Wicked Women: Detective Kim Stone, Book 23

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The woman is lying on her back, eyes closed, face still. The blood from the single stab wound in her chest has pooled on the ground, interrupted only where her killer stood to watch her die… Detective Kim Stone knows from the moment she looks down on Ashley Reynolds that this is no ordinary crime. No one has a bad word to say about this loving wife and mother. So why did someone murder her, and wait to make sure she was dead? Ashley was a social worker, and some claimed she tore families apart. But her husband is also acting strangely, planning to take their daughter and leave town. Did the threat to her come from home or work? Then another woman is killed in the same cold, calm way. Nadine was a honey trapper, and the men she tricked blamed her for destroying their marriages. Someone clearly believes Ashley and Nadine were wicked… and that wicked women deserve to die. But when a third woman is murdered, Kim and the team can’t find anything that even the sickest mind would find fault with. Certain that time is running out, they search desperately for something that links their victims. And then Kim realises something that chills her to the bone. Because if she’s right, the worst danger is yet to come…A brilliantly gripping crime thriller about secrets and revenge that will have you gasping at the final reveal. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid and Robert Dugoni will love Wicked Women.Can be listened to as a standalone.

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Angela Marsons (Author), Jan Cramer (Narrator), Hachette UK - Bookouture (Publisher) & 0 more

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Angela Marsons (Author), Jan Cramer (Narrator), Hachette UK - Bookouture (Publisher) & 0 more

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B0GTWFFDBC

Customer Reviews Summary

One murder, many suspects. So far, just another run of the mill day for Kim Stone and her team – in as much as murder can ever, really, be called run of the mill. It’s an unusual start to this book, strange circumstances to find Kim in for sure, who is a little like a fish out of water for reasons that will make long terms fans smile, but are quite fitting given the events of the previous book. Angry as she may be for the victim, that fateful call from Keats could not have come soon enough. And, for us fans, its a call that plunges us all into a case often as emotional as it is baffling, as much for the family of the victim and the events that spiral totally out of control.I like what Angela Marsons has done with this book. It is perhaps not as dark as the theme in its predecessor, but it still packs a real punch. The victim, the first victim at least, in this book, is a young mother, a woman whose murder opens up opportunities for less ethical people to take advantage, especially as suspicion falls towards the husband as if often the case in these kinds of cases. Its a set of circumstances designed to make the blood boil, ones that show how easy it is for a wrong decision to be made over a child’s welfare, driven by what is legal rather than what feels to be morally right. In this case it demonstrates not only Kim’s deep understanding of the impact of a caring family on a young child’s development, but also allows the author to explore aspects of Stacy’s relationship with her partner, Devon, that might otherwise have been hard to address given the strong focus towards the complexities of the case.Now there is a secondary thread in this book that I don’t want to go into in too much detail, but it acts as a distraction for Kim who is being pushed to treat it as an open and shut case given that the suspect has made a full confession, but who can’t ignore some small niggle that makes her doubt what she has heard. Needless to say that this causes conflict with powers that be, especially as the first murder case escalates with a second, and then third victim being added to the files in fairly quick succession. I love to see Kim staying true to her principles, finding ways to continue to investigate the ‘closed’ case, whilst still moving forward on the initial murder enquiry. There is a real sense of mystery around this secondary case, and as the reasons for the incident become clear, it almost beggars belief that the root cause could be something so, well, petty. Which is where I agreed with Kim, and why you just know that this case will be something far bigger than we expect.As ever the humour between the team is what makes this series so special. There are some quite intense moments with the team all affected by the way in which the case progresses, but the banter between them all helps to diffuse some of the harsher moments that can hit quite hard. And you get a real view of the camaraderie and the dedication of the team, not just to the cases, but to each other, in the way in which a few of the situations unfurl. That unity, the willingness to step up for each other, is why this is such a brilliant team to read about.There is plenty of tension, a lot of misdirection, and scenes that will make the blood boil as I have come to expect from this series. As ever, I tore through the book in next to no time, aided by the pitch perfect pacing and the twists that just kept the story feeling utterly unpredictable. The ending becomes quite intense, the implications of what could happen the kind to keep you right on the edge of your seat, and definitely reading far beyond a sensible bedtime. This may be a long running series, 24 books and counting, but somehow every case feels fresh and yet familiar. The familiarity comes from the characters who I have grown to love more and more with each book. The freshness comes courtesy of the devilish mind of Ms Marsons who seems to find some new dark and deadly situation to lead us into, every single time. Taking something so mundane and turning it into something so dark, this is definitely recommended.