I haven’t read any books by this author previously, but I have the feeling I will be reading more in the future. The book follows a team of detectives trying to solve an unusual murder, I liked the fact that this was different to crime novels I have read before it was a gripping read and I couldn’t put it down.

Oh my, what a chillingly disturbing first case DC Beth Young finds herself on, as the newest recruit to the Force Major Investigation Team, she wants to prove her worth.

A body is discovered on the grounds of a ruined mansion, murdered in the most horrific way and with “birds” wings attached by surgical glue to it’s body. The team have a bad one on their hands, can they piece it together before the body count rises…. NO… plenty of red herrings along the way, just when you think you may have it figured out…. You don’t… I really don’t want to go too much into the storyline for fear of ruining it for others but suffice to say, if you like a good police procedural serial killer mystery…. This is the one for you and I for 1 cannot wait for the next one!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book had great ideas, original crimes and motive but somehow, for me, didn't quite deliver. The protagonists, all flawed in their own way, are beset by everyday problems which impinge on their working life. The main character, Beth Young, an experienced detective, is the newbie in a major crime squad but she is also the one with whom everyone shares their problems. Maybe it is realistic that you would unburden yourself to the new girl rather than someone who already knows and cares for you but she didn't come across as sympathetic to me, not in the way I think she was supposed to. I would have also liked more information on what she had done previously as her integration seemed immediate and she was trusted and relied on almost instantly.

The idea of two antagonists, neither named, was a good idea which worked to begin with when they were merged together and confusing to the reader. The differences became apparent too soon for me however, and it became clear who was who and how varied their motivations were all in a rush.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review and I am disappointed  the story didn't quite do it for me as the originality of some parts were exciting.

Good read. Gruesome way to start a new series! Interesting main character, looking forward to reading the next one in the series

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Darling Dead, the first novel to feature DC Beth Young of the Cumbrian Police.

When a body is discovered, burned and adorned with bird’s wings, the Cumbrian FMIT (Force Major Incident Team) know they have a problem which only gets worse as more bodies are found. For new start and lateral thinker, Beth Young, it is a steep learning curve.

The Darling Dead has an interesting premise but the execution didn’t hold my attention and I didn’t hear its siren call when I put it down. It is mostly told from Beth and the investigation’s point of view but there are two other unnamed voices, designed, I think, to muddy the waters and initially it works as it is difficult to differentiate between them. It wasn’t long, however, before I had the killer identified and as the motive was not kept secret the novel becomes more about waiting for the police to catch up and stop the spree. Personally I feel it would have been a much more interesting read if the author had stuck to Beth’s narrative alone as it would have provided more twists and tension. I didn’t find the psychology of the other voices particularly strong or convincing.

It’s a bit of a cliché that Beth, as the new recruit to a team of experienced detectives, seems to be the only one capable of making the intuitive leaps and links required to progress the case. Much is made of her love of puzzles and her dedication to justice for the victims but still ...

I found the writing style not to my taste either, full of over explanation which detracts from the momentum.

The Darling Dead is a solid read which simply didn’t capture my attention or fire my imagination.

A well written and disturbing book in what is set to be a good new series. Interesting, relatable characters and a gory, fast paced plot combine well with the unique Cumbrian setting. For me the only negative is the predictable making Beth a target, an all too common trend in the crime genre.

2/5 (thank you Netgalley & Bookouture for the digital arc)

Reading The Darling Dead is like the equivalent of watching crime procedural tv shows, e.g: Criminal Minds, True Detective, or Hannibal (OK Hannibal isn't crime procedural, but reading the victims' description sound like murders in Hannibal - the TV show). Except, there's nothing outstanding about The Darling Dead.

Beth Young has to solve artsy serial killings before the killer strikes again.

That basically is. Yes, we get to know Beth in the process, alternating between the killer's mind, red herrings, and future victim's timeline.

The opening chapter gripped me, not gonna lie. I like the writing style, but then I lost interest and didn't care at all towards Beth, or the victims. I'm gonna write it down that it might be me, not the book.

As it is, 2 stars for me.

Something missing for me. I felt Beth Young was not realistic, too much leeway that just would not happen in real life. Did not really bond with any of the characters but that said the premise was good. Just a so so novel in my opinion as I guessed who the dragonmaster was very early on. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

I usually avoid books that have a description n the title line,but was urged in by good reviews and mention of angels. 
I didn't enjoy it.... there were so many times it just didn't sound right to me.
I'll admit I gave up at 75%of the way through.

A disturbing police procedural/thriller set in England's picturesque Lake District, detailing the police investigation into a series of horrific murders.

The story opens with the main character, Detective Constable Beth Young, who is in her early 20's, joining Cumbria's major crimes team. Her first job comes when a body is found posed in a ritualistic manner. This gruesome discovery is soon followed by a string of other murders with more bodies discovered in derelict stately homes throughout the Lake District

Although the youngest member of the team, Beth believes she’s the only one who can decipher the clues left by the killer. Readers will need a strong stomach when they read details of these murders and the autopsies which follow, as the author outlines these and the rest of the police investigation in exhaustive detail. We learn that each victim was drugged before having bird wings carefully attached to their shoulder blades, before their mouths, throats and lungs were blasted and almost burned to cinders.

We learn something of Beth's background, especially the facial injuries following her being glassed in a pub fight when she was younger. Beth still seeks the man who caused her injuries. She seems to be on the defensive most of the time, partly because of these physical scars, but also because she is the least experienced of the police squad. Her impulsiveness leads to stern reprimands and she finds herself having to rein in her wildest theories. First, she is wary and almost dismissive of her 3 closest colleagues, but, gradually, Beth becomes almost like a social worker in helping each with their personal problems - even those of her feisty boss, the wonderfully nicknamed Dowdy O' Dowd.

Every few chapters, there are pages devoted to the thoughts and actions of two men who seem to play some part in the kidnapping and murders of the various victims. At times I found the narrative to be long-winded and it slowed the action, but the pace of the story picks up and thunders towards a thrilling climax. This is the first in a series which will feature DC Beth Young - a determined and courageous young policewoman whose investigative skills owe much to her solving of puzzles and crosswords in her off duty time.

The start of a brand new series by one of my favourite authors.

This book made me so happy as it was slightly darker than his other books but really had me gripped.

I also had the goosebumps as the imagery was so vivid. I just couldn't help but feel for the victims and wish that I was part of the team solving the horrendous crimes.

A competent police procedural about a new detective, Beth Young, who is tasked with finding the killer of a number of people in Cumbria who he sees as his angels.

The book is well balanced between the detectives working the case and their frustrations and personality clashes and the various murders and the story moves a pace.

I can’t quite put my finger on it, but, overall it just didn’t hook me. I found it had all the right pieces, but, I didn’t care enough about any of the characters.

3*

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookoutre publishers for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Graham Smith certainly knows how to open a book with a bang! And for new bride Emily Welton, her wedding day is not going to be one she forgets in a hurry!

DC Beth Young newest recruit to the Force Major Investigation Team and is not enamoured by her boss DS Thompson tries to belittle her. His reaction when first seeing her doesn't shock her and for Beth, this is not unusual. Thompson is insensitive and a glory thief. Yet the more we get to know about Thompson the easier it is to understand him.

We learn about Beth's motivation for joining the police and her ambition to become a detective. At times she is astute yet a little naive. I'm looking forward to her character developing as the series unfolds. I'm keen to see how her relationship with DC Unthank, the most placid and perhaps sensitive member of the team develops.

DI Zoe O'Dowd heads up the team and she is a formidable leader who Beth is eager to impress. O'Dowd is direct and straight to the point, she definitely takes no prisoners in her approach, but there is also a sense of understanding and empathy that lies beneath her stern exterior.

With the team there is a real feeling of getting to know them in this first book in the series, uncovering their quirks and their personalities and helping the reader understand what makes them tick. It paves the way and whets the appetite for the readers' anticipation for what is going to come next.

The author provides his readers with a great sense of place and he certainly and he brings the streets of Carlisle and Cumbria to life. Some of the places I recognised and those that I didn't I felt as though I were there in the heart of the story.

Plenty of clues and red herrings are provided with the narrative and with two unknown narrators we get a voyeuristic feeling as they talk of watching their angels. There was something very creepy and disturbing reading from their point of view. Caught in their sights is car salesperson, Sarah Hardy and I loved her character, the reader may have one idea about her when they first meet her but like all good characters just scratch beneath the surface to find out what's really going on.

Graham Smith is excellent at creating characters which lead the reader to make assumptions about them before he picks away and slowly reveals what lies beneath and some you will like even more after the reveal while others will leave you cold and afraid!

The dark and quite twisted murders demonstrate the darkness that inhabits the author's mind! You certainly don't want to be getting in his wrong side and being killed off in a book because it ain't going to be pretty!

The Darling Dead is a great start to what promises to be an exciting new series from Graham Smith.
My review will be on my blog as part of the Blog Tour

The Darling Dead. Graham Smith

Every now and again something stunning comes along, and now is that time.

In The Darling Dead I found a gem of a book.

Not only is the story original, and compelling, but the main character is one of the best fictional Police Detectives I’ve had the pleasure to be introduced to.

I’ll start with the detective. Detective Constable Beth Young is only 23 years old, but she’s already lived a full life. She had been a model, her boyfriend dumped her when she became a cop at the earliest age she could. He wanted a model girlfriend on his arm, not a Police Officer.

Her stunning good looks have been robbed from her by an errant broken bottle in a pub during a night out, and she now carries vicious scars on one side of her face. Does it hold her back? No. In fact she uses the way people react to the scars to help her gauge the type of person they are.

She is a puzzle solver, and has complicated puzzle books on her shelves next to the books on her other interest, serial killers.

She has a strange way of thinking, and uses logic to help her think outside the box. She emphasises with victims, and she understands perpetrators.

Her only problem is she has no filters, her scars redden when she’s angry, and at times there is no filter between her brain and her mouth.

I like this girl a lot.

Beth has just started in Cumbria’s Force Major Investigation Team. A small close knit team she is having trouble integrating into. The first case she works on is grim.

A bride spots a corpse in the grounds of the ruined mansion in which she is having her wedding.

The corpse has been posed and has suffered a horrific death. The investigation leads to the discovery of more bodies posed in the same manner. But the killer is not only escalating they are experimenting, until they have created their perfect murder.

Beth quickly has to find her feet in the investigation and uses her logic to start to piece together information from the different murder scenes. But as the young new detective, will the old hands take her seriously.

This is book has shot right into my top three of this year, and would be pretty close to one of my favourite books of the last 5 or 6 years.

I love the character Beth Young, and hopefully there is a lot of scope for Graham Smith to create a long series with her.

The manner of killing in this book is well written and without being overly graphic, is very gruesome. In fact it will live with me for a while.

A great book, just stunning.

Pages: 362
Publisher: Bookouture
Publishing Date: 30th November 2018.

Ohh I really enjoyed this book so much, the plot was exceptionally good, very gruesome and totally addictive...I just could not guess at all as to the perpetrator was which for someone like me who reads a lot of thrillers makes a book really stand out. The characters were well rounded and interesting and I particularly liked O’Dowd and of course Beth and I am thrilled that this is the start of a new series, The writing was excellent and so Mr Smith please hurry up with the next book as I can’t wait. So if you want a fabulous read then I highly recommend this one I loved it. My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a chance to read the ARC so I could give my honest opinion.

Detective Beth Young has a mind made for solving puzzles, it’s what makes her such a good investigator, so when a bodies start turning up in derelict, once grand estate and castles in the Lake District, she’s sure she can track down the killer. While it sounds like the murderer may be a disgruntled member of the National Trust, Beth and Beth alone has the particular skill set required to catch this devious killer. I loved reading about all the magnificent crumbling old piles, they are the perfect setting for murder

I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Darling Dead is the first book in the Detective Beth Young series and can't wait for the next book in this series.


Detective Beth Young has just joined the Cumbrian major crimes team.

Beth first case is when a murder body found
posed in a ritualistic manner arms spread and graceful wings attached. This put the police on high alerts as she deals with her own demons she feels as though she can solve this crime herself.

As the team starts to appreciate how she investigate. We see how the killer choose the victims and it's really twisted how the killer kills them.

This was a great introduction of this series it was a thrilling twisted ride can't to read what next book would be like.

The Darling Dead is the first book in the Detective Beth Young series. The author isn't new to writing books in a crime series already having two other great ones under his belt. This is his first one though with a leading female protagonist and as with all of the authors books, it has been done with care and great skill.

Beth is the rookie of the crime team but apart from a few teething problems at the start, she certainly earns her place to be part of it. She has her own demons to battle but is made of stern stuff and I enjoyed seeing how the rest of the team start to appreciate having her around. 

The murders are extremely twisted and have to say I was absolutely gripped as we see the killer choosing their victims. It sure does get the adrenaline pumping making me want to scream and shout to the characters to tell them to watch out. 

The Darling Dead is a sophisticated and gripping read that will send your heart racing. This is an author who knows exactly what a crime fan expects from a book and he delivers every time. A thrilling and twisted read and no better way to kick off a brand new crime series.