RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
DYING TRUTH (D.I. Kim Stone, #8) by Angela Marsons is a tour de force!
With every book in the Kim Stone series, I have come to love all of the characters more. I have been intrigued and tricked by the mystery/crime plotlines. In book #8, Ms. Marsons covers the short time period of six days which left me with a severe book hangover and the knowledge that I will remember this Kim Stone book far into the future.
Heathcrest is a prestigious private school for children of the elite in British society. Perfect appearance is everything, but a crime from the past has come back to haunt the children of today. D.I. Kim Stone takes a call of a potential jumper. When she arrives on the scene, the broken body of Sadie Winter is on the ground, but Kim cannot justify what she sees with the testimony of witnesses. Soon after, another child is dead and Kim and her team know they must hurry to find who in Heathcrest is killing the children.
Ms. Marsons covers many emotional hot topic issues in this book. Heathcrest displays the divide between private education for the rich and public education. Scholarship students are accepted, but always know they are different. Peer pressure, bullying and the expectations of parents are laid bare in a forthright manner. The pros and cons of secret societies that last for a lifetime plays a major role in a murder from the past tied to the murders in the present. The topic of “if a child can kill” is also covered candidly.
Beside the riveting and emotional intertwined plots from past and present in this book, I always read this series to catch up on some of my favorite characters. Kim and her team not only have to solve this case, but Kim also has to turn in her personnel evaluations. Kim, Bryant, Kevin and Stacey are each very different and yet when put together make the perfect unit. After eight books, I have watched each character grow and become more vivid, but there is a gut-wrenching shake up at the end of this book. Was it needed? That is for each reader to decide, but in my opinion it was entirely believable when you consider that character’s growth and personality.
I am looking forward to the next book in this series. While I may never get over some of the emotional wreckage from this one, I want more!
Thanks very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Once again I have only heard good things about this series. I really should take some time to read them. Nice review Avonna.
Thank you, Carla! And yes, you should be reading this series!