Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

When a group of farm labourers find a skeleton buried in the grounds of a country estate, Detective Dania Gorska isn't sure if the remains are recent or not. When four skeletons are unearthed and dated to the 1970s she knows she has a crime on her hands. Meanwhile someone is selling guns in Dundee and a man is dead. Is the infamous 'Nailer' back to his old tricks?
I do like the spin placed on the standard police procedural here as Gorska is a Pole and this adds an extra layer of cultural sensitivity to the novels. Whilst the plots seem rather convoluted and unlinked they come together in a very satisfying way. Whilst this is a very conventional novel it is well-written and enjoyable.

Oh mean, I didn't really enjoy this book. I feel bad about it, because I'm trying new detective thrillers to try and find more that I enjoy. This isn't the best of genres for me, and I very rarely find ones I like. But when I do find books and characters I enjoy, I fall pretty hard for them. Take Cara Hunter's books. I love those. The detective story line makes sense and it runs through her books clearly and allows for development from both the characters, the background information and the detective plot. This book on the other hand just didn't do it for me at all. I didn't hate it. I just didn't care.

This book is the second in the series.
This book was a disappointment to me as I was expecting so much more
I felt that the characters were very difficult to understand and that the storyline was forced.

This is book two in a very good Scottish crime series. A strong Polish flavour in this series and set in Dundee, the writing is authentic and fluid. Dania is investigating the discovery of human bones buried in the grounds of Breek House as well as the murder of a young man found shot in a Dundee street. Are the two cases connected? A few surprising twists and another good read in this series. I hope there is more to come. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC. reviewed on Goodreads, Amazon and Facebook.

I thoroughly enjoyed this second book in the Polish Detective series, the first I have read - I have the first and will be going straight back to it to read it. I whizzed through this in a day! This was well written and well plotted, a real 'slow burning' thriller. The relationship between Dania and her brother Marek is great, and I really liked the immigrant/Polish slant to this police procedural set in Scotland. It feels very true to life with all the questions surrounding Brexit, and just how integrated the Poles are into life in Scotland, regardless of how long they've been there.

And that epilogue...! Phew.

My only issue is that I now have to wait impatiently until the next in the series, but I am really looking forward to it.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for a review copy of Clearing the Dark, the second novel based in Dundee to feature DI Dania Gorska.

Gorska is called out to Breek House where a dog has uncovered some human bones. A further search uncovers three more skeletons but before they can get going on this investigation a croupier is shot dead in broad daylight on the city streets. All clues point to local gangster Archie McLellan but proving it will be another matter. Unknown to Gorska her brother, Marek, takes a commission from McLellan to find a missing doctor.

I thoroughly enjoyed Clearing the Dark which is an absorbing read with plenty of twists and turns. It is told from the siblings’ points of view so alternates between Dania and Marek. As both investigations are interesting I didn’t find my attention waning or distracted by the switches, rather I found myself looking forward to updates on both fronts. Marek’s investigation, as befits a secondary plot, is more simplistic with developments falling easily into his lap although this doesn’t destroy the mystery. Dania’s investigation is much more complex with various subplots and diversions that add to the mystery. I liked the way it all came together in a cohesive solution. If I were to really nitpick none of it is particularly realistic but I, for one, didn’t care. It is well written with good pacing and held my attention throughout.

I like DI Dania Gorska. She is smart and caring with a liking for vodka, in other words normal. She is Polish and transferred to Dundee from the Met. I have read the previous novel but can’t remember why she is in the UK or why she moved so a wee refresher would have been good.

Clearing the Dark is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Hania Allen establishes her brilliant Scottish Crime series with a strong Polish flavour with this, the follow up to The Polish Detective, featuring the concert pianist and now newly promoted DI Dania Gorska of Dundee Police's Special Criminal Investigations Division. It begins with a Polish farmworker with a dog discovering two buried bodies in the grounds of Bleek House, a number that jumps to 4 bodies when the police use their own dog, Nelson. Dating the period in which the victims were murdered proves to be a real headache as indeed does identifying them, as the teeth have been removed and it looks as if they were tortured before being killed. What they do know is that bodies are recent cold cases, who met their demise in either the 1970s or the 1980s.

Dania and her team, including DS Honor Randall, find their workload and pressure increase when a young man, Brodie Boyle, is shot through the heart and a nail hammered through his head on a Dundee street. This MO echoes the well known killing style of notorious criminal gangster, Archie McLellan, but the police have to tread carefully where he is concerned, they are going to need rock solid evidence to bring him for questioning. In the meantime, Dania's journalist brother, Marek Gorska finds himself in the uncomfortable position of being unable to refuse Archie's 'request' that he turn private investigator and find a long missing hypnotherapist, Peter de Courcy. Marek keeps Dania in the dark as to what he is doing, even when it becomes clear that Archie is a person of interest in his sister's police cases. In the most twisted of investigations, Dania and her team are to be tested to their limits as the past brings dangers to the present.

Hania Allen has a wonderfully fluid writing style in this, her expertly well plotted addition to this series. She lends the narrative a strong authentic touch of our contemporary world with the unease engendered by the fears of what Brexit is likely to mean, particularly given there are major characters that are Polish. I do love the chief protagonist, Dania, although I am beginning to worry for those that have close contact with her, given the dangers of the cases that she gets landed with. There are some surprising twists in this riveting and compelling crime novel, where the two police cases emerge to have connections. A great read and a great series. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.