Dead Souls is installment #6 in the Kim Stone series, and , I thought it would be difficult to understand the nuances of the characters' relationships with one another. Not so! Of course, starting at the beginning of the series is ideal, Ms. Marsons develops the characters so well that I quickly embraced them! The characters are vivid, round and multi-dimensional. The voice of each character distinct. The plot is unique and enlightening, as it reveals thematic hate crime issues. The pacing of the storyline was fast and furious; the climax utterly suspenseful, and the denouement very satisfying. I highly recommend this gripping police procedural thriller and am looking forward to starting at the beginning of this series!

I stopped in the middle of a couple of books to read Dead Souls and it was definitely worth it. I'm a Kim Stone fan and enjoyed this one.

Bones are found in a field that was being used in a training exercise for forensic students and what was a training exercise, now becomes a real crime scene. Due to the crime being between 2 districts, Kim is removed from her team and working with a new group. This becomes a growing experience for Kim and it was really nice to see this development.

While she's working one crime scene, her team is following up on what first appears to be unrelated hate crimes. I like the way that Ms. Marsons weaves what appears to be unrelated crimes into a plot that ties crimes from the past to current day crimes. The character development in this book is really good and I also really enjoyed the build up of the suspense in the end.

My one caveat is the nature of the crime. How is it that I can read about a serial killer without a problem and yet reading about these hate crimes made me very upset? I did put the book down a couple of times - unusual for me and a Kim Stone book - but the attitude of the "bad guys" in this book really got to me. The plot was exceptionally well done and very thought provoking. However, if you have triggers for racial hate crimes, be warned.

I received an ARC from Net Galley and Bookouture publishing in exchange for an honest review. As I mentioned I am a fan of Ms. Marsons and her Kim Stone series and recommend both this book and the series. I discovered this series with book #3 and have now read books #3 through #6 and enjoyed them all. I'm going back and reading books 1 & 2 as I don't want to miss out on any of this series.

I found this to be the worst in the series for me personally I did not enjoy the separation of the team and the relationship with Travis, the writing is as good as all the other books so this is why I gave it 3 stars

This is book #6 in the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons . I have read all of these and this one is great also . Book has two story lines but the main one is a chilling story about hate crimes.
A collection of bones has been unearthed during a archaeological dig. The remains show that the victims went through unimaginable horrors . The bones are found on the boundary that Kim's station covers so she has to investigate with West Mercia and Detective Travis whom she shares a past .
This plot is well written. Some of the book is dark and disturbing and contains difficult subject matter. I highly recommend this book if you like a good thriller . I have this book a 5 star . Thank you to Netgalley /Bookouture and Angela Marsons for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Publish date will be April 28,2017. Shared on Amazon , Goodreads and Netgalley

Another very good entry in Marson's Kim Stone series, this one sees DI Stone taken out of her comfort zone when multiple bodies are found in a shallow grave on a remote farm. Stone not only has to work this murder mystery without her team but is forced to co-investigate with a former colleague with whom she had a VERY big falling out......and the results of this forced pairing are very predictable. Meanwhile her team of Bryant, Dawson and Stacey Wood share the spotlight as they investigate other cases showcasing their strengths and yes, weaknesses, in this excellent character building story. As always, some very nasty, yet topical material in this book, and as always, it is handled expertly by the author.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Thrilling gritty drama with a bit of everything. Kim Stone is a great character and we are getting to know more about her team. A story with twists and turns and the horrors we sometimes perpetrate on others.

I've read all of Angela Marsons' books and this one does not disappoint. It's a little slower to get going than some of her other books, but once the story opens up, it really is hard to put down. It really was quite dark but it makes it different to her other books. Another great read, well done. I look forward to more from Kim Stone and her team.

I felt meh about this one just as the last one. I did not find myself thinking about this when I was away from the book. I also felt it was improbable for a book to have so many gay/lesbian characters (Frost, Stacy, Bubba etc) but that is just me. I am starting to feel the series has run its course unless Marson can really pull something out of the bag next time.

I loved this new installment of the Kim Stone series. This book is different to the others, a big shuffle in teams etc made it interesting to see the dynamics at play. Great story line. I couldn't get enough. A fast read. Highly recommend this book. Already looking forward to the next installment.

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Dead Souls (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 6)
by Angela Marsons
Bookouture
General Fiction (Adult) , Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 28 Apr 2017
I sm reviewing a copy of Dead Souls through Bookouture and Netgalley:

An archaeological dig unearths human bones, bones of murder victims. And suddenly the Black County field becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone.

Stacy Wood struggles to make sense of the crime scene around her. The tiny room in the back of the house is covered in blood.

Detective Kim Stone finds herself having to work alongside Detective Travis who she has a troubled relationship with.

This book deals with horrific hate crimes, and will leave you guessing until the end.

I give Dead Souls five out of five stars.

Happy Reading!

This was my first Angela Marsons. She has such great reviews and I have to say, the beginning of the book was not at all as I expected. However, the story rushes along at a great pace and I began to really like DCI Kim Stone. There are lots of strands to the plot, a great dynamic within the police team and animosity between Kim and her colleague Travis - all great stuff. Four stars for entertainment, a cracking plot and some wonderful one-liners.

Excellent as always, I am always in a hurry for the DCI Kim Stone books to be released. This one ticks all the boxes and keeps you turning the pages.
DCI Kim Stone is called by Dr A to a field in the Black County during a routine archaeological dig uncovers human remain. Due to this being bang on the border there ensues a fight to claim the case between herself and Detective Travis who she has a less than harmonious past. DCI Stone is doing what she does best and discovering the secret relationship between the families on the land where the bones were found.
Meanwhile Kim's team are caught up on a spate of terrifying hate crimes. While Kim is beginning to piece things together and is oh so close to the truth things take a turn for the worse when she discovers that one of her team is in danger.....

Just in case you didn't already know I am a massive Angela Marsons fan. So has always I couldn't contain my excitement when I head Dead Souls is the the sixth Kim Stone book was coming out. Yes you read that right this is book six. It doesn't seem five minutes since I read Silent Scream which is the first book in the series. I don't want to sound like a broken record but....WOWSERS this lady can write one top quality gripping story. Each book just gets better and better. Angela also gives us something a little different in each novel. In this one she gets a whole lot darker, which I absolutely loved.

Dead Souls tells a story of the finidings of human bones which are unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field and suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone. It soon becomes clear that this is the grave of more than one person and with bullets hole and animal trap markings on the victims. Kim is taken out of her comfort zone by being taken away from her team and forced to work with Detective Travis, with whom she shares a troubled past with.Giving us an insight to her past. But we also get to know more about Stacey.This story is very well crafted with a difficult story matter.

We are also taken to new places about the Black Country. Which are not they are new to me because I actually know them but they are new to other readers that don't know the area like I do. But Angela’s descriptions are spot on and I always feel like I am part of the story.

Dead Souls is yet again another cracking read which I cannot recommend enough giving it 5 massive stars. I cannot wait to see what is in store for Kim in the next book.

Dead Souls is the sixth novel by Angela Marsons featuring DI Kim Stone. I read this in part of a Angela Marsons binge, and the books just get better and better! Kim has to leave her team, and work on another case with a DI that she honestly despises. Throughout the book the author hints at what happened between them, and it was once again evident.... Kim doesn't play well with others! This was a brilliant offering and I can't wait to read number 7!

For me personally, this wasn't one of Angela Marsons best books, I have read all the other Kim Stone novels and thoroughly enjoyed them, but this I just couldn't get into. I really hate to make myself read a book that i'm not enjoying, so unfortunately i gave up about half way through

This is the 6th book in the Detective Kim Stone series by author Angela Marsons. I came across Angela Marsons work over 2 years ago when I started this series and was instantly hooked, her books are of a consistently high standard and I am never disappointed.
When a collection of human bones is unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone.

In this novel, a large number of bones are discovered in a grave and it becomes apparent that there is more than one body. The bodies have the markings of bullet holes and animal traps and it is obvious the evil has occurred.
Detective Kim Stone is forced to work alongside Detective Travis, with whom she shares a troubled past and she starts to uncover secrets between the families who own the land in which the bodies were found.
Another excellent book by this talented author who never lets me down, I can't wait for the next instalment.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I've enjoyed the Kim Stone series ever since I listened to SILENT SCREAM.
I really enjoyed this book. I guessed early that it was some sort of hate, but was not sure how it was going to turn out and who was truly involved.
Glad to see Stacy having a bigger role, and not stuck behind her desk.
Bryant and Dawson got to know each other better. And Kim was able to work things out with Tom Travis, and forgive him and herself.

How does hatred, so deep and so evil, even exist in its neophyte state?

What exactly is the enticement that sets its vicious tentacles in search of others to slither around and permeate far into the corridors of the human heart? Unspeakable and unrelenting horror which visits upon the weak, the innocent, and the unsuspecting. Simply: bad to the bone.

But bones of another course draw us into this compelling storyline. Dr. A., forensic archaeologist, has set up a university training session at Hayley Green. Sifting through dirt reveals a human skull with a metacarpal bone protruding from the eye socket. Needless to say, "class is dismissed" and Dr. A. places an urgent call to D.I. Kim Stone. Dr. A. eventually reveals at least three human bodies in the area. Murder most deadly.

Angela Marsons presents her sixth book in the stellar Kim Stone series. And this one takes on the timely topic of Hate Crimes. Marsons does an outstanding job of weaving it throughout this story, but she doesn't just use it as a plot device. Marsons introduces her specific characters, both the innocent and the dastardly, to educate her readers. Although a work of fiction, we are painfully aware of the existence of this dark malfunction of the human entity. It is an infestation within a multitude of thought lodgings existing within every society known around the world. It feeds on the premise that differences of all kinds must be eradicated. Ironically, it is the hate mongering itself that must be expunged beginning in its earliest stages.

D.I. Kim Stone and her team are now operating in different assigned circles. Kim is aligned with D.I. Tom Travis, once again, and some interesting backstories are revealed. Detective Stacey is given a much wider berth which propels this story into high gear. Hatred saddles up and gallops into the confines of Stone and her team, up close and much too personal.

Marsons delivers with short, to the point chapters, no aimless fill-ins, and with straightaway action. She places bits of humor and strategic dialogue in all the right places. Angela Marsons crafts a thriller like no other. It's all here, readers. The pumped-up, lively storyline streaming into intense waters. Perhaps, there's also a longing for more critical awareness as well in this complicated world.

I received a copy of Dead Souls through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Bookouture and to Angela Marsons for the opportunity.

Dead Souls by Angela Marsons is the sixth book in the D.I. Kim Stone series. Doctor A is a forensic archaeologist who was conducting a training class when she uncovered a skull at Hayley Green. She quickly halts the training and contacts the police. D.I. Kim Stone arrives at the scene and discovers D.I. Tom Travis is there as well. This location happens to be on the border of two police districts. Kim is told by DCI Woodward (Woody) that it will be a joint investigation (inter-force collaboration). Kim and Tom will have to work together. Kim will have the challenge of working without her team. Tom and Kim used to work together until “the incident” (which Kim refuses to discuss with anyone). Tom has not spoken to Kim since then and she is unsure why. Kim puts on a brave face and starts working the case. Doctor A slowly uncovers the three bodies in the grave. She is able to discern that the grave was not the original dump site. Exploring the bones, Doctor A uncovers bullet holes, animal trap marking, and dog bites. What horror did these three people incur? Kim and Tom explore the relationship between the land owners and their renters. It is obvious that they are both keeping secrets. Will the identity of the victim’s lead them to the killer? Meanwhile, Kim’s team is working on a series of hate crimes, and it causes tension between Bryant, Dawson, and Stacey Jones. Stacey wants to prove that she is just as good as the others. She can do more than use a computer and starts her own investigation. Then one of Kim’s team members is in jeopardy, she uses all the resources available to resolve the crimes. Can Kim and Tom find the perpetrators in time and bring Kim’s team member home safely?

Dead Souls is well-written and has a fast pace. This book engages the reader’s attention from the first page and holds it until the very end. Kim Stone is a complex and unique character. We get to know a little more about her in each book and Kim’s character grows or develops a little more. I appreciated finding out more about Stacey Jones in Dead Souls. It was also interesting to see Bryant and Dawson work together (very entertaining). The mysteries in Dead Souls are complex and convoluted (lots of twists). There are many details and moving parts. It all comes together in the end. If you pay close attention, you can identify the main culprit before the reveal. I give Dead Souls 5 out of 5 stars. If you have not read any of the other D.I. Kim Stone novels, then I suggest you start at the beginning. Otherwise, you will not understand Kim, how she works, her team, and the team dynamic. Dead Souls deals with very sensitive and controversial issue. The story dives into hate crimes (racism) and how people perceive each other. It is hard to fathom disliking a person based on their race, sexual orientation, or disability. It is disturbing what people will do in our society. Dead Souls is an exceptional novel.

This is another superbly well written, can't put it down thriller from Angela Marsons and the sixth in the D.I. Kim Stone series.
This time the theme is hate crimes and even Kim's own team have to look at themselves and their prejudices.
It is thought provoking and dark and I highly recommend it. 5 easy stars from me!