Six Graves by Angela Marsons

 Six Graves

Book Summary

It’s a typical teenage bedroom with posters covering the walls and clothes littering the floor. But the girl lying on her bed, wearing a delicate chain around her neck, is lifeless. A circle of red stains her white vest top. How had the girl’s mother looked down at her sleeping child and pulled the trigger?

When Detective Kim Stone rushes to the scene of a house fire, she’s shocked to discover it’s claimed the lives of two teenage children and their parents. But this tragedy is not quite as it seems. Each body is marked by a gunshot wound and the mother, Helen Daynes, is holding the gun.

The case sparks painful childhood memories for Kim who suffered at the hands of her own abusive mother, but it just makes her more determined to uncover the truth. As Kim untangles Helen’s past, she finds a history of clinical depression. But did it drive Helen to murder her loved ones?

Then Kim uncovers a tiny, vital clue in Helen’s bedroom that throws the investigation wide open. Could someone else have killed the Daynes family?

Just as Kim feels she’s making progress, a deadly threat is made to her own life by a dangerous psychopath from her past. Biting back her fear, she keeps digging. And when Kim hits upon a shocking secret that changes everything she thought she knew about Helen, she realizes that the remaining family members are in grave danger.

Kim is under pressure like never before, and the monster circling her is getting ever closer. Four bodies already. Four graves fresh in the ground. Who will be next? Can Kim find the killer and save herself before it’s too late?

My Thoughts

Six Graves by Angela Marsons is the sixteenth book in the D.I. Kim Stone series.  While you can read Six Graves as a standalone, I believe it is best to read this series in order.  It will allow you to get to know the characters, their backstories, and their relationships.  This series contains realistic, complex characters.  Detective Inspector Kim Stone has had a rough life.  She does not let people get close to her.  Her best friend is her dog, Barney.  Kim may be rough around the edges, but she cares for her team.  She is also dedicated to her job.  Of course, this dedication has led to an escaped killer (Symes) trying to get ahold of her and end her.  Six Graves is well-written with fast pacing.  I like that the chapters are short.  There are chapters from the killer’s point-of-view.  He is a nasty piece of work.  While trying to avoid the killer, Kim and her team are busy with a new case.  In order to keep working, Kim’s boss insists that she have a bodyguard and it is the last person Kim would like to follow her every move.  I had to laugh at some of the lines between Kim and Leanne.  Those two are so much alike (probably why they do not get along).  The mystery is well-plotted and complex.  I was surprised that I was able to solve this one (I loved the challenge).  Angela Marsons gives us multifaceted mysteries that are challenging, dark, and twisty.  Be prepared to stay up late to finish this suspenseful tale.  I do want to warn readers that there is detailed violence and foul language.  Six Graves is full of twists that will have you quickly turning the pages to discover how it ends.  I cannot wait for the next book in this gripping series.  Six Graves is a twisty tale with an escaped slayer, unsolicited shadow, a troublesome team dynamic, a curious crime, and one determined detective.

Six Graves is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other fifteen A Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller novels here.  If you follow Angela Marsons on Amazon, you will receive an email when she publishes a new book.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am featuring When the Day Comes by Gabrielle Meyer.  It is the first Timeless Book.  It is a timeslip historical romance.  I am off to take my mother to the eye doctor.  She managed to break another pair of glasses (I have lost track of how many she has broken in the last year and a half).  She needs a new prescription (she is having trouble discerning colors).  I am going to see if they have stainless steel frames (titanium might be better).  She falls asleep in them.  You never know where they will end up by morning (the floor, under her, or in another room).  I wonder if a location beacon could be put on them.  I hope that you have a relaxing day.  We all need time away from stress.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

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