An immersive and thoroughly compelling story!
Fallen Angel is the third book in the Detective Gaby Darin series, I have loved each of these books and this one is just as brilliant as its predecessors.
The writing is superb, you feel as though you are right there in the thick of the case, with its insightful mix of police procedure, suspense and twisty plots with a nice addition of personal insights, you are at the edge of your seat and the ending ....my goodness, what a ending I was hooked!
Definitely a must for those who like their biting, twisty, edgy police drama!

Fallen Angel is a riveting crime thriller that follows Detective Gaby Darin as she investigates a cold case that haunts her: the Angel Murder. The victim, Angelica Brock, was found dead in a white dress and blonde hair, resembling an angel. Gaby has to unravel the mystery behind her death while facing her own demons and dangers.

The book is well-written, with a fast-paced plot, realistic characters, and vivid descriptions. The author creates suspense and tension and explores the themes of justice, revenge, family, and forgiveness. The book is the third in the series, but it can be read as a standalone, as the author provides enough background information. However, fans of the series will enjoy the development of Gaby’s character and the continuation of her story arc.

Fallen Angel is a gripping and emotional thriller that will appeal to fans of Angela Marsons, LJ Ross, and D. S. Butler. This book will make you think, feel, and wonder until the end. If you are looking for a thrilling and satisfying read, you should definitely check out Fallen Angel by Jenny O’Brien.

There was a lot that I really enjoyed about this novel – the setting was great, the main character was believable and interesting, the plot was intriguing and well-constructed.
The idea of a cold case, where the victim is personally connected to the team working on the murder, works very well, and adds a depth to the narrative. The pace is good, too, after a bit of a slow start, and everything moves along at a steady rate, keeping the reader interested and engaged.
That said, there were some aspects of the story that I didn’t enjoy quite so much. The pace was slow to begin with (although things did get better). This is the third book in the series, and while it can be read as a standalone, I feel I would have got more out of it if I had read the first two and had been more familiar with the characters’ backgrounds. And I was quite irritated by Bates’ wife Kate’s attitude to the investigation and the hours he puts in – in the circumstances, it seemed quite out of order and that did spoil things for me a bit.
So, overall, this was okay and there were definitely aspects of the story I enjoyed.

I haven’t read any books by this author before and even though this was book three in the series, I didn’t feel that I didn’t know enough to read this before books one and two. A really enjoyable read that had me gripped and looking forward to reading more in the series.

This was an amazing read , so enjoyed I was glued to every page as a crime triller reader I loved this plot story line and characters where well written with a great flow to them. I would highly recommend to any crime thrillers

I enjoyed this book immensely, working out who was the culprit. Jenny is now on my list of authors to keep a look out for.more of her books

The Detective Gaby Darin series is an enticing mix of police procedural and psychological suspense.

A cold case with a personal connection for the investigation team draws her attention, and she hopes they can solve it with new investigative techniques and forensic advancements. When a new murder case lands on her desk, she sees parallels and a race to stop another killing begins.

The reader is part of the investigation team in this immersive story. A menacing ethos prevails as they try to solve the crime. A good balance of personal issues and authentic police investigation and a twisty plot that delivers a nail-biting ending keep the reader engaged.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

A brilliant, exciting and gripping story that kept me on the edge till the end.
Excellent character and plot development, a solid story full of twists and turns.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A well written story that is fantastic with its unique mystery and suspense its is going to blow you away bravo loved every bit of it.

Brilliant! An excellent storyline, great characters and lots of twists and turns, I raced through the pages. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Though I’ve not read either of the other books in the series, this worked perfectly well as a stand-alone. I’m grateful to NetGalley for letting me read an ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Our main character, DS Gaby Darin, has clearly been through some tough experiences in the course of duty, but we see her here as she returns to work. With something of a lull in cases, they are tasked with trying to make headway into cold cases. Gaby is asked by one of her colleagues to look again into the murder of a young girl who was found on Great Orme dressed in a Victorian nightgown. What he only later tells Gaby is that Angelica was the older sister of his wife.
Initially, this seems a rather nondescript case...something she looks into but that isn’t likely to go anywhere. Then, before we know it, little details come out, others are tasked with reviewing info and making their own suggestions, and Darin and her team are after a potential serial killer.
Alongside the main investigation there’s other cases. As details come to light it seems their current workload is inextricably linked to the case in the past.
I enjoyed getting to see these characters as they went about their work. This struck a good balance between personal information and police procedural. Some lucky breaks, of course, but it swept me up and kept me entertained throughout.

This is my first book by this author, safe to say it WON'T be the last.
What I liked
- the setting, beautifully described
- the banter with the team of police officers, who doesn't love banter?!
- the fact it was a cold case, they often get overlooked.
What I Loved
- Gaby, acting DCI, she's fab, we all need a Gabriella in our lives.
- the way the author built the case around the past and the present, with no miracles of story writing used, it was all believeable.
- the tumultuous ending! Oh my goodness!
Brilliant.

I found this detective novel to be well written and very interesting. I know the areas described in North Wales and enjoyed the descriptions of Llandudno and Rhos on Sea. I would strongly recommend this book for lovers of mystery and detective novels.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review of, Fallen Angel by Jenny O'Brien.

I didn't realize this was book 3, however, I wasn't completely lost thanks to the author adding in details here and there.

This book was well written and kept me guessing throughout. I don't normally read crime thrillers, but I really enjoyed this one.

The setting was unique and the characters creatively written. Gaby Darin and her team keep you wanting more. This book was interesting as one of her team members is linked to the case.

Fallen Angel by Jenny O’Brien is a marvellous contemporary crime thriller that draws the reader in from the start. It is the third book in the Detective Gaby Darin series but can be read as a stand-alone.
A quiet weekend ramps up as a cold case is investigated. At first it is believed to be an isolated incident without any evidence but it soon becomes clear that rapid crime solving is needed before other cases are added.
The reader becomes entangled in the story from the start as we want to know the truth and find out why it happened.
Law enforcement agencies run a tight ship. They function as a family looking after their own. The reader witnesses the cares and niggles that come with family life.
The action is set in North Wales in Llandudno which was great for me as I know the area well as I have holidayed there many times. The familiar locations enabled the book to really come alive for me.
The leading lady is realistic and likable. She is hard working and a team player.
I really enjoyed Fallen Angel. The book consumed my every waking moment – if I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about the case! It was a marvellous read. I hope to read much more by Jenny O’Brien.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

😊 Fallen Angel features DS Gabriella (Gaby) Darin who moved to Llandudno in Wales after the occurrence of difficult events and has been temporarily promoted to the role of Detective Inspector.

St Asaph police station is experiencing a quieter time so Gaby decides to focus on a cold case that has been brought to her attention by her trusty colleague DC Owen Bates. Eighteen-year-old Angelica Brock, found dead in 1995 at a local beauty spot, was dressed in a pure white Victorian nightgown. Dubbed 'Operation Angel' her death is still a mystery to the police.

With its fast pacing, there is always plenty going on and there is certainly never a dull moment! Jenny O'Brien knows how to write a story that is compelling and entertaining with characters that are not easy to love but fit with the story very well. I really enjoy Gaby's personality traits - particularly her brashness and astuteness.

The plot was brilliantly executed and I was desperate to find out what would be unearthed next. Written with clarity, Jenny O'Brien demonstrated a mastery of misdirection that certainly kept me invested! Complete with a fabulous ending, I am certain that Fallen Angel will be well-received by all who get a buzz from a well-written police procedural or thriller/ mystery. In a series that has become a firm favourite I look forward to the fourth instalment and seeing where Jenny O'Brien takes Gaby Darin next. A well-deserved five stars for a gripping and awesome book! 😊

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HQ Digital via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

An excellent story, and an easy read. DS Gaby Darin is acting DI of the Major Investigation Team, working out of St Asaph police station. She is recently back to work after being injured in a previous case. They have a bit of a lull in major crime, so decide to review some cold cases. Detective Owen Bates suggests a murder that took place twenty-five years earlier. He later admits that the dead girl was his wife’s sister. Angelica Brock went missing from her home in Llandudno in the early hours and her body was found the next day on the Great Orme, wearing an old fashioned nightdress that didn’t belong to her. The killer left no clues.

The team re-examine what little information they have, and interview a few people who were spoken to at the time, to no avail. Gaby spends an evening with the local medical examiner, and they come up with a different way to look at the crime, and further conversation with an old friend who is a police profiler channels Gaby’s thoughts, and she runs a check on the police computer for specific crimes for which there was no evidence found, and is amazed to find there are pages and pages of them. So many, that she takes the paperwork home and spends many hours starting to pick out the most relevant cases. This provides new avenues of investigation, although not much in the way of results. Further deaths happen which they have to investigate, and inadvertently find a tiny connection between them and Angelica.

Gradually the tiny pieces start to piece together, and they realise they have a serial killer to find. Gaby is extremely good at getting the best out of her team, allowing them to play to their strengths, and they gradually claw their way to a conclusion, not without a lot of stress, and further actions from the killer. A well thought through story, many twists and turns, and a few red herrings before we discover the truth. Well worth reading.

Fallen Angel is the third book in the DS (now acting DI) Gaby Darin series. While it is not necessary to have read the first two books in this series, I think it would have helped immensely if I had. Although I did grok much of the backstory via the author dropping in some details here and there. Even with those details, it took awhile to get the feel of the room, as it were.

Acting DI Darin is assigned to the North Wales office, and since there isn't a lot going on as the story opens, Darin Goes through several cold cases, selecting a few to review for possible followup. One of her staff, DS Owen Bates, ifs ahead of her, and presents to her the case from 25 years earlier: the death of Angelica Brook, and 18 year old who seemed to have simply vanished from her room one night only to be found dead later, dying of hypothermia, her body staged. Angelica also happens to have been the sister of Bates' wife.

This is my first small quibble: involving family members in an investigation of this sort is a no-no, because they're emotionally involved and that could be a bonanza for a defense attorney. Since this is a sideways adjacent kind of situation, I let it go. The team reopens the case and starts running down all the clues and the scant evidence from that case - but now, of course, there is a lot more information available, better testing, and so on. Still, nothing seems to be coming to fruition for the team.

While this is going on, there's also the story of a local family, the Eustaces. A young woman and her husband take care of her mother who has dementia. One night, their house explodes in what looks to be a terrible accident. But things are definitely not what they seem.

I won't go further than that, as even though the plot is very complicated. revealing more would take some of the fun of unraveling the clues and teasing out the murderer(s). I will say that the internal thought of Di Darin annoyed me from time to time, as she seemed, to me, to be spending an awful lot of time thinking about two men in her orbit: what they thought of her, and if she would sleep with them.

The ending wrapped up a tad too neatly, but it did come together nicely.

Other than these minor things and Darin making moonfaces at some guys, it was a good read, and while I didn't get the exact relations between some people and families at the end, I did pick out the murderer(s).

Overall: 3.5 stars out of five, rounded down to 3 for the reasons above. Sitting inside while the snow flies and reading this wouldn't be a bad way to spend an afternoon.

Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for the reading copy.

This book has an intriguing concept- a cold case from years ago where it seemed no clues or even cause of death had been left to find. The body of 18 year old Angelica had been found at a local beauty spot, without injuries and no sign at her home of forced abduction, the only sign of anything out of the ordinary being that she was found dressed in a vintage white nightgown not her own. DS Gaby Darin, recently returned to work after a savage attack herself, decides to look at the case again with the help of modern techniques, and for one of her team the case will have particular significance. What she doesn’t realise is how big the investigation will become....
Lots of interesting ideas in this unusual crime story set in North Wales- the lack of clues leads to several dead ends, and the tension builds as the team struggle to follow leads and find a breakthrough. The characters are given some back story which makes them come alive, and I enjoyed the hesitant relationship that starts to form between Gaby and a fellow professional. I did feel a bit unsatisfied with the ending as I felt it became a bit sensationalised and after a slow build up, came together in a rush and in too cliched a manner. Overall though, an unusual and solid crime novel.

Gabby Darin is still acting DI of North Wales MIT. When there’s a lull in serious crimes, they start looking at cold cases. One of those is the murder of Angelica Brook (18), the sister of DS Owen Bates’ wife. 25 years ago, the young woman disappeared from her 1st-floor bedroom and was later found dead on Great Orme (a limestone headland stretching into the Irish Sea). It was never established if she had a secret rendezvous or was abducted. The post-mortem revealed no other cause of death than that her heart stopped beating (that’s what pretty much kills everyone). The only strange element is that she was dressed in a Victorian nightdress. There were no leads, no witnesses, and no clues. DI Stewart Tipping, who’s at home suffering from cancer, lead a serious investigation but to no avail. Owen asks Gaby to reopen the investigation.

This is the 3rd book in this series and I read all of them, but if you join in now you won’t have any difficulties as all the elements of the background story are given where necessary. And in this story, there’s a lot of activity in the team’s private lives. Owen and Kate are expecting their second child and she’s unhappy with his long hours. Marie is separated from her husband and stuck in a miserable bedsit. And between Gaby and dr Rusty, there seems to be a never-ending rollercoaster between attraction and push backs.
The author has a beautiful way with words. On the first page, you find a gem like: “Yet here she was doing a cop’s version of twiddling her thumbs: flicking through the stack of cold cases they had lurking in the storage room in the bowels of the station.” And there are many more that are sometimes missed because of the high suspense level of the story. The story starts out a bit slow when all the elements and people are introduced but draws you in nevertheless. Then, when you think you have the picture, you discover that you and the team are chasing a red herring and that you have to start out from zero again. The story does gain momentum and eventually, everything starts happening at once and events race to the finale.
The ending was a bit unexpected and rather complicated. I suppose it could happen and I’ll buy it because of the story’s quality. Another promotion lurks at the horizon for Gaby and that’s a bit soon in my calculations. She’s only been acting DI for a short time, in my knowledge.
I thank Netgalley and HQ Digital for the free ARC they provided and this is my honest, unbiased review of it.