#BookReview ‘Bloodlines’ by Angela Marsons

About the book…

How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?

A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.

When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.

Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.

As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them…

The fifth in the bestselling Kim Stone series, ‘Blood Lines’ is available in e-book and paperback formats , from Bookouture and Sphere publishers. I am thrilled to be bringing you my review as I was approved to read the e-arc via Netgalley, by Bookouture, and am slowly working my way through my gorgeously abundant book shelves on the app!

Kim is such a breath of fresh air in what , at times, feels like an oversaturated market. She is a lone wolf, happier fixing her bikes and hanging out with her dog Barney than real human interaction. She is also the heart and soul of her team , as is proved from the outset when they successfully catch a serial rapist, using Kim as bait. As a timely reminder that crime never sleeps, it is literally minutes after they ceremoniously wipe the crime board, that the murder squads’ next case comes in.

What looks initially like a car jacking turned murder has a deeply sinister undertone to it. f\or the victim is the social worker who was publicly castigated in the case of child abuse, where a toddler had an appalling and violent filled , tragically shortened life.

As Kim’s gut instincts tell her that not everyone in Deanna Brightman’s household is quite on the level, another body turns up. And then a third. What looks increasingly like a serial killer vies for attention in Kim’s psyche with the knowledge that her criminally insane mother has apparently been rehabilitated. And is due for release. This miraculous turn around in condition has been down to letters which Kim has written her, letters which Kim wouls never, ever have written.

A ghost from Kim’s recent past is about to resurface and challenge her sanity like never before. Psychiatrist Alexandra Thorne has not plans to let Kim off lightly.

As the net tightens closely, and personally around Kim, the danger she is in escalates like never before.

Intensely gripping, this novel works on so many levels. It references the way which motherhood is socially constructed-and deconstructed-and how damaging relationships between parent and child can be. The expectations on women to parent, to take on the children of other women, even to grandparent and also to acknowledge each other as links in a genetic chain is examined in minute detail.

Deanne was responsible for children in her care yet could not have her own. Kim is childless by choice. Her second victim is a child of a minor celebrity who was forced to give her up for adoption. A third is the grandchild of the only surviving member of breathtakingly tragic events.

All of these speak to using the format of the police procedural to discuss modern , sociological themes which debate the nature versus nurture philosophy within the framework of the UK justice system. There are few who do it better than Ms Marsons, there is a reason why Kim, her second in command, Bryant -the only one she will listen to-and Kev, the intuitive police man in her team, inspire such devotion. Angela tells a cracking story with a beating heart, and that human touch comes through on every single page.

About the author…

Angela is the author of the Kim Stone Crime series. She discovered a love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got.
Angela wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.
After much urging from her partner she began to enter short story competitions in Writer’s News resulting in a win and three short listed entries.
She used the Amazon KDP program to publish two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion – Crime.

Links-http://angelamarsons-books.com/

Twitter @WriterAngie @bookouture