Amazon.com.au:Customer reviews: Black Reed Bay: The MUST-READ thriller of 2021 … first in a heart-pounding new series (Detective Casey Wray, Book 1)

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From Australia

Reviewed in Australia on 4 September 2021

Casey Wray is tasked with finding a young woman called Tina Grace, who goes missing from a somewhat remote location. Together with her (work) partner, Cullen, she chases down every lead that comes in. She is determined to figure out the mystery that is Tina Grace.

However, Casey gets a little too involved in the case and something rather traumatic happens in her quest to find answers. Lots of balls she has to keep in the air and she just doesn't know who to trust anymore.

This was a solid, gritty police procedural. The writing is very good and the storyline engaging.

4.5 stars from me.

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Dave Herts

Another great read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2021

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This is the fifth Rod Reynolds book I've read, and the guy just gets better. It is amazing that while all the books are crime/detective genre, they cover different topics, books 1-3 America 50's dark noir, book 4 2020 london crime, book 5, Black Reed Bay, modern US police action. Lead character Casey Wray is believable if flawed in certain decision making, supporting cast bouncing off, good couple of twists, no spoilers here. When i started to read it I thought the main protagonist, female succesful cop, here we go, more pandering to the women in high places quota brigade; I then realised actually it was only reflecting actually what is going on. Rod does another great job in telling a story which flows superbly, has a reader gripped, and a proper finish, not 300 pages of padding follwed by a 2 page conclsuion as so many books nowadays. Well done Rod, maybe the start of a series?
Worse thing I did was to start reading it over a very warm sunny bank holiday weekend, although it did make the read longer and not blitzed in a day!

6 people found this helpful

Brilliant!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2021

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Rod Reynolds has become a recent new favourite author of mine, and I was so excited when his latest book, Black Reed Bay, was posted through my letterbox. I was so excited to start reading it, and I can tell you that it is very clever and an unputdownable read. I’m really hoping that this is going to be the start of a series featuring Detective Casey Wray. I can’t wait to read more books featuring her, if it is.

Rod Reynolds starts this book with a bang when a young woman makes a distressed call to the police. A woman, Tina Grace, is running from a man, and she is in fear for life. But before they can get any more details from Tina, the call is disconnected. The call has come from an exclusive, oceanfront community, home to the very wealthy. And as Detective Casey Wray and her team try to uncover more about the woman and what happened to her, they have no idea what explosive secrets they are about to discover.

I loved Casey Wray. She has a real passion for the job she does, and she is a strong lead character. I liked the banter between her and members of her team, particularly between her and Dave Cullen. She is such a fascinating and really likeable person, so I’m really hoping that this will be part of a series.

There is a sinister web of lies and mystery shrouding the neighbourhood where Tina Grace made the 9-1-1 call from. It made for such gripping reading, and I had no idea how the plot was going to unfold. It’s fast paced really exciting, and the book also has a very cinematic feel to it. I felt as though I was part of the action taking place and the book is so cleverly put together and so well plotted.

Tina Grace, the woman who disappears, is such a complex and mysterious character. I had to get to the bottom of what had happened to her. I loved the setting, and Rod Reynolds expertly brought it to life. Although his last book was set in London, I do know that his first books were also set in America. I’m still yet to get round to reading them, but after reading his latest, I’m moving them higher up my reading pile, and I am determined to get to them before the end of this year.

Black Reed Bay will pull you in, and I can assure you that you will find this book very difficult to put down. I’m sure I’ve found another one of my top ten reads of the year. Brilliant stuff.

4 people found this helpful

An intriguing mystery

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 July 2021

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I've been thinking for a while about this review. About what I want to say. I stand by my opening statement that this feels like it should be part of a series as there is something there in the lead character, Detective Casey Wray, that suggests there are far more stories in her and a lot more that can be achieved with her as a principal voice in a story. But this book on it's own is a big of an enigma. Not in a bad way at all. But this is a big story but told in an almost understated way that almost belies the tragedy, darkness and corruption at its heart.

What I loved about this story is that way in which Rod Reynolds has captured that authentic American noir styling and voice. From the way in which he has recreated the Long Island community, to the stark differences between the characters in the novel and those, such a the family of the potential victim, who have nothing, it all feels real and almost amplified in a way which feels inherently and almost stereotypically American. Everything over there is just bigger, from the attitudes, to the personalities and even to the scandals. And there is definitely scandal at the centre of this story, one which leads to tragedy, tension and a whole host of secrets being unveiled in quite dramatic fashion.

I liked the character of Casey Wray. There is a sense that she doesn't quite fit in with her peers, and that there is an underlying conflict which we don't quite know the full ins and outs of yet. She is definitely astute and with a natural affinity towards the case, and there was something about her as a person that I instinctively warmed to. She is loyal to her boss and to her partner, and with a clearly defined sense of right and wrong that will be greatly challenged by the case she has to investigate. But as much as she is focused n her job, there is a part of her which shows a great affinity to the victim's family too which only adds to the respect I had towards her.

The case is complex, far beyond a panicked phone call and a missing person case, and the people we meet all come across with varying levels of unreliability. You can feel the tension building from the start, the reticence and avoidance of the key witnesses, or indeed suspects, in the case just adding to the atmosphere. Everything is perfectly aligned to promote that sense of danger, of secrets being concealed, and of a much darker side to the exclusive neighbourhood than they would have you believe. Rod Reynolds takes readers down a very murky and twisting road, and it is not just the risk of getting lost in the eponymous black reeds of the bay that Casey needs to worry about. The story is very credible, an almost ripped from the headlines believability about it, that kept me invested in the story right to the end. There are things which happen that aim to throw Casey, and readers, off the scent, but ultimately all just add to the every growing intrigue as we try to understand just how far the threat that we can feel extends.

The way the story draws to a conclusion - well let's just say it was largely unexpected, but it certainly makes for an interesting opportunity to develop Casey's character further. With a slow building tension, an understated element of threat and an overwhelming sense of mystery, fans of the author really will enjoy this book.

2 people found this helpful

Kate

Review

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2021

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I love Rod Reynolds' writing. It is so vivid that I could see Black Reed Bay playing out in front of me as if it was a film, so I was totally sucked in to what was happening and invested in every move.

I'm pleased that the blurb states that Black Reed Bay is the beginning of a series as I really want to see more of Casey Wray. She's intelligent and feisty but she still has a lot to learn and I want to go on that journey with her. I loved her relationship with Dave and his family and I look forward to learning more about the rest of the team as the series continues.

The investigation into Tina Grace with which Casey was involved really interested me and I was keen to find out what had happened to her and if she was still alive. We are thrown a lot of clues and I enjoyed trying to work out which clues to follow to put the puzzle together.

2 people found this helpful

Malcolm R

A lot happens verging on OTT

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 August 2021

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A woman disappears, serial killing exposed, a murder, a cop killed and a justifiable shooting, a suicide by cop, police corruption, a suicide and a happy ending for some, I don’t think I have forgotten anything. I thought the first three were atmospheric and tense, the next overblown and this one just a bit too much, probably OK as a one off but not as the first of a series which is disappointing as Casey Wray is appealing as was her partner.

3 people found this helpful

Generous two stars- flimsy and predictable.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 November 2021

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There’s a word missing from the ‘hook phrase’ - NOT- this is NOT the must read thriller of 2021. The ideas- a collection of them- are similar to a tick list of must includes that many authors are churning out. There’s the career ascending female police detective, her lovable sidekick, victim from a dysfunctional family, corrupt police officers etc etc. There’s nothing new or appealing and whilst the book is readable it certainly didn’t grip me. I found it plodding and repetitive with telegraphed outcomes.
Certainly not a book I would recommend for readers who enjoy a deep, intricate crime thriller. Been there, seen it and read it with this.

David Lloyd

Slow, predictable and dull: difficult to finish

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2021

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I found this book slow and boring. The dialogue is like a 1950s detective film. The protagonist, Casey Wray, is trigger happy and always pulling her gun. An example: a man stops behind her when a tree falls across the road and she goes to speak to him with gun drawn. I would be terrified to approach an American police officer! Overall, it was an effort to get to the disappointing end of this story.

the Furry Ferret

not interesting

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 October 2021

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First book I have read by the author. Just good, plot a bit wandering, characters not really interesting and overall not going live long in the memory

One person found this helpful

Cotters

Good story , well told.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 December 2021

Verified Purchase

Enjoyable book . Well written. Will be checking out more stuff by this author which will hopefully be as good.

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Black Reed Bay: The MUST-READ thriller of 2021 … first in a heart-pounding new series (Detective Casey Wray, Book 1)

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From Australia

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Black Reed Bay: The MUST-READ thriller of 2021 … first in a... › Customer reviews

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Black Reed Bay: The MUST-READ thriller of 2021 … first in a heart-pounding new series (Detective Casey Wray, Book 1)

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

From Australia

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From other countries

Black Reed Bay: The MUST-READ thriller of 2021 … first in a...

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