A Darker State does exactly what the title says, starting off with an encounter with a dog and a dog-walker discovering multiple bodies of rats across the ground. We then switch to the settings of East Berlin and Karin Muller who is on maternity leave and swept up into a potential new role which means an immediate start. Having not read the others in the series, Young's writing is new to me. The build-up was enticing enough to make me want to continue on as a reader. I also like the cover as it has The Brandenburg Gate in the background, realistic to the setting of the novel.