I needed to figure out a way to start reading series where I am not current or the series is finished but haven’t read them yet. So it’s a way to commit myself to read my backlist, particularly series.
I’ve been wanting to read the DI Kim Stone for a long time. The audiobooks are available just on Audible so I’ve collected them. I don’t know much about them other than the setting and Jonetta likes them.
Bad Blood by Angela Marsons Narrator: Jan Cramer
Series: DI Kim Stone #19
Published by Bookouture on November 15, 2023
Genres: Mystery
Length: 8 hours, 12 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple
When Detective Kim Stone races to the crime scene, there is no body waiting for the paramedics are desperately trying to save the victim’s life. But there is something very strange about the way the man was found, his arms raised above his head, his legs spread apart. When he dies on the way to the hospital, Kim is certain she’s on the hunt for a killer… but all evidence at the scene has been destroyed.
The dead man, Eric Gould , seems ordinary, until the team dig into his past. As a teenager, he was locked away for attacking his girlfriend, and Kim suspects he was hurting his fiancé now. Was someone trying to stop history repeating?
Then another man is found on the verge of death, his bones broken to force him into an unnatural shape. The team realise the killer is sending a message – the victims’ bodies are spelling out their sins. As boys, they were both part of a group of six who bragged about their terrible crimes. But they were children then, and when she sees the grief on the faces of their loved ones now, Kim swears to find answers.
Is someone finally getting revenge… or do they think these men are still dangerous? The killer is threatening to strike again, and the only way Kim can crack the case is by tracking down the rest of the six first.
But then a revelation about what one of her team is suffering makes Kim understand why people take the law into their own hands. Do these victims deserve what’s coming to them? Or is there even more to fear from their brutal killer?
Bad Blood is another twisty crime with an evil killer shaped by his childhood past. The serial killer is leaving messages for his future victims which Kim and her team have to try to translate to find the killer.
There are plenty of personal issues which come up for Kim and each member of her team while they investigate. Some past characters come back into the story as old friends or old annoyances. I really would read these books in order for the building character developments and the continuation of the stories.
I love these and each book is an exciting gift.
Guilty Mothers by Angela Marsons Narrator: Jan Cramer
Series: DI Kim Stone #20
Published by Bookouture on May 30, 2024
Genres: Mystery
Length: 8 hours, 31 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple
In a quiet kitchen, where two mugs wait by the kettle to be filled, Sheryl Hawne lies in a pool of blood. Her only daughter, Katie, is found at her side, still clutching the murder weapon and apparently incapable of speech. To Detective Kim Stone, the case seems open and shut. But Katie is in no state to be questioned, so Kim and the team must dig deep to understand what triggered this brutal act.
Soon, they learn that Katie participated in beauty pageants as a child, and her mother kept a shrine to her achievements. As Kim gazes at the golden trophies and shiny rosettes, she is forced to wonder if this was what set Katie on the path to murder…
But then Kim receives a shocking call. Another woman is dead. And with Katie safely locked up, she cannot be the killer. The second victim also entered her daughter in pageants, and a broken tiara is found thrust down her throat. Someone clearly feels that these mothers are guilty – and that they deserve to die. Forcing back the memories of her own monstrous mother, Kim vows to find justice for these women, no matter what pain they caused.
Now more than a day behind their killer, Kim races to learn more about a competitive world where appearances are everything and mothers will go to any lengths to ensure their daughters triumph. Buried somewhere in this dark past is the key to unlocking the case… but will Kim be able to find it before another family is destroyed forever?
Kim Stone and her team continue to delight me with their personalities, quirks, dedication and caring. There are 2 cases here. The first is where a mother is found dead next to her daughter covered in blood holding the knife which likely killed her. The daughter Katie, is obviously in shock and they see to her care. The team gets going on background and what the motive might be.
They learn that Katie was pushed into beauty pageants as a child. The case revolves around mothers and daughters, providers of services and beauty pageant staff. They need to learn all they can before more women die.
When they were called to that scene, another body was pulled from a lake. A man who had disappeared two years ago and been reporting missing by the woman he was seeing. Tiff is along with the team assigned and feels as though something is wrong when the woman and her son are interviewed, and the coroner is not inclined to investigate much.
All the cases have connections to mothers’ relationships with their children. Kim doesn’t talk about her own, but she is aware of the feelings of the members of her team as they remember their experiences with their own mothers.
As usual, the case is excellent and a race to stop the killer, while dealing with complex psychological situations. I highly recommend Guilty Mothers and the entire series.
36 Hours by Angela Marsons Narrator: Jan Cramer
Series: DI Kim Stone #21
Published by Bookouture on December 10, 2024
Genres: Mystery
Length: 8 hours, 3 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple
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.
36 Hours is a race of little games someone is playing with Kim and her team. She is woken in the night by Tracy Frost who has received a note. Each note contains a clue of some sort to where the next note is. But if they are late on the time deadline, there are gruesome consequences. Another aspect is Frost is to write an article about each game.
The team is working hard from the beginning on what should be a day off. As the time wears on they grow more exhausted and frustrated. Stacy and Penn are incredible at solving the clues. They also pour through a lot of data from CCTV, license plate cameras, volunteer lists to try to identify the perpetrator. Kim and Bryant are out interviewing suspects and racing to the locations for the next clues. Everything is a team effort.
It doesn’t get better than this! The ending had some personal scenes which were heartwarming.
Narration:
I am not sure I have listened to Jan Cramer previous to this series. Her voice was clear and no nonsense for Kim which was just right. I am comfortable with the voices for the other male and female characters. I have been able to listen at my newer 1.7x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Angela Marsons
Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 5 million in 7 years.
She lives in Worcestershire with her partner and their 2 cheeky Golden Retrievers.
She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.
After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.
She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into 30 languages.
Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 26-Audio
Oh, these bring back GREAT memories! Wonderful reviews, Anne💜 You’re almost caught up…unfortunately.
Unfortunately is accurate. It’s a top favorite read.
Not sure when I’ll get to these, but reading your reviews over the last year or so have definitely got me interested. 🙂
These are just amazing. I’ll be sad to be caught up.
It looks like you had a blast with these mysteries by Angela Marsons. Thanks for sharing!
They are top notch. Favorites.
Ooooooooo. Maybe! I’ve been itching for more mysteries lately.
The DI Kim Stone (Angela Marsons) , and this DC Smith series are my absolute favorites. In the US I like the Allison Brennan and Robert Dugoni ones.