Many Thanks to Net Galley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Mark Griffin for a chance to review this book.

Oh boy O boy...what an absolutely thrilling story this turned out to be. Serial killer books had become sort of stagnant for me. The same old same old plot of the killer by the end focused on the main protagonist investigating the crime getting to be a chore after reading many of them in this genre. But I am honestly glad that I took a chance with When Angels Sleep, book #2 in the Holly Wakefield series. It can definitely be read as a stand alone but after reading book 2, I want to follow thru with the series as there is also a beautiful relationship developing in the story that I would love to explore more.

Holly Wakefield consultant psychologist for the Met Police is weird who saves memorabilia of all the cases she has worked in a room inside her flat. She can get into the minds of serial killers and psychopaths and understand what makes them tick. After having personal experience of a serial killer’s work, it is no wonder she is excellent at her job. Working with DI William Bishop in the first case has left her with some injuries but Holly is ready and raring to get back into the field when a case that can jolt even a hard-hearted individual rock the Met police.

The gruesome murder of a child is discovered in Epping forest. Holly realises this is no random crime as the 13- year old child has been staged to look peaceful like an angel, wearing only white underpants, head resting in a pillow holding an angel pendant in his hand. The race begins as Holly and Bishop fights to understand the mind of a brilliant strategist and planner who has taken extreme precautions to avoid detection.

I loved how the author has changed the game in the book, by making our hearts gallop at the end along with Holly as she tries to save the life of a child kidnapped and left to die. The story takes time to get into that gripping mode but once it does, the climax is a race to finish. The final few chapters had some nasty scenes that I didn’t want to put an image to the words that were being described. Amidst this, there’s also Holly’s loving care of her brother Lee who is in psychiatric care and her growing fondness and love for Bishop who doesn’t seem to mind her half-crazy mind and is willing to go that extra mile to keep Holly safe. I loved the character of Holly and her quirky tendencies, the chapter where she talks to the killer, a brilliant exercise for the reader’s mind.
Reading books about kidnapping, abuse or killing that involves children is always hard to get right, to find that perfect balance of not making it too soppy and to get the exact emotional touch is tough but with When Angels Sleep, Mark Griffin has worked wonders in conveying the brutality of the crime with minimum gory details.
Highly recommended for all fans of police procedurals.

I was drawn right in a story that kept me up late.Really.enjoy Hollys character.This is part of a series but can be read alone. An author who writes so well spot on dialogue plot with twists and turns .Inwill be grabbing up all his books past& future.#netgalley#littlebrownuk

I really enjoyed When Darkness Calls, the series opener, when I read it last year so I was really looking forward to reading this follow-up featuring criminal psychologist Holly Wakefield. I would recommend reading book one first as you will get a better idea of Holly - who she is, how she works - and I think that background will make this a better read.
A young boy's body is found in Epping Forest. He has been laid out, head on a pillow. On further inspection, an angel pendant clutched in his hand. DI Bishop is called to the scene and what he sees makes him call in Holly to assist. Holly is still getting over the effects of the last case they worked together but, due to her closeness to Bishop, agrees. The first step proves tricky as they struggle to identify the boy, as many parents come forward. Then another boy goes missing...
In book one we were introduced to Holly and her obsession with serial killers. She has a personal interest in this, a bit close to home, and she is also an avid collector of memorabilia. I found this quite fascinating along the way and it helped me to understand and connect to Holly. In this book, that side of things is toned down a tad and we concentrate more on the case in investigation.
Holly being a criminal psychologist adds a new layer to the police procedural genre of which this is an excellent example. She has her own work aside from the assistance she gives the police and she also visits her brother along the way which gives her plenty of insight into the nefarious minds of some very sick people. All good background to be able to help Bishop with this case. She's still a bit delicate from her last outing and this does affect her judgement at times but this only speaks to her character being human and makes her more easy to connected to.
Plotting is tight, pacing is good albeit a tad slow initially. Once things got going I was reluctant to put it down, so intrigued by the story line. It kept my attention nicely throughout and left me satisfied at the end.
All in all, a cracking addition to what looks like being a very promising series. Looking forward to book three. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A harrowing storyline, well written with intriguing characters and an indefatigable police team. Works well as a stand alone as I don't think I've read the previous book.

This is the 2nd book in what's shaping up to be a great crime series. Holly Wakefield is a criminal psychologist for London's Metropolitan Police and her boss is Detective Inspector William "Bill" Bishop.
An elderly man is out walking his dog in Epping Forest, in the northern part of Britain's capital city, when he discovers the body of a 14 year old boy, strangled and left lying on the ground, his head on a pillow. In one hand he is tightly clutching an angel pendant.
Hundreds of people from the London area go missing every week and most of them are children. It takes a few days for the dead boy to be identified and Holly & Bishop have to deal with the heartbreak of his parents. As the police investigation gets under way scores of sex offenders are checked out as Holly realises that this murder could be the first of many.
Every now and then, there is a chapter devoted to the thoughts of the killer and one part of the story is given over to his online "grooming" of Noah, the boy he would eventually murder, using the drug Fentanyl to subdue him. Holly and Bishop are left with hardly any clues as to the identity of the killer and so we read of the painstaking inquiries by the police as they try to narrow the search. Holly realises this killer is highly organised and determined not to be caught. As one of the paedophiles brought in for questioning explains: "Kid killers don't fare well in prison".
Although this is the 2nd in a series, I think it can be read as a stand alone. The author Mark Griffin refers back to the 1st book, detailing Holly's traumatic childhood and the fact that her beloved brother Lee is in a secure psychiatric unit after murdering his partner. That said, I would urge readers to check out "When Darkness Calls" the first story in which Holly fell foul of a serial killer named Sickert.
The action in "When Angels Sleep" is fast paced, mixing details of Holly and Bishop's backgrounds with the investigative team's detailed inquiries and the killer's twisted thoughts as he plans another murder.
This one's a must for fans of serial killer thrillers mixed with a fascinating police procedural. Highly recommended.
My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

After reading the first book in this fantastic new series When Darkness Falls a fantastic five star read. I could not wait to start reading his latest. Holly Wakefield is a criminal psychologist and works for the Met. The body of a young boy is found in the forest. He has been posed, wearing a pair of white underpants, his head is resting on a clean white pillow and in his right hand he is clutching an angel pendant. That was it I was hooked, this series includes the the best police procedurals I have ever read. Holly needs to get into the middle d of this killer and time is running out. I read this book in one sitting and finally turned the last page in the wee hours. I was glued to my seat, got my heart racing and in places gave me chills Bloody brilliant and so highly recommended.
Thanks to Little Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC.

When Angels sleep is the first book from Mark Griffin I have read and the second book in the Holly Wakefield series. I didn’t realise this when I requested this on NetGalley but I didn’t worry as you can read this as a standalone.
When a man is walking his dog in Wanstead Park in Epping forest. He comes across a body of a 14-year-old boy with is head resting on a pillow and clutching an angel pendant. So, when DI Bishop is on the case, he asks Holly Wakefield who is a criminal psychologist and good at getting into serial killer’s minds to come on the case to find the killer. When more bodies start turning up.
This is a cleverly written, fast paced thriller that I really enjoyed. I liked the character of Holly. She is kind of weird, but she is good at what she does and gets the job done and her and Bishop make a good team. I will look forward to seeing what else this author has in store.

OMG I loved this book it was absolutely brilliant !!
I hadn’t read the first book in the series but this in no way spoiled my enjoyment of this one it was thrilling, dark and gruesome and gripped me from the first few pages and the pace didn’t let up one bit.
So the book starts with the murder of a young boy and Holly Wakefield a criminal psychologist is brought in to assist DI Bishop in the hunt for the killer. I immediately fell in love with Holly she is a wonderful character, very different and with quite a few problems of her own to deal with. The story progresses at a fair old rate and Holly and Bishop find themselves up against it as they race to get to find the perpetrator and this is a book that is so well written it’s was difficult to put down, a real solid police procedural that I just can’t fault and I can’t wait for the next instalment.
Very highly recommended and for me a 5 star read and many thanks to Mark Griffin for a wow of a book.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Little,Brown Book Group, Platkus for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was delighted to pick up Mark Griffin's follow up to When Darkness Calls which I absolutely loved, a London set series featuring the wonderful oddball Holly Wakefield whose knowledge of serial killers is unsurpassable. She serves as a invaluable consultant, a criminal profiler, to the London Met, teaching on Behavioural Sciences at King's College and seeing patients at Wetherington Hospital, patients with a propensity to kill, and where her beloved brother, Lee, is incarcerated for murder. The last case that Holly worked on with 43 year old ex-army DI William Bishop almost killed her, but it did culminate in a close relationship developing between her and Bishop. Indeed, Bishop was not even put off by Holly's creepy and weird murderabilia room in her flat, where she keeps her acquired items with connections to serial killers. She and Bishop are to find themselves drawn into the darkest and most horrifying cases with a serial killer targeting children, who seems to be one step ahead of the police all the way.

A dog walker finds the murdered body of a young boy ritually displayed in Wanstead Park in Epping Forest. He has been carefully laid out, almost naked, looking at peace, with a pillow under his head, and with a angel pendant clutched in his hands. Nothing can disguise the brutality of the murder of a boy that has been drugged, the worst nightmare of any parent, and it is clear to Holly this will not be the only killing. It takes some time to identify the 14 year old boy, it is summer time and there are many worried and concerned parents not sure where theirs sons are. The police are left with no clues or evidence, this is an intelligent killer, well organised and adept at avoiding detection. After a late night incident when Holly returns to the scene of the crime, the police find themselves uncovering the murder and burial of another boy with the same MO. This suggests to Holly this is the killer's first victim, a victim on whom he refined his skills. When another boy goes missing, Bishop and Holly race against time to find him before the worst occurs.

Mark Griffin once again writes a riveting and compulsive crime thriller, although surprisingly this time, the story takes a little time to find its feet and kick off. Holly remains the charismatic protagonist, trying to keep the spirits of her brother alive after he was refused parole, finding herself on the darkest of investigations involving the killing of children. Her relationship with Bishop continues to develop, and he is willing to step into unorthodox territory to ensure Holly's safety when it becomes clear that she is in grave danger. Having become aware of her traumatic background from childhood previously, and the resulting strong familial bonds that exist between her and Lee, I can only admire her courage, intuitive skills and bravery in this case. This is a brilliant sequel, fast paced and where the tension and suspense spiral into unbearable levels as we pray that Holly and Bishop can find the killer and the abducted boy in time. Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

Another pacy thriller from Mark Griffin, I love Holly as a character, I am a bit of a sucker for a good profiler protagonist.

In this instalment the murder of a young boy brings Holly back into the investigation told as she applies her own peculiar sense of things to proceedings. The plot flows outwards brilliantly and addictively and is not easily predictable.

Overall on two books in I’m a fan of this series. If you like a good procedural then this will be for you.

This was recommended as I enjoy reading Angela Marsons and I went on to read both books back to back. Really enjoyed both and I would highly recommend and I look forward to the next in the series.