Tag: #angelamarsons

Book Review: Dead Souls by Angela Marsons

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Most times you read a series because you love the characters and the author gives you interesting, intriguing and/or entertaining plots that keep the characters fresh and growing. Sometimes there may be a book that doesn’t move you as much as the others, but you continue to read the series because the characters are like family.

Occasionally you get a book in a series that is a so well done that you know it will live on in your memory because it makes you question basic humanity. No matter the first or the tenth book in the series, you will recommend it to everyone, whether they have read the whole series or not. DEAD SOULS (Detective Kim Stone #6) by Angela Marsons is that book!

During a routine archaeological dig, human bones are unearthed. As Dr. A evaluates the grave site, both Kim and Tom Travis show up to the scene and once again battle over control of the investigation. Ms. Marsons shakes up this book in the series by separating Kim from her regular team. She has been ordered to work alongside Tom, who she has had a troubled past with.

Bryant, Dawson and Stacy are left to work on a series of brutal attacks and work out their own interpersonal relationships without Kim as a boss and referee. The investigations all start to tie together into one connected hate crime conspiracy. When one of the team does some investigating on their own, it leads to dire consequences that start the clock ticking on solving both cases and saving one of their own.

This addition to the series is definitely my favorite to date even with the uncomfortable look into prejudice and hate crimes. Ms. Marsons handled the subject perfectly.  It is especially poignant considering the current climate in society today. In addition to the author bringing together two mysteries separated by over twenty years, this story is rich on character development and backstory. It also could not have had a better title that covers people both literally and figuratively. I give this author and series, especially this book, my highest recommendation!

Thank you very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was definitely my pleasure!

Book Review: Blood Lines by Angela Marsons

blood-lines

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Brilliant! Thrilling! Suspenseful! Gripping! Intriguing! There are not enough adjectives to describe how I feel about this fifth D. I. Kim Stone book, BLOOD LINES by Angela Marsons. When I think Ms. Marsons has given me everything in a mystery/thriller/British police procedural I could possibly want, she surprises me once again with even more.

Kim and her team start investigating the stabbing death of an apparent carjacking victim, but something just doesn’t feel right to Kim and soon they have more victims with the same stab wound, but nothing else to connect them. No evidence at any of the scenes leaves the team struggling.

Adding to the stress of a tough case, the sociopath psychiatrist, Alex Thorne is back and has worked out a plan to eliminate the roadblocks to her release from prison, permanently. Kim barely kept her sanity dealing with Alex in book two and knows that another sparring match may push her over the edge, but she feels she has no choice. Alex has manipulated everyone around her again, even while in prison and Kim needs to figure out her end game and stop her no matter the cost.

The two plot lines intertwine to perfection in this book. The theme runs through both, but I can’t say more without giving a spoiler. Even the title is perfect for this book. I feel this book is perfectly plotted and paced. I put it down once only due to work. I would have been compelled to read it through in one sitting otherwise.

The characters are realistic and as in all the previous books, I look forward to what new insights Ms. Marsons will reveal about each. Kim is once again facing psychological implosion from her interactions with Alex Thorne and she also throws in the possible release of her mentally ill mother. Bryant is proving once again to be Kim’s rock and best friend besides her partner. Stacey and Dawson also continue to grow into their roles.

This book can be read as a standalone, but to understand the richness of Ms. Marsons’ characters, you really should start at book one and read how they grow. I cannot recommend this series enough! This is a must read series for me!

A huge thank you to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Perfect!

Book Review: Play Dead by Angela Marsons

untitled

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

Play Dead is Angela Marsons’ fourth book in the D.I. Kim Stone series. This series just keeps getting better and better, which is amazing because it started out great!

The main setting of this book is a ‘body farm’ and who, but Kim Stone could find a corpse that doesn’t belong? When a second body is found with the same injuries, but not quite dead, Kim knows she and her team have a serial killer to stop. As they try to connect the victims, reporter Tracy Frost drops a cold case in Kim’s lap that she knows the Inspector will be intrigued by and want to solve because Kim feels she must always find the identity of victims of crime. What Tracy fails to tell Kim is that she knows the victims of her ‘body farm’ case and when she goes missing, Kim knows she has a limited amount of time to find her alive.

The mystery/thriller plot and subplot both have several twists and tie together in a surprising climax that had me guessing until the reveal. There are a lot of interesting forensic facts and information involved in this book. All of the characters are very well developed and three dimensional from Kim and her team to all of the bad guys. Kim and Tracy both have more of their back stories revealed, which leads to more understanding of their characters and how they became the way they are now.

This series is a must read for me! I always want more of Kim and her team.

Thank you very much to Bookouture and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I love this series!

Book Review: Lost Girls by Angela Marsons

images

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

I so love this author and series! Angela Marsons writes stories that pull you in, take you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and then leaves you with a satisfaction of justice served, but a hunger for the next story.

Lost Girls is the third book in the D.I. Kim Stone series and is about a subject that terrifies all parents, the abduction of their child. This plot is even more twisted because the kidnappers always take two girls and tell the parents that the couple that pays the most will get their daughter back and the other daughter will be killed. This is the second time this crime has been committed, and now D.I. Kim Stone and her team are assigned to the case. The clock is ticking.

Ms. Marsons knows how to write an English police procedural that is also thrilling and suspenseful. The plot has many twists and turns. Kim Stone is a brilliant character that tugs at your heart, but don’t tell her, she wouldn’t like it. Her team is a group of varied and well written characters. The criminals are as well written as the main characters, which makes them all the more chilling.

If you haven’t read this series yet you are truly missing out on great books!