Another superb book featuring Kim Stone, this time dealing with the very unpleasant subject of hate crime, and brilliantly handled by the author. The book has several threads running through it and you wonder how they are all connected but as you near the end it all fits together perfectly. Can't wait for the next one.

So. Let's be honest. If there is a new Angela Marsons book out, then you know I'm going to be somewhere reading it. I have pretty well devoured every book she has written since I finally picked up Silent Scream a little over a year ago. February 6th 2016 to be exact. I hoofed through the whole thing in one night and pretty much the only thing that has changed since then is the length of my hair and the content of the books I am reading. Because when I picked up Dead Souls there was no way I was going to stop reading until I had finished. And believe me when I say that it's not just a me thing - it really is that good.

Now for fans of the Kim Stone series, you will know that she and her team have found themselves in some pretty tense and dangerous situations over the past couple of years. They are no strangers to grizzly deaths or hair raising investigations and, as you would expect with a title like Dead Souls, you can rest assured that this book is no different.

Actually. That's a lie. This is different. This book has a much darker tone to it overall, not so much so that it would put the ardent Kim Stone follower off, turn them away with graphic violence or unnecessary gore, but it is a very emotive and disturbing subject matter and there are elements which need to be handled in a sensitive and yet honest way. Angela Marsons tackles this with her usual flair, not trivialising the violence or the motives behind the violence and not playing it for shock value alone either. But shock it will.

From the get go there is an underlying menace, a sense that there is more than the eye can see. The very first act within the book is one which could be a trigger for some and one which many can probably identify with; an overwhelming sense of despair where there seems only one way out. Now this scene may be upsetting, it certainly sets the tone for the whole novel, but it is necessary for reasons that will become apparent as you read on. I won't say any more than that as this is a journey which the reader needs to go on for themselves.

Now aside from all the darkness, there are the usual moments of humour that we have come to associate with this series. Dr A for example is a real hoot, particularly as she delights in taunting Travis much to Kim's amusement. And even more that that, Bryant finds himself paired up with Dawson. You couldn't put two more different people together, well unless you count Kim and Bryant but there is a strange synergy there that just works. Bryant and Dawson - well there are moments between them that did make me chuckle. But beneath it all they are investigating a very disturbing crime and the compassion, frustration and determination which is inherent in the pair of them seeps from every page. They may have a very different approach to each other, but ultimately they both want the same thing - justice.

Marsons also manages to throw the team off kilter in this book, adding another, less obvious, layer of conflict to the novel. Kim finds herself paired up with DI Travis, the man who seems to be her nemesis. This in itself is not the conflict I'm referring to. Yes they rub each other up the wrong way, but this adds as much humour as it does tension at times. It is more the impact that Kim being separated from her team has on all of them. They have a spark when they are together, but that one little chink, that one small gap, and it puts everything on the line for one of them.

What I really enjoyed about the book was that not only did we come to learn the reasons behind Kim's problems with Travis, which were surprising to say the least, but that we got to see more of Stacey. She really comes into her own in Dead Souls. Previously she has been the one left behind, sat in the comfort of the station hiding behind her computer screen. Now she really steps up, making some serious mistakes in the process but ones which endear her to me even more than her wonderful Black Country accent. Her story is an emotive one and the case has very personal undertones for her. You cannot help but like this strong, determined, perhaps a little unsure Detective.

Angela Marsons has once again proven how skilled she is in creating tension. I could not look away from the book once I had started reading. I kind of had a sense of where it was heading, the harsh and brutal reality building with every page turn, as did the sense of dread. And from about 80% in I could feel my pulse rate rising, could feel my body tense as I willed the team to find the truth and to prevent what seemed almost inevitable. I swear that my heart was in my throat or as good as. That is the power of this wonderful lady's writing. One of the only people to make me cry she also takes me right to the edge of my very last nerve. Both from excitement and tension. Every. Flipping. Time.

This is not a story for the faint-hearted or for the easily offended. It is a very timely and perhaps sociologically relevant story, given all that has been happening across the globe. There is a grotesque realism to the way in which some of the story unfolds, but I mean that in a genuinely positive way. There is such passion in the way the subject is written that you can truly feel every bit of emotional energy that it clearly took to put these words on the page. In her letter at the end of the book Angela Marsons speaks of how difficult this book was to write, how parts of the research disgusted her, and I can fully believe it. To take such a vile subject and characters, such vitriol and make it breath. To completely avoid glorification of events and yet create such authenticity in the actions of the many hateful perpetrators in the book. To fully immerse yourself in the writing while keeping a safe and sane emotional distance from the hatred. That takes real skill and nerve. Ms Marsons has that by the bucket load.

This book is going to be a hit - no doubt about it. Everything you could expect from a Kim Stone book and just that little something more. Best. One. Ever... (so far ;) )

Dark, troubled and tension filled 5 stars. Big fat ones. Like massive. (Can I change my scoring system?) Ah well... I refuse to make them smaller ;)