Dark Angel (DI Greco, #4) by Helen H. Durrant

Print Length: 243 pages

Publisher: Joffee Books (January 26, 2018)

From Goodreads.com:  Two young men break into an expensive house in Cheshire. They take money and jewellery — and a large amount of heroin. Within twenty-four hours they are found brutally murdered.

The killings have the hallmarks of a local drug baron. The two victims were also “angels” helping in a community project which seems to have been lowering the crime rate in the area.

Meanwhile, Detective Stephen Greco’s colleague and on-off girlfriend Grace is pregnant. He isn’t sure how he feels, and they haven’t told the boss.

This gripping and fast-paced crime mystery ends with a series of shocking twists.

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My Rating: 3 stars out of 5

This is another of those stories where although you do not have to read the books that have come prior in order to understand the story - you will be missing out on a lot of information regarding the characters. 

Normally, I am a big fan of this author and this series, however I feel as though this one was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on. The overall plot - the theft, the murders, the investigation etc was very much in line with the previous novels, and with this authors writing style. I will say that there was one crucial piece of information in the investigation that to me seemed a little - obvious - and because of that I feel as though it is unfathomable that the entire team missed it for as long as they did. Even with the obvious clues left behind, I feel as though someone somewhere along the line did not properly do their job or one loose end would have been tied up long before it was. 

One of the big issues I had with this novel is the relationship - or lack thereof - between Greco and Grace. Their "relationship" has always seemed very one sided to me to begin with, but this pregnancy arc just killed it. I understand Grace wanting to tell their colleagues, just as I can understand why Greco was hesitant to do so. I feel like in this particular story Greco came across as even colder and more unfeeling than normal, whilst Grace came across as overly pushy. She kept saying "they agreed to have the child" when it couldn't be more obvious that Greco did not share the feelings she did. I felt like she kept pushing him more and more into something he didn't want simply because she had always fancied him. It was so far away from how they normally interacted with one another that it stuck out to me. 

Even with those things, I still think this story will appeal to those who enjoy well written crime thriller novels that are full of unexpected twists. 

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.