It’s here, the 7th book in the DI Kim Stone series. I tweeted, as soon as it became available, that Angela Marsons was the only author that I put other books down for, to read hers when they come out.

Did it live up to my expectations?

Hell Yes!

Detective Inspector Kim Stone and her team are back. The story starts with a young girl sitting on the roof of a Black Country Tower Block on Christmas Day. She gets pushed off, but will anybody ever know it wasn’t suicide?

Over the next few weeks, as the midlands is covered in snow, a baby is abandoned outside Kim’s Police Station, a prostitute is murdered on her patch, and as the team become involved in solving these crimes they become start to uncover a slave trade ring of forced labour.

The books takes the reader into the underworld of prostitution, drugs, and modern slavery.

With the team recovering from the events of a few months earlier, Kim pairs-up her young Detective Sergeant Kevin Dawson, with her young Detective Constable Stacey Wood. This partnership is the Yin and Yang of policing. Full-on-Kevin is a typically out-going personality that likes to push the limits, and is full of self-confidence. Black Country-Girl-Stacey, is quiet, methodical, and deep thinking. They both have a positive effect on each other, and bring the best out of each other as people, and as Police Officers. As they investigate the abandoned baby case they are thrust into the world of illegal immigrants and forced labour.

Meanwhile Kim uses her trusted old-hand, Sergeant Bryant, to keep her on the right side of the line that divides pushing Police Procedures to the limit, and breaking the law.

Kim and Bryant look into the death of the prostitute and the investigation takes them to the seedier side of two “titutions” that go hand in hand. Destitution and Prostitution.

Bully boy pimps, gangs, drugs, the horror of street-walking-sex-trade workers, physical abuse, and grooming are day-to-day occurrences for the prostitutes of the Black Country. Now, just to make matters worse, somebody has killed one of their own. As Kim and Bryant start their investigation they come across some familiar faces and the reader gets to see the other side of the lives of the street girls. The vulnerable women and the desperation that leads them into the life they live.

The investigations of the murdered prostitute and the abandoned baby are only the start of a series of crimes that have the team stretched to the limit physically and emotionally as the book roars to an end on a bleak cold night.

When I first started blogging I said I was dubious about prolific authors who publish more than 1 book a year. My thoughts, and experiences, were that a good book takes time to write, and that anybody who wrote 2, or more, each year was just churning out words and hoping their fans would keep buying.

Angela Marsons has proved the exception to that. 7 books in this series in a little over 2 years; and over 2 million copies sold. Each book raises the bar, each book is better than the last.

The only other author that has kept me hooked on a series, of Police procedural books, for this long is Tess Gerritsen with her Rizzoli and Isles series; and that is not bad company to be in.

As with Gerritsen, Angela Marsons books are as much about her characters as they are about the crimes they investigate. It cannot be a coincidence that readers invest in these two authors. I always look forward to seeing what Kim and her team are up to, in their private lives, and in the investigation.

Angela Marsons remains my favourite author, and there are a lot of good authors out there at the moment.

I can’t wait for book number 8.

This is the 7th Kim Stone book and I just love the series and all the characters. I received my arc , abandoned all my other books and didn’t stop till I had finished it. The story was fast paced, lots of different storylines and kept me enthralled all the way through.

The book see the usual team of Stone, Bryant, Stacey and Dawson working fabulously together – we learn a bit more about their characters and I think we see a softer side to Stone in this book.

The book deals with lots of emotive topics and opens your eyes to victims and how they can be manipulated and coerced when they have no other option left to them.

Fabulously well written – can’t wait for the next installment

That prologue! #killerhook alert! It just sets you up perfectly for the next in the Kim Stone series and you know it’s going to be good when your eyes fill up with tears while at the same time you gasp with shock as a young girl is pushed to her death. On the same night, a young baby is abandoned outside of the police station and this is just the start of an emotional whirlwind of a read.

DI Kim Stone is one of my favourite female ballsy detectives out there and in Breaking Bones, she loses none of those special qualities that I have grown to love over the series. But this time around we also see a softer side to Kim, as she uncovers some of the worst examples of human behaviours imaginable. I found it impossible not to be moved by the harrowing tales of prostitution, modern-day slavery and grooming that emerged as the story progressed. This was more than simply a police procedural for me, this was a loud and clear statement highlighting all that is wrong in our modern-day world. In a world where "poverty porn" has become a form of TV entertainment, where kids are so isolated and fractured from any sense of family that their own homes are no longer places of safety; a world where newspaper headlines scream about "murdered prostitutes" and lose focus on the person behind the label they have so cruelly and thoughtlessly attached; a world where other human beings are forced to flee the horrors of their own country only to end up as slaves in this country. This is what grabbed me about this book! Authors are sometimes criticised for using their work as a personal soapbox but I for one will never criticise authors like Angela and others who use their books as a means to make a statement and to get that message out there. If just one person reads this book and changes their assumptions and stereotypes about the people behind the headlines then it is always going to be worth it!

Ohhh sorry, I went off on a bit of a rant there didn't I?! Relationships in the team put to the test with the addition of two new members of staff to assist in the current investigations and I found it intriguing to see how this impacted on the team dynamics. Yet despite this nothing impacts on the core strength of Kim's team, they are tight-knit and they are all on the side of justice, even if it means bending the rules a little to get there! Aside from Kim, Dawson, kind of stole the show for me this time around, he has been keeping a secret but when it is revealed then my heart just about melted! 

As I said before, the themes of the book are pretty dark and as such there are a number of odious characters but one that I'd never tire of slapping is Kai Lord, OMG he was vile! He made my skin crawl!

It's kind of hard to talk too much about the storyline without giving anything away but if I were, to sum up how this book made me feel, I'd have to say: Broken Bones broke me into tiny pieces, I was like a wrung-out sponge by the time I'd turned the last page. Never so much have I wanted to climb into the pages of a book and rescue so many characters. Angela Marsons is one of the most immensely talented writers out there; she has an exceptional skill in creating a cast of characters and a spider web of plots that will keep you glued to the book until it is finished. I'd strongly advise getting yourself well comfy before you start reading this as you are not going to move until you are done!

There are so many Crime detective series on the market that it's almost impossible to keep up with them all. There are a few series that come high or hell water I wouldn't miss the latest instalment of and Angela Marsons Detective Kim Stone series is one of them. I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Broken Bones that I didn't even read the book description, but then I have such faith in this author's ability to deliver a riveting read. Was my faith misplaced? Hell no despite this book being the seventh in the series Angela Marsons has only gone and written another worthy nail biting addition to what is a compulsive series.

Detective Kim Stone is one of my favourite crime Detectives and I feel as the series has evolved so has her character, interestingly in Broken Bones there is more emphasis on Stacy and Dawson valuable members of Kim’s team. This works perfectly as the reader learns more about the dynamics of her team, and each character has a very different with story to tell, so as the reader you feel a connection to the team as a whole.


I will say one thing for the author, she certainly doesn't hang about and waste words, no siree Angela Marsons grabs the reader's attention with a disturbing prologue, one which promises the reader an intense and unputdownable read. From the first page to the last the author keeps the reader firmly in her clutches, as Kim and her team investigate two crimes that involve human exploitation and cruelty you will be hard pressed to put this gripping book down. As usual the author doesn't shy away from writing about difficult subjects, prostitution, modern day slavery, grooming to name but a few, but that's what make her books so original there sometimes dark, gritty and disturbing, but they could never be called dull.

I could wax lyrical about Broken Bones from morning through to night the characters, the plot and the heart racing moments, and so much more but then in doing so I could possibly spoil the read for others, so all I'm going to say is “read this book at the earliest opportunity” and to those who have yet to read this series well your definitely missing out on one of the best crime series out there at the moment.

I am a big fan of Angela’s writing and I have been for quite some time...In fact it was before I started my blog. You always know that you are in for a treat when a new Kim Stone book is coming out.This series just goes from strength to strength and she always brings us something new. I love the fact that the stories are set in the Black Country and in this story we visit places that are right on my doorstep. It's hard to believe that she couldn't get a book deal for years!

Angela Marsons wants to be really proud of herself because she has done us Black Country folk proud and nailed it yet again with this latest installment of Kim Stone Broken Bones is Fan-Flippin-Tastic.

With an opening that will will have you gripped from start to finish. I devoured it in a matter of hours I simply couldn't put it down taking us on one hell of a rollercoaster ride has we follow two investigations. One which brings her face to face with her horrific childhood.

Angela writes about some uncomfortable subject matters with some dark and gritty scenes in this story. Which are handled really well with sensitivity in her writing you can feel the emotion of the characters.

Not only do we get to know more about Kim’s past but Stacey stood out more for me in this story. Kim has a brilliant team around her and the characters are so real they jump out of the pages.

I was literally on the edge of my seat with anticipation wanting to know what was going to happen next. There are plenty of OMG moments that’s for sure. This is without a doubt top quality writing has well has a top quality story.

I cannot wait to see what is next for Kim in the next book. This is a must read which I cannot recommend enough giving it 5 massive stars.