Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAnother belter from a top class series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 February 2019
Now - and I say this with the best of intentions - if you have not read any of the books in the series before, then this is not the place to start. It would be absolutely impossible to read the book without reading spoilers for all that has come before. If you don't mind that and just want to get a flavour of what the series is all about then read away, but know that when you go back, you'll know whodunnit and for the joy of the journey of discovery you have yet to go on that would be a damned shame. If you are already a fan, read on and marvel as this book will make you glow with a knowing smile, as you drift back to memories of cases past ...
In this book, someone is going to great pains, and deriving great pleasure it seems, from creating little tableaus of events from Kim's life. That would be nice if it was all Hallmark card moments, and this was a collection of fun and fluffy pictures and happy memories. As fans of Kim know, her life hasn't been full of shiny, happy people and these are not beautifully crafted découpage pictures. These tableaus feature bodies. Lots and lots of bodies ... But just who could be trying to unsettle Kim so badly and why?
Well ... this is book ten. She has amassed a lot of enemies - and that's just in the cases we know about. This investigation will see Kim and the Team come face to face with a lot of familiar names, any one of which could have reason to want to see Kim Stone fall ...
And by god, does that lead us through a fantastically fraught, often emotional and thoroughly tense thrill ride of a read that will see fans clapping their hands in glee, and more than a few folk staggering into work bleary eyed as this is most definitely a sleep stealer that will have you reading late into the night. At least this book is released on a Friday so a good number of people will have a nice long weekend to savour it (sorry to those who have to work Saturdays and Sundays ...)
I love the characters in this series and they are all on top form once again. Angela Marsons has a fantastic way of making you care about the people you are reading about, of creating a true emotional pull, even when dealing with the more 'disposable' characters. And when it comes to the 'villains' they go way beyond caricatures of bad guys. There is real depth to their portrayal too, be it in terms of intelligence, pure hatred or sly cunning. They feel authentic - very real - so much so that some will make your skin crawl while others will have you lamenting, and yet still understanding why, the simple fact of their incarceration.
And as for the ending - tense, breath-catching stuff. All action, all marvel, all typical Angela Marsons' styling, as she takes the reader to the edge of their seat and holds them there in a very uncomfortable position. Not for too long, the action is too fast paced for that, but long enough to make your legs ache and your pulse race. It's not the first time I've felt my heart in my throat and doubtless it won't be the last. From the gripping opening to the highly dramatic closing scenes, the story will have readers completely drawn in. You can feel every moment of pressure mounting on Kim and the team to solve the murders, and the personal guilt and anxiety that Kim feels in having her traumatic past revisited as she is left completely exposed. Loved it.
