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Thursday, September 28, 2023

Play Dead by Angela Marsons

 "Kim knew she would do what she always did. Throw herself into the next case that landed on her desk."
 

This well-written British crime thriller takes place in the Black Country in the West Midlands of England at the Westerley body farm. D.I. Kim Stone is called to the site when the fresh body of a young woman is discovered. Then a second body is found, and Kim suspects they have a serial killer on their hands.

This is the fourth book in Marsons' D.I. Kim Stone series. And while I haven't read any of the previous novels, I was able to jump into this one without feeling lost. It was clear there were details about Kim Stone's life that I didn't know, but that only made me want to go back and read the previous books in this series. Because despite Kim's brusqueness and lack of ability to play nice with others, I liked her. Her job is pretty much her life, though she does have a cute dog named Barney; and with every case her focus is on getting justice. She's not a warm and fuzzy person, but she's a good detective. And the mystery she's trying to solve in this one is interesting and unexpected. I guess I have another series to add to my TBR list, because I'd like to see what happens next in Kim's life. But first I want to check out the three previous novels which all sound as good as this one.

Happy Reading!


20 comments:

  1. I love detective series, but they sure can get overwhelming at times, can't they? Just so many good ones out there...impossible to keep up with all of them. I'm in catch-up mode on Ann Cleeves's Matthew Venn series right now, and it's only three books long. :-)

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    1. :D I'm in catch-up mode on several series: Dugoni's, Crombie's, Robotham's, and now this one, too.

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  2. Serial killers don't generally do it for me--not cozy enough--but I'm glad you've liked it enough to be interested in the whole series.

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    1. I can take serial killer mysteries on a limited basis; and I don't love the ones where you end up in the serial killer's mind.

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  3. This sounds so good! It's nice when a book in an established series can stand alone.

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    1. It is nice! Especially when I don't have time to back and read the whole series all at once just to get to the book I want to try. ;D

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  4. I've done that a few times too, started a series like this in the middle (or wherever)! Andrew Mayne's series was one. anyway these sound great and I love it when a book makes me want to go back and read more about the MC.

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    1. I love it, too, except then my TBR list expands exponentially with all the other books in that series. ;D

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  5. So many books with so little time! I've seen good things about this series so it's one I'd like to try too! Glad it was a hit, Lark! :)

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    1. I did really like it and definitely want to try some of the other ones. When, I don't know. Someday. ;D

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  6. I had to look through my notes because the author/characters sounded familiar and sure enough I have read one D.I. Kim Stone book. It was the second one in the series and I vaguely remember it but I went on and bought a couple of other books in the series so I must have enjoyed it a lot! Glad to hear you enjoyed this one a lot and can't wait to hear if you end up reading more. I'd like to get back to this but you know how it goes!

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    1. I do want to read more in this series...but I say that about a lot of series, and I never seem to get caught up on any of them!

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  7. I think I've only read one book of this series. So many books, too little time! ;)

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    1. That is so true! I do want to read more in this series, but who knows if I'll ever get around to them.

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  8. I really need to get back into reading police procedurals. This sounds like a great series.

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    1. I thought this one was very good. I like DI Kim Stone.

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  9. Oh this looks good! I love police procedurals and especially British ones. I'm glad to know that I can jump in here with no issues!

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    1. I was fun starting with this one. And now I feel like I can go back and read the previous books in the series whenever I want, or keep going forward in it, too.

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  10. Angela Marsons is a new to me author. I will check out her books.

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    1. I like her characters and definitely want to read more books in this series.

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