Deadly Fate by Angela Marsons

 Deadly Fate

Book Summary

The woman’s bright blonde hair floats in the breeze. She almost looks like she could be resting on the soft green grass. But her brown eyes stare unblinking up at the sky, and the final cut across her mouth is dark with blood. Her words silenced forever…

Late one evening, as the final church bell rings out, Sandra Deakin’s cold and lifeless body is found in the overgrown graveyard with multiple stab wounds. When Detective Kim Stone rushes to the scene, the violence of the attack convinces her that this murder was deeply personal. What could have caused such hate?

As the team dig into Sandra’s life, they discover she believed she could communicate with the dead. Was that why she was targeted? The last people to see her alive were a group of women who had a session with her the night before she was killed, and as Kim and her team pay them a visit, they soon learn each of the women is lying about why they wanted Sandra’s help…

Kim realizes she must dig deep and open her mind to every avenue if she’s going to stand a chance at solving this case. And when she learns that Sandra was banned from the church grounds and had been receiving death threats too, she’s ever more certain that Sandra’s gifts are at the heart of everything.

But just when she thinks she’s found a lead, the broken body of a nineteen-year-old boy is found outside a call centre – a single slash across his mouth just like Sandra’s. Kim knows they are now racing against time to understand what triggered these attacks, and to stop a twisted killer.

But they might be too late. Just as Kim sits down at a local psychic show she discovers something that makes her blood run cold. Both Sandra and the call center were named in an article about frauds. And this show stars the next name on the list. She looks around the audience with a feeling of utter dread, certain the killer is among them…

Totally addictive with a final twist that will leave you shouting out loud, you’ll want to inhale Deadly Fate in one sitting. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid and Robert Dugoni will love the new crime thriller from the number one multi-million-copy bestselling author Angela Marsons.

My Thoughts

Deadly Fate by Angela Marsons is a complex novel.  I always look forward to reading this author’s twisty novels.  There is plenty going on in Deadly Fate.  Someone is committing gruesome killings, there is a John Doe whom Kim would like identified, and a stalker who takes a fancy to a member of Kim’s team.  The murders have the team delving into the world of psychics.  Kim even brings in a consultant so they can understand how psychics work.  It was fascinating getting a look “behind the curtain” at see how psychics operate.   The story grabs you right from the beginning.  There is plenty of tension and suspense as Kim, Bryant, Stacey, and Penn work to catch the killer.  Tink is back to help the team.  She is such a sweet woman. Barney makes a couple of appearances as well.  I was able to solve the main mystery before the solution was revealed.  I had fun following the team as they interviewed suspects and searched for clues. There is a good twist that many readers will not expect. Kim has Penn working to identify a John Doe that Keats brought to her attention.  Kim does not like unidentified bodies, which is a fact Keats knows.   

Stacey finds herself in a dangerous situation.  Stacey is at the forefront of this book.  I was surprised at how Stacey handled the situation.  The author did something unusual at the end.  She left Deadly Fate with a cliffhanger.  It is going to be a long wait for the next book.   I like how Kim and her team work together.  You can tell that they have worked together for a while.  They know each other’s quirks, strengths, and weaknesses.  I like the scene between Kim and Tink at the end.  Deadly Fate is the eighteenth DI Kim Stone novel.  It can be read as a standalone, but you will be missing the backstory on Kim and her team.  It helps to know Kim’s history.  I do want to warn readers that Deadly Fate contains graphic violence (the killer was brutal) and foul language.  There is some repetition of details as well.  I enjoyed reading Deadly Fate, though, I was disappointed with the ending.   Deadly Fate is a tense tale with macabre murders, a serious stalker, psychic predictions, a John Doe dilemma, a call center killing, and a determined detective. 

Deadly Fate is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other DI Kim Stone novels here.  Thank you for stopping by today.  I wanted to let you know how my week of painting went.  Well, it didn't.  First, I managed to sprain something (muscle) in my shoulder by getting the stepladder out of the shed.  Second, I managed to break a toe or two.  I did not see the box in my path and my toes jammed right into it.  To make matters worse, I did not move the box right away (because of the pain).  I then hit it again a couple of hours later causing further damage.  Needless to say, the painting did not get done.  I will try again in June (I have moved the box so I will not injure my toes again).  I will return on Tuesday, June 6 with Amish Wilderness Survival by Mary Alford.  I hope you have a relaxing weekend.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

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