*4..5 stars*

How DOES Angela Marsons do it? Book 19 and the series never loses its appeal.

Detective Kim Stone and her team are called out to a body that has been deliberately posed, there’s clearly a message from the perpetrator, but what is it? However, the victim isn’t dead! He’s in a very bad way and has been rendered paralysed, eventually dying some hours later. Other victims follow but this won’t be an easy case to crack.

Kim’s team discover that the first dead man had a previous conviction for attacking his girlfriend, and judging by the bruises on his current girlfriend’s face on her social media posts, he’d not changed his ways at all.

It soon becomes clear that the victims were once part of a group who bragged about their terrible crimes with not one of them showing any remorse. Could these killings be at the hands of a vigilante group?

Kim’s colleague Stacey has ongoing problems from last time, but it becomes a problem at work, causing a rift between the two of them, and it’s something that neither of them seem able to overcome.

Another cleverly crafted storyline with a great twist, characters that regular readers love, and as usual I was gripped right through to the end. Another winner for Ms Marsons.

Another great Kim stone book, one of her best books yet, loved the ending and I hope there’s another one soon

I managed to read this book within 2 days. The storyline was great. So many twists. Plus the extra storyline about one of the team was enjoyable. 5***** as per usual.already waiting for the next installment

Kim is back! I get so excited when a new book is announced. I don’t even read the synopsis, I just want to be able to read it immediately. Kim is still her wonderful sarcastic self & Bryant is still there keeping in check. Stacy has been dealing with a stalker for two months & Penn is still working on the puzzles of the investigation. This time around men are being killed that had prior convictions as children. Is this some vigilante action or something else? Book 19 & the story/investigation is still great. This series is not going stale any time soon.

Detective Kim Stone and her team are hard at work to stop a vengeful killer who is taking justice into their own hands. The first body was found and declared dead only for our favorite pathologist, Keats, to say ‘No wait, he’s not dead.’ And then en route to the hospital, “No wait, he is dead now.” And of course, because of the life-saving measures, the scene yields barely any evidence. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only victim to be found with the scene trampled on and contaminated. Is the killer doing this on purpose? And what substance would cause these victims to appear lifeless before they actually are?

But back to the vengeance. Once the victim is identified, they learn he was part of a group of nasty offenders at a youth institution. This gives the team plenty to work with, especially when another member of this group is found dead. Now they believe they have it figured out – someone is getting back at these men for their actions as teens. But then, what’s with the odd positioning of the victims’ bodies and why would someone wait this long to take revenge when that group was locked up together almost two decades ago? Maybe all is not as it seems. But will the team get to the bottom of it before anyone else gets hurt?

As you can guess, the theme of vengeance figures prominently in this story, in more than one of the plot lines. But it ties the threads together nicely and makes the characters (and the readers) question whether morality is ever truly black and white. You might hold a firm stance one way or the other, sure. But the day may come when you question just how much suffering should be endured before taking the law into your own hands. Until then, enjoy this story, as it’s not one to be missed!

Writing my review for the Kim Stone books is getting increasingly difficult as the series goes on because there’s only so many ways you can say how fabulous a series is!
Yet again, Angela draws you into this book… hook, line and sinker with its fabulous storyline and the depth of the characters that just keeps on evolving in each instalment. Not only do I look forward to what new case Kim has, I equally look forward to what is going on in the lives of her team.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, picking up one of these books really is like rejoining a team of old friends.
Long may this series continue because I honestly don’t think I’d cope without Kim and the team in my life 💜
Without a doubt, this book gets 5 shiny stars from me
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Wow just wow! Another fantastic read Bad Blood by the fabulous Angela Marsons. Book 19 had me laughing at the start with Kim's usual banter and her thought process.
On a more serious note there is dead bodies well mostly dead bodies to deal with for Kim and her team and why it is happening and by whom. What is the killer's message?
Stacey however is in the dog house with Kim and her wife too which is understandable. Kim cannot show her emotions well as any reader knows so she enlists the help of an old friend which is Kim's way of helping. Kim always has compassion on her side for who needs it especially Stacey who she is close too in kim's own way.
Bryant has daughter issues to deal with and Penn his love life. Honestly did not want this book to end so many laughs, tears, worried moments absoutely loved it. Thankyou for advanced copy.

I have had the opportunity to read and review another cracking mystery from Angela Marsons - Kim Stone #19, "Bad Blood", thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

Called away from a meeting she’d been forced to attend, thanks to the illness (real or faked) of her boss, Kim Stone, accompanied by Bryant, is called to the scene of a death - only to find that the victim still lives - until he doesn’t.

And thus begins the twisty and twisted series of murders that are the raison d'etre for this foray into the world of Kim Stone, Bryant, Stacey, Penn and the others who make up her team. It seems that someone - Sentinel by name, vigilante by avocation, prolific Twitter (this was written pre-X) bragger - is committing murder by fentanyl (injecting the victims, but leaving them just a little bit alive - until they aren't).

The first thing the team has to do is connect the victims, and it's not long before their horrendous pasts come to light; secondly, they have to figure out the particular reasons for the ways the victims had been posed prior to being discovered: various letters. Eventually the team will figure that part out, and it leads to each victim's past, and how they actually knew each other - and most likely their killer.

Misdirection and obfuscation rule the day in this one, as well as a cold, hard look at the juvenile justice system and how trauma persists. But the mystery is still there, and it's a complex one. Kept me guessing until the end.

Intertwined with the mystery at the heart of the book is also - as is becoming Ms. Marsons' habit - the family that Kim's team has become and what is going on in their lives - the biggest thing to come out is the stalking that Stacey has been enduring for months now, and how she's hidden it from both the team and her wife - and how it has affected her work. And boy, does it blow up - in more ways than one.

I cannot put it any more effectively than the author herself, as she nears the end of the book, "Ultimately, family had been at the heart of everything this past week. The focus had been on the families you make."

When a new Kim Stone book is about to come out and I get the opportunity to read and review, all else takes a back seat. Of course, that means that I have to wait a while for the next one - but that's okay. The anticipation is worth it.

Highly recommended. Could be read as a standalone, but really you need to read them all to get a clear picture of prior events that reflect on current ones.

Bad Blood is the 19th book in the DI Kim Stone series and these stories just get better and better. The same wonderful team members with their personalities, quirks and humour. Once again we have truly evil criminal activities that need to be dealt with to solve the case.
The ending of the previous book regarding the stalker terrorising team member Stacey is dealt with well, though not at first by Kim.
Going forward, a man is discovered, at first thought to be dead until the attending pathologist realises he is in fact still alive but too late to be saved. The victim has been placed in a shape to look like a alphabet letter. When another victim turns up placed in the shape of a different letter and killed by the same method Kim and team are working flat out to find a connection and prevent more deaths.
As usual this is a fast paced thrilling read dealing with a gang of now adults that met in a young offenders institution. There is a depth to these characters that is shocking but continues to make this book a real page turner. Another brilliant book from this author
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

After book 18 had some of Marsons characters behaving unusually and ended on a bit of a cliff hanger, book 19 brought it all back and did it well.

I was laughing at the banter, relieved at some characters decisions and as always, absolutely gripped by the story which was pretty unique and completely captivating.

Very happy to have another 5 star D.I. Kim Stone read and would absolutely recommend this series to crime thriller and police procedural readers.

⚠️ Please check TWs online ⚠️

Anticipated publication date: 15 November 2023.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Bookouture for my eARC in exchange for my honest review

Another Kim a stone book, another 5 star read. This might be book 19 in the series but there are absolutely no signs of it fading. If anything it just keeps getting stronger. Easily one of my favourite police procedural series and I read many. I dropped everything when I was approved for this early copy and smashed it out in a night.

As always there is plenty going on, with men being murdered in a strange and unusual manner. Is there a connection between the victims? And Kim is struggling with a huge revelation from Stacy. You don’t want to be on Kim’s bad side believe me. She is stubborn and angry. I love how the 2 storylines run side by side.

Being back with this team is always a delight. Thanks so much to Bookouture for the advanced copy. Publishes on November 15th.

I can hardly believe we are on to book 19 and there hasn't been a drop in any of the books. I read a lot of crime fiction and this is definitely my favourite series.

The storyline centres on the deaths of men who seem to be connected due to their violent past. This is a very well written storyline with the twists and turns we love from the author. However, the main storyline for me centred on Stacey. The previous book left us knowing that she was being stalked and this book carries on from there. This series is so fantastically written that these characters feel very real to me and I was unable to put this book down as I needed to know that she was going to be okay.

A superb 5* read for the book and the whole series.

I can read an Angela Marsons book without reading the blurb, knowing I'll be sucked into the story by the end of the first chapter.

Bad Blood was no different. We join the team wondering what has happened to their once vibrant colleague, Stacy. We, the reader knows she is hiding the fact she has a stalker.

Kim and her team are involved in a complex case with gets more complicated by the day.

I was suspicious of a character from the first time they were introduced and I was glad that I was proved right, even working out the full story of the perpetrator.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review this book this is my honest opinion.

Former offenders are being killed one by one - the killer boasting about their deaths on Twitter. The victims were members of a group who hung around and caused havoc together whilst at Welton Young Offenders Centre. It's clear that whoever is targeting them is doing so as they are still displaying the same behaviour that landed them at Welton in the first place. Whilst this investigation is taking place Kim Stone is informed of the death of someone linked to her former case. The victim was a witness to a murder but, unbeknownst to Kim, was stalking one of the team. The fallout from this causes significant strain to the team and leads to some of them making decisions that would normally be out of character for them.

Another cracking read from this series - looking forward to the next one already.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Angela Marsons for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review

"I've noticed that you are a bit sarcastic."

Yup. She's back in this latest crime solving novel by the highly talented Angela Marsons. D.I. Kim Stone gets the job done and doesn't need to apologize for stepping heavily on people's toes with her motorcycle boots. Leaving quite the impression.......in more ways than one.

The call comes in from Keats, pathologist extraordinaire, that a body has been found in a local park. But when Kim and her partner, Bryant, arrive on the scene, Keats feels sheepish. The victim is still alive even though from all physical appearances he looks as dead as a Fall leaf on the ground. But moments later at the hospital, the man expires. Keats takes precautions as he performs the autopsy not knowing the cause of death yet. Turns out its' fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid drug.

And soon other bodies are found. Someone known as The Sentinel is sending updates online. Marsons spreads the webbing of this novel far and wide with vigilantes called the Black Country Angels and former inmates of Welton Hall for young offenders. We've even got an avenue leading to one of our favorite detectives, DCI Stacey Wood. Something is leaving Stacey unsettled and it will cause friction between her and Kim. Stay tuned.

Bad Blood reflects the diligence of Angela Marsons. She must erect a curious story mapping painted on her wooden floors at home. Marsons always takes us on an intelligent jaunt that winds left and right and up and down. She doesn't spoon feed us clues. We gotta work for them. And her team is showing more and more of their human side in these latest novels, including hardcore Kim herself as well. No wonder we fans can't get enough. Bravo, once again, Angela Marsons. Job well done.

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

This is a novel of mystery and intrigue. The characters are realistic and keep the story moving quickly. At times, it was confusing trying to keep up with the different story lines. That being said, a quick mystery. Thanks Netgalley.

Another fantastic read from Angela Marsons. This Kim Stone series is fantastic, I would urge everyone to read them starting from book one. I can’t believe this is book 19 as there is no drop in the quality of the writing, if anything they are getting better. I love all the team with their believable characters and life stories. I read this in one sitting, ignoring my family and the clock ticking way past my bedtime. Stunningly good.

One of the best investigative series out there, and staying strong! Com0lex multiple plots, strong team of characters, red herrings everywhere - all woven with human emotion and interactions. The combination can't be beat. If you like great mystery with strong female lead, you are in for a treat.

I am a massive fan of this series and there’s a very good reason why, they are just brilliant, I devour every book in one day as I can’t bear to put them down. This instalment was no exception, we catch up with the team where we last left them, I like the way we had 2 stories running with Stacey’s plight and a murderer on the loose. Big shiny 5 stars from me.

Angela Marsons has done it again, I loved being immersed in the world of DI Kim Stone for another two days (once I start these books I do not put them down until I have finished!) as a Halesowen girl I love all of the local references in the story, can’t wait for the next instalment already!