Number 21 in the KIm Stone series. This one is a rollercoaster of a ride, based on a cryptic online treasure hunt. Tracy Frost, a local reporter, turns up at her house in the middle of the night with the first clue. Kim needs to convince her team and her boss that it is not a hoax. More clues and a race around the West Midlands without a firm suspect follow. Then a man is being abused and later dies despite almost being saved. But there is more, Tracy is found unconcious and a heart surgeon disappears . Lots of twists and the ending was a suprise. Kim is a character who is feisty and has her own way of doing things, something I always appreciate in this series.
Now that I have finished, I can say i enjoyed the book, the action and the complicated plot. Up until half way through the book, it did not really engage me though. It felt too overcomplicated and the rushing around grabbing at clues without much evidence seemed a bit off (that's why it is 4 stars instead of 5) . Like always, I have finished the book wanting more. What happens next? A great read and I"ll be thinking about it for a while .
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

Still has to be one of my favourite series! Angela Marsons has gone and done it again, the books in this series don't get old and you just keep wanting more stories. I still love following how the characters develop throughout each book.
This one was fast paced and Kim Stone and her team were under pressure to follow clues and save lives, all whilst being against the clock! I loved the idea of this story and it was very well written.

I was completely engrossed right from the beginning and couldn't put it down! I cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

EXCERPT: Dear Ms Frost,
First of all, you should know this is not a joke.
It is a game, and you will play. If you follow instructions, no one will get hurt.
You will not miss the first, but you will miss the next.
The game will begin at 7 a.m.
Assemble your team including one high-ranking police officer.
Post updates on the progress of the game every 6 hours on the Dudley star website naming The Jester.
Updates to begin at noon. Failure will have consequences.
The game will end at 7 p.m. Monday.
Make no mistake. Play the game or people will die. . .

ABOUT '36 HOURS': Kim clutches the note tightly as her pulse starts to race. You have 36 hours. If you follow the instructions, no one will get hurt…

When Detective Kim Stone is woken before dawn because local journalist Tracy Frost wants to show her a message, she’s not impressed. But her blood turns cold when she reads the note. She has 36 hours to follow a trail set by an anonymous challenger. If she fails, people will die.

Kim’s gut tells her this is no hoax. She summons her team, desperate to prevent what lies ahead. With minutes to spare, they solve the first cryptic clue. It leads to a box hidden deep in the woods, containing a second clue and a tape. As she listens to the recording of a heart-wrenching scream, Kim knows her enemy will go to any lengths to achieve his goals… and that she must draw on all her experience of evil men to understand what is driving him.

Refusing to blindly follow orders, Kim and the team turn the killer’s clues against him, using evidence buried deep in the tapes to find where he’s hiding his victim. But they are too late… And then, as the sun rises on the second day, someone else goes missing. This time, it’s a skilled surgeon, and if they don’t save her, an eight-year-old girl will die.

Exhausted and enraged, with her bosses watching every step she takes, Kim realises the only way to win is to break the rules. But with the clock ticking, can she find the twisted mind behind this murderous game before her time runs out?

MY THOUGHTS: What can I say about this series or Marsons' writing that hasn't already been said? Both are superb and guaranteed to keep the pulse racing and the pages turning throughout.

As always, the tension is palpable and the plot fast paced. The twists and turns come thick and fast - there's barely time to catch your breath!

Although I was desperately trying to work out who the Jester was, my guesses all fell far short of the mark.

36 Hours can probably be read as a stand-alone, but you will miss out on the development of the characters relationships and the other 20 gripping storylines.

I was lucky enough to be able to combine reading the book with listening to the audiobook, brilliantly narrated by Jan Cramer. Both formats are excellent.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

#36Hours #NetGalley

MEET THE AUTHOR: Angela is the author of the Kim Stone Crime series. She discovered a love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got.
Angela wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.
After much urging from her partner, she began to enter short story competitions in Writer's News resulting in a win and three short listed entries.
She used the Amazon KDP program to publish two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion - Crime.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture and Bookouture Audio for providing both a digital and an audio ARC of 36 Hours by Angela Marsons for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

I am a huge fan of Angela Marson and I was delighted to get the opportunity to read her newest book 36 Hours. This was one of the most gripping and thrilling books I have read in a long time. I read it over the course of a day as I simply couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

We’re on Book 21 and this series just gets better and better
Every book has its own thrilling story - this one about geo caching and a horrifying deadline
But for me it’s the characters who engage, I love that they always act as they should and that their stories are true and authentic, in this one there are moments with Bryant that are lovely.

The one thing you can be sure of is that Angela Marsons can deliver a thrilling plot. This is the 21st novel in the series, and by now Kim Stone and her team are well established literary figures, but each novel can be read as a stand alone. Don't expect glittering prose but you won't be disappointed by the pace, characterisation and storyline. Another winner from Marsons. Many thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC.

Another epic Angela Marsons book! I don’t know how she does it after so many, each one still feels so fresh! Love Bryant the most! Such great character development etc, and a twisty crime at the center- maybe best one yet??

Angela Marsons delivers another must-read in her gripping Kim Stone series, plunging readers straight into a high-stakes race against time. When a cryptic note arrives, warning Detective Kim Stone that she has just 36 hours to follow a series of mysterious instructions or risk innocent lives, Kim’s instincts tell her this threat is deadly serious.

Summoned before dawn by local journalist Tracy Frost, Kim and her team quickly solve the first cryptic clue, which leads them to a chilling discovery in the woods—and a terrifying audio tape hinting at the kidnapper’s willingness to inflict unimaginable harm. Determined not to be manipulated, Kim uses the clues themselves against the killer, unearthing hidden evidence in hopes of tracking him down before anyone else vanishes.

But when a skilled surgeon is taken, and the fate of an eight-year-old girl hangs on the surgeon’s survival, the pressure on Kim intensifies. Every clue is more urgent than the last, and Kim realises she must be prepared to bend the rules if she’s going to outsmart this cold-blooded puppet master. Racing against the clock, with superiors scrutinising her every move, Kim must tap into her deep knowledge of the darkest human impulses to stop the killer before time runs out—again.

Thrilling, suspenseful, and packed with heart-pounding twists, Angela Marsons’ latest Kim Stone novel is a five-star masterpiece that will keep you turning the pages long into the night. Fans of the series won’t want to miss this unputdownable new instalment—and newcomers will be hooked from the very first nail-biting chapter.

Being woken up at 3am guaranteed to put Kim Stone in a bad mood, being woken by reporter Tracey Frost makes it even worse! Frost tells her that a message has been sent to her & if Kim & co don't work out the clue someone is going to be hurt. Something tells Kim that this is not a hoax. Before long the team are working on cryptic clues & trying to decipher sounds on the tape that may lead them to the 'joker' & his victim.

This outing for Kim & her team was that bit different. It was a very enjoyable read and good to see the various members of the team discovering new skills. This is a series that has now reached Book 21 with no sign of getting stale . Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review thi book. As always I am eagerly looking forward to the next one!

What an awesome series this is I loved this book thank you so much for the opportunity to review I couldn't put it down. Gotta be the best in the series yet

This was such a clever concept to change things up a little. Kim and her team are still investigating a case, but this time the case came to them, hasn’t yet happened and has a countdown. It made it feel different yet still familiar.

This is one of my most favorite crime series. The team and their personalities along with how they investigate and what they know fit together so well. In this one there is Tracy. The reporter that has caused them so much grief. It is a great play off each other. The team’s job is to protect and the person they are working with and charged with protecting is someone they try and have nothing to do with and mistrust. I loved the give and take in that. Add that to the puzzles they need to solve by the deadline. I liked the cat and mouse aspect of Kim and her team, Tracy and the criminal. It was complex but felt so easy as I read.

I was engrossed from the start and while it’s longer than my average read, it went by so quickly. I was tense reading it because someone always ends up in jeopardy as the case progresses. I’m always so worried it is time to show how dangerous police work is. No hints from me on this front.

This is the first time I’ve listened to one of the series. I liked it. Jan Cramer was a great narrator. She really nailed bringing Kim to life. She got the ups and the downs of the case and really kept me rapt and never wanting to stop listening.

If you like a crime novel and haven’t picked up this series, you really need to. The way the characters grow and develop from book to book is amazing. You can pick up any book in the series and jump right in and follow what is happening in that book. You’ll miss the growth of the characters, but there will be nothing lacking in the read. You really won’t be sorry.

This was a welcome return for some well loved characters, who become part of a sadistic game. This is very dark tale full of twists and turns. It strongly illustrated the day to day risk people innocently take when going online or entering online competitions. It could easily be a true story. It was graphic and realistic,. Nothing was toned down. There was no attempt at justification of the killer other than the killer themselves, which was refreshing. The language and action as always were realistic and hard to read in places. I love these characters and I'm really hoping this isnt the last I hear of them.
Thanks netgallery and publisher and author for this highly recommended 5 star read

Another great instalment in this series!

Fast paced, with some good twists. I was a bit squeamish at some of the parts during the “game”. Lots of continuing character building

Definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

Angela Marsons has written another great installment in the Kim Stone series. After 21 books, you'd think she'd run out of ideas and write something less tightly plotted, but, no. Tracy Frost turns up at Kim Stone's door in the early hours of the morning asking for help. Longtime readers will know that Frost and Stone have an odd relationship with each openly saying they dislike the other but with grudging trust and respect beneath the hostility.
When Frost receives a message containing a riddle to suggest someone has been kidnapped and will be hurt, she involves Stone and so begins 36 hours of trying to solve a series of riddles in order to stop a murderer within the 36 hour timeline.
The team work well together as usual and the book moves along at a good pace. I found myself picking it up and reading it before work, after work and whenever I had a spare moment (I wish I'd saved it for a weekend so I could have read it in one sitting).
This is a great addition to the series. It's not necessary to have read the previous books in order to enjoy this one but it adds to the characters' backgrounds. I wholeheartedly recommend reading this. A great police procedural by Angela Marson.s

A storyline that galloped along the whole time!

I would love to do a bit of a puzzle trail as described in this book - without people getting hurt though, naturally enough.

Kim and her team must go all out to solve clues that are provided by a complete sicko, to Kim's arch nemesis, Tracy Frost, of all people. The reporter is not one of Kim's favourite people by a long shot, but they are forced to work together as the mind behind the clues (and the inhumane treatment of an innocent man) makes certain that it needs to be the case.

I had no clue who the baddie was in this novel, none at all, until the author revealed it.

Top-notch book!

5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

I do not know how Angela gets so many great ideas.

Book 21 of the Kim Stone series is just as brilliant as every other one

36 hours to play a game, is it a wind up or are peoples lives really at risk?

Fast paced and gritty

Loved it

When it comes to Angela Marsons's novel I always have high expectations. I was never disappointed and had a lot of fun, being of the edge and trying to guess who-did-it-and-why
These two novels (Guilty Mothers and 36 Hours) were an exhilarating and gripping rollercoaster of emotions. I didn't guessed the twists, liked them and there was plenty of surprises.
The evolution of the characters is great and I was happy to catch up
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Another very solid Kim Stone mystery from author Marsons and I must admit I am so impressed with the consistent excellent quality of this series after a whopping 21 books. As the title indicates, Stone and her team have 36 hours to solve several clues and learn the identity of a killer who seemingly will go to any lengths to win this "game". Thanks to Angela Marsons, Bookouture and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. On to #22..........

Angela Marsons continues to impress with her latest novel, 36 Hours. This gripping thriller, set in the bleak landscape of the West Midlands, is a masterclass in suspense. Marsons expertly weaves a complex plot, filled with twists and turns that kept me guessing until the final page.

The character of Detective Kim Stone remains as compelling as ever, her unwavering determination and sharp wit driving the narrative forward. Marsons' ability to create such a vivid and believable world is truly remarkable.

If you're a fan of the Kim Stone series, you won't be disappointed. 36 Hours is a must-read, and I can't wait to see what Marsons has in store for us next.

I am always on the lookout for the latest Kim Stone novel on Netgalley and I was super excited that I got to read an ARC of 36 Hours, the 21st instalment in this series.

I am really invested in Kim Stone and her team of detectives. This time, Kim is woken in the early morning by Tracy Frost, the reporter Kim has a live/hate relationship with. Someone has sent Tracy an email threatening an unknown person’s life and thus the investigation starts.
DI Stone and her team are introduced to the geochaching community, which I enjoyed reading about, and have to keep up with the clues they are given in order to save an innocent life.

As always, I was completely immersed in this story and could not put it down. We are moving house and reading on my phone was therefore very convenient and I loved the moments I could just sit down and read Angela Marson’s book.

Thank you to Bookouture, Netgalley and of course the amazing Angela Marsons for this great book!