistant, Tristan Harper, who must out himself as queer to clear his name when he appears in film footage outside the house of a missing Italian professor he agreed to go on a date with. The missing professor may be linked to the body in the reservoir, and Kate and Tristan get immersed in a case that begins with an officer who appears to be faking evidence to force a false arrest and ends with a wealthy family that's all-too-entangled with the business of murder. Sharply written and wonderfully wrought, this crime thriller sings with every twist and builds to a more-than-satisfying bang. Readers will look forward to seeing more of Kate. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)

A criminologist uncovers several shocking secrets at a remote reservoir. While swimming in Devon's Shadow Sands reservoir, 18-year-old Simon Kendal notices a man loading a body into a boat. Soon, Simon's being pursued himself. Days later, Kate Marshall, a lecturer in criminology at the local university, finds Simon's submerged body, fully clothed, while she's scuba-diving with Jake, her teenage son. When she reports her discovery, she's annoyed by the officious manner of new DCI Henry Ko. After speaking with Simon's grieving mother, Lyn, Kate, who's already discovered the Nine Elms cannibal serial killer, feels compelled to investigate further. Simon, a competitive swimmer, would never have gone into the water fully clothed. Kate enlists eager student Tristan Harper as an assistant. Things are rocky on the homefront for Tristan, who's constantly at odds with his sister/roommate, Sarah, and her fiance, Gary, and he's eager to log some hours away. The local paper suggests that Simon drowned; the medical examiner finds a puncture wound. Kate gets a very different picture of Lyn when she interviews Simon's close friend Geraint, who was camping with him the night he died. Putting the pieces together, Kate finds something wonky in the timeline. Who can be trusted? Meanwhile, another mystery unfolds. Visiting professor Magdalena Rossi, who had an earlier flirtatious encounter with Tristan, is accosted while doing research at the reservoir and then goes missing. When Kate and Tristan begin researching the history of Shadow Sands, what they discover is truly shocking. With its delightful detective duo, Bryndza's refreshing, twisty thriller stays upbeat even in dark moments. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Early in Bryndza's dazzling sequel to 2019's Nine Elms, former police officer Kate Marshall, now a university lecturer in criminology, finds the body of a teenage boy while scuba diving in a reservoir near her home in Devon, England. Kate, who has acted as a private investigator in the past, is reluctant to get involved, until the dead boy's mother persuades her to look into his suspicious death. Kate enlists the help of her assistant, Tristan Harper, who must out himself as queer to clear his name when he appears in film footage outside the house of a missing Italian professor he agreed to go on a date with. The missing professor may be linked to the body in the reservoir, and Kate and Tristan get immersed in a case that begins with an officer who appears to be faking evidence to force a false arrest and ends with a wealthy family that's all-too-entangled with the business of murder. Sharply written and wonderfully wrought, this crime thriller sings with every twist and builds to a more-than-satisfying bang. Readers will look forward to seeing more of Kate. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (Nov.)