Hidden Norfolk · #12
Angel of Death
An innocent man has everything to fear...
When the partial remains of a young woman are unearthed during a violent storm, it falls to DI Tom Janssen and his team to discover her identity and what brought her there.
A man is released from prison having been the apparent victim of a miscarriage of justice and returns home to rural Norfolk. Questions are being asked, not only of the police and their flawed investigation, but also of the man himself. A loner, strange and disinterested, is he truly innocent? Convicted without a body, if he didn't commit the murder he was sent to jail for, then where is she? Has a guilty man managed to evade justice and get away with murder or has a killer been hiding within the community all along?
Tensions are running high among the locals, people are split, with some threatening to take justice into their own hands. Old wounds, still to fully heal, are reopened and everyone wants resolution. But will Tom and his team be able to offer it, or will the investigation reveal dark secrets, long harboured, that will tear families apart?
Angel of Death is the twelfth novel in the Hidden Norfolk series of thrillers from the multi-million-selling British crime writer, JM Dalgliesh, the author of the Dark Yorkshire books. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, JD Kirk, Rachel McLean, Ann Cleeves and Simon McCleave.
The series
Tucked away on England’s brooding east coast, where the land bleeds into mist and marsh, the Hidden Norfolk series unfolds with quiet intensity. It’s here—beneath the surface of a place known more for coastal charm than crime—that the past lingers like fog and truth is a slippery, shifting thing.
Read full series description
Following Detective Inspector Tom Janssen, each story peels back the veneer of village life, revealing the tension, trauma, and long-buried secrets that ripple just beneath. These aren’t crimes of convenience—they’re rooted deep in character, shaped by community and carried out in silence. In this world, justice isn’t clean-cut, and resolution rarely comes without personal cost.
What makes the series stand out in the realm of British detective fiction is its devotion to atmosphere over action. The sense of place is almost a character in itself—windswept beaches, fading skies, and forgotten lanes form the backdrop to crimes that echo long after the final page. The pacing is deliberate, the storytelling intimate, and the emotional weight unflinching.
Fans of slow-burn crime novels, rich in psychological complexity and steeped in setting, will find themselves drawn into the quiet power of these investigations. There’s nothing flashy here—just sharp writing, layered plots, and a protagonist whose quiet persistence mirrors the landscape he patrols. In Hidden Norfolk, every whisper of wind might be carrying a secret, and no one is ever quite as innocent as they seem.
#1 · 2019One Lost Soul 
#2 · 2019Bury Your Past 
#3 · 2020Kill Our Sins 
#4 · 2020Tell No Tales 
#5 · 2020Hear No Evil 
#6 · 2020The Dead Call 
#7 · 2021Kill Them Cold 
#8 · 2021A Dark Sin 
#9 · 2021To Die For 
#10 · 2022Fool Me Twice 
#11 · 2022The Raven Song 
#12 · 2022Angel of Death 
#13 · 2023Dead To Me 
#14 · 2023Blood Runs Cold 
#15 · 2024Watch and Prey 
#16 · 2025When Death Calls 
#17 · 2026Keep No Secrets 
#18 · 2027Hidden Norfolk Book 18 Be the first reviewer
Sign in and write the first reader review.
