Member Reviews

Wow, she has done it again! Bad Blood is the absolutely fantastic 19th book in the Kim Stone series. This one feels a little different and had me thinking a lot about being a woman. What we deal with everyday, things we accept as normal, how we plan our daily lives without really thinking about why we do it. I love every single woman in Bad Blood and the relationships they have with each other. I love the fact that no matter what happens, they will always fight for each other. I thought that Stacey would be the star of the book, but actually all of the women are. This is my favourite so far! (I say it every time) It is really special. Thank you Angela and NetGalley

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WOW another fantastic addition to the DI Kim Stone! Book 19 and each book is as good or better than the last of that’s possible!! My favourite author/series by far, can’t wait for the next one !!

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Bad Blood, the nineteenth novel to feature DI Kim Stone of West Midlands Police.

The posing of the man’s body suggests murder, but he’s still fighting for life. He dies on the way to hospital and with the efforts to save him destroying the crime scene Kim and the team have little to go on. The victim seems like an ordinary man until they dig into his past and it’s the same for the second victim, again found close to death and posed.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bad Blood, which is another engrossing read with an inventive plot and plenty of twists and turns. The theme appears to be vigilantism and it’s a subject that normally doesn’t appeal to me, but I really liked the way the author argues the pros and cons and the conclusions she draws, they broadly reflect my own views.

The novel moves along at a fast pace with Kim and the team striving to find a motive or a link between the victims. When they find the link it goes back to their teenage years when they were part of a group of six troublemakers. Will there be more victims? The author pulls the reader in with a series of small reveals and developments and keeps it up throughout, making for an immersive read.

Unusually there is strife in the team. Kim is angry with a team member for not reporting a crime, especially as the turn of events could lead to career threatening repercussions. It puts her personality on full display, overt anger with the team member and covert efforts at protection by any means. Secret squirrel has nothing on her.

Bad Blood is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

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Bad Blood by Angela Marsons is the 19th (!!!) entry in the D.I. Kim Stone series, a series that reinvigorated my love for mysteries after years of not enjoying mystery novels. This series holds a special place in my heart so I want to thank @netgalley for an ARC of the newest novel.

When D.I. Kim Stone receives a call that a body has been found, its life as normal. Until she arrives to find the man is not quite so dead yet. He dies not much later at the hospital, and before she blinks someone is tweeting about the victim, about how he got what was coming to him, and now encouraging everyone to tamper with the investigation. Meanwhile Kim’s own team members are facing their own battles, namely Stacey who is dealing with a stalker. Can they solve this mystery without too much civilian interruption? Can they support each other in their personal times of need?

I will always love this series, and Bad Blood is another strong entry, finishing up some loose ends from the previous novel and continuing the character building. If you haven’t read this series, don’t be scared off by the quantity of books! The first book, Silent Scream, is beyond worth it, and almost every book that follows lives up to the series. Angela Marsons has created something amazing here for a mystery series, and I’ll keep reading these books forever ❤️

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As always Angela Marsons has done it again.

I love this series of books so much and now on book 19 I never tire of reading about Kim Stone.

This book sees Stacey struggling and her and Kim’s relationship is tested.

I don’t want to give any spoilers just read it.

Can’t wait for the next in the series.

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Angela Marsons has done it again!
Normally by this stage in a book series I find myself losing interest as I often feel the author is bored with their characters and continuing a series because it is expected of them.
Not this author.
Once again, Angela Marsons has written a book that kept me invested from cover to cover. The dual storyline in this book led to the resolution of an issue which remained from her previous book as well as the main crime storyline.
Opening a Kim Stone book is a guaranteed good read, I am never disappointed.

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Hallelujah! Even the greatest of the greats is still human (4.5 stars)

I’m just not sure where to start.

Not because I didn’t love the book – I really would have a lot to say if that were the case – but because it just gets harder and harder to think of anything praiseworthy to say about the books in the DI Kim Stone series that I haven’t said already.

I’ve said many times that these books are my favourite crime fiction series in publication today. I’ve said that each book contains a plot so gripping that it, in combination with the short and snappy chapters has me keeping on reading – oh, just one more chapter – until well after I should have started cooking dinner / fed the cats / gone to bed (delete or amend as applicable). I’ve said that the characters have continued to develop and become more real with each book, so that now, picking up each new book feels as comforting as meeting old friends that you haven’t seen in six months. Even though each book also contains multiple murders, often committed in violent and disturbing ways. And I’ve said that, whilst other authors can have me laughing out loud, or being physically tense, or having a lump in my throat whilst reading, Angela Marsons is the only author that can have me doing all of these things in alternating chapters.

Good – if unsurprising – news: in the 20th instalment in the series, Bad Blood – yes, I know the cover says number 19 but that doesn’t include the prequel, which is number 0.5 – all of the above still applies. And yet, I feel that by repeating what I’ve said before I’m doing Angie a huge disservice, because the book doesn’t feel at all stale or repetitive. Like all of the others, it still feels new, fresh and exciting.

The opening chapter has Kim at her absolute, acerbic best when stuck in a beaurocratic meeting that even her boss has managed to wriggle out of. I’d like to be able to not believe that working for the police includes attending meetings to decide whether serving officers should volunteer to do some gardening at a local school – instead of, as Kim puts it “catching the shits who stole their computers” – but I suspect that it probably does. And I’d like to believe that if I were ever dragged into such a meeting, I’d have the conviction to respond in the way she does.

Then Kim’s meeting is interrupted by a phone call from the pathologist Keats, telling her that he has found a body. Only it turns out that, despite appearances, the victim isn’t quite dead. Cue lots of banter, as well as intrigue. How did he get in that position? Then, later chapters include a hilarious scene between Kim and profiler Alison – one that Angie admits to having enjoyed writing, and it shows – and a sudden and brutal insight into the effects of living with Lewy Body Dementia. My family have been affected by this exact same terrible disease, and to have this chapter so suddenly thrust at me left me reeling so badly I had to put the book down in order to recover.

So why, after finishing the book, did I somehow feel a little cold? How is it that I was left wondering, instead of the usual feeling of being left in awe? What on earth is wrong with it?

Well, it took me about a day to work it out but I’ve finally got there. This book lacks the tension, and the fear that Angie portrays so incredibly well in some of her others.

What we get in Bad Blood is two parallel, but inter-related storylines. The first features Kim’s colleague Stacey, under threat from a situation carried over from the previous book in the series, Deadly Fate. Now, what I’d have loved to see here is Stacey being pushed to the point at which she, and Kim, and we, are in fear for her life. Think of Kim herself in Six Graves or Dead Memories, or those two little girls in Lost Girls and you’ll understand what I mean. But that doesn’t happen here. The threat seems to be over almost as soon as it’s raised and what we get instead is Stacey trying to rebuild the trust between herself, Kim and her wife Devon. There;s nothing at all wrong in the way this is done, it’s beautiful and sensitive. But it didn’t contain anything to fear.

This wouldn’t be a problem if the other storyline could have provided it. But it doesn’t. It introduces the theme of vigilanteism, and once again Angie is able to beautifully convey both sides of the argument. It even has Kim getting philosophical as she ponders whether people can ever be justified in taking the law into her own hands. And an outburst to one of her team shows just how closely she has come to regard them. She’ll probably never admit it to herself, but they’re far more than just colleagues. There the family that she’s never previously had, but that she has now made for herself. I’d love to see what her psychologist Ted would make of it.

The trouble here though is that in many of Angie’s other books, the ending feels like a race against time as the reader longs for Kim to crack the case in time to save the killer’s next victim. Here, though, the vigilanteism theme is explored so well that I sort of didn’t mind whether another death occurred or not.

And that’s about it, really. Bad Blood contains almost everything that there is to love in a Kim Stone novel. Thoroughly engaging storylines. Well-researched topics. Continued, and superbly portrayed character development. The whole range of emotional responses. The only thing lacking was the book leaving me reading whilst sitting bolt upright and tense, almost scared to continue but unable not to. I missed it.

I can, however, end on a positive note. Angela Marsons is still my current favourite author and I’m still in awe of her skills as a writer, which far outweigh mine as a reviewer. (And yes, I’ve said that before, too.) But this book proves that even she is not always infallible. It makes me feel just a little bit better to know that.

My thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book, which will be published on 15th November 2023. I will post my review on Amazon after publication, but will publish on my blog at www.mycosybooknook.wordpress.com and on my social media pages now.

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Was glad to read this back to back with #18. I had been frustrated with how Stacy had behaved in the last book and fortunately that gets addressed quickly. Interesting mystery with unlikeable victims. And Kim finding her way into some gray areas of policing.
I was given a copy by NetGalley. Opinions are mine.

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Kim Stone is continuing to show more of her human side . This book has many examples of this from her displeasure of Stacey for concealing some personal issues and her love / hate relationship with Leanne and the pesky reporter. This book moves along quickly but has plenty of action and shows Kim and her team are still on their game.

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Kim and the team are back, this time with a very unusual case because their first victim isn't dead when he's first found, but he's been posed in a very strange way. Eric Gould, the victim, does die on the way to hospital so Kim is now looking for his killer. Then another man is found, once again posed in an unusual way and the team realise the bodies are spelling out their crimes. After digging into their pasts they discover that these two were part of a group of six boys who committed some terrible crimes, is someone after revenge or do they think they could strike again and are stepping in to stop that happening? Kim and the team need to act fast and find the other four before the killer does, but she's got problems of her own when it comes to light that one of her team has been suffering but kept it quiet and, even though Kim doesn't agree with people taking matters into their own hands, this makes her understand why they often do.

Bad Blood brings us another exciting case for Kim and the team, this time based around vigilantism and Kim's work ethics and personal morals are stretched to the limit with this one. As well as dealing with the murders of some despicable individuals she's also reeling from the fact that one of her team has kept something so important from her and that stings with Kim as she's fiercely protective of those she sees as her work family and they are normally very loyal to her, but this could have far reaching consequences for both of them. As always, with this series, Marsons brings us another fresh and exciting instalment that is action packed from the first page and doesn't let up till the very end and I loved how the two storylines ran parallel to each other. This is book nineteen in the Kim Stone series by Marsons and I think it's safe to say the Queen of Crime is showing no signs of ditching her crown anytime soon! A huge five stars from me.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

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This story is a criminal masterpiece! The genres I read most are mystery/thriller/crime so it takes a really good story to impress me- but this exceeded all expectations I had. This was the first book I have read in the Detective Kim Stone series and certainly won’t be my last! I’ve already purchased the first book of the series to read next.

In the beginning of this book, I was a bit overwhelmed with the number of characters (over 40!) as I sometimes have a difficult time keeping track of TOO many names and personalities, so I jotted down some notes about each character in a notebook to keep them straight and the extra work was SOOO worth it 👏🏼 This book was extremely unpredictable, the story was original and refreshing to read, and it was hard to put down once I was invested!

I love Angela’s writing. It’s suspenseful with a lot of cliffhangers and she has a way of making you hold on to every single word and key detail. Kim Stone is easily my new favorite detective investigator! Now that I know the main investigative characters, the rest of this series will be a breeze to read!

Thank you to the publisher Bookouture and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this book! I now have several books in the Kim Stone series on my TBR 🤩

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Very good 19th entry in Marsons' Kim Stone series and maybe one of the best. Grown men who served time together in juvi as teenagers are being murdered and Stone and her team of Bryant, Penn and Stacey find the suspects are many. We also see one of the team going through a terrible time with their personal life and the author is able to juggle the 2 plot lines masterfully. An entertaining thriller where I didn't see the ending coming. Thanks to Net Galley, Bookoutere and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Bad blood had an ominous feel. This book continues with Stacey dealing with a stalker. Bad blood between her and the boss.
But it could be Bad blood for the latest murder victims.
Another wonderful book in this series. I love them and this one did not fail!

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Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for my copy of Bad Blood by Angela Marsons.
Welcome to the 19th outing for Detective Kim Stone and her team. If you haven’t read them before you are in for a treat.
Like all series it is always best to read from the start especially one as long running as this one. If you are reading on a kindle download a sample and I promise you will want to read all of them. They are sooooooooo good.
Along with myself and loads of others you will become invested in the team and their stories, not to mention all the crimes they solve along the way.
This is one of the few series that I have kept reading for so long, usually they get stale, but not this one.
Loved it.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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I absolutely love this series! This time DI Kim Stone is confused when she is called to a scene, but the person isn’t dead, when the man dies on the way to hospital Kim realises there’s something suspicious going on. When more people turn up seemingly near death in the same way that there is a serial killer responsible. But with no evidence, how does she catch them?

This was another brilliant instalment to the series, loved the storyline and plot, it kept me wanting to read on and on! It’s so nice to catch up with Kim and the team, and a few other familiar faces also make an appearance! Brilliant read!

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I think this might be my favourite crime series. I just adore Kim Stone and her team. Every new addition to the series is as good as the last and I fall more in love with the team. Keats was on form this book and I’m still expecting Stone and Frost to become besties. As usual, the murder was gruesome and the hunt for the killer kept me guessing. I’d say I worked out the killer maybe 5 pages before it was revealed. My heart broke for Stacey and it was so interesting seeing how Kim reacted to the revelation of what she’d been going through. The twists and turns had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down. I think I finished it in two days.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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It felt like coming home bing able to dive back into another instalment of detective Kim stone. I can’t believe this is the 19th book in this series and never got tired of reading about detective Kim stone and her team.

This book gripped me from start to finish and focused on Stacey one of Kim’s colleagues and the events that she has been through as well as the team working together to solve another crime.

Another great story with lots of twists abs turns and gasp out loud moments.

I have said it before and I will say it again would love this series to be adapted for tv.

I can’t wait for the next instalment of this series.

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We’re back with Kim, Bryant and all the team for the 19th book in this excellent series.

With men being murdered in the most horrific way, can Kim and the team solve these brutal crimes so no one else dies?

Kim is extremely angry with poor Stacey, can they get their friendship back on track anytime soon? The team have such a great relationship, it’s been hard to read these two great friends at loggerheads.

Two great storylines running alongside each other. Even though this is the 19th book in the series, it’s still as fresh and up-to-date as the first book.

As always, the author puts enough banter in between the workmates to ensure the whole story isn’t too dark and offers some light relief. As serious as the story is, it’s nice to also have a smile on my face at times.

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Can’t believe we are on book 19. A lot of series start to get a bit stale by this stage, but not this one. It is amazing where all the fresh ideas from always tackling difficult subjects.

As normal Kim is a determined headstrong character. With her loyal and dedicated team, it is the banter and Kim’s unorthodox approach that make this series. The storyline is very cleverly plotted, with loads of red herrings, twists, and surprises.

This the sort of book that you watch the page percentage fly by as the sort chapters increase the pace. You are always thinking I want this to end, but at the same time wish it would last longer, so you don’t have to wait 6 months for the next.
5 stars is not enough as always.
Don't forget! Come back to your Review on the pub date, 2 Jan 2024, to post to retailers

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I am not quite sure how Angela Marsons has managed and continues to produce such engaging stories with Kim and the team at the 19 books in stage! Many series tend to run their course and people tire of the characters or feel there is nowhere else to go. I feel like there is still plenty of life in this series and I am continuing to love every book as much as the last with this latest book being no excpetion.

This latest storyline and its crime scenes were bordering on the disturbed with vicitms being left not ‘quite’ dead. Yes you read that correctly. Although the first victim does end up dying it opens pandoras box into why a killer would leave somebody ‘not quite dead’ and in addition to this they seem to be laid out in a certain way. Kim and the team have their work cut out for them. In addition to the latest scene they are working I was keen to see how the storyline featuring Stacey panned out in this latest book.

I don’t want to say too much as I don’t want to spoil it for other people but Kim really does love her team members that is all I will say. I read this in record time and then once again berated myself for reading it too early. This now means I have a longer wait until the next one….an absolutely cracking series that shows no sign of slowing down.

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