BOOK 1: DARK MURDER A woman is found dead by a canal . . . why have her eyes have been viciously poked out? Detective Stephen Greco has just started a new job at Oldston CID and now he faces a series of murders with seemingly no connection but the brutal disfigurement of the victims. Greco’s team is falling apart under the pressure and he doesn’t know who he can trust. Then they discover a link to a local drug dealer, but maybe it’s not all that it seems.
BOOK 2: DARK HOUSES A young woman is found brutally murdered in an empty house Detective Stephen Greco and his team must piece together her life as quickly as possible. Within twenty-four hours there is another killing using the same method. The detectives realise that the victims are random but the locations are not. The killer is more concerned with finding the right house – an old empty place where he won’t be disturbed. When someone walks into the station and confesses, it looks like it’s all over, but Greco’s not convinced and soon he’ll be fighting to save the woman who’s most important to him
BOOK 3: DARK TRADE A teenage boy is found murdered. He has been stabbed through the heart by a professional killer. Detective Stephen Greco and his new team discover that the boy is an illegal immigrant. A killer nicknamed “the Knifeman” then strikes again. The murder leads DCI Greco on a dark trail of people smuggling and exploitation.
BOOK 4: DARK ANGEL Two young men break into an expensive house. They take money and jewellery — and a large amount of heroin. Within twenty-four hours they are found brutally murdered. The killings have all 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 local crime rate. But not everything is as it seems. And just when it seems like Greco seems to have cracked the case, new information comes to light which threatens to change everything.
THE DETECTIVES DCI Stephen Greco is a meticulous policeman with a touch of O.C.D. Easy to admire, but difficult to like. He has created a new team after a personal tragedy threatened to end his career, and is struggling to care for his daughter.
DS Grace Harper is an ambitious young policewoman with excellent people skills. Like Greco, she is a single parent and struggles to balance work and childcare.
THE SETTING The Northern city of Manchester is a place of great diversity, from high-end restaurants and clubs for the moneyed classes to grim housing estates riven by crime and drugs.
DARK MURDER Greco has had to uproot and move to a new area and new team in order to maintain a relationship with Matilda, his young daughter. He is very fragile emotionally and feels he has been put in charge of a team of misfits which doesn't help his stress levels. He suffers from OCD which gets worse with stress and his cleanliness fetish means he finds some team members more difficult than normal. When his newly divorced wife has to go and care for her sick Dad Greco is left with his 5 year old daughter to care for in addition to all his other problems. Grace steps up to the plate and helps him out but that means he has to let down a few barriers and let her in a little which could be misinterpreted. In short Greco is struggling every which way. Speedy gets himself in debt to a dangerous man who is suspect in a murder investigation and we are treated to a unique fly on the wall view of life on the dark side of the law which brings a new dimension to the story. Realistic characters all with unique quirks and a story with many strands makes this book a fast-paced, adrenaline pumping read with twist and turns everywhere. A great introduction to the series.
DARK HOUSES In an empty house the body of a pretty girl is discovered. Rape, torture the victim had horrific injuries and Greco has his work cut out. The killer is forensically aware so there is no evidence it is on a low income estate so everyone 'seen nothing, heard nothing' Add into the mix a schizophrenic young man and things are starting to get really complicated. Greco is trying to rebuild his relationship with his ex wife while working his way through his OCD issues and is feeling a little insecure. Speedy is disillusioned with life and work and Grace has a crush on Greco. Can the team clear their heads enough to pick up and run with the tiny bits of clues that are available before more young women die? There are many twists and turns as the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride full of edge-of-your-seat suspense all the way to an ending that is mind blowing. Another absolutely fantastic read from a very talented author.
DARK TRADE The story begins with a young boy being assassinated. Why would someone want to eliminate a teenager in this manner? Greco has recently been promoted to DCI of the newly formed Serious Crimes Team and is struggling to pull together a pretty dysfunctional team while dealing with the loss of Suzie. He has kept Grace and Speedy as part of the new team but Grace has romantic inclinations towards Greco and at this point in his life that is more than he is able to cope with and adds to the stress which also impacts on his OCD. With the makings of a difficult case added into the mix Greco is really up against it. The team struggle to unravel clues as to what is going on while random people from different areas of the underworld turn up dead. This is a very intriguing book as there is so much going on with twists, turns and shocks all the way through. We are almost at the end before the dots begin to join up and the end result is even more shocking than expected. Another absolutely stunning read that keeps the adrenaline pumping all the way through as we are treated to an insight into the stark reality of life within a detective team. The reality is not black and white it is grey and fuzzy and this book captures that perfectly.
DARK ANGEL A couple of lads get a tip off there are drugs to be found but they were not expecting the massive amount that they stumbled upon. They are made for life but that life is destined to be very short lived. As Greco and his team search for clues and start putting the pieces together something is not working out in Stephen's mind. Can his gut instinct be relied upon given the personal problems he is fighting with in his mind? All the clues point to one person but is that too easy? When the drugs team from another branch try stealing the case the team are on a mission to solve the murders before they have to hand it over. The main characters are Greco and Grace as we learn more about their characters. There is a very human element to Helen's books that bring the characters to life. I am waiting for the next book to see how Greco and Grace handle the fall out from their relationship. This is a fast paced story with a very intricate plot. There are many twists and turns along the way to an ending that nobody expected. The readers is gripped from the very beginning and the pages just keep turning. A brilliant book and I am looking forward to more from this author.
If you want to know what happens next to Stephen Greco his story continues in DEAD WICKED which is book 10 of the Calladine and Bayliss series.
A surprise inspection from Customs and Ava has to act fast before they find the Hero in smuggled in on one of Greysons lorries. She was transport manager and ran the whole smuggling operation with Barton, a local business man, respectable front, totally vicious crook underneath. She stores the packages in her fridge, thinking only she knows where it is - she's wrong. When it goes missing, three murders occur and Greco and his team are tasked with finding gear and the murderer. Steven Greco's private life is just as big a mess. A careless one night stand in Brighton and he will be playing daddy in six months time. He is totally lost, the control ufreak has lost control. Some good twists and turns but departmental conflict and rivalry means a lot of hard slog for his team, only to be ordered to hand everything over to the drug squad as they ready to make arrests.
This is the 4 DI Stephen Greco books in one set. Greco has recently transferred to Manchester to be close to his estranged wife Suzy and their daughter Matilda. Having been a detective in Norfolk, Manchester is a very different prospect. Greco has a combination of personal traits that sometimes overtake his professional life. He comes across as a good "copper" but then his traits make you think is he an idiot or what?? The 4 cases involve a number of murders that Greco and his team get involved in investigating. Some of the murders involve those of the criminal fraternity however some involve innocent bystanders and have a significant impact on Greco and his personal life. Enjoyable, easy read with a good range of characters.
This was a 4 book series by an author I had never/ read or heard about before. 9You would have to classify each book as novella's as each are about 175 to 200 pages long.
All four books were fantastic reads, with great (same) characters (in all four books) and story lines. I don't think I'm overstating the 5 star rating as the pages turned themselves.
Every story line was different, with ending's you don't see coming.
So if you like Murder/Detective (british) you will LOVE THESE BOOKS. I just bought another nine book series by Helen Durrant and can't wait to start it.
This is actually a review of Dark Angel. The whole series is great, though, and I reviewed each individually. I enjoyed this last in the Greco series. The author has quite the imagination and it keeps the reader turning the pages. Towards the end I guessed the perp which is unusual for me...a good twist. Got very tired of Grace and her whining and jealousies. Had no sympathy with her...what did she expect from her lack of professionalism and tone deafness??? Glad it worked out in the end and sorry there won't be any more...I grew to like Greco and Speedy.
Interesting team with colorful bunch of misfits. Let's see how they shape up in the future. It's odd while I have yet to be surprised by any of the revelations I found myself completely immersed, it's almost as if I kept waiting for the players to catch up, for them to finally figure out what had been so clear all along to any reader paying the slightest bit of attention. That goes for both of the various cases as well as the personal and personnel developments. Not happy about some of the later developments, seriously so predictable and so unnecessary.
I enjoyed all the stories in this box set. Detective Stephen Greco is a complex character with difficult issues to overcome - he was likeable and very good at his job. The other members of the team were well-defined and gelled into the stories. Other characters also suited the plots.
I prefer British crime thrillers and these were realistic and believable, though, of course, disturbing. They highlighted the things people will do for money and power...shudder.
I would have given five stars for the stories but the lead character is truly a forgettable lead character, I read books for escapism not a flawed main detective,it without a doubt spoiled the enjoyment of reading these books ,I had just finished reading Damien Boyd series about another detective nick Dixon series and without doubt is by far a truly readable series
DI Stephen Greco is a great policeman and high rate of solving crimes. Personallly, he is OCD, is extremely private and solitary, is a workaholic, and is recently divorced. These murder mysteries are all terrific, with unusual murders, great police procedurals,, and exciting, unexpected endings! Enjoy!
What a magnificent box set that had me on tender hooks right from book 1. DI Greco led his team brilliantly throughout it. All the characters had their own stories which made the plot more intriguing. However the mild bad language puts me off reading any more of this author hence 4 stars. However apart from that I thoroughly enjoyed what she’s written. Thank you.
Love reading about DCI Stephen Greco and DC Grace Harper, but sad how it all ended Love to know if Grace and Stephen story will continue. But if it does hope it is happier time for them .. Love following along to see if I could figure out " Who" did the crime .. Can't wait for the next book in this series. Cindy Riley
Another well told tale from this talented author, with an investigating police officer whose social skills and personal relationships could do with some fine tuning.
Nonetheless, the case is ultimately solved, with a, surprise ending.
Enjoyed reading this series but got bored with the main character Greico's constant references to his OCD. Made him come off as a whiner. Also, his jumping around about relationships. I prefer a stronger male character more sure of himself and his involvement with other people. Just couldn't warm up to him.
I absolutely loved the plots… but the main characters (on both sides of the law) are just so unappealing. Even the protagonist is sad… and he is a character that we could actually root for - but the author never “gives him a break”. There are no cracks of light in these books. So, there’s very little for the reader to enjoy, with the closing of each case.
New series, new detective, new team, plots even more twisting than other Helen Durrant crime series I have read. Hope there are more books following Stephen Greco to come as left on but of knife edge.
Really enjoyed the series and recommend them. Well written with believable characters and enough twists to keep you enthralled. Would like more of Detective Greco and his team.
Enjoyed all the books. Characters well described and believable. Would recommend it to a friend to read. Would also look out for any other books by Helen Durrant
I enjoyed the thrill and excitement that HELEN H. DURRANT brought me. I bonded with the players and wanted more. I am a series addict and definitely addicted to HELEN H. DURRANT she gives you her all with her story telling. MUST READ SERIES.
Good characters. Good narrative. Couldn't wait to get back reading this book Anne life got in the way. Would recommend give this read. Good value for money.
Excellent series of 4 books in the Greco series each enthralling in their own right. Author obviously did background in these type of crimes and stories rolled along nicely with many twists along the way.
Helen Durant is a very good author. I was enthralled from the first page. From the first book to last she kept the suspense going, not leaving you high and dry like some authors. I look forward to reading more of her books.
I liked the books but yet again let down by poor editing. A number of missed words or mixed up ones. I don't know if this is on the authors side or amazons. I'd say Amazon as I'm finding it more and more with kindle books. Otherwise I would have given it more stars.
The complete Detective Stephen Greco-Roman box set.
I have enjoyed reading this series of books, they are pretty fast moving, with several twists along the way. Good reading, and a set I'd recommend to murder mystery readers.
This is a very good set of books, once started they were very hard to put down I read all four in two days. Hope there is going to be more of the Greco books.
Overall a great boxset. Thank you Joffe books for this set. I did enjoy them and it was great to meet Greco and the team. Great detective work and good storylines.