Black Reed Bay

Detective Casey Wray #1

by Rod Reynolds

When a young woman vanishes from an exclusive oceanfront community in the middle of the night, Detective Casey Wray’s takes on a case that leads her in chilling, unexpected directions … A twisty, breath-taking police procedural. First in a heart-pounding new series.

‘Urgent, thrilling and richly imagined. Without doubt his best yet'  Chris Whitaker, author of  We Begin at the End

‘Reynolds captures the claustrophobic feel of a small town … a tense slice of American noir’  Vaseem Khan, author of  Midnight at Malabar House

‘Compelling and stylish, with devious twists and a cleverly crafted ending. Very, very impressive’  G J Minnett, author of  The Syndicate

____________________

Don’t trust ANYONE…

When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything suggests a domestic incident.

Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn’t sit right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it’s going to have only one ending…

And then the first body appears…

For fans of Susie Steiner, Sarah Hilary, M J Arlidge, James Lee Burke and Tana French

___________________

‘One of the greatest crime talents of his generation’  Tim Baker

‘There’s something particularly special about  Black Reed Bay  and it’s Detective Casey Wray … I felt like I’d known her all my life’  Joy Kluver

‘Beautifully written, deeply atmospheric and cleverly plotted, with a brilliant new protagonist’  Andrea Carter

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Audiobook, Procedural

300 pages, Paperback

First published May 28, 2021

About the author

Rod Reynolds was born in London and, after a successful career in advertising, working as a media buyer, he decided to get serious about writing. He recently completed City University's two-year Crime Writing Masters course and THE DARK INSIDE is his first novel. He lives in London with his wife and daughter.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

BLACK REED BAY is the first Police Procedural/American Noir in a new series, featuring Detective Casey Wray courtesy of Orenda Books by Rod Reynolds. This British author has totally involved himself into the intricacies of US crime history. This novel was inspired by the Long Island Serial Killer and is set in Long Island.

The novel opens from a wealthy oceanfront community, where a young woman makes a frantic call to the police. This woman, Tina Grace is fearful for her life after running from a man. But the call is cutoff.

The case is assigned to Detective Casey Wray from the Hampstead County PD and her team to try to discover more about the woman and what has happened to her. Casey is a strong and likeable lead character and I like her interaction with her team member, Dave Cullen.

Was this a domestic incident?

So many lies and mystery in the neighborhood. Don’t trust ANYONE…

With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it’s going to have only one ending…

There are several suspects and many red herrings, but then the first body appears, but Tina Grace is still missing.

Black Reed Bay will pull you in, and I can assure you that you will find this book very difficult to put down. An amazing read.

Many thanks to the author, and The Book Club Reviewer Request Group (FB) for my digital copy.

[Namita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tina Grace makes a distressed 911 call saying she is in danger but before she can give any more details the call gets disconnected. Detective Casey Wray and her team are in charge of finding out what happened to Tina but have no idea about the web of secrets they will discover along the way.

Black Reed Bay is a gripping police procedural story and hopefully the start of a new series. A tightly woven tale of tension, layered with lies and secrets, the book is full of twists and turns making it very difficult to put down .An interesting , entertaining read !

I would like to thank the TBC Reviewers request group & the author for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even when checking my bias given that this author is a good friend of mine, I feel 5* is appropriate given the beautifully literary noir within this narrative

My favourite book from Rod since his debut The Dark Inside, Black Reed Bay is addictive and intelligent, with its inspiration in the dark unknown of the Long Island Serial Killer and with an enduring cast of characters including main protagonist Casey who hopefully we will meet again.

Highly recommended.

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

IN A NUTSHELL
A tightly written police procedural mystery. Perfectly controlled pace. Nice balance of uncovering the mystery and getting to know Casey Wray, the lead detective. No melodrama. No voyeuristic violence. Just a good plot, well-drawn characters, an engaging lead detective and growing tension right up to the final chapter.

Rod Reynolds was a new author to me. I found his books in my local Public Library and thought I’d give them a try. He’s a British author who has set all but one of his crime stories in the US, often taking his inspiration from real crimes. ‘Black Reed Bay‘ is set in Long Island and was inspired by the Gilgo Beach serial killings on Long Island. 'Black Reed Bay' is not just a dramatised police procedural version of a True Crime story. The police procedural element it there and it's well done, but the energy of the book is centred around getting to know Casey Wray, a Detective with the Hampstead Police Department. 

This is quite a literary novel, in as much as it's character focused, occaisionally introspective, is written in a low-key style and probes larger themes about loyalty, identity and our ability to see the people around us clearly. It's also a very solid genre offering. That mix is unusual but very welcome. I get the same kind of feeling when I'm reading an R. J. Ellory novel (another Brit who writes American crime) although Ellory leans a little more towards the lyrical. 

I found 'Black Reed Beech to be a very engaging novel. The mystery was solid. The police officers and the people whom they interviewed all felt real. The writing was skillfully simple, avoiding melodrama and clichés, making every word count. The pacing was perfect. Pushing me forward and raising the tension continuously. I believed in Casey Wray, the main character, and was absorbed in how she experienced the world.

I’m about to start the second Casey Wray book, ‘Shatter Creek‘ (2025).

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A normally quiet oceanfront community, until one night when a young woman makes a 911 call, seemingly running from someone who is threatening to kill her. She was seen running down the street ....

No one has seen or heard from her since. Detective Casey Wray has been charged with investigating. Doesn't help that the 911 operator thought the call was a hoax and sent no one at that time to evaluate.

BOOK BLURB: With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it's going to have only one ending...

And then a body is found ....

A solid plot and an intriguing story line that encompasses multi-layered characters make this a riveting page turner. There are many suspects, all who seem to have something to hide. The conclusion is surprisingly unexpected. This is the first book in what looks like a compelling series.

Many thanks to the author for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Reed Bay


Black Reed Bay starts with a bang! A distressed woman calls the police saying she is in danger and is being chased. Before she can give any more details, she is disconnected. Arrgh! That's quite the opener is it not?

The call has come from a wealthy community so the police team, headed by Casey Ray starts there. Casey is a good character as she's got a good head on her shoulders and is keen to work on the case and find the missing woman. Well, turns out this neighbourhood has more than a few secrets and that one phone call has opened up a whole can of worms. They have no idea of what lies ahead and neighbours in the exclusive enclave aren't exactly forthcoming with information. Some of them are clearly lying. There's a lot more to this case than meets the eye.

From the banging opening to the thrill of the investigation taking so man unexpected turns, this is a crime thriller with added OMG-ness. Yes that is a word or at least it should be when describing books of this quality and attention to detail.

When I found out that the novel was inspired by the Long Island Serial Killer, then I was even more intrigued to read it. An author who is UK based yet who has fully immersed himself into the complexities of US crime history and scene setting has to be applauded when the result is this good. This is a cinematic read I can see on the big screen. I have never been to Long Island but I feel I have now. The attention to detail and the clarity with which Rod evokes the setting and time is quite impressive.

[Mairead Hearne (swirlandthread.com) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Reed Bay by Rod Reynolds will be published in original paperback September 2nd with Orenda Books (ebook May 31st) and is described as ‘a twisty, breath-taking police procedural.’ The first in a new series introducing Detective Casey Wray, Black Reed Bay is a book that will completely captivate 100% of your attention so be prepared for a seriously gripping read.

As I speedily turned the pages of Black Reed Bay, one very glaring fact hit me – Rod Reynolds is English, describing himself as ‘a lifelong Londoner’, yet he writes like a local. Black Reed Bay has been called contemporary American Noir and from the-get-go the reason is very obvious. The level of detail, the sense of location is staggering, transporting every single reader to Long Island and on to the beat of Casey Wray and the Hampstead County PD.

Casey and her partner Cullen are a good team, working well together, always knowing, by a look, the form of each other on any given day. A shocking 911 call sends them both into a spin as they listen to the earlier recording of a voice of a young woman in a panic looking for emergency assistance. She clearly fears for her life. Her name is Tina Grace. They start investigating the call only to discover that no one knows where Tina Grace is. Her last known movements are examined, folk are questioned, but no trace of Tina Grace is evident. Is she in hiding? Has she been kidnapped? Was she attacked? Or should they be looking for a body?

As every stone is turned, Casey is aware of some discrepancies with witness statements and it very soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems. There is pressure from her superiors to wrap up the case with speed but something smells off and Casey’s instincts prove correct when a body is discovered within the vicinity of where Tina Grace was last seen. And it is only the first body….

Casey Wray is determined to unearth the truth but she discovers that she is in way deeper than she could have ever anticipated. A hall of mirrors awaits Casey and, with every move she makes, she is faced with the dreadful reality that there is something very off, very rotten at the centre of this case.

Casey Wray is an excellent main protagonist. Her character is wonderfully developed but not too much, still leaving us with a sense of curiosity about her. We witness her fragility, her humanity but also her determination and pure grit to see a job through to the end, whatever the cost.

Black Reed Bay, although a work of fiction, is inspired by The Long Island Serial Killer. ‘Between December 2010 and April 2011, ten sets of remains were discovered in and around the remote Gilgo Beach area of Long Island. Additional finds have raised the possibility of as many as sixteen victims.’ No one was ever charged, the murderer remains unidentified. This chilling case gave root to Black Reed Bay, but Rod Reynolds is quite clear that all his characters are completely fictionalised and are works of his imagination.

Rod Reynolds expertly builds the suspense, throwing out curve balls and obstacles, blocking the reader from seeing too far ahead. There is absolutely no point in second-guessing Rod Reynolds intentions while turning the pages. This is a novel that carries the reader along at break-neck speed never letting up. As the first book in the series, Rod Reynolds has set himself a very high standard but I have no doubt that he will yet again have us all in awe of his ability to write such an exciting, thrilling and bloody marvellous series.

Black Reed Bay is an exceptionally written novel. Atmospheric, authentic, confident, smart and polished Black Reed Bay really is the perfect crime fiction novel. Bravo Rod Reynolds!!

[Raven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again emphasising his versatility as a writer, Rod Reynolds (Blood Red City) returns to his old fictional stomping ground of America, in the first book to feature new protagonist detective Casey Wray. On this showing, this could herald the start of a very special series indeed…

In a stark contrast to his last book, which was an incredibly clever, delicately woven conspiracy thriller, Reynolds has gone all out with this one to make Black Reed Bay a much more character driven mystery thriller. I was mightily impressed with his portrayal of Casey Wray, where he slowly reveals her transformation from rookie officer, which brought huge challenges to her personally and professionally, into the smart, wise cracking and largely respected detective heading up a major missing person investigation. There’s a wonderful paragraph in the book that neatly condenses her trials and tribulations as a female officer in a male dominated arena, that I found particularly succinct, and no doubt familiar to women everywhere forging their path in a largely male world,

“She was maybe a month away from quitting the department altogether. The ribbing, the ingrained sexism- she could’ve dealt with those in isolation. accustomed to both from her time on patrol. But what was new was the imposter syndrome that came with making detective; she’d anticipated the feeling, but not its ferocity; nor how much it would magnify the impact of the other two.”

What follows is a familiar tale of a woman having to draw on all her natural resources and tenacity to carve a place for herself pursuing a career she loves, and which she proves particularly adept at. I really admired her vigour and determination, her sassy comebacks, and the way that she values her police colleagues, despite some of their obvious failings. You get a sense of all of her team working hard for each other, and the camaraderie that exists between them, particularly when a particular superior officer seeks to undermine Wray, and cause her to question her alliances.

With the disappearance of a young woman, Tina Grace, possibly in violent circumstances, I liked the way that Reynolds didn’t lead us down the predictable path, that initially I thought the story would go in. It’s difficult to explain how the author avoids this, without lapsing into a huge spoiler, but as Wray investigates Tina’s disappearance, and to track down the person responsible, Reynolds succeeds in keeping this young woman at the heart of the story. Through Wray’s interactions with those Tina had come into contact with and the rapport she establishes with Tina’s family- her mother and brother- we see Tina as a flesh and blood person, not objectified purely as a victim who has had an uncertain fate. With a shocking discovery later in the book, we are reminded of how so many women are treated with contempt and defiled, because they are seen as objects to be abused and abandoned without care, and Tina’s story takes on an extra poignancy because of this.

By setting the story in a small coastal community, there is a wonderful building of claustrophobic tension, compounded by the wildness and isolation of this particular area. Reynolds uses this to good effect, as Wray and her team embark on their hunt for the perpetrator responsible for Tina’s disappearance, and builds the cloud of secrecy that surrounds a certain member of this community, who effectively gives his neighbours an entirely different impression of himself. The author touches on bystander theory in the initial events of the book, where this community, who probably consider themselves good citizens, are happy enough to call the police, but reluctant to give safe sanctuary to a young woman clearly in distress, and in fear of her life, and ultimately they frustrate Wray’s investigation into the bargain.

I thought Black Reed Bay was an accomplished and interesting thriller, giving this reader pause for thought along the way through Reynolds’ superb characterisation, and the issues that crop up throughout the book in relation to women’s experiences of both working within a largely male environment, or conversely becoming the victims of male violence and subjugation. The plot had a nifty twist, in the sense of how most readers would think this would play out, and with a forthright and entirely likeable female detective at its heart, all bodes well for future books in a series… I ask hopefully? Recommended.

[Zelda FeatzReviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sit back and brace yourself – this book will blow your mind! Black Reed Bay is a breathtaking crime novel that will keep you in the dark while your head spins trying to figure out who the guilty party is. Filled with everything you would expect of a crime novel, murder, a missing person, a police officer on the chase while dealing with the possibility of corrupt co-workers and office politics. If you enjoy the Harry Bosch series – you will love this book.
Rod Reynolds tells a detailed story that leaves the reader front and centre in the police investigation. You are left feeling part of the chase as Casey Wray struggles to find a missing person. This book is full of detail dropping bits of evidence like breadcrumbs from page to page while never allowing you to guess what the ending will reveal. This is a book that you will have to read to the very last page before you have a complete picture of what happened.
When a young woman makes a call to 911 during the early hours, claiming someone is going to kill her the operator tries to keep on the line. However, her phone goes dead, and no one has seen or heard from her since.
Casey Wray and her partner Cullen pick up the case the next morning. Soon they discover something is not right. When other bodies are found close to where the young woman was last seen, Casey loses faith that the woman is still alive. Despite threats to herself, Casey is determined to find out what happened to give the family answers and hopefully closure. The big question is will Casey find this woman dead or alive?
This was not a long book, but the detailed included made it feel like a long read. I found myself drawn into the investigation, eager to discover the truth while feeling as exhausted as Casey did along the way. Constantly unsure and mistrusting everyone along the way.
Casey Wray is a brilliant character and I look forward to reading more about her. The author did a wonderful job allowing the reader to experience what Casey what going through throughout the story. At times I found myself feeling as if I have worked through the night along with Casey, leaving me bone tired. Her frustration at ever dead-end forced me to keep reading, know eventually the pieces had to fall into place.
This is a gripping read with a surprising ending. I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to spending more time with this character.
Crime fans who enjoyed the Harry Bosch series will find themselves loving this book as it has similar investigation detail and office politics that will leave you eager for more.

[LJ (ljwritesandreviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rod Reynolds has been on my radar for a while now, but this is actually the first book I've read by him, but it certainly won't be the last!

A young woman makes a 911 call and seems to vanish. The people of the wealthy neighbourhood that she went missing from claim to have no clue where she went or why she was so distressed. Casey Wray is put on the case and is the only person intent on finding her. Then a body turns up and Casey realises there's something more sinister going on than she first thought.

Black Reed Bay was one of those books that really kept me on my toes throughout, with plenty of twists and shocks along the way.

I loved Rod Reynolds' writing style. Descriptive and evocative without bogging you down with too much detail. Added to that, a cleverly concocted mystery and realistic characters, making it a really entertaining read.

Casey Wray is a fantastic character that I really rooted for. An older officer, she's worked hard to become a detective and still at times struggles with it all. It's her sheer determination and need for justice that seems to drive her on.

Black Reed Bay is a tense and atmospheric police procedural that kept me gripped throughout. I will be eagerly awaiting the next in the series.

[Terri (BooklyMatters) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compulsively readable, “Black Reed Bay “ is crime fiction at its summit.

One of my true joys is finding superb new authors, - authors whose writing style, characterization and plotting hit the sweet spot that defines what reading does for me - takes me away into another world where stories are told, characters develop, and connections wrought so that I leave those pages touched by (and sometimes humbled by) the experience.

This is exactly such a treat.

Detective Sergeant Casey Wray , 39 yrs old, is a “straight-shooter” (pun intended!) - guileless , conscientious, and living the effects of the overwhelmingly “physically and emotionally draining” excesses of police work; deeply entrenched in the tightly insulated cop culture that binds officers together in mutually life-affirming visceral support and community.

The author nails the banter, the dependence, and the somewhat desperate camaraderie of the police department, as well as the earnestness, insecurities, and vulnerabilities of our main protagonist, who, in a literary landscape overrun by the quirky and dark, is breathtakingly authentic in her very ordinariness.

When a missing person case escalates into serial murder, the tension kicks up several notches, as Casey and her team race to uncover the evil that lurks beneath the upscale Long Island beach community of Black Reed Bay. Set in the marshy depths of winter, the setting is atmospheric, creepy and chilling - “the bay coming into view in the distance under a sky so cold and hard it could’ve been blue ice.”

As bodies pile up and Casey finds herself deeply drawn into the surrounding emotional fracas, her coping resources are severely put to the test. In a big-blue world where the mantra is “you can only do what you can do” and “it’s the hope that kills you”; battered about by death, terror, guilt and grief, Casey struggles to hang onto her ideals.

“Stuck on thoughts of lives lost and lives saved, and how fine the line between the two could be“, we cannot help but ache for Casey as she strains to find her way back to her core, desperately seeking an outcome for this tragic case to serve as “a reminder that there was hope to be found, even in a treacherous world.”

No spoilers here - you will need to read this totally arresting (sorry, pun intended again!) book to find out more.

I can’t wait for more to come by this author after this superb start to a new series. I know I for one, will be watching out for the next one!

A great big thank you to the author, and the publisher for an ARC of this terrific book. All thoughts presented are my own.

[Ross Cumming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read Rod Reynold’s first two novels in the Charlie Yates series a few years ago and really enjoyed them but for some reason he dropped off my radar and it was only due to social media that I noticed that he had recently had a new novel published. The Charlie Yates books were post WW2 dark crime noir novels, involving Yates, who as an investigative journalist gets personally embroiled in the stories he’s investigating. However Black Reed Bay is a contemporary noirish police procedural novel set in Long Island, New York. Detective Casey Wray of the Hampstead County PD gets allocated the investigation into a young woman who went missing from a quiet upmarket beach front street in the middle of the night. There are plenty neighbours who made 911 calls, as she was causing a disturbance on what is a normally an exclusive location however no one sees where she eventually went. Casey diligently pursues the investigation but seems to be getting nowhere fast and then a seemingly routine search of the surrounding area turns up something that no one was expecting.
This is a brilliant thriller with an utterly compelling storyline which I also found to be quite emotional. Casey’s character is especially believable, for as well as she follows all the right investigative lines of enquiry, she still harbours elements of doubt concerning her own abilities and often leans on Ray, her senior officer and mentor for support. Casey was the first female detective in the HCPD and although things have now changed for the better she still recalls the time when sexism and misogyny were rife within the department and she had to steadfastly hold her nerve to retain her position in the detective bureau. There are a couple of huge twists in the plot that I didn’t really see coming and also at the very end which I found quite unexpected and quite emotional. What I also enjoyed about the plot were the fact that doubts are raised about the integrity of some of Casey’s fellow officers and like Casey herself, we really don’t know who’s working for her or trying to hinder her or is it all just smoke and mirrors ?
Overall a brilliant crime thriller with a great female protagonist of whom I assume we’ll read more, as the novel is billed as Casey Wray 1 ? In the meantime I’ve still got to catch up on the latest Charlie Yates novel and Rod Reynolds also has another stand alone novel too that I have overlooked.

[Tripfiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*

Crime thriller set on LONG ISLAND



This is the first in a series featuring Detective Casey Wray. The story is written by a British author and to my ears it has all the twang of an American noir thriller, from the location - which is really descriptive - to the banter amongst the officers in the unit.

Very early one morning, a commotion takes place on a street in an upmarket neighbourhood, which brings some of the local residents to their front doors. Tina Grace was seen weaving erratically across the road, searching for assistance. A 911 call is evidence that she was in huge distress. As the light of day dawns it becomes apparent that she has simply disappeared and now it is up to the investigating officers to work out what happened. They take statements, they interview bystanders, they meet with those close to her, and it soon becomes clear that there are discrepancies. A body is found... but what Casey Wray uncovers is a web that is more extensive and worrying than she could ever have anticipated.

The story is inspired by real life events. In 2010/11 several sets of human remains were found in the Gilgo Beach area of Long Island and the perpetrator never found. They are referred to as the LISK killing (Long Island Serial Killer).

This is really crisp, cohesive and well presented storytelling from a very competent author. He has started to build his main character and is clearly setting the scene for further outings with the police unit based in fictional Hampstead County. 

If you love to be thrilled through fiction and fancy a 'trip' to Long Island, then this is a must read!

[Karen Peterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not usually a big fan of police novels but Black Reed Bay has changed all that - it’s simply a great read from first to last page. A young woman vanishes in the middle of the night from a dark, remote and very exclusive beachfront community in the USA after making a distressed call to 911 saying “he’s gonna kill me”

The police are soon on the scene but there’s no side of her and Black Reed Bay follows Detective Casey Wray (Big) as she leads the investigation. She’s a great character - a detective determined to find the truth despite interference from her senior officers.

There’s several suspects and lots of false leads and then bodies start to appear - but the young woman - Tina Grace - is still missing. I really enjoyed this book - I was engrossed from first to last page by the wholly convincing characters, the great plot and the superb build up to the final scene.

Rod Reynolds captures America well - I was surprised to see that he’s British - and has created a great lead character in Detective Casey Wray - I’d love to read another book with her as the lead character.

[Sally Boocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Rod Reynolds and it won't be my last. It is tense from the very beginning and had me turning pages late into the night. Based loosely around the Long Island murders in 2010/2011 it is gripping. I hope to see more of Casey in future books, as a police officer I feel she has lots to offer. She certainly is one stubborn cop. Highly recommended

[Aristotle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A missing woman case leads to the discovery of three dead women near the area where she disappeared.
Are they related? Is a serial killer on the loose?

Not bad for a first time author. Pacing was slow at first and repetitive.
The emotional and mental trauma Detective Casey suffered was brutal.
Curious too see how she handles it in book 2.

If you set the book in Long Island, New York why use a fictional police department, fictional towns and water bodies? Does Michael Connelly do that with Harry Bosche books? If it's set in Chicago do you change Lake Michigan to Lake George? As a Long Islander I found that annoying

[Sue Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black reed Bay by Rod Reynolds.
Detective Casey Ray book 1.
When a young woman vanishes from an exclusive oceanfront community, Detective Casey Wray's investigation plunges her into a darkness she could never have imagined ...
A brilliant read. This was full of twists and surprises. I loved Casey. She was my favourite. Can't wait for next book. 5*.

[Matthew Ogborn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping page turner that goes big on character to underpin the tightly focused plot, the Grace family and Casey Wray’s involvement with them lending the action with an authentic, familial feel to the police work that she is undertaking to find Tina. Dialogue is very natural and jokey in the cop scenes especially, before it gets darker.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful

[Burk · Rating 2 out of 5]

The high rating on Goodreads for this book cautions me against trusting these ratings. This book was less than a dime-store novel. Writing marginal, pacing plodding at best. Plot and twists uninspired. Character development was nonexistent.

[Jackiesreadingcorner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in what I hope will be a long and prosperous series. I love Casey Wray and the whole team. The action starts very early on in the story as a frantic 911 call comes in from a young woman saying someone was going to kill her, she manages to give her name as Tina Grace, but when asked where she is the woman is vague and says she is on Barton Beach somewhere but she isn’t sure where. The call then ends as if the woman has dropped it. Detective Casey Wray and her partner Detective David Cullen have listened to the initial call and head out to the area that the call had come from. Ramona Villa’s is part of Long Island’s South Shore an area under the jurisdiction of Hampstead County. As they cruised along Black Reed Bay Casey noticed that Ramona Villa’s wasn’t in Barton Beach, in fact there was around 2 miles distance between it but Tina’s call hadn’t been the only 911 call to come through that night at that time. There were several calls from people who lived in the vicinity. All saying about a young woman. The area was made up of several properties on one Road the sea one side properties the other. Tina had begged some of the callers for help and non of them had helped except for calling the police they hadn’t let her come in. One neighbour had videoed some of her rankings. One had tried to come to her aid but as she was so frantic her felt he couldn’t help and ended up getting in his car and going to work. It seemed Tina had been visiting some man there a Jon Parker who claims she just went crazy all of a sudden and ran off and he did go after her trying to get her to get an Uber or taxi home. Casey is suspicious of Parker.

Tina had a brother Tommy, and an alcoholic mother Maggie, Tommy was a bit of a hothead, Maggie had tried to give up the alcohol several times but was still hooked to the bottle. Tina going missing didn’t help matters. Maggie had received a weird message on her phone of a woman screaming then ten women then a thousand..

Casey manages to persuade her boss to let her have a canine dog to check the area of the beach to see if they can pick up any scent of Tina. But when the dog searches they get much more than they expected. 3 bodies are found all female all look to be possible sex workers all dumped like trash. But none of them are Tina. So what is happening here? Who is doing this to young women?

So not only are they now looking for Tina but also working on who the other women are and if they are in any way connected to Tina. What doesn’t help matters is a feud between Caseys boss and mentor Ray Carletti and Detective Robbie McTeague there seems to be some bad blood between the two. Casey is told to report everything to McTeague before she tells Carletti these are orders from the top Hanrahan.

This is one brilliant well plotted read, as you read on it’s like peeling back layers of an onion, each leaf reveals something else. With other crimes happening are they linked to this case or completely separate. The team have really got their hands full. But their are too many coincidences surely that means they are linked in some way. Casey is a good detective, she cares about the case, about the victims and their families, as well as her team. When Casey starts getting phone calls similar to the one Maggie had, she isn’t put off in fact if anything it makes Casey even more determined.

Following some of the information can at times be dangerous, when chasing down one of the leads tragedy strikes, I felt heartbroken. Then Casey’s life is threatened meaning she has to go somewhere safe, where no one will know where she is. But still the calls and threats come. Who can Casey Trust? I found myself sitting on the edge of my seat wondering which way she should go, I had no idea who was behind everything. I couldn’t work out who she could trust my mind was going back and forth between the two characters. As we reach the climax will Casey have worked out what had happened and why? Would she find what had happened to Tina? To be able to help Maggie and Tommy find some closure.

This is such a well written book, I absolutely loved it. Rod Reynolds draws you in a bit at a time until you are so engrossed in the story, you don’t want to put the book down, you don’t want the story to end. The characters are great I really look forward to more with Casey Wray, she has great empathy for the other members of her team, wanting to support them, and give them confidence in what they are doing. She comes across as a great leader. The type of boss it would be an honour to work for. She is strong but fair. It would be nice to see her have someone in her private life as well but would that work with the hours she works?

I watch lots of true crime documentaries and there is a real crime that is a little similar to this story, although it has never been solved The Long Island Serial Killer. A number of remains were found dumped on and around Gilgo Beach area of Long Island. At one stage it was believed a long distance lorry driver could have been responsible. Hopefully the person or persons responsible for those deaths will be found and justice served. As I read this book I did think of that case. In the afterword Rod Reynolds does mention this case. But he also says all of his story is fiction nothing more and he wouldn’t want to sensationalise or dishonour the memory of the victims and families of The Long Island Killer.

If you are looking for a new crime series to start then give this a try and if you like it watch out for when book two comes. An absolute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read, guaranteed. Casey Wray is going to be one of my new favourite detectives I could feel it from the beginning of the book through to the end. Love her.

[Karen Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my review of Blood Red City, Rod Reynolds' previous book, I praised his vibrant descriptions of London and the vivid, cinematic feel to the novel. He's moved the action stateside in Black Reed Bay but has captured that same impressive, enveloping sense of place in this first book to feature Detective Sergeant Casey Wray who lives and works in the fictional but very real Long Island town of Rockport.
The series hits the ground running when Casey and her partner, Cullen are called to investigate a 911 call received in the early hours of the morning from a clearly terrified young woman. They have little to go on, the recording reveals that she was fearful for her life but ends abruptly and now she is missing. The exclusive beachfront houses that line the street where she was last seen are the epitome of bay-front gentrification and the contrast between the shabby blue-collar neighbourhoods, in decline since the demise of the town's manufacturing base is used to great effect throughout the novel. These villas should be the American Dream and yet it's a place where residents keep their doors closed to a scared young woman and Casey suspects, holds the answers to what happened to Tina Grace.
The noirish feel to Black Reed Bay is augmented by the weather conditions; the villas might have enviable ocean views but the driving rain and battering waves cast a grey chill over the proceedings, and a snowstorm interrupts the difficult search of the bleak scrublands and salt marshes. However, despite the obvious frustration felt by the team as promising leads turn into dead ends and Tina remains missing, the propulsive action ensures that the nervous energy of the investigation is experienced by the readers too. There's a portentous sense of foreboding and it's not just down to the rising body count; it feels as if the police - and Casey in particular - are being played, with the killer always one step ahead of them.
This ominous tension alone would have me singing the praises of Black Reed Bay but when it's complemented by the exceptional characterisation seen here...well, it's not going to come as a surprise when I say that this is a very special thriller indeed. Casey comes fully-formed; she has a history and her relationship with her colleagues feels real, with the warm, wise-cracking relationship she has with her partner, Cullen being a particular highlight. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Captain McTeague is an intriguingly opaque character. The cop family doesn't have it easy here and there are some dramatic and emotional scenes which really help the readers understand what sort of protagonist Casey Wray will be. The case consumes her at times but she isn't as jaded as some fictional detectives, she is cynical yet trusting, honest and hardworking. She has risen through the ranks despite having been a target of sexist taunts which have left her still second-guessing herself at times and has since succeeded in improving conditions for the women who have come after her. Tough yet fragile, the labyrinthine, harrowing nature of the case reveals her to be a rather solitary, even lonely figure at times even though she is obviously held in high regard by many of her fellow officers, and most importantly establishes her as a complex, compelling lead character in what will undoubtedly be a must-read series.
Black Reed Bay is a breathless, atmospheric thrill-ride but the exciting twists and intense revelations don't undermine the emotive humanity which is found throughout this sensational novel. I'm already desperate for more!

[Susan Corcoran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read Blood Red City by the same author back in 2020, I was excited to learn that Orenda Books was publishing another novel by this writer. Blood Red City City showed he had exceptional talent, a way of telling a story that boded well for anything that came next. So I picked up Black Reed Bay filled with a mixture of trepidation and excitement, would it be as good?

Well I’m delighted to report, that it is an absolute corker of a read!

Rod Reynolds is an author who creates tension within Black Reed Bay that builds up from the small moments, into a tsunami of events leaving the reader feeling plummeted and exhausted and boy it feels good. It is a joy to sit down and read a book that leaves you feeling like you have been immersed in events that both terrify you and fascinate at the same time. I was left feeling shocked, entertained and desperate for more. Luckily for me, this is the first in a series, bring it on!

So why did I enjoy it so much?

Rod Reynolds writes like a seasoned pro. He immerses you completely in his tale of murder, treachery and mystery. From the moment you read the first page, to the last, you are gifted a tale of immense quality. He sets the scene like a master, you as if you are there, the sky feels epic, big and foreboding, the community from which the girl goes missing feels claustrophobic, as if behind any of it’s doors a potential murderer lurks. You want him to unlock the doors to each house, but at the same time, you really don’t, the tension so palatable, you feel you can taste it. The world seems to recede as Detective Wray walks the streets of a community that sees no evil, hears no evil, speaks no evil if it threatens their comfortable world, until she forces the truth out into the open. It is unbearable at times, how the writer plays with their motives, your emotions, all the time leaving you teetering on the edge, of what feels like a cliff edge. Did the girl die that night, do the inhabitants know her fate or is she still out there somewhere, terrified, running for her life still?

In Detective Wray he has a fascinating new character who is career minded, intelligent, conflicted, she is in fact a perfectly formed detective. So many writers portray women in such roles, as either closed down and cold, or overly emotional and flighty. Wray is far more balanced, she knows when things feel wrong, she bases her actions on her own gut reactions, just like her male colleagues would. I found myself willing her to not always need to seek advise before she acts, but to just do and Rod Reynolds never let me down. Better still he doesn’t surround her with male colleagues determined to undermine her just because she is a women, because although this happens, often intelligent men and women can work together without ulterior motives and it felt refreshing. This novel is about the evil presence that haunts the community of Hampstead County and her role within it is to solve the mystery around the missing women and she does so, because she has natural empathy and a keen resourceful mind. He creates a story around his characters, makes them integral to the natural flow of the narrative, but never allows each individual personality to overpower the story itself. Here we have a cleverly crafted story, with evil at it’s centre and a exciting new character, who is up to the challenge of bringing it to justice.

I wanted a keen intelligent thriller and that is what Black Reed Bay is!

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve received an advance reading copy of Shatter Creek by Rod Reynolds. When I discovered that it is the second in the Detective Casey Wray series, I decided to read the first installment, Black Reed Bay.

A young woman named Tina Grace makes a frantic 911 call in the middle of the night from an exclusive community on Long Island. Then she disappears. Casey leads the investigation, assisted by her team, especially her partner Dave Cullen. From the beginning she feels that people are not being truthful, but things become more complicated when bodies of young women are found near where Tina disappeared. And then there are office politics and the possibility of corruption in her department which make it difficult for Casey to know who can be trusted.

Since this is the first of the series, I paid particular attention to character development. If I do not engage with the protagonist, I will not continue a series. This is not an issue here because I found myself liking Casey right from the beginning. Now in her late 30s, she faced challenges when she was a rookie but has proven herself and earned the respect of colleagues. Married to her job, she has virtually no personal life; her partner tells her that “the job was so far under her skin, she’d need an exorcism to be free of it.” Her intelligence is obvious in her constant questioning of the information they uncover. Her determination is also noticeable; she may become frustrated as promising leads become dead ends, but, motivated by a desire for justice, she never gives up. She is also highly principled: she has a clearly defined sense of right and wrong and conscientiously does what is right.

It is Casey’s relationships with others that caught my attention. I loved her snappy, sassy banter with her co-workers. The wise-cracking lightens the mood and gives a real sense of camaraderie amongst the team. Casey knows her team members well, supporting them and helping them build self-confidence. Her relationship with Tina’s family is also noteworthy. She sees Tina as a person, not just a victim, and does not judge Tina’s choices or those of other family members.

Though a strong character, Casey is not perfect. She’s capable, honest, hard-working, and compassionate, but she also has insecurities and vulnerabilities. In the middle of the novel, she is involved in a traumatic event that shows her fragile side. I love such a complex and credible main character.

The novel starts slowly but gains momentum. As the investigation continues, it’s obvious that people are keeping secrets. And as one would expect, there are some surprises. An incident in the middle of the novel is a real shocker! And then it seems that Casey herself is in danger so tension ramps up.

This is a solid, satisfying police procedural which kept me engaged from the beginning. I want to spend more time with Casey Wray so I’m off to read Shatter Creek.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) for over 1,100 of my book reviews.

[Gordon Mcghie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi, can we have our ball back please? Everything was fine until Rod Renolds came along with Black Reed Bay and utterly smashed it out of the park.

I should just stop there. Read it, loved it and basically I didn’t want it to end. The lead character, Casey Wray, is one of the strongest and most interesting new headliners I have encountered for a long time and I want to read more about her. Rod Reynold’s writes beautifully and builds a world around his reader which keeps you hooked on the story he is telling.

Everything starts with a panic call to the police. A young woman is running down a street in a nice residential area but is clearly terrified of something, what is she is trying to escape from? She manages to give the police details of her location but not what the threat is. Then the call ends abruptly and the woman disappears before the police can respond.

Casey Wray and her partner Cullen are investigating but it seems everyone they speak with has a different version of events. Many residents saw the missing woman run down the street and the man she had been visiting (and Casey’s chief suspect) agrees she had been at his home before panicing and running out. But nobody knows where she went and (crucially) nobody wanted to open their door to help her.

Staying well clear of spoilers makes it tricky to outline why I enjoyed this book as much as I did. Casey’s missing person enquiries see her stumble into a much bigger concern. This puts Casey and her colleagues into closer contact with other departments within the police and this isn’t the best of time to put her boss under pressure as he is feeling the pinch too. An internal investigation focusing on how a violent and intoxicated suspect was brought under control with “excessive force” means the whole team feel they are being picked on by the top brass.

Casey’s investigation is detailed, compassionate and thorough, the author has given real life and energy to his characters and I was utterly absorbed by what I was reading. This, in turn, made some of the shocking twists more dramatic and gave them bigger impact. The missing woman’s family are anxious, worried, angry and desperate, this rubs off on Casey and on the reader and your investment in this story grows.

Late night phone calls, screaming women and then a body is found, everything is escalating and Casey and Cullen are in the thick of it. This is page-turner central, the kind of book I love to read with the drama and tension you always hope your next read will offer.

Consider me a very happy, satisfied reader. Black Reed Bay – read it!

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last year, Rod Reynolds gave the world a superbly crafted standalone set in London, Blood Red City. This year, he returns to the US, where his first three books were set, but this is not the 1940s nor the wide expanses of Texas, Arkansas and the bustle of Los Angeles and Las Vegas; it's very much now and very much east coast small town, in Hampstead County, Long Island.
The prologue drops us into a harrowing scene; two women dealing with devastation and a man apart from them in the scene yet somehow involved.
In chapter one we spool back six weeks. Cop Casey Wray and her partner, David Cullen, head to Ramona Villas, an exclusive community, to follow up a disturbing 999 call made a few hours ago. Tina Grace made the call, apparently in fear for her life. now there's no sign of here.
The first hours of the investigation run almost in real time as we follow Casey and Cullen taking the first steps in what is officially a missing persons inquiry. Casey finally persuades her boss, Lieutenant Ray Carlotti, to call out a canine unit to help in the search - and things take a sharp and unexpected turn.
Another bold move comes about half-way through, when Casey deals with a more personal tragedy. This could have seen the novel sag as the main plot is pushed to the backburner, but Reynolds uses this section to make us invest even more in Casey.
We're drawn back to Tina's case with what seems like a bombshell discovery, but it frustratingly goes nowhere satisfactory to Casey. Meanwhile, Captain Robbie McTeague - officially in charge of a special department, unofficially a sly overseer of Carlotti's domain - makes an explosive comment that floors Casey. People keeping secrets is a theme that runs through this novel, but few reveals play out how you would expect, as Reynolds has brought a fresh spin to these tropes.
There are threats, deaths, arrests, and Casey is put through the wringer. But Black Reed Bay is not a relentlessly grim grind of a read, there are lovely snippets of banter between the cop characters - and right at the end, a ray of sunshine.
Black Reed Bay is powerful, sympathetic, explosive; masterfully plotted and all in elegant, quiet prose that serves the story without showing off. The best news of all? It's billed as the first in a series.

[Adrian Scottow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story starts with a panicked girl calling 911 at 4am one morning – she hangs up and then she goes missing. This happens on the eponymous Black Reed Bay – a rich neighbourhood with spectacular beachfront properties – I am transported to somewhere like the home of Gordon Gecko from Wall Street with a beautiful wide deserted beach looking out over the Atlantic. The initial suspect is a young rich retiree, Jon Parker who spends his days playing golf and his evening playing the playboy and his rather casual girlfriend, Tina Grace is the girl who has gone missing. Our heroine Casey Wray is put in charge of the investigation and unsurprisingly, no nonsense Casey doesn’t get on with Jon at all.

The setting is brilliantly noire – it’s a dark, cold and wintery Long Island with a clear divide between the have and have-nots. There are golf clubs and fancy houses and there are missing girls, prostitution and the pimps and low life’s that go with it. And how these two worlds interact is what Casey is going to uncover.

Casey Wray is beautifully drawn as are her fellow police officers – you fall a little in love with her and her colleagues. I can’t help but draw comparison with the recent TV programme Mare of Easttown – it has a similar tone and another strong female lead but unlike Mare, Casey’s personal life remains hidden instead it’s the victim’s family that provide the colour and backdrop for the unfolding events.

We see into the people and politics of the police department and the motivations that drive it and when they find dead bodies in the swamp around Black Reed Bay - we find the Chief of Police calling in his top trouble-shooter and Casey has to navigate the politics – will she betray her immediate boss and mentor? And all the time Tina is still missing.

Rod writes an excellent story – crackling with pace and life – there is plenty to see and do in Hampstead County and Rod’s taut staccato noire inspired prose brings out the best of the setting and the characters. I am very much looking forward to learning more about Casey Wray and travelling with her as she solves crime in the not too distant future.

[David Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Black Reed Bay, Rod Reynolds delivers a tricksy, atmospheric dark crime drama focusing on cop Casey Wray, a detective sergeant who - while the Job does eat her up - isn't the beached, desperate stereotype of much detective fiction. Casey loves her work, is good at it, honest, hard working and seen as something of a star - having come into a sexist and backwards department, risen, reshaped the world around her and moved things forward.

Wray is a likeable and sympathetic central character. Her personality and attitude are conveyed in her thorough and determined attitude to a tricky case, that of missing Tina Grace. Tina called 911 late one night from swanky Ramona Beach, an enclave on one of the coastal barrier islands in New York State. She subsequently disappeared. Concern over Tina's whereabouts mounts when her cellphone goes dark and local residents' accounts of what they saw and heard that night contradict. In response, Casey gets stuck in, chasing down every lead, pressing for more resources and gradually - very gradually - unpeeling a disturbing backstory to Tina's, suggesting she may have been walking a dangerous path.

Oh, and Casey finds bodies. Lots of bodies.

I loved this book. The backchat between Casey and her partner Cullen is sharp, flitting between work and salacious gossip, their partnership complex and trusting. Casey's relationship with Lt Carletti, who's something of a mentor to her, is also complex - one senses something more could come of it but neither is making a move yet. And the atmosphere is thick, whether we're the spiteful, eerie marshlands separating the islands from the main, the isolated mansions of the self-regarding wealthy or the down-at-heel, hollowed out suburbs where the less fortunate live.

As is traditional in a police thriller, Casey is a guide, a sort of Virgil leading us through the various levels of this Inferno and interpreting it to us - her reactions showing us who is to be pitied, who to be trusted, who we should be wary of. (She doesn't always get it right). But perhaps that's not quite right because, at the same time, she's more than a guide, she's a player in a game whose rules we don't quite understand. It seems that, whatever happened to Tina, it wasn't isolated, it's part of a wider pattern and one that seems to be drawing Casey in.

Black Reed Bay is, as I'd expect from Rod Reynolds, a complex, satisfying mystery with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing - but not so many as to be gratuitous. Most of all, by the time a shocking turnaround happens, we know everybody involved well enough to feel the force of events. What goes on here seem real, and I cared about it, and those caught up in it. Casey has some dark moments, especially in the final part of the book, and by then we understand just what they mean to her and what they have taken out of her.

Recommended for crime and thriller fans, those who just love a good read, and anyone caught up in Reynolds' previous books, especially Blood Red City.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black Reed Bay – A highly addictive detective.

Black Reed Bay is the opening salvo in a new detective series from Rod Reynolds, and what an excellent introduction. Reynolds already an expert as a crime writer, still gives a gripping narrative throughout the book, with a nice twisty ending that even I did not see coming.

Reynolds brings the experience of his four previous novels to bare and already has a reputation for perfectly pitched books. He knows how to keep the reader hooked and draws them in deeper. While Reynolds the clues around the novel he makes sure you cannot join the dots so easily, and that is what makes him a very special writer.

A young woman makes a distressing call in the middle of the night, running for her life from someone who is about to kill her. At the time she is in an exclusive beachside neighbourhood, which happens to be miles from her own home. Many saw her but did not see where she went.

With nobody seeing Tina Grace since her disappearance Detective Casey Wray is the lead investigator along side her partner Detective Dave Cullen. There seem to many leads that go nowhere and plenty of suspects that they can find no incriminating evidence. This is a case that is a puzzle, that tests Wray and the rest of her team at the station house.

One thing is clear, somebody does not want them investigating this crime and trying to scare Wray from the case. Unfortunately for the criminals she is not easily put off and will not be happy until she has solved the case and brought the relevant people to justice. As that is what the Police do.

With many twists and turns and unseen circumstances, that throws Wray various ways, she is also caught in the middle of office politics between her chief and Police Headquarters. She needs to deal with the noise and keep her focus. Some how she does keep her focus and she does resolve everything, but how it ends is a juicy twist.

This is a breathtaking introduction to a new detective series and I cannot wait until I meet Detective Casey Wray again. This is a highly addictive detective series.

[Mandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having loved Rod Reynolds London based book Blood Red City, I was looking forward to reading Black Reed Bay. This time we are transported to Long Island where Detective Casey Wray is investigating the disappearance of Tina Grace after a very frantic and confusing 911 call and she certainly has her work cut out for her. Faced with secrets and potential suspects and witnesses unwilling to tell the truth it just makes her more determined to find out what really happened. On top of all this she has to contend with Internal Affairs taking a very keen interest in the case.
Casey Wray is certainly a dedicated officer who has a great relationship with both her colleagues and her boss which you can see by the banter they regularly share. Although she is strong minded you can also see the occasional insecurities she suffers from, not wanting to take compliments even when warranted. There is also a compassionate side to her as she bonds with Tina’s mother, reaching out to her when she is at her lowest and ensuring that she gets the help and support she needs. There is just something about this character that has you behind her 100% and when things start to go wrong you find yourself willing her to keep going and give Tina’s mother the answers she is looking for.
Tina Grace is another complex character who has been leading a double life which was not evident at first, partially due to what she had told those closest to her and partly due to the information withheld from the police by the last people to see her before her disappearance. But no matter what the circumstances of her life you still hope that she will be found alive.
Black Reed Bay is full of twists and turns that come at you at a pace that draws you in right from the start. Just like Casey you don’t know who to believe and at times even who the good guys are. When there are so many books that fall into predictable lines of investigation, I really enjoyed the fact that just when you were sure where the story was heading, just like Casey’s investigations you were off down a different path. I am really hoping that there is more from Casey Wray as I would dearly love to know how she deals with the fallout from the conclusion to this investigation. One is certain though I will certainly be keeping my eye out for the next book by this author