Review: Shadow Sands – Kate Marshall #2 (Robert Bryndza)

Shadow Sands is book two in the Kate Marshall series. It easily stands on its own, and reading the first entry is nt necessary to understand this one.

Marshall and her son are scuba diving in the Shadow Sands reservoir, and come across the body of Simon Kendall. He’s certainly dead, but is it because of the numerous slashes he’s taken, or something else?

After calling it in, Marshall and her son give the details of how they found Kendal to DCI Henry Ko, the son of a rather legendary retired officer. Since Marshall is no longer a police officer herself – after having an affair with her married boss and then catching her boss as a serial killer – she’s dismissed from the scene.

Simon’s mother, however, wants to hire Marshall to investigate the death of her son. Being a PI is a side gig to her lecturing at the university, and she takes on the case. With her assistant Tristan, she starts looking into the case.

Meanwhile, an Italian professor with an interest in urban legends disappears, As Tristan knew her, they add the missing woman to their case.

As they dig around, they find that the usual medical examiner did not perform the autopsy on Simon. Things get weirder when it seems that there might be something going on with the father and son Ko and their involvement in other incidents where bodies have been pulled from the reservoir.

Add in the involvement of a wealthy family who owns most of the land around the reservoir, and their possible involvement, and you get a mystery that’s worth the read.

Overall impression: a tight story, without any lagging portions, and enough backstory trickled in that readers coming in without having read the first book will not be lost. Marshall is a great character, with just enough flaws  to make her believable.

Five stars.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the review copy.

 

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