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An interesting character-based crime story – more a meandering, engaging, mystery-rich novel rather than a more typical police procedural, this book also serves to introduce DC Gabrielle Darin in the first of a series featuring Gaby and her Wales-based detective team.

The story of Izzy, a twenty-something, pretty but insecure young woman, the plot centers on the recounting of a terrible crime – the heartbreaking and horrifying disappearance of Izzy’s newborn daughter Alys and her father, Izzy’s boyfriend Charlie, and the drama that follows five years later, when the crime, still unsolved and forever traumatic, rears its ugly head into the forefront of Izzy’s life yet again.

As DC Gaby Darin (a recent inductee to the Swansea police team) and her boss, lead detective DI Rhys Walker, revisit the case and the mysterious web of characters surrounding it, an entertaining story, with twists and turns and plenty of suspects, emerges, making for an absorbing afternoon’s read.

Gaby, as a character, is outspoken, slightly rough-around-the-edges, and had learned to “trust her instincts”, – her biggest challenge perhaps in the “learning to keep her mouth shut”. As such, Gaby’s character development, her expertise in solving crimes, and her inevitable conflicts with both authority figures and surly colleagues, promises an engaging journey as the series unfolds.

With one final giant twist at the finale (unguessed by this reader), this was a satisfying, multi-layered and well-executed read. I’m looking forward to reading more in this off-to-a-great-start series.

Note: A previous review was provided by this reader of “Cold Grave” – Book six in this series, which was read as a stand-alone novel.

https://www.booklymatters.com/cold-grave/

A great big thank you to the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.