Deadly Cry by Angela Marsons

Today it is my absolute pleasure to share my thoughts on Deadly Cry, the brand new Kim Stone thriller from Angela Marsons. I am a huge fan of this series and love catching back up with Kim and the team. Lucky for me, and for all Kim Stone fans, this is one humdinger of a case that made me very, very happy. Thanks to Bookouture for providing the early review copy. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

You have to stop me from hurting anyone else. I don’t want to do these horrible things. Help me before I’m forced to do it again. And I will do it again because I have no choice. I’ve never had a choice.

In a busy shopping centre, a little girl clutches a teddy bear, clinging to it in the absence of her mother, Katrina. Hours later, Katrina’s body is discovered in an abandoned building. For Detective Kim Stone, it looks like a quick, functional murder. But Kim’s instincts tell her there’s more to this senseless murder than meets the eye. What was the motive for killing a young mother out shopping with her child?

Days later, a second victim is found in a local park, her neck broken just like Katrina’s and her six-year-old son missing.

But with her colleague, Detective Stacey Wood, working on another unsolved crime and a member of the team grieving the loss of a close relative, Kim is struggling to make inroads on what is fast becoming a complex case. And when a handwritten letter from the killer lands on Kim’s desk addressed to her, and pleading for help, she knows time is running out to bring the little boy home alive.

With the support of a handwriting analyst and profiler, Kim and the team begin to get inside the mind of the killer and make a shocking discovery.

Some of the victims have scratch marks on their wrists.

But these are no random scratches. The killer is using them to communicate with someone. The question is… with whom?

And if Kim doesn’t find them soon, another innocent soul will die.

The multi-million-copy bestselling Detective Kim Stone series is every bit as addictive, original and exciting as readers say and you’ll be hooked from the very first page. Nobody does it better than the Queen of Crime, Angela Marsons.

My Thoughts

Oh how much have I missed Kim Stone? Bizarrely, there is something so calming about stepping into her hectic and thrill filled world, especially given current times. I think it is that sense of the familiar, of knowing that not only are you in a safe pair of hands with Angela Marsons, but, where Kim Stone is concerned, you are also guaranteed a story that will grab a hold of you from the start and keep you invested in the outcome right to the very last page. I think right now we all need that comfort blanket and as uncomfortable as some of the stories might be, Kim and the team give us that reassurance that everything will, eventually, be alright.

As I said earlier this is one heck of a case that Kim, Bryant et al find themselves caught up in. Murder, missing children and a killer who poses a real quandary for the team. Heinous in their actions and yet seemingly full of remorse for what they have done and desperate for someone, namely Kim, to stop them. What kind of foe are they up against this time and how do you track a killer when there is no apparent link between their victims?

The plotting in this book is as tight as ever, the clues being scattered for readers like little breadcrumbs, leading us, slowly but surely to a really tense and somewhat unexpected showdown. Elements of what happens I was expecting, not the ultimate reveal, Angela Marsons excelling at keeping the killer hidden until just the right time. You will think you know, but you probably won’t. It’s that kind of story. Twisted, yes, but ultimately very believable.

Kim is on top form again this time around, dismissive of the powers that be, undermining even Woody’s authority and ultimately being guided by her instincts to solve the most perplexing of cases in a bid to reunite a young boy with his family. You wouldn’t have her any other way, lets face it, but she is learning to play the game, using her tense yet mutually beneficial relationship with Frost to her advantage, much to the annoyance of those around her. Her attitude should get her in trouble, but it is her straight talking and direct nature that actually turns to the benefit of those around her, sometimes against their better judgment. It also lands her in very hot water, life threatening temperatures in fact, but then it’s not the first time for Kim. Angela Marsons takes us right to the edge once again, those crunch moments full of tension, and guaranteed to have you creeping towards the edge of your seat.

Family is a key theme throughout this book, both in terms of the victims and the team. We all know that Kim’s team are like one, slightly dysfunctional, but totally supportive family, and they all feel the highs and lows as they happen to each other. I love the dynamic and the camaraderie between them and they way in which Kim steers them towards the right results and the author captures all of their individual traits and emotions brilliantly, especially for Penn who is going through a bit personal upheaval as we rejoin the team. What is happening in the team, is echoed in the lives of the victims and the ones who are left behind. There is much about the storyline that I think a lot of people will identify with, I know I did, I can’t be too specific, but I do think that Angela Marsons captured the essence of this storyline perfectly.

Whilst the murders take centre stage in this story, as you would expect them to, there are two other ‘cases’ in play too. One allows Stacey to really shine and shows how much she had grown and learned over the course of the series, the other proves to be an almost comedic, but frustrating distraction for Kim and, by default, Bryant. I enjoyed seeing Stacey out from behind her desk, branching out to solve a cold case that quickly gets under her skin and I’m really intrigued to see how this develops in future books. But whatever happens next, with another 15 Kim Stone books in the pipeline, I am really looking forward to the journey.

About the Author

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 3 million in 3 years.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone.

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