A very tense and heart wrenching novel which is difficult emotionally to read at time but still is too gripping for you to close the book. The loss of her partner and her son leaves Hannah a bare shell of herself but you can feel there is more to the story and start to wonder if she is being entirely honest. Many characters from her present and her past start to gravitate and the plot thickens. This novel has been expertly written and really grips you by the throat, absorbs you in its intrigue only to regurgitate you satisfied by a really good read with many unexpected outcomes but still a bit bruised by the rawness of the story. I was really impressed and will read more from this author.

Not as gripping as I had hoped. Some good characters but they get lost amongst the others. Basic story line is well written

My first encounter with Jenny O’Brien’s Detective Inspector Gabby Darin has been a thoroughly pleasant first meeting. Her characters are pleasingly drawn, with interesting but not overbearing personal lives. The plot, too, scatters false leads at an appropriate rate to pique the interest of those readers who like to reach an identification of the culprit ahead of the police. Writing is well crafted, giving the reader a realistic sense of being in the streets of the towns in North Wales where the action takes place, whilst the pace of the narrative is slowly increased to arrive at an almost breathless denouement that tidies up just about all the loose ends. Not yet in the Ian Rankin category, but Ms O’Brien writes a mean police procedural that should satisfy most readers. Recommended.

This is the first book that I have read in the DI Gaby Darin series, a police procedural set in North Wales and I really enjoyed it, finding it easy to pick up with out reading the previous books.

The story is about Hannah Thomas coming home after a night away with her friend and colleague Milly, to find her partner, Ian Strong dead in his car, appearing to have committed suicide and her five year old diabetic son Hunter, missing. Well written with a realistic ending.

Book 5 DI Gaby Darin. Police procedural.
A man is found in a car having died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He had been looking after his partner's diabetic son who has vanished. Can Gary's team find the boy in time?
Interwoven is Gaby's relationship with Rusty and her colleague and best friend Amy's wedding plans.

Gave up on this book because it was so slow that I lost the will to read it. They team get called to a body and a missing child and they don't seem to be in any hurry to find him. Apart from the discovery nothing happens in the first quarter of the book.

A most excellent read.Well worth reading great storyline from start to finish.Kept me guessing right to the end.Would recommend this book and author to anyone who likes mystery novels.

Really enjoyed this book, great to see the characters developing again into another story. Loved the chill and twists that were brought to life in the book in finding out why her fiancee was killed and finding her son x

Buried Lives is a thoroughly enjoyable detective mystery. This is the first book I’ve read by Jenny O’Brien and it won’t be my last. I particularly enjoyed the characterisation and the very effective portrayal of the dynamics within the team of detectives, allowing Gaby, the senior investigation officer, to direct the appropriate personnel effectively when and where needed.

The setting is well described and the relationships are very believable. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good detective thriller.

My thanks to Netgalley and HQ publishers for the advanced copy.

Absolutely awesome. Loved this new book from Jenny O’Brien. She has a good crew of characters and she develops them well as the books come along. I enjoyed the character development as much as the murder mystery.
In this book she deals with a very difficult subject: the loss of a child in difficult circumstances. The death of a young boy in a community is always difficult to deal with and it affects everyone involved in the case. Miss O’Brien does a great job at making feel the loss and the impact of that loss on the mother. She weaves an interesting story too. Who is the mother? Why doesn’t she have friends? Why does she refuse mariage?

Fascinating story with a good rhythm and wonderful characters. Highly recommended.

Book 5 of the series and each one just gets better and better!! A real page turner could not put it down - kept me interested and wanting more every step of the way. Thank you Net Galley for the opportunity . loved this book

Buried Lies is Book 5 in the Detective Gaby Darin series. It could easily be read as a standalone as the focus, as always, is on the case Darin's team are working on. However, I'd recommend reading the series from the beginning to get a better understanding of the individuals who make up Darin's team. I was a little disappointed not to find out more about the intriguing Mal in this book, but balanced that with learning more about the other regular characters. I particularly enjoyed Gaby showing Conor, Rusty Mulholland's eleven year old son, that she is not to be messed with.

This story kicks off with the murder of Ian Strong, a serving police officer, and Hunter, Strong's fiancée Hannah Thomas's five year old son. Although all the evidence suggests Hannah is responsible for their deaths, I found myself pointing the finger of suspicion at several other characters, only to cross them off my list, as more information came to light.

Another excellent story in this series to exercise my detective skills, with a twist at the end that I was not prepared for.

I am grateful to Netgalley and HQ Stories at HarperCollins for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading Buried Lies, I was new to Jenny O'Brien, and I enjoyed this police procedural, Book 5 in the Gaby Darin series. Being Book 5, there was a back story with the main character and her team. However, that did not detract from my enjoyment of the book. I would say that you could read it as a standalone story.
The storyline was sad and complicated, involving the death of Hannah's partner, a police officer, and her missing diabetic son. However, with false leads aplenty and Hannah as a significant character, who seems not quite right, there are many twists and turns throughout.
The sub-themes in the plot also include Gaby's relationships with her team and a pathologist, Dr Rusty Mulholland. Unfortunately, that generated a lot of dialogue that fleshes out their relationships, which, at times, I found somewhat mundane and slowed the book's pace.
However, I loved the setting along the North Wales coast, which took me back to some years climbing in and visiting that part of the country.
Jenny has an easy-going writing style that tends more to characterisation than plot-driven, but no less enjoyable for that. If that is your preference, I would recommend that you start at Book 1 to get the full flavour of Gaby Darin.

An enjoyable read. Well written and plenty of twists and turns to keep you going. This is my first book by Jenny OBrien and I didn't realise it was part of a series. Works well as a stand alone as the characters are good and there is enough back story. I will seek out the rest of the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an Arc in exchange for an honest opinion

This was a frustrating book. Nothing happened at all for so long and then all the action and a follow up two and a half months happened in 3 or 4 chapters. By which time I’d given up the will to live. I wouldn’t recommend this or read it again.

As usua; l in my reviews I will not rehash the plot (there are plenty of review like that out there if that's what you are looking for).

I didn't realise when I requested this that it was part of a series - however there is enough background information to make it work just fine as a standalone novel.

On the whole I enjoyed this book - though I felt that the sections concerning the missing child lacked any sense of the urgency that typically accompanies such a search (particularly given that he was diabetic). I did not particularly like the lead detective, Gaby, who came across as rather a cold fish, but perhaps that's what the job does to you for your own survival! The plot was multi-layered, and there were a couple of good twists towards the end - I'd figured out who the culprit was, but had no idea of their motivation. I also liked the setting, being familiar with that area of North Wales made it easy to visualise the locations.

You'll enjoy this if you're a fan of police procedurals with a multi-layered plot and a clever twist.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

I found that this was a nice and easy read, with likeable characters and a plot line that seemed to flow effortlessly.


This is the 5th (and my first), in the Gabby Darin series. Do you need to have partaken in the others? The easy answer to that is no. The characters are well rounded, as they should be this far into a series.



Set around Llandudno, and Conwy mostly.



It follows Hannah Thomas, a nurse with a fiance, and a young son. With a jaded past, which has caught up with her.


A break to a spa, with a friend. returning home after a weekend away. To find her fiance dead in his car, apparently by his own hand, and her son missing.


That is as much as I am going to let on.


What lies ahead, the investigation, the private lives and the entwinement of them all.


I read this in two sittings of just over 90 mins each. It really is that easy of a read, and not in a bad way. This was my first book by this author, and I will be looking into her other works.


Status: Completed.

Rating: 4.6/5.0

Buried Lies is the fifth instalment in Jenny O'Brien's Detective Gaby Darin series set in North Wales.

Hannah Thomas is enjoying a day and evening out with her friend, Milly. She arrives home to find there is no sign of her diabetic son. Her fiancé also appears to have vanished; then she finds him dead in the garage. In late August, in Conwy, DI Gaby Darin, in charge of the North Wales Major Incident Team at St Asaph Police Station has taken a call from DC Jax Williams to attend a crime scene.

With its fast pacing, there is always plenty going on in Buried Lies and there is certainly never a dull moment! Jenny O'Brien knows how to write a story that is compelling and entertaining with characters that are not easy to love but fit with the story very well. I really enjoy Gaby's personality traits - particularly her brashness and astuteness. The author's clever writing, revealing little tidbits and morsels here and there, continued to wow me, resulting in my refusal to put this book down until the end! I'm already excited and eager for book six. Very highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from HQ Digital via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

3.5 *...A good read, and gripping storyline from Jenny...just no real shocking surprises, and the final twist just played out with little drama...good still though. Many thanks to Netgalley.co.uk, publisher and author for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I thoroughly enjoyed Buried lies. A gripping story line, well written and the twists and turns keep you in constant guessing mode.. No spoilers here but well worth a read .