I’m new to the Angela Marsons Kim Stone series, but it is clear that the Kim Stone novels, which began in 2015 with Silent Scream are hugely popular and although her millions of existing readers will not give a hoot what I think, I can now see why.

Angela Marsons hails from the Black Country, that wildly unfashionable area west of Birmingham, which takes its name from the prodigious amounts of soot generated by its heavy industries in times past. Geographically it includes parts of Staffordshire and Worcestershire. Beyond place names, Marsons doesn’t make the region a dominant character in Child’s Play, at least not in the same way that, say Chris Nickson uses Leeds or Phil Rickman uses the Welsh Marches.

Kim Stone, like the great majority of popular fictional British police officers, has issues. Marsons is too good a writer to include Stone’s complete biography, but we learn that she had a wretched childhood. In both fiction and real life I am never really sure about people who relate better to dogs than they do to fellow humans, but such folk exist in both spheres. Kim Stone is one such, but her general misanthropy probably makes her a better copper. She is a fascinating and complex character who is at home the random chaos of modern life, perhaps because she can escape, maybe from herself:

“She drew comfort from the familarity of town noise, even the late-night noise of occasional sirens, doors slamming, loud music through open windows, drunks singing on the way home from the pub, wives giving them what for once they got there.”

Unsurprisingly, her chosen mode of transport is a powerful Kawasaki motorbike, the ultimate solo kick where all that exists is the rushing road, the wind and the scream of the engine:

“Her only interest in the countryside was tearing through it on the Ninja to blow the cobwebs from her mind.”

Child’s Play begins with the bizarre and apparently motiveless murder of a woman in her sixties. Belinda Evans is found in a children’s playground, bound to a swing with strips of barbed wire. Belinda – and apologies to people who have never watched Coronation Street – is no Emily Nugent, however, as Stone’s team soon discover that the late woman had a taste for rough sex and bondage.

As the title suggests, there is a theme of childhood running through this intriguing police procedural. All kinds of childhoods. The ones where youngsters are sufficiently traumatised by events that they become mute and withdrawn, living in their own personal hell. The ones where parents seek to live out their own inadequacies through desparate and damaging over-encouragement of a child’s talent. Not just those screaming abuse at the world from the touchlines of a junior football game, but those who believe their children are gifted and talented above the norm, and push, push, push for more certificates, more acclaim and more vicarious satisfaction.

In a fascinating parallel story, one of Stone’s team, Penn, has to absent himself for the hunt for the killer of Belinda vans as he is a key witness in the trial of a man accused of killing a convenience store server. Minutes away from the jury retiring to deliver a nailed-on guilty verdict, the wife of the accused man changes her story and the prosecution case unravels at a frightening pace.

Marsons (left) takes us down and dirty into the visceral world of police work:

“It was the pungent, unholy smell that could only be compared to a room full of rotting meat with the added smell of faeces. It was an odour that could live in a house for years despite deep cleaning, and was unmistakeable as anything else other than a dead body.”

The drama finally plays out in the intense, other-worldly – and distinctly disturbing – world of a weekend event for Gifted and Talented children and their parents. Bryant, one of Stone’s team comes face to face with the scary world of youngsters who are on the Aspergers Autism spectrum:

“ ‘This seat taken, buddy?’ he asked a boy sitting alone with a book.
‘Taken where?’ he asked, peering over his reading glasses. ‘Do you nean occupied?’
‘I’m gonna take that as a no,’ he said, pulling the chair towards him.
The boy regarded him seriously and Bryant guessed him to be ten or eleven years old with fair hair and clear hazel eyes, enlarged by the thick spectacles.”
‘Is it appropriate for a middle-aged man to seek the company of an unattended child?’ the boy asked, seriously.”

Gripping, unusual and fast-paced, Child’s Play is, by turns, unsettling and cleverly plotted. It is published by Bookouture and is out now.

Even though this is the 11th book in this series I still haven't grown tired of it. The author keeps the main character fresh and she is forever involving into something different with each book. I like that two cases are going but they weren't tied together at the end this is the reason I just love this author.

In the latest book in the series featuring detective Kim Stone and DS Bryant, a staged death quickly becomes the work of a serial killer who is carefully targeting his victims.
This was a page-turning insight into the world of child geniuses and what happens to them in later life.
What did not work for me was the second plot with Penn, who was the arresting officer ina murder trial and is now in court,
Sorry, but this is clearly following up a storyline from a previous book in this series, which is great for fans but distracting for anyone coming to the book as a stand-alone work.

There are very few authors who can sustain perfection, in fact better it, book after book and this author is definitely one of them. What a series this is! Each book addictive, fast paced, thrilling, brilliantly plotted, flawless! This is an author who just goes from strength to strength in her writing. She is the queen of crime - in my opinion the best crime writer of today and perhaps ever! Not only is each book amazing but every one provides a social commentary on contemporary Britain while also delivering a fantastic and unputdownable story. They make you think, to question, they leave you changed in some way. What more can you ask from a book? Another superlative story from an unquestioningly brilliant author. Very highly recommended.

I'm a huge fan of Angela Marsons' DI Kim Stone series. Her books usually get 4-5 stars from me. This one was good but not my favorite book in the series. It was still well-written with all our favorite characters but something was just missing in this one for me. I just wasn't getting into this story. Still look forward to reading more in this series though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy of Angela Marsons' "Child's Play" in exchange of an honest review.

Child's Play: (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 11)
Author : Angela Marsons
352 pages
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Description:
Finally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. 'You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear.
Late one summer evening, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck. The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica.Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a ritualistic serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event. Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late?
🔽😮MY REVIEW 😮🔽
Child's Play is book number 11 in the Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller series. Even though it is in a series, it can be read as a stand alone and you not be lost. It is so good that you will be seeking out the others. I had not heard of this author before and when i saw the cover it drew me in. After reading the description i knew i had to read it. I just can not seem to get enough of the British crime thrillers. This book was SO good that i can not wait to read all of the ones in this series.

Child's Play is an action-packed, tense, fast-paced, suspenseful thriller with lots of twists and turns along the way. I was hooked right from the first page until the end.The storyline caught my attention with the first page and never let go. I knew when I was already reading gore on chapter one I would not be able to put this book down. I read the whole book in just one day. It was that good ! The characters are all well developed and believable.This book is so well written and very well paced. I look forward to reading more of this authors work. If you love dark, edge of your seat British crime thrillers, detective stories, and serial killer mysteries this is the book for you. If you would like to read this series you can find it on Amazon. As always if you like the book you read please take the time to leave a review for the author in places like goodreads & Amazon. It does not have to be long. Just a few sentences saying you liked the book will do. Authors really appreciate every review they get ! This book went on sale July 11 2019.

Thank you Bookouture and Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Child's Play by Angela Marsons for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own

Having read all previous 10 books in the Kim Stone series I was keen to read Child's Play.
Just when I thought Angela Marsons would have written another 5 star book I found she had not....not just a 5 star book, no, more a 6+
I loved this book - again, as with all Angela Marson's books the plot was believable and well researched. I doubt I will ever tire of Kim Stone and the manner in which she is portrayed by an utter Queen of Crime.
Roll on book 12!!!

As expected by this wonderful author , another gripping police procedural. The characters grow with the readers in every book and remain believable as does the plot , highly recommended .

Childs Play (Detective Kim Stone #11) – Angela Marsons

Well what can I say? I wait more and more impatiently for each instalment of this series; please can you write quicker Ms Marsons? Although this is the eleventh novel in Detective Kim Stones illustrious career it feels like there is so much more to come from her. I guess this could be read as a standalone but I would advise that you start from the beginning with the first Silent Scream mainly to have the pleasure of getting to know this complex but excellent team of officers.

Detective Kim Stone and her team have been to hell and back over the last few books following the loss of a vital team member and this next case is going to stretch them to the limit so it’s a good thing that they are back to full strength. You would think that murderers, psychopaths and serial killers would realise that this team are more than able for them and take their madness elsewhere.

God where do I start with this one? There’s the gruesome murder of Belinda Evans a retired Child Psychologist involving barbed wire and swings not to mention an X carved on her forehead. Getting to know her they find a packed bag and there begins the delving into the complex and not to mention weird relationship between her and her sister Veronica and something called Brainbox.

Having said that the team were back to full strength Penn the newest member has been seconded back to his old team to testify on a murder case. They are given a helping hand in the form of Tiffany nicknamed Tinkerbelle shortened to Tinks. Kim is also hindered having been told that she has to limit the team to working 9-5 to reduce stress levels, like that’s ever going to happen. Obviously there’s so much more than that involved but I really don’t want to ruin it for anyone.

My interest was piqued with the topic of the gifted child and tiger parents’ world it’s not something I’ve come across before (always good). I never for one second thought about how the life of one gifted person could affect the lives of the rest of the families. The author explores the feelings of guilt, the pressures of to being a perfectionist and in some cases the need to please others that the prodigies feel. Whereas the family are sometimes left feeling abandoned also that their own lives are taken over by going to this club, that competition not to mention tournaments that they get little personal pleasure from. I was amazed at just how far the tiger parents were prepared to take advantage of their Childs talent.

Written as always in Ms Marsons usual fast paced way with short concise chapters (some authors do get a waffle on) there’s nothing in this book that shouldn’t be in it. We have all the twists, turns and suspenders that we come to expect from these books.

I highly recommend Childs Play and I promise that once you’ve read the prologue you will be hooked so make yourself some time to go a wander in the murky mind of Ms Angela Marsons and Detective Kim Stone


Read for an honest review. Thank you Angela Marsons, Netgalley and Bookouture.

Child's Play is the 11th book in the D.I. Kim Stone crime-thriller series by best-selling author Angela Marsons. Angela Marsons remains one of my favourite mystery authors, and her publisher, Bookouture always publishes the very best novels. I have read all of her books…and she keeps getting better. I don’t want this series to end!

The characters are so well-developed and continue to grow with each new instalment in the series. In Child’s Play there are two plotlines. The first one is devoted to a new case that three of Kim’s four team members (Bryant, Stacey and Tiff, a new character) are assigned, while Penn, the SIO on a case is giving evidence in court, with the guys he used to work with. With DS Penn immersed in the murder case of a young man, Kim and her team are already stretched and up against one of the most ruthless killer’s they’ve ever encountered.

This addictive new crime thriller explores the dark side of child prodigies.

DI Kim Stone and DS Bryant are called to Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck. The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica.

Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event.

In less than one week three people were dead.

The team must investigate every child who attended the tournaments.

Kim must get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late.

He made them play and then killed them. It was just a game!

If you haven’t started this series…it’s not too late…start at the beginning and you will soon be so addicted to this drama through the characters and the plot, that you will not be able to put it down. Great read, highly recommended.

My thanks to Angela Marsons, Bookouture and Net Galley for my digital copy. Can't wait for the next!

#11 in Marson's Kim Stone series and another good one.

Kim arrives at a children's playground where a dead 60 year old woman, Belinda Evans, has been tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X has been carved into the back of her neck. We soon meet her older sister and find out how bizarre their relationship is, perhaps because Belinda was a child prodigy over 50 years ago ? Soon 2 more bodies turn up in similar playground settings and the race is on to find a devious serial killer. In a separate storyline, newcomer Penn is called back to his old unit when things just don't add up on a murder case he was the lead detective on. This dark and riveting story revolves around gifted children, their siblings and the choices of their parents. Lots of red herrings and some more glimpses into the characters personal lives. Thanks to Angela Marsons, Bookouture and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Late one summer evening, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck.

The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica.

Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a ritualistic serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event.

With DS Penn immersed in the murder case of a young man, Kim and her team are already stretched and up against one of the most ruthless killer’s they’ve ever encountered. The clues lie in investigating every child who attended the tournaments, dating back decades.

Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late?

This chilling book further identifies Angela Marsons as being a truly great author at the very top of her game. The characters she has created really do come alive on the page, and the research gone into Child’s Play is clear, cleverly written and gripping.

I really can’t wait for the next one to be released. This is yet another 5 star book in my favourite series

Angela Marsons certainly knows how to write a good book. This one covers two crimes. One where a colleague returns to his old force to give evidence in a trial and is forced to look into whether they got the right person.
Meanwhile DI Kim stone is investigating a series of murders which seem to be connected to highly functioning individuals. A very easy read. Even though this is from a series, this book is fantastic as a stand-alone read.

Kim Stone and her team are back in book 11 of this superb series of thrillers by the ever excellent Angela Marsons.Having read now all 11 books,Child's Play doesn''t disappoint and is every bit as good as the previous 10 books.With Penn involved in a previous case Kim finds herself and her depleted team up against when a body of a woman is discovered in a local park and with the victims sister refusing to talk about their relationship Kim is convinced she is hiding something.When 2 more murder victims are discovered it becomes clear that they are all linked to a tournament for gifted children going back years,once again Angela Marsons has come up with yet another gripping 5 star read and this series of books just seems to be getting better and better.I for one cannot wait for book number 12.Well done Angela an another winner !

DI Kim Stone is back in this 11th book of the series. She and her team are investigating a set of murders that seems to relate to child geniuses. In each case, the victims were killed by a knife while propped against the backdrop of some sort of child's game -- a swing, a hopscotch grid, and a board game. What twisted soul has conceived of this and why? Meanwhile, Penn is back with his old colleagues as the court date for a murder is set on the docket. With witness testimony evaporating, Penn becomes convinced that they may not have arrested the real killer. Can the detectives of the West Midland Police find the answers they seek?

This series just keeps getting better and I'm always happy to return to the scene with these characters who are so well known and loved. I enjoy the police procedural/crime thriller aspects as much as I do learning more about each of the characters as individuals apart from their jobs. The writing is excellent and the pace keeps me turning the pages to a satisfying conclusion. There are still some loose plot ends from previous books and I'm always glad to see one resolved. Can't wait for the next book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review. Keep them coming!

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Child's Play" by Angela Marsons.

This is the 11th book in the Kim Stone series, and the 11th book that I have read. Each one gets better, as the characters become more and more defined.

This time out, the detectives are dealing with a trio of gruesome murders, secrets, genius children and more and more secrets. At the same time, Penn is not available to the team as he's in court for the prosecution of a case that he was involved in prior to joining the team; in his place is Tiffany "Tink" who works with Stacey in background and research.

As in most of the Kim Stone books, Kim and Bryant work closely together to try and solve the murders and stave off any more. We also get glimpses into all of the main characters' home lives.

A woman in her sixties is found, tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck.
The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. Two more bodies are subsequently discovered, and they all link to a 'child genius' competition called Brainboxes.

The story moves along at breakneck speed, while Penn discovers that his case might not be all that he thought it was, and finds betrayal close to home.

The only thing I don't like about finishing an Angela Marsons "Kim Stone" book is having to wait for the next one. Highly recommended - but read them all if you can.

Child’s Play by Angela Marsons is the 11th in the Detective Kim Stone series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Series Background: (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
Detective Kim Stone is tough. She has had to be. Her mother is responsible for Kim’s horrendous childhood, and as a result, currently resides in a psychiatric facility. But Kim has survived, and although her social skills are lacking, her heart is in the right place. Right now, her team consists of: Bryant, her right hand man, and the person who voices her concerns in a much more diplomatic way than Kim would every think of; Stacey, who can find required information in a seemingly bottomless computer system; and the newest member, Austen Penn, who replaced Kevin Dawson who was killed in the line of duty.

My Synopsis: (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Kim is called to a popular park, where the body of 61 year old Belinda Evans has been tied to a swing using barbed wire, an “X” carved into the back of her neck. A retired teacher of child psychology, she was once thought to be a child genius.

When a second body turns up with the tell-tale “X” in the back of the neck, Kim knows she will be seeing more bodies if she doesn’t get a handle on these deaths soon. The case seems to be leading the team toward child prodigies and their families.

Unfortunately, Kim is under strict instructions that she must start to regulate the working hours of her team, so they cannot work long days. In addition to this restriction, Penn is busy testifying in a murder trial with others at his last precinct and things are not going the way he anticipated.

So, short-staffed, and working shortened hours, Kim has no idea how she is going to solve this case. Her boss, much to Kim’s chagrin, provides her with help in the form of Tiffany - a young, bright, cheery and enthusiastic uniformed policewoman. Kim doesn’t “do” cheery.

Meanwhile, Stacey is struggling with a personal problem.

My Opinions:
Angela Marsons never ceases to amaze me. This was another brilliant installment to the Kim Stone series. The author has created a group of characters that relate to each other just as a true family would, and then occasionally adds to the group. I hope Tiffany sticks around.

This book had a really interesting plot centering around child prodigies. It explored some damaged and broken families, sibling rivalry, and different parenting skills. It also looked at the children and family dynamics years later and saw the impact that having a gifted child in the family continues to have on them all. Anyway, I found the whole premise really fascinating.

The perpetrator was a big surprise. That is always fun!

As always, the short chapters and constant action add to the pace of the book, but the fact that it was so good is the real reason you will get through it fast. I didn’t want to put it down.

Looking forward to whatever this author dreams up next!

I had an amazing time reading this book. I especially liked the way each chapter ends with a suspense, leaving you hungry to read some more to know what happened.
I loved the plot and I played detective while trying to figure out who the killer was (I failed of course😂).
This is one of the best books I've read in a while and I read it in one sitting.

From the start, this novel draws you in, with a truly sinister scene set in a playground. It’s pretty gruesome actually, but then that’s the Kim Stone series for you! No details are spared, which meant I was immediately invested in finding out who could commit such a sickening crime. It’s a great beginning, even after the first chapter I was unwilling to put the book down at all.

Kim is just such an established character, that by this point all I can say is that I still love her! She’s stubborn, clever, bullish but extremely caring towards her team, and I’ve always liked the complexity of her character. Her friendship with Bryant is a brilliant source of humour, lightening up what would otherwise be a pretty intense plot. Their moments of banter, and Kim’s hilarious working relationship with Keats, all add to lighten the plot when needed, and this is something I’ve always liked about this series. Angela knows just when the reader needs to be lifted by these little moments.

As the plot thickens, it just gets more and more intense, but I really loved it. It centres around an event for genius and gifted children, and it’s a genuinely fascinating concept. I liked the different people the team encountered at the event, and although there were a lot of characters, they all added a lot to the plot and the wider examination of this Brainbox event. It really hooked me, and the sister of the victim, Veronica, was intriguing to say the least. The way she responded to Kim was a nice touch, but the story of her childhood was genuinely quite sad. I felt that I was so invested in each character that got introduced, that I never had time to try and work out who did it, and as always with Angela’s writing, I was completely taken by surprise! The ending was really tense and I literally couldn’t put the book down because I was so focused on finding out who did it and why. It was a clever ending, linking various aspects of the novel for a really tidy and satisfying conclusion.

What I particularly liked about this was that Penn, a relatively new member of the team, had his own story to follow. It allowed him to really develop as a character and come into his own more, and I loved that we were able to see more of him. It was actually a really interesting story in it’s own right, and I felt it offered just the right amount of distraction from the intensity of the main plot.

Of course, I can’t not mention Stace, one of my favourite characters in the Kim Stone series. She’s so stubborn, independent and hard-working that I really warm towards her, and I found her reaction to Tiffany, a new character, really hilarious. What I like about the team as a whole is that they work so well together, complementing each other’s different ways of working, and Kim herself is so caring towards them, but without it being at all cringe. Instead, it comes across as a team of people who have been through some heavy, emotional stuff together, and have bonded because of it, and I really like that Angela portrays this so well.

The DI Kim Stone series is such a brilliant series in general, and this one doesn’t let it down at all. After the sheer awesomeness of the tenth book in the series, I wondered how Angela was ever going to top it, but this one carries on the series so nicely, so intensely and so fast-paced that I was immediately drawn straight back into the world of Kim Stone and her team. A genuinely enjoyable read, I’d of course recommend this as a 5* read to anyone.

X marks the spot!

Belinda Evans is found murdered on a playground, tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck. Who would want to kill this retired professor of Child Psychology? Detective Kim Stone is called to investigate and finds that there is more to this retired woman in her sixties than meets the eye. Not only does Kim find that the victim had an interesting relationship with her sister, Veronica, but that Belinda had a packed bag and appeared to have been getting ready to go somewhere.

Soon more bodies are found with the same marks on their neck and their murders linked to children’s game. Kim and her team are on the hung for a serial killer but what is the link between the victims and the killer. DS Penn is dealing with his own investigation in this case of a murder of a young man, Kim and her team are pushed to the limit with finding the link between the victims and their killer.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable cat and mouse mystery with the killer possibly being too smart for his/her own good. As the team examines and investigates the many clues, it was fun to follow the leads/clues along with the team. The main focus on this book is on child prodigies and their families. Another solid installment in the series but I feel this book would also works as a stand-alone novel for those who have not read previous books in the series. There is not a lot of personal drama in this book as the focus is on the two investigations so new readers will not feel as if they are missing out on background information.

Another plus to this book is the pacing. Nothing feels drawn out of rushed. I didn't guess the killer in either of the two plot lines, but both made sense after the reveal. Nothing felt as if it came out of left field. This series continues to deliver, and I hope there is no end in sight.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The thoughts and opinions are my own.