Another thrilling page turner in the Gaby Darin series which for me was like meeting up with an old friend.

Gaby and the team start to investigate a cold case with a personal connection to a team member but is the case as cold as it seems?

An engaging faced paced read which has me hooked from beginning to end first class writing.

EXCELLENT police procedural. D.I. Gaby has returned after being previously injured on the job & assigned a cold case to resolve, involving a teenage murder victim. Suspenseful, well written, great storyline & fellow characters. This is book #3 of the series & gets better with each one. RECOMMEND all & look forward to #4. Thanks to NetGalley & HQ Digital for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I didn't realise this was the third in a series featuring Gaby Darin. However, this in no way ruined the book for me. I will certainly look out for the next one in the series. The characters are all really believable and the plot kept me guessing. The wonderful setting in Wales the icing on the cake.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. This was a great story. The characters where brilliant the storyline was also great. I had an inkling half way through who I thought it might be and I was right. Definitely a 5 star read. I look forward to reading more from this author.

The setting is northern Wales and our recovering detective Gaby Darin is back in the third installment of this series. Gaby is acting Detective Inspector while the the current DI is on sick leave trying to beat cancer.

As there seems to a lull in crime in Llandudno, DI Darin and her team look into old cold cases. Her right hand man and friend Owen Bates brings her the case about Angelica Brock. She was found in a remote area with her white blonde hair spread around her like a halo, dressed in an old white nightdress which was not her own and curled in a fetal position. There wasn't DNA to help then.

The case from over 20 years ago looked like a random killing but as the team goes over the old case notes connections appear with other unsolved murders, too many to be coincidence. There are good surprises woven into the storyline and I very much enjoyed the detectives' interaction with one another. I am especially fond of the medical examiner Rusty Mulholland.

Thank you to Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. This was published 20 November 2020 and is the third book in the Detective Gaby Darin series. I was not compensated for my review.
Genre is Mystery and Thrillers/Adult Fiction

I hadn’t read the previous two books in the series but this didn’t matter or affect my enjoyment of this third book. I appreciated the insight into the various characters on Gaby’s investigative team and liked learning about their lives outside of work which gave a different dynamic to the story. The tension really ratcheted up towards the end making this a real page turner. I will certainly look out for more from this talented author and hope it’s not too long before we rejoin the team in Wales again.

Jenny O'Brien certainly knows a thing or two about writing police procedurals. In an over-crowded genre her novels stand head and shoulders above the rest.
Gaby Darin, during a lull in crime in North Wales, looks at a cold case from twenty-five years ago and soon her whole team is involved in a desperate hunt for a killer.
There's plenty of suspense, no lack of red herrings, and some very clever twists. It's the empathy and the rapport between characters that really made this novel most engaging for me.

I very much enjoyed this book. It was a nice setting in Wales which made a change from London. The characters were well drawn and interesting.
A good mystery and an enjoyable read.
To be honest I am not sure if I have read others in the series, but this was ok as it can be read as a stand-alone

This was a very clever police, procedural story, about a cold case which the team are investigating. Some very engaging characters and a complex storyline, well delivered. The tension was maintained to the end with a great twist in the tail.

It's so good to have a new detective to follow, particularly one based in an area I know and love, North Wales. This is apparently the third in the series about DS Gaby Darin - I'll have to seek out her back catalogue of cases - a likeable, engaging character, who has respect and consideration for her team, and enjoys their loyalty in return. This cold-case beginning very quickly develops and merges into current crime in the area, becoming more intriguing and involved as the novel continues. No spoilers, but I felt absorbed throughout, leading to a satisfying climax and overall gripping read. Another addictive detective to add to my collection.

On the whole I enjoyed this book, but did feel the story took quite a while to develop, there seemed to be an awful lot of going round in circles, I know nothing of the police so maybe this happens?

Angelica Brock is found dead at a local beauty spot, there is no obvious sign of foul play, and no indication of suicide, the only thing that seems out of place is the nightdress she is found wearing.

Many years later DI Gaby Darin is looking into cold cases when she is approached by her DS Owen Bates, to reopen the case, we find he has an ulterior motive as he married Angelica's sister.

A good read but would say that there was an awful lot of personal issues/background with the team, probably more than I have ever read in a book, the mystery almost became a secondary event while you kept up with everything else!

This is a book that keeps up a stimulating pace as events unfold in the pursuit of a killer. DI Gaby Darin is looking at cold cases when one of her most trusted officers reveals that in an unsolved murder, the victim was related to him by marriage. She was Angelica Brock, thus the title of the book. The story is based in
Wales. There are many interesting characters with the usual array of detectives with problems in their personal lives but these all add to the attraction of the story. Soon it becomes apparent that this was not a one off murder and a serial killer is on the loose. Then there is collateral damage which seems to have some connection to the case. The reader by this time is probably sure about who the culprit is but will be proved wrong several times over as the book works to an unexpected ending. This is a well conceived, well written book. I recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley and H Q Digital for an ARC of this novel in return for an honest review. I requested this book because police procedurals and murder is one of my favourite genres and I was intrigued by the setting in my native country, Wales.

I immediately connected with the main character, acting DI Gabby Darin, a Liverpudlian with twenty years in the police service and some of it quite eventful. But I also felt occasionally irritated by the often, somewhat clunky prose style. I was glad that it was in digital form or I might have been tempted to take out my ex-school teacher’s red pen.. But a really good story soon overcame this. Set in Llandudno, it began with the review of a cold case and soon starts to escalate to much more. I think a police officer relative might have opinions about some of the procedurals, but as the author says, she is a nurse and not a policed officer. It’s a an excellent story and several times I just had to keep turning the pages, resulting in jobs not being done. Some of the connections in the case at the end could have been possible. But did somewhat stretch credulity. This is the third book in the series and not having read the previous two, I found that it worked well as a stand-alone novel. I dislike making any criticism of a newish author’s work. So I will say that overall I much enjoyed this read. I will be looking for the previous two books, particularly since they seem to feature my native Cardiff and Swansea as well as my beloved St Davids. My thanks to Jenny O’Brien for providing several hours of enjoyment and I look forward to more.

A most interesting and pleasant read in sharing the life and work of a team of detectives investigating a cold case. A most interesting cast of characters concerning their interrelationships, private lives and the trials and tribulations in trying to balance work and domestic affairs. The victim in the cold case is an enigma. Dead without signs of any injury, dressed in an old-fashioned nightdress, not her own and laid out looking like an angel. How the team finally discovers that the victim is the first of an unknown serial killer to bring it to the present day while coping with their personal lives and bring matters to a final solution makes a complex and satisfying story.

Having read and enjoyed the previous two books in the Gaby Darin series by Jenny O'Brien, I expected to enjoy reading this book. It certainly didn't disappoint.
In this story set on North Wales, Gaby Darin is acting as DI. Jenny O'Brien has continued to develop the detective team very well in this fast moving police procedural crime thriller.

really liked the pace and style of writing in this book. The ending certainly leaves the door open for further cases to be explored by DI Gaby Darin and her team. I for one will be looking forward to future books in this series.

I will avoid saying too much about the plot out of fear about spoiling the story. It is based around an historic case, which may be linked to current events. What are occurrences and what are crimes?

I particularly like the use of geographical locations, this helps to anchor the story and give a sense of reality. I also like the short snappy chapters, each time, character and location stamped, this helps to build the tension as the novel draws to an exciting denouement.

My recommendation is that you try to read the books in the order in which they are written if you can. Each stand alone on their own merit, but the series is beginning to develop a sense of continuity.

I give my thanks to Netgalley and HQ Digital for a copy of this, the third book in the Gaby Darin series, in exchange for this review.

Complex thriller with interesting characters. A good detective team who interact well. Story was a bit slow to get going with the detectives struggling to find clues and connections. Overall a good read.

This is a rather traditional detective story. I enjoyed the story and was able to like and engage with the investigating team.
I was enjoying the read and was keen to pick the story up again but I predicted the last chapter early on and so there was no big reveal for me.
I would probably be interested in reading the first in the series, as I wasn't aware that this book was number two but for me there wasn't anything outstanding to say about.
I am happy to recommend it.

Fallen Angel, for me, was a bit of a slow burner, in fact had it been Bonfire Night the crowds would have gone home disappointed. The cold case idea caused me to think back to those dreadful end of term days before the Christmas holiday. The one's where a 'hip' teacher let the children choose the day's itenerary. In this case we have a load of detectives sitting on their hands waiting for work, when Owen suggests an unsolved crime, close to his heart. What slowly unravels gives rise to the crime being one of many and a serial murder investigation kicks off. Of course we know who the guy might be, or at least who we want him to be because of his portrayal earlier on in the novel. The pace picks up a little but finally we only get to see the bookends of a serial murderer's career. Frankly I thought the plot was poor, the delivery slow and the ending predictable. The prize for the most inappropriate word was 'diabolical' to descibe the wearing of jewelry which carried a momento of a deceased loved one.

Ejghteen year old Brock is found dead at a local beauty spot, dressed in a pure white nightgown, her white-blonde hair arranged around her. Her death was a mystery for years, her ,iller had got away. For DS Gaby Darin it's not just a cold case, the victim in intimately linked to someone close to her. Just as the team finds a clue on Angelica's nightdress, another case crashes into the station. Could the cases be linked.

Thisnis the first book that I've read in this series. The plot.ine is complex and I was pulled in from the beginning. The pace fast and the twists come along thick and fast. Gaby is a out likeable character. This ook can be read as a standalone but I would have liked to have read the books in order. I will be .oozing out for this author in future.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #HQ and the author #JennyObrien for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fallen Angel is the third instalment in the Detective Sergeant Gabriella “Gaby” Darin series, set in Llandudno in Conwy County, North West Wales. It's a new day at St Aleph police station and not only has DC Darin recently been promoted to DS, but she has also been made the Acting DI while her boss and 30-year police veteran, DI Stewart Tipping, has reluctantly taken leave due to the cancer riddling his body to be cared for by his wife, Sheila. Gaby has only recently returned to work after 6 weeks on medical leave having been seriously injured in the line of duty so the lull in cases she and colleagues are experiencing right now is certainly welcome and allows her to focus on reviewing cold cases until something comes in. At the request of DC Owen Bates, she re-opens the old case of 18-year-old Angelica Brock who was murdered in 1995, almost 3 decades ago; she disappeared from her bedroom and was discovered dead the following day at the local beauty spot of Great Orme, and it would've been deemed an accident had she not been dressed in a strange lily-white, handmade nightdress.

With renewed vigour and forensic advancements now available, Gaby hopes she can uncover the murderer's identity and bring some closure to the Brock family. Then a new case comes in; a terminally ill woman has been killed in a devastating explosion whilst her daughter was shopping. But all is not what it seems and another death follows revealing the handiwork of a serial killer who has been biding their sweet time. This is a compulsive and engrossing police procedural and from the moment I turned the first few pages I was hooked. There are several great twists spaced throughout the narrative, and I found the single investigative perspective more immersive than if it had alternated. It allows you to feel as though you are part of the team and you see all of the action through their eyes. It's compelling, quick-paced and well written and has enough layers and plot threads to keep you invested. The taut, tight plotting packs a real punch and I enjoyed learning more about the team. Highly recommended.