Little Children is the 22nd book in the utterly awesome DI Kim Stone police procedural series. I’ve read them all in order, but each story does stand alone, so this could be enjoyed regardless of whether you’ve met Kim before or not. However, as with most long running series, you’ll get far more out of it if you know the characters already. Yet again Marsons has produced a tense and compelling mystery that kept me hooked throughout. While the subject matter is about as horrific as you can get, you know that Kim will somehow save the day, so it never gets too dark.

Two pre-teen boys have gone missing in the seaside town of Blackpool in Lancashire, England. Kim’s team are asked to go help with the investigation. She soon learns that their boss has a hidden agenda: there have been reports of corruption in the local CID unit, and their DCI charges Kim with identifying the whistleblower so they can be protected. Finding their new colleagues hostile and resentful, Kim, Bryant, Stacey & Penn must do what they can to find the lost boys before it’s too late.

Often by this stage in a series, authors are running out of ideas, but not this one! I normally shy away from plotlines about missing children, but this one takes us in a different direction to the usual in terms of what’s going on. Marsons tends to research the topics she chooses extensively, but I hope that in this case it’s the product of her imagination not something that’s really happening. As cyberwhizzkid Stacey reflects, you don’t even want to google it to find out because of what their algorithms might show you. My only criticism is the implausibility of the coincidence that links one subplot to the main story but it’s not a biggie and in no way detracts from my enjoyment of this excellent thriller. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to Bookouture for the ARC. Little Children is published on August 12th.

Little Children (Detective Kim Stone Book 22)
by Angela Marsons
Pub Date: Aug 12 2025

Little Children is a completely gripping page-turning crime thriller that you can't put down. Although it's book #22 in the Detective Kim Stone series it can be read as a stand-a-lone. I've not read the other books in the series, but I definitely plan on reading them after finishing this awesome book!

This story is entertaining, and fast paced. Children are missing and a possible corruption is the focus of this book. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

Many thanks to #LittleChildren #NetGalley and #Bookouture for providing me an E-ARC of this fantastic thriller!

Another great book, feel like I appreciated it so much more having a little longer wait for it. I love that these books always have short chapters which keep you hooked in and wanting to keep reading. So much that you read it super quick and then wish you still had more to read. Love as always being able to continue getting to know these characters. I loved that we got to see a different side to these characters and seeing them away from their usual workplace. I love how easy they are to read however you feel so involved in the story and can feel the emotions along with the characters.
This book series has become such a comfort read and as always is a pleasure to be able to read them

Highly recommend.

Thank you to Bookouture & NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

I'm finding writing about this book, this author really difficult. What can be said that hasn't been said over and over by so many readers.
We've arrived at book 22 in the Kim Stone series. How - How are we so many books in to a series. You may start to think you'd be bored this far into a series, sick of reading about the same characters, same stories.
Well you think that and you'll be proved very wrong.
​Did I mention we are at book 22.
This author is not shy of covering hard topics. Topics that we see regular in the news, topics people would shy away from. Not Angela Marsons. No matter what the topic it's done without taking anything away from the seriousness of it. Covered sympathetically.

Its again a book that once you start you do not want to put down. A book that gets under your skin and really does leave you wanting more. I flew through this book in no time. Then I got angry with myself that I should have taken my time. So I then decided to listen to it on my kindle so I was able to enjoy it a second time., great company on my walks and while doing chores.


Kim and her team head off on a bit of a jolly to the seaside. Wouldn't that be great a day at the sea side with Stone and her team. Ok so not a trip for fun. this time Kim and team are heading to Blackpool. Something a little different for their norm. They are heading to help with a case of missing children. Aa case that doesn't seem to be gaining any traction with the current team. a double edged sword they are also there to seek out possible misconduct within the current team.
I love the turn in this book with Kim's nemesis Frost. I did think at one time the author has lost the plot. I should have trusted the story and not make up my own assumptions. As always a strong story and even stronger characters.
For the best experience with this series I strongly advise reading them in order. a personal choice, but i do feel you get the best from know back stories of characters.
We could have some great spin off series of these books with characters having their own books.. I'd love to see this on TV. it would be an amazing watch.

I just could not stop reading this book and the more I read the more I felt saddened by the prospect that the theme of the story could be real. Why are the people who abduct children and put them to fight are allowed to live among "normal" human beings? Little Children is a sad story about crime, corruption in the police force, domestic violence, and a sheer will power to overcome all the difficulties and find the culprits of such awful actions. Kim and her team are superb and this is a great (but unsettling) story. Highly recommended.
I thank Ms. Marsons, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

DI Kim Stone and the team find themselves miles from home in this latest installment of the series when they are asked to go to Blackpool to assist with a case. Their trip however is twofold - the DCI there suspects that some of his team are not as they seem.
Two young boys 12 year old Lewis and 11 year old Noah both vanish witho9ut a trace a week apart one from the amusement arcade and the other from the pier. With no leads Kim and the team are drafted in, but the local police don't seem pleased to have them there. The two boys come from completelty different backgrounds, and one dissapearance is taken more seriously as Lewis has ran away from home before.
Kim is adement the cases are linked, but the local police think otherwise. With Kim tasked also to find out if there's any corruption in the team in Blackpool, she decides each team member should get to know one of their counterparts, changing their personalities to fit and try and gain intel.
When Kim is suddenly called back home after the discovery of a body of a yonug boy - could this be linked to the disapearances in Blackpool? The team know they have quite the task on their hands, can they find these boys before it's too late?
Jeez Angela what a belter!! That was such a ride!! I really enjoyed the basis for this story, and seeing the team pushed out of their comfort zone! I had no idea where this was going at all, I had my suspisions but as usual I was right off the mark! I can't believe even now 22 books in and the series is still as good as the first book! I absolutley loved catching up with the team once again! Great book!

I always think how can the author keep this series so fresh, especially with this book being number 22.

Well my friends, the author has knocked this one out the park, it’s made me fall even more in love with Kim Stone and her team.

This instalment reads like an episode of Line of Duty as it’s got police corruption ( bent coppers), racism, cover-ups and so much more.

The main plot line includes two missing boys involving harrowing circumstances, weaving into the main plot is the police corruption element and so many twists and shocks.

The last three chapters I read so fast I felt like my eyes wouldn’t stop spinning, this series just keeps on getting better and better.

My favourite line in the book is this sentence from Kim Stone 'Your worst f*cking nightmare, she hissed, reaching into his jacket pocket ( you’ll get the context why I love it if the read the book.

Absolutely love these books. This latest instalment does not disappoint. The storyline is on point with issues occurring in the uk. I cannot recommend these books highly enough

We are now up to book 22 and still going as strong as book 1.
A little change of scenery this time as the team heads to Blackpool on a two pronged investigation.
Little Children hit me differently to some of the more recent books. A shocking subject which really pulled me in. I couldn't stop thinking about those poor boys.
I really enjoyed Bryant being brought into the spotlight for this one. I was cheering him on the whole way through.
Although there is a lot of darkness in the book, there is a good helping of humour which balances everything out perfectly.
Another 5 star read and possibly my favourite ending yet

Little Children by Angela Marsons is the 22nd in the Detective Kim Stone Police Procedural 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: (Note that this section may contain spoilers from previous books)

DI Kim Stone learned to be tough.  Her mother, who died of cancer, was being held in a home for the criminally insane due to actions that almost killed Kim, and resulted in her brother's death.  Kim had little to do with her.  Although Kim's social skills are lacking, her heart is in the right place, and her detective skills outstanding.  Her team consists of: Bryant, her right hand man and friend, and the person who voices concerns in a much more diplomatic way than Kim ever would; Stacey, who can find required information in a seemingly bottomless computer system; and  Austen Penn, who for some reason, enjoys attending autopsies.     Her Boss is Woody.   She has developed a somewhat fractious relationship with journalist Tracy Frost.  




My Synopsis:    (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)

Kim and the team are sent to Black Pool to help out in the case of a missing twelve year old boy.  This is the second boy who has gone missing from the area.  But the team already working the case doesn't want their assistance, and Kim doesn't really blame them.  She wouldn't want outsiders coming in to her domain either.  There is a second reason they are there.  Apparently there is some corruption in that office, and Kim's team has been sent to find out who it is, find the mole, and find proof of wrong-doing.

The Black Pool team does not make it easy on the newcomers.  They do not even admit that the two cases of the missing boys are related.  Everyone that Kim talks to insists that Lewis has just run away.  He's done it before, and he'll come back when he's ready.  No one seems to care that this poor boy has been gone 10 days!  Not even his parents. But Kim knows that people are hiding things, and she thinks the parents know more than they are saying.  She just can't figure out why.

When she is called home to look at the bruised and badly beaten body of another boy, Kim realizes that something worse is happening than even she had imagined.  Her team must put themselves in danger, as they don't know who they can trust.

Meanwhile, Kim's past comes back to haunt her when a reporter digs up one of her old cases that doesn't shine a good light on Kim.  Then there's Frost.....  




My Opinions:

First,  I am always thrilled when a new Kim Stone book appears, and I keep waiting for Angela Marsons to disappoint me, but it just doesn't happen. 

This is another great, if somewhat depressing, plot.  The terrifying circumstances of what these missing boys were going through was heart-breaking. 

Although I am not a fan of books about police corruption (there are way too many out there), this was done really well, and it wasn't the whole plot.  It also helped that it was very obvious as to which of the cops was bad.  Well, one of them, as the second one was a surprise!

As always, the characters surrounding Kim continue to shine.  They really are her family.

Kim and her team are called in to assist another unit in the search for a missing boy. Operating in an unfamiliar environment and among people who clearly don’t want them there, made for an intriguing setup, especially since Kim’s team was also tasked with investigating that very unit.

This was a solid read, full of unexpected twists. Kim’s team once again demonstrated how well they work together, even when they had to pretend they didn’t. I always enjoy it when seemingly unrelated storylines connect, and the final twist completely caught me off guard. With so many different angles woven into the plot, the book stayed really engaging throughout the entire story.

I feel Kim has changed quite a bit since the start of the series, but I still look forward to every new installment and I can’t wait for the next one!

I would like to thank to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Angela Marsons for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Little Children is another intense thriller in the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons. This time around, Kim and her team are tasked with helping out another police team, based in Blackpool, to investigate the disappearance of two children. It is clear to see that their presence isn’t welcomed by the police officers already investigating the disappearances. It is clear to see Kim is going to have her work cut out in gaining their trust. The new working environment she finds herself in is more than toxic, something she would never tolerate on her own turf.

This book made me feel a lot of emotions as I was reading, particularly at the way how some of the police officers, based in Blackpool, were acting. It did make me think of recent news stories which has severely damaged trust in the police force in recent years. There was one man, Red Butler, who I hated from the moment Angela Marsons introduces us to him. He made my skin crawl every time he appeared on the page, particularly with the way how he was talking to Bryant as well. I could see clearly how Red was making Bryant feel. I couldn’t believe Red’s attitude towards the investigation. He didn’t seem to care at all for the victims involved.

There were other characters in this book who also got under my skin, including the family members of one of the missing boys. His step-father was a waste of space and Kim’s frustration and anger comes through strongly on the page when she is dealing with him. I really was rooting for her to say exactly what she feels.

When it becomes clear what is really going on and why these two young boys have disappeared, it really does become a race against time to find them and to bring the perpetrators to justice. The truth is a horrifying one and I think this is what makes this book one of the darkest in this series to date.

Little Children gets a solid five stars from me. Once again Angela Marsons kept me hooked and I was desperate to find out what was going to happen. This is another brilliant read in this series. I really, really enjoyed it.

Little Children is book 22 in the Kim Stone series, and a compelling addition to the series

This time, Kim and her team are pulled away to Blackpool, where twelve-year-old Lewis Stephens has gone missing, followed a week later by eleven-year-old Noah Reid. The local police seem oddly quick to write them off as runaways, and the lack of urgency is unsettling. Kim’s there to help investigate but also to quietly dig into whispers of corruption—and wow, does she walk into a hornet’s nest.
There’s tension, secrets, evasions, and then the stakes shoot up even higher when a boy’s body turns up back in Kim’s home turf.

As always, the plot is dark, emotional, and tightly paced. Angela Marsons handles sensitive subjects with care while still delivering a gripping, high-stakes mystery.

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

Two missing boys. A corrupt police force. And Kim Stone caught in the middle.

Little Children (Book 22!) proves Angela Marsons is still at the very top of her game. I’ve read every single book in this series and somehow they just keep getting better. This one had me hooked from page one—dark, tense, emotional, and completely unputdownable. I tore through it in a day.

If you haven’t met Kim Stone yet, you are seriously missing out on one of the best crime series out there.

I would like to thank Bookouture & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review

Little Children is another gripping and emotionally layered triumph from Angela Marsons. I was immediately drawn into the story—not just by the suspenseful plot, but by how authentically human the characters felt. Marsons has a unique ability to tackle dark and disturbing subject matter with compassion and depth, and that really stood out to me here. The way she portrayed the vulnerabilities of both the victims and investigators gave the book a profound emotional impact. It wasn’t just a crime novel—it was a powerful look at trauma, justice, and resilience. I finished it feeling both shaken and deeply moved. One of her best yet.

I loved Little Children, racing through it as I do every new Kim Stone book. This time, Kim and her team are taken right out of their comfort zone with a move to Blackpool. They’re there ostensibly to help find two missing boys, but mainly for a secret purpose: to investigate claims of police corruption in Blackpool CID and find out who made the allegations.
The Blackpool police team turns out to be very different to Kim’s own. The DI is sloppy and complacent, while his 2IC is repellent. Kim tasks her old friend, Bryant, to pretend to befriend the number two and the poor man, who is decency personified, is forced to buddy up to him and pretend not to be disgusted at his revolting behaviour. I wasn’t sure Bryant would survive!
Kim and her team, of course, shine - despite being followed and heckled by an unscrupulous reporter obsessed with exposing Kim as a corrupt copper. At the same time, Kim’s old nemesis, reporter Tracy Frost, is causing major headaches for the call-a-spade-a-spade DS – in a completely different way.
Again, author Angela Marsons explores complex, fascinating themes and manages the several story threads beautifully.
This all adds up to a rip-roaring, action-packed read – one that made me flinch at times, smile at others.

*CRACK* That is the sound of Angela Marsons hitting it out of the ballpark once again with another gripping, shocking and hard to put down book in her DI Kim Stone Series!!!!!!! This is the 22nd book and this series is still going strong!!! As with her other books in the series, Little Children is wonderfully written, well thought out, perfectly paced and brimming with tension and danger!

DI Kim Stone and some of her team members are called in to investigate the case of missing boys in Blackpool. There have also been murmurs of corruption in the local police department. Kim and her team will be looking into that as well. When the body or a young boy is found broken and covered in bruises, Kim and her team will not let anything get in their way of saving the Little Children who have been taken. They will bring those who have taken them and left one dead boy behind to justice!!!!

Kim and Co. have a lot on their hands but that has never stopped them before! Angela Marsons continues to come up with fresh, original, shocking and addictive books in this series. Little Children grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I loved every second of it. I found this book to be gripping, shocking, full of tension, dread, and danger. I had my fingers crossed the entire time and held my breath a few times while worrying about the young boys in this book. Angela Marsons does not shy away from writing about difficult subjects but does handle them with care.

I am a HUGE fan of this series and can't wait to read what comes next for Kim and her team. Little Children was brilliant, raw, shocking, and intense. If Angela Marsons writes it, I am going to read it!!!!

This is a dark and pacy read and as always with a Kim Stone read it has some emotion and a lot of drama

When two boys vanish, Kim’s team once again race against time and with other investigations at task they band together to get the best outcome.

This is an amazing read and I cannot believe it is now book 22.. It has been an enjoyable ride with Kim, I honestly feel like she's become a fictional friend..

I absolutely adore Kim Stone and her team and this book did not disappoint!! Having read every book in the series this one had me guessing until the last minute with a twist I didn’t see coming! Can be read as a stand-alone even though part of a series and would recommend to all readers who like police procedural investigation stories.

Little Children by Angela Marsons is a dark, fast-paced Kim Stone thriller that hooks you from page one. When two boys vanish, Kim’s team faces a race against time and a dangerous undercover assignment. Gripping, emotional, and impossible to put down—this is Marsons at her best.

This is a series I recently discovered and I can’t wait to read the whole series!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for an honest review.