I have enjoyed the previous two books in this series, this one not so much.  There are plenty twists and the plot drew me in and it was well written but it was just a bit slow for me. Gaby is investigating a cold case and the action only appears to build up towards the last part of the book. There was enough information about the private lives of the team, although a bit too much for my liking. I hope the next book in the series is a bit more fast paced. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

When Angelica Brock was found dead on the Great Orme in 1995 it caused the loss of innocence for a generation of children in Llandudno and the end of life as they knew it for her family. 

In 2020 DI Gabriella Darin and her team at St Asaph police station are enjoying a lull in their busy working lives. Having only returned to work four weeks earlier having been injured in the line of duty Gaby is still feeling her way back into things and glad of the chance to concentrate on some cold cases for a while. When a colleague suggests looking at the Brock cold case she finds it drawing her in, taking over her thoughts and is determined to find some closure for the family if she can. 

This is an excellent book in a series which is getting better and better with each new instalment. The storyline is tightly worked and complex but never too complicated to follow and the ending was perfect. It was a book which grabbed your attention on page one and refused to let go. I loved it. 

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the opinions expressed are my own. I recommend it absolutely.

Fallen Angel is the third book in the DC Gaby Darin series, but it could easily be read as a standalone.

DC Darin has now been promoted to Detective Sergeant, and is acting up as Detective Inspector while her boss, DI Stewart Tipping, is off sick. She has only just returned to work herself after a period of sick leave following a serious injury as she wrapped up her last case. 

Since her team is not busy, she re-opens an old case at the request of DC Owen Bates - the murder of eighteen-year-old Angelica Brock. New eyes on an old case, and with new forensic techniques available, they hope to uncover a new clue to the murder's identity. 

A new case comes in; probably an accidental death; but all is not what it seems, and this enquiry questions the findings in another recently closed case. The team are now running two separate investigations, and one might involve a serial killer. Can they prevent another murder?

As with O'Brien's previous DC Darin stories, I was hooked almost immediately. There were a number of threads in the investigations to follow which kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed learning more about the main characters. 

Fallen Angel is well-written, and the plot is intriguing. I was also invested in the personal lives of her team, and following on from Book Two, I wanted to know whether Gaby would entertain her colleague's affection or not.

DI Gaby Darin has returned from sick leave and is bored investigating cold cases until she is asked to investigate a cold case by Detective Owen Bates.
It involves the disappearance of 18 yr old Angeline Brock from her home in Llandudno , 20 years ago, in 1995 and whose body was found later on the Great Orme.
Enjoyable police thriller, well written with interesting and likeable characters.
The case was investigated by now retired Stewart Tipping - who tells Gaby that Angeline is Owen’s sister in law..
Lots of twists and turns but I especially liked the descriptions  of the main protagonists’ relationships and the area of North Wales that the book was set in.
4 Stars.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.
I now intend to read the other books in this series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HQ for an advance copy of Fallen Angel, the third novel to feature Acting DI Gaby Darin of the North Wales Police.

Gaby’s return to work after serious injury is marked by a lull in cases, so she decides to look at some cold cases. Her attention is brought to the case of 18 year old Angelica Brock disappeared from her bedroom 25 years ago and was found dead the next day at a local beauty spot. If she hadn’t been found in a nightdress that didn’t belong to her, her death would have been deemed an accident.

I enjoyed Fallen Angel which has a compelling plot and a few twists to surprise the reader. It is told entirely from the investigative point of view, be it Gaby or the members of her team, so the reader can guess alongside them. I like this approach as it allows the reader to get immersed in the action and the thinking, both of which move along at a fast clip. It does require a certain suspension of disbelief at some of the leaps the team takes but fortuitously they mostly turn out to be correct. The same goes for the resolution which dis seem like a step too far, even if it is ingenious in its linking together of all the disparate threads in the novel.

The plot has enough threads and a fast enough pace to keep the reader occupied and reading, hence my 4* rating, but I think it is let down by sub par characterisation. There is much about the team’s personal lives in the novel, but many of them have old, stereotypical reactions to the situations they find themselves in. It’s a bit wearing and that’s before I tried to understand the motivation behind the death of Angelica. 

Fallen Angel is an easy way to while away a few hours.

DS Gaby Darwin is back after six weeks sick leave. In a quiet period Gaby delves into a pile of cold cases. One case in particular gets her nose twitching . Twenty-five years is a long time, a young girl was posed in the middle of the forest dressed in a vintage white night dress. Gaby and her team have no idea what they are going to uncover. Little does she realise that for one of her team this one is personal. I was hooked from the first page. Even 3/4 of the way through this book I had no idea who the killer was infact not until the great reveal. This is always a bonus for me. Really clever story telling and an original plot  which blew me away. A fantastic five star read. 
Thanks to HQ and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Fallen Angel

Jenny O’Brien

*** 1/2

The third book in the series following the trials and tribulations of DS Gaby Darin. When a cold case resurfaces, can the team solve it before it also becomes a current case?

As with the previous stories you really get a good visualisation of the area in which this is set, having been to Llandudno many times I can see all the places in this story.
The author really develops the characters well and leaves areas where I can see them progressing in further stories.

For me, I felt this book was a little slow compared with the previous one, where there was twists and turns a plenty, keeping you guessing the whole way through. Although the story develops well, with plenty of detail it’s not until nearer the end that the main action occurs and you suddenly find yourself inundated with what’s going on!

I would definitely read more books that come out in this series, with the hope there is a little more action throughout. 

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and most importantly the author, for the chance to read this book, in exchange for an honest review.

After 6 weeks on sick leave DS Gaby Darin is at work she is asked to pick up a cold case from 25 years ago the unexplained death of a teenage girl called Angelica Brock.I enjoyed this book thanks to Jenny O'Brien 5*

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ digital for ARC to reveiw.  
DS Gaby Darin is just back at work after six weeks' sick leave, returning during a bit of a quiet period.  
She is persuaded to pick up a cold case, the unexplained death of teenaged Angelica Brock, twenty five years before.  

Only when she has reopened the case does she realise that her colleaugue' Owen Bates' wife is related to the deceased and he had reasons of his own for wanting to find Angelica's killer.     

Almost immediately, other more recent cases seem to be taking precedence, including a suspicious death in a house explosion.  

Then another young woman dies in similar circumstances and the pressure is on to find a killer who may have been active for twenty five years.  

I am new to this writer and this series and admit I struggled with it; I thought some of the interpersonal relationships with Gaby and her colleagues, between her colleagues and their families were so broadly drawn as to be cliched and not always internally consistent.  For me the budding romance in amongst the action was a bit improbable.  It reflects that old myth that boys are only mean to you if they like you, which is so damaging.  

I didn't get a strong sense of place, but maybe if I knew Wales better that would have been less of a problem.  

Despite all this, as the pace hotted up I began to want to find out what would happen next and how Gaby and her team would resolve things.  The dramatic denouement was pretty satisfying.

3.75* gore score 🗡
A new author to me. Of course I haven’t read the books in order 😂Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this arc. 
DI Gaby Darin book 3 in the series. Set in North Wales investigating a cold case along side a current one. 
Gaby is a very likeable character, and nice for her to have a love interest. It’s adds a bit of spice. 
I like the dynamic between the team. I feel that the book concentrates on the characters as much as the plot so it’s well balanced. 
Medium paced but well written so that it captured my interest straight away and kept it. There’s a lot going on in the plot. 
I like that Valerie Keogh gets a mention as an author. 
Queries 
? Report of burglary whats to be had its burnt to rubble. Suspicious behaviour though. 
Feel that Gaby would have called for back up on setting off on the journey to the house not on arrival ( or not called at all) as no further information on arriving there.

An entertaining, enthralling story full of love, treason, lies and hope! The tale takes the reader to London, Dublin and Germany at the beginning of WII. I also learned a good deal about Irish history, which I enjoy while reading a story. This is my first book by the author, but I have already looked for other titles! 
Thank you for letting me read this book for free on BookSirens.

#FallenAngel #NetGalley 
A good one. 
Angelica Brock is found dead at a local beauty spot, dressed in a pure white nightgown, her white-blonde hair arranged around her. For years her death is a mystery, her killer the one who got away for a whole generation of police.For DS Gaby Darin, it’s not just any cold case – the victim is intimately linked to someone close to her, and emotions are high. But just as the team finds a breakthrough clue on Angelica’s nightdress, another case crashes into the station. Could they be linked? After all this time, can Gaby finally discover what really happened to Angelica? 
Angelica is good. I loved her. 
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for giving me an advanced copy.

The first book I've read from this author, a decent police procedural with interesting characters and a complex plot. I did feel it was long winded; 85% before the team managed to start finding answers.

I was granted this very kindly by Net Galley and having read the previous two books jumped at the chance.    Following DS Gaby the story again gripped me with lots of twists and turns and I love the fact that the author entwines the personal lives of the police”family” whilst they work together to solve the crimes.    I also love the descriptions and mentions of Llandudno which is one of my favourite placeS..

I would highly recommend you will. not be disappointed the novels by this author are very absorbing and each book is very strong.  Five  stars for definite.

After six weeks of sick leave, Detective Gaby Darin returns to work at a time when the unit is calm and without urgent cases to resolve. So she takes advantage of this circumstance to resume her duties and catch up with the paperwork while she finish recovering.

Gaby is a very active woman who enjoys her work. Researching, following leads and solving cases is her biggest motivation so far. That’s why she feels so bored after several days of reading reports in her office.

Reopening a case is just what she needs to get going. But this is not a case like any other. It’s not just the fact that it happened 25 years ago and that they have only a few clues to follow. In addition, the victim is closely related to a person very close to the detective and she still doesn’t know how this detail can affect the investigation.

In each new case of Detective Gaby the author immerses us in an increasingly turbulent, unknown and unpredictable world from which it is very difficult to disconnect once you start reading.

The story transmits tension, urgency and despair from the beginning and perhaps that is why it is a book that demands a fast reading rhythm. It is almost impossible to stop to think or reflect on what will happen next because reading completely absorbs you.

I would also like to highlight the evolution of the characters throughout the series. From my point of view, the way in which the author has generated more interest about the secondary characters has been very good. It gives us more details of their lives, of their way of being and behaving which makes them even closer, they feel more real.

This is a series that I like and enjoy more and more especially because of the situations from which it starts, all simple and that go into the possible. Nothing here is far-fetched. All very well executed in the style of Jenny O'Brien that with each new release creates more expectation and leaves wanting more and more.

D.I. Gaby Darin.
St Asaph police station North Wales has been remodelled
D. Owen Bates has worked along side Gaby now for six months, Nothing fazed him and the nature of both their jobs he always broke the tension with inappropriate jokes.
looking through tattered newspapers Gaby reads Angelica Brock found dead after going missing from home twenty five years ago case unsolved, but why now? Owen Bates explains, and Gaby needs to talk to Stewart Tipping about Operation Angel, she wish Owen had said something sooner, this is not going to be easy, but if anyone can do it Gaby can.
Oh what can i say about book three?
Gripping right through, a few surprises are in store, such a dynamic story unfolds as we find out more. I just couldn't leave this book be reading chapter after chapter.
another hitting fantastic read from this author so let's bring on some more.

Wow, wow, wow!! This series is fast becoming one of my favourite police procedurals, the police characters and their interactions are so believable and I really enjoy the interplay between them. The blossoming romance with Rusty is a highlight. The plot is unlike most things I have read before, someone literally scared to death!! The surprises come thick and fast and the plot never loses pace. I also love the North Wales setting; may have to book a trip to Llandudno. This is book 3 in the series and is the best one yet. Highly recommended, a real 5 star read. Can't wait for the next one.