Series: DI Kim Stone

#BookReview First Blood by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #FirstBlood #DIKimStoneSeries #GCPInsider

#BookReview First Blood by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #FirstBlood #DIKimStoneSeries #GCPInsider Title: First Blood

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #0

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Aug. 23, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 352

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She’s about to meet her team for the first time. The victim of her next case is about to meet his killer…

When the body of a young man is found beheaded and staked to the ground in a secluded area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her new squad rush to the crime scene.

Searching the victim’s home, Kim discovers a little girl’s bedroom and a hidden laptop. Why is his sister relieved to hear he’s dead – and where is the rest of his family?

As Kim begins to unearth the dark secrets at the heart of the case, D.C. Stacey Wood finds a disturbing resemblance to the recent murder of Lester Jackson. But that’s not all Stacey finds …

She’s convinced there is a link between the victims and a women’s shelter run by Marianne Forbes, Lester’s niece. A child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well what it means to be vulnerable. Could Marianne be the key to cracking this case?

With the killer about to strike again, Kim is in deep water with a rookie squad. Inexperienced Stacey is showing signs of brilliance but struggling to hold her nerve and, while D.S. Bryant is reliable and calm, D.S. Dawson is a liability. With his home life in pieces, his volatile behaviour is already fracturing her fragile new team.

Can Kim bring Dawson in line and pull her crew together in time to catch the killer before another life is taken? This time, one of her own could be in terrible danger…


Review:

Chilling, suspenseful, and addictive!

First Blood is a clever, captivating mystery that takes us back to the very beginning and gives us a glimpse into how this dynamic investigative team of Stone, Bryant, Dawson, and Wood worked together to solve their very first challenging case involving a serial killer on a rampage to exact their own form of justice on the predators who prey on innocent children.

The writing is bold and intense. The characters are meticulous, persistent, and impulsive. And the plot is a gripping, sinister whodunit full of twists, turns, lies, deception, revelations, obsession, depravity, abuse, violence, and murder.

The DI Kim Stone series is one of my all-time favourite series, and it was brilliant to be able to see how it all began. First Blood is an intricate, riveting, absorbing police procedural by an author, Angela Marsons, who creates characters I can’t get enough of and juicy, complex stories that always suck me in and leave me shocked, surprised, highly entertained, and extremely satisfied.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

         

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.

#BookReview Play Dead by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #PlayDead #DIKimStoneSeries

#BookReview Play Dead by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #PlayDead #DIKimStoneSeries Title: Play Dead

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #4

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Jan. 18, 2022

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 400

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

Detective Kim Stone discovers the best place to hide a murder in this gripping psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons.

Westerley research facility is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a “body farm” known for its investigations into human decomposition, with inhabitants that are corpses in various states of decay. But when Detective Kim Stone and her team discover the fresh body of a young woman among the donated cadavers there, it seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover to bury their crime.

Then a second girl is attacked and left for dead, her body drugged and mouth filled with soil. It’s clear to Stone and the team that a serial killer is at work. But just how many bodies will they uncover? And who is next?

When local reporter Tracy Frost disappears, the stakes are raised. The past seems to hold the key to the killer’s secrets—but can Kim uncover the truth before a twisted, damaged mind claims another victim?


Review:

Relentless, unpredictable, and sinister!

In this latest novel in the DI Kim Stone series, Play Dead, Marsons has written a gripping, fast-paced mystery that sees Detective Inspective Stone and her team heading to the Westerley research facility to investigate an eerie case involving a potential serial killer with a penchant for dumping their victims amongst the decaying corpses being researched at the local body farm.

The writing is crisp and tight. The characters are impulsive, secretive, and scarred. And the plot keeps you engrossed from start to finish with all its twists, turns, deception, revelations, revenge, retribution, violence, and murder.

I have to say this series keeps getting better and better. Play Dead is an intricate, suspenseful, perfectly paced whodunit that has all the elements I look for in a thrilling mystery, along with a touch of authenticity not always found in police procedurals that kept me riveted and eager for more.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.

#BookReview Lost Girls by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #LostGirls #DIKimStoneSeries

#BookReview Lost Girls by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #LostGirls #DIKimStoneSeries Title: Lost Girls

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #3

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Oct. 12, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 448

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

Two girls go missing. Only one will return.

The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.

When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.

And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children, the clock starts ticking for and the squad.

Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…

Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?


Review:

Brilliantly plotted, incredibly captivating, and cleverly spine-chilling!

Lost Girls is a dark, suspenseful, gripping police procedural that brings every parent’s worst nightmare to life and explores the terror, chaos, and distress a ruthless set of kidnappers with no conscience, a lot of savvy, and sadistic tendencies can wreak.

The writing is tight and intense. The characters are intelligent, multi-layered, and tenacious. And the plot starts with a bang and quickly unravels into a perilous tale full of twists, turns, red herrings, secrets, lies, fear, obsession, greed, violence, kidnapping, and murder.

I have to say that in a time when mysteries and thrillers seem to be churned out quicker and quicker, and storylines seem to be getting more predictable and rote, Angela Marsons is like a breath of fresh air. She creates characters I can’t get enough of and complex, gritty stories that suck me in and make me feel like a participant and not just an observer. She writes with great depth and a lot of insight, and every time I finish one of her books, I’m left unnerved, entertained, and disturbingly satisfied and Lost Girls is no exception. What more can I say if you haven’t read any of the novels in the DI Kim Stone series, you really need to.

 

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.

#BookReview Evil Games by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #Evil Games #DIKimStoneSeries

#BookReview Evil Games by Angela Marsons @WriteAngie @GrandCentralPub #AngelaMarsons #Evil Games #DIKimStoneSeries Title: Evil Games

Author: Angela Marsons

Series: DI Kim Stone #2

Published by: Grand Central Publishing on Apr. 13, 2021

Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Police Procedural

Pages: 384

Format: Paperback

Source: Grand Central Publishing

Book Rating: 10/10

Detective Kim Stone learns the heard way that the greater the evil, the more deadly the game in this gripping psychological thriller from USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons.
 
When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal stabbing, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But as further disturbing events come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone even more sinister at work.

With the investigation gathering momentum, while also trying to expose the secrets of a sick pedophile ring, Kim finds herself in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment.

Pitted against a dangerous sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time–it’s personal.


Review:

Captivating, dark, and incredibly chilling!

Evil Games is a skillfully crafted, perfectly executed police procedural that highlights just how easily vulnerable people can be swayed and manipulated into doing some of the most horrific things and reminds us that the most heinous of evil often lives comfortably amongst us merely concealed behind masks of normality.

The writing style is edgy and brisk. The characters, including the scarred, tormented, intelligent heroine, are genuine, driven, and persistent. And the plot is a sinister rollercoaster ride of twists, turns, secrets, deception, violence, manipulation, deviance, child abuse, rape, violence, revenge, and murder.

I have to admit that over the past six years that I’ve been reviewing novels, I’ve seen a lot of Angela Marsons books floating around and am shocked that it has taken me this long to finally pick one up. Evil Games is a disturbing, sinister, enthralling tale that has everything you look for in a riveting thriller, including multilayered characters and juicy, complex storylines, and even though it does have a lot of triggers that will prevent some people from being able to read it, I for one loved it and am eagerly looking forward to getting my hands on some of the other DI Kim Stone novels in the series as soon as possible.

This book is available now.

Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.

            

 

 

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

 

About Angela Marsons

Angela Marsons is the USA Today bestselling author of the Detective Kim Stone series, and her books have sold more than four million copies and have been translated into twenty-seven languages. She lives in the Black Country, in the West Midlands of England, with her partner and their two Golden Retrievers. She first discovered her love of writing at junior school when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s.” After writing women’s fiction, Angela turned to crime — fictionally speaking, of course — and developed a character that refused to go away.