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 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Stolen Ones by Angela Marsons

Stolen Ones 

Stolen Ones

25 years ago he took a girl. Today he takes another.

One August afternoon, eight-year-old Grace Lennard skips into the garden of the childcare centre she attends and vanishes into thin air. Rushing to the scene of Grace’s disappearance, Detective Kim Stone finds a chilling piece of evidence: the engraved heart bracelet belonging to Melody Jones – the little girl who was taken from a playground exactly twenty-five years ago.

Hours before, Steven Harte had walked into Halesowen police station and confessed to having information that would lead Kim to Melody. And he told Kim she’d have a more urgent problem to deal with first. Now Kim must play Steven’s twisted game if she’s to find Grace alive.

With only twenty-four hours to make every second of Steven’s interrogation count, and scan his behavior for hidden clues, Kim and her team soon link Steven to the abduction of several vulnerable girls – two were kept for a year and then released, unharmed – but where are Melody and the others?

Then small bones are discovered in the grounds of a local park, and Kim fears the worst.

Kim may think she’s close to convicting a killer, but the case is about to get even more complex. Steven is hiding one final explosive truth and he’s not the only one. Dr Alex Thorne – the evil woman Kim did her best to keep behind bars is about to reveal a shocking secret to Kim that will hit her where it hurts the most. Kim knows she must put aside her own demons to save Grace and find the other missing girls in time. But can Kim untangle Steven’s web before any more innocent lives are lost?

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave your heart in your mouth. You will be totally hooked on the utterly addictive, number one, multi-million-copy bestselling Detective Kim Stone series.

My Thoughts

Stolen Ones by Angela Marsons is the 15^th A Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller.  While you can read each book as a standalone, I recommend reading the series in order.  It will allow you to understand the characters and what they have endured.  I cannot believe this is the fifteenth tale.  It seems like it was just last year that I discovered Silent Scream.  Stolen Ones is different from the other novels in this series.  In this case, the guilty party is known.  He walks into the police station and asks to speak with Kim Stone.  He claims to have information.  We get to interact with the guilty party and discover the motive.  It is about the psychology behind the person’s motives as well as analyzing body language, eye movements, etc.  Kim and her team are also dealing with a missing little girl.  To find her, Kim must play a sophisticated game of cat and mouse.  Kim must modify her behavior if she is to find the missing girl and put the guilty party behind bars.  Kim’s arch nemesis, Dr.  Alex Thorne is bothering her once again despite being locked up behind bars.  Alex has a plan, and she has spent time preparing it as well as obtaining what she needs to enact it.  Alex has uncovered a secret that she knows Kim would like to learn.  If Kim wants the information, she must do something for Alex in return. 

Stolen Ones is well written with developed, realistic characters.  I have enjoyed getting to know Kim and her team.  Kim is the focus of Stolen Ones.  The team is present busily doing their work and we get small snippets of Barney as well.  The author captures the setting of Halesowen.  She provides good descriptions of the various areas without being overly detailed.  I find the pace a little slower in the beginning with it picking up as the story progresses.  The mystery was fascinating.  I could feel Kim’s frustration in dealing with the bad guy.  He will only speak with Kim, and he has done his research.  Kim must alter her behavior and questioning style if she is to succeed.  It depends on how many mysteries you have read on whether or not you see the plot twist coming.  Stolen Ones is a compelling novel that will have you staying up late to see how it turns out.  I wanted to let you know that there is a significant amount of foul language in the story.  I am eager for the next Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller.  Stolen Ones is a captivating crime novel with a missing moppet, a cold case, a wily wrongdoer, a true-blue team, a slippery psychiatrist, and a dedicated detective inspector.  

A confusing cold case for Kim's team

Stolen Ones is out today and it is available from Amazon*.  You can find the other novels in the Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller series here.  Follow Angela Marsons on Amazon to get updates on her latest releases.    Thank you for stopping by today and reading my review.  An Amish Baby for Christmas by Vannetta Chapman is planned for tomorrow.  It is 8th book in the Indiana Amish Brides series.  I am off to put the finishing touches on my Thanksgiving decorations outside.  I have my turkey inflatables set up, I have lights, and now I have cute little signs to put up.  Do you decorate the outside of your home for Thanksgiving?  I would love to hear from you (pictures are encouraged).  I hope that you have an upbeat day.  Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader 

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.