Dark Murder

BLUF: Good start to a new series. This book emphasizes character development and the development of the team, but worry not – the murder and mystery mixes well.

I was provided a copy of this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review

Plot: Dark Murder follows Detective Stephen Greco, a new lead for the team, in the case of a mutilated body found in a canal. Greco is brought in to pull the team together as a functional unit. Between the suspicious circumstances around the murder and the awkward dynamics around leading a new team, Dark Murder is a good start to a new series.The Good: I enjoyed the characters and their interactions: the team has an interesting dynamics and we have insights to the faults of the employees, the family and coworkers of the victims lead to interesting drama, and we gain insight on the killer by seeing through his eyes, although it's a bit disturbing. Another aspect I liked is that we figure out who the killer is around three quarters of the way in, but not the why until ~90%. The Bad: The ending was very quick and anti-climatic.I was very excited when I realized that the main character is not only a side character in another book of Durrant's (Dead List), but also that he was not a well liked character in this other book.

In comparison to Dead List: Dead List was upfront with the murderer, while Dark Murder allows the reader to guess. Dead List was all about the characters and their relationships with each other while Dark Murder has a healthier mix of relationships and murder mystery.