I love Angela’s previous book but I’m not going to lie, this one was particularly hard hitting, pun not intended. From the very start it lands plenty of high intensity punches and the action moves forwards at a startling pace. No area is off limits as we deal with paedophilia, police corruption, child abduction, rape and murder, just for starters.
The characters are well rounded, both the familiar ones we’ve grown to love and the newly introduced ones. The dynamics between the officers are spot on, if a little awkward between the force they’re sent to assist / spy on.
There are lots of heart racing and tearful moments, this is definitely not a ride for the faint hearted and it’s definitely an emotional roller coaster. The ends are tied up beautifully, which was very satisfying and I whizzed through the whole thing in a day because I just needed to know how it would all pan out. Very enjoyable indeed, already looking forward to the next one!

I have enjoyed the series to date and found book 22 equally compelling.

Here Kim Stone and her team are taken out of the Black Country and loaned to Blackpool to help with investigating the disappearance of two young teenage boys and to see if there are any rogue police within the team.

This case brings its complications with the team having to deal with hostility from the local investigators, an inadequate investigation into the first disappearance and a family who appear to be hiding something.

When Kim is summoned back to investigate the murder of another teenage boy, she finds links between the cases.

A hard book to read as both scenarios seems so realistic.

Again the interaction within the team adds to the enjoyment of the novel.

A 5 star read from me. Looking forward to number 23!

Book 22 in the DI Kim Stone series. WOW Angela Marsons has done it again ! With each book in the series she’s come up with new ideas for storylines that are as gripping as the last book ! Very rare for an author of a series of 22 books to keep the standard so high and original, Excellent!!

My thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Little Children’, book 22 in the Detective Kim Stone series written by Angela Marsons, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

DI Kim Stone and her team are sent to assist the police in Blackpool when two boys, Lewis Stevens aged 12 and Noah Reid 11, go missing. They’re also given instructions from DCI Miranda Walker to find the corrupt officers who she believes are working in her force. While in Blackpool, Kim is called back by her boss Woody to the West Midlands when the body of another boy, Joshua Lucas, is found who went missing three years ago when twelve.

I initially came across Angela Marsons when she wrote the first book in the series and I’ve followed the ups and downs of DI Kim Stone and her brilliant team ever since. It doesn’t surprise me that ‘Little Children’, the 22nd book in the series, is just as gripping, just as exciting, and definitely just as thrilling as the previous books. From page one it’s had my complete attention and unable to put my Kindle down, the housework completely ignored. It’s an exceptionally well thought-out plot that I’ve been unable to stop reading through each jaw-dropping conflict and twist and turn, as suspense and tension has increased and lives put at risk. Yet again we’ve been given a nail-biting thriller that’s packed full of action with excitement and intrigue brought to each page, and although I’m relieved at how it ended I really didn’t want it to finish. I can’t wait to get my hands on book 23.

Detective Kim Stone and team saves the day again…this time they are taken from their home patch in the black county to help up in Blackpool. The case is to find Two missing boys but not only that to try and see if there is any corruption with the team up north. I love all the characters and how they interact with each other and how their relationships have grown and develop now we are on book 22 . As ever the team must put all the clues together and go in search of the bad guys before a body of a kid turns up. The plot is good and builds suspension well 😂

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture as this was an advanced readers copy. Whenever a new Kim Stone novel is released, I know to clear my diary for the next 24 hours 👏🏻 I’m gripped and can’t wait to find out where their next case takes them.

I would highly recommend any of Angela Marsons books.

Having read and enjoyed the first 21 books, I was delighted to see another instalment due and especially so to be allowed an ARC of the 22nd book in this amazing series

Don’t know how Angela Marsons does this each and every time. Always a fresh, original, usually harrowing, but always entertaining with a lot of banter and comradery even though it’s not always easy. This time she has been sent to Blackpool with her team to investigate even though they are not made particularly welcome. They soon show how to run an investigation.

Highly recommend the whole series, can’t wait for book 23.

Thank you NetGalley, the author and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

I have no idea how Angela Marsons does this.
The plot is always fresh, original, usually horrific and just so well written.
This one is particularly harrowing but absolutely gripping.
Loved it and cannot wait for the next one.

Oh I’m so glad I discovered this author and this series. Absolutely brilliant, thrilling and brilliant writing. Absolutely fantastic. Highly recommend. #LittleChildren #NetGalley

Angela Marson’s has done it again. Little Children is book 22 in this excellent series. But the stories are still fresh from day she wrote book 1.
Detective Kim Stone has been asked by Woody with her team to travel to Blackpool to help with a case of two missing boys Lewis and Noah. Whilst assisting the team they are to look out for evidence of corruption between the team. Kim like just to work with her own team which consists of Bryant, Stacey and Penn. So, she tells them to tread carefully, as the Black pool team are not happy to see them. Whilst there she also experience of racism between the team and shoddy work they have done to search for the boys.
Kim finds it all unsettling as the Blackpool team are not taking the disappearance too seriously When Kim goes to visit one of the boy’s parents, they find them not forthcoming. They said that their son has run away before and come home. But the boy has been missing for ten days?? Not one seems to care. Until they find a boy dead. They cannot imagine what they might find next.
This is another fantastic read from Angela Marsons and I felt like I came home again to see Kim and the rest of members of the team. I am amazed how the author keeps the stories fresh and this time a very emotional one. Not only dealing with the two missing boys and the horrors that they may face. But dealing with corruption in the Police force. There was a lot to take in, but the author is very good at keeping you engaged to the very last word. I loved every minute of this story like her others and big fat 5 stars from me.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the advance copy to read.

This is another incredible book from Angela Marsons in the Kim Stone series. I honestly don't think I have ever read a bad book in this series. It always feels like coming home when you read one of these and are reunited with characters that you love.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and the fact they went to a new area to help with another investigation. We really got to see new sides to some of the characters, particularly Bryant. This plot has a rather dark theme to it, more so than some of the other stories. As always the policing work is second to none, the comradery between the characters and the subtle plot twists keep you entertained throughout.

5 star read, as always. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment.

Angela Marsons is one of my favourite authors and I have read every book in the Detective Kim Stone series. In fact I had pre ordered this book for my KOBO when I saw this on NetGalley
I certainly was not disappointed
It is as per usual a really exciting and gripping book
Loved the way the author went a bit off key and sent the team to Blackpool on a great sleuthing mission
Kim’s team all work so well together to solve really interesting cases
You grow to admire and respect them all in equal measure
Quite a harrowing tale and a storyline that really could be happening somewhere in this country
Loved the way the team were split up to both sleuth and solve
Kim Stone just gets stronger with each book and I do hope the author keeps on writing novels about her and the team for a long time to come

I’ve read all the previous 21 books in the Kim Stone series and they have been mostly excellent with the odd misstep along the way imo.

22 books in and Angela Marsons produces a stunning addition to the series with Little Children. It’s quite remarkable that this far into a series she can produce such a sharp, dark and slightly disturbing tale of kidnapping, child abuse, murder and police corruption.

When Kim is summoned to her bosses office she is asked to go with her team to visit a squad in Blackpool who are working on the disappearance of two boys. With the Blackpool squad totally overstretched and no extra bodies to assist, Kim and her team are to work alongside them to try and find the boys.
At the same time they are asked to worked covertly as there is a mole in the Blackpool team leaking information that amounts to evidence of police corruption.

This one is all about the story. It’s laser focused on the dark disturbing tale with little or none of the usual included personal lives of Kim and her team and, although those back stories make the characters who they are and who we love, we know them well enough to do without side stories that could break the momentum of the tale. The book is all the better for it.

Maybe it’s the combination of the above and the fact that we have the(not unusual in these books) dual storylines, but this time happening in the same place at the same time that make this one absolutely zip by with little if any let up in the tension and forward movement.
This one reads a lot less than its page count. You will be lost in the story and it will be over before you know it.

Up there with my favourites in the series which is quite the feat when many of its piers have more than run their race at this stage.

Hats off to Miss Marsons. There is zero signs of this series running out of steam and this reader for one is all the happier for it.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

When Woody asks Kim to take her team and go to Blackpool, it is to help an old colleague of his with the disappearance of two boys, as well as investigate possible corruption at the station.

Twelve-year-old Lewis Stephens has been missing for ten days, yet neither the police nor the boys family seem to be worried about him. When eleven-year-old Noah Reid also disappears, more effort seems to be made in looking for him. Just what is going on? Kim and her team look into the two cases to find out if they are connected.

With the local police not wanting outsiders looking at their cases, it’s down to Stone and the team to look at what’s been missed.

Whether the character is good or bad, the author manages to get them spot on. And in this story, there are some truly vile characters.

This was a hard story to read, with young boys going missing. At times the story was heartbreaking as well as emotional.

There are some lovely moments of light humour, which are needed to break up the darkness.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Another cracker in the Kim Stone series, this time set on a different force's patch. Kim and her team are sent to Blackpool to supposedly help with a case where two young boys have gone missing, but really to look in to possible malpractice in the Blackpool team. They aren't welcomed with open arms and face having to deal with misogyny and suggested racism etc. while they uncover poor investigations in the case. Kim and her team uncover a lot more than expected the further they investigate. Not sure I could keep my peace as well as Bryant does with his opposite number though!
Book 22 and the series still feels as fresh as ever.

Title: Little Children
Series: Detective Kim Stone #22
Author: Angela Marsons
Publisher: Bookouture
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: August 12, 2025
My Rating: 4.4 Stars!
Pages: 371

DI Kim Stone is sent halfway across the country to Blackpool, to assist the team in finding two young boys – also to find out if the dark whispers along with some reports about corruption in the local force are true however, the most important thing to Kim is finding these boys

~ Lewis Stephens is twelve years old and has been missing for a week; he was last seen at the arcade. The local police force in Blackpoll investigated, perhaps not as thoroughly as they should ~ Lewis has disappeared before, so is declared a runaway.

A week later ~ Eleven-year-old Noah Reid was out with his family celebrating his birthday. Noah when walking on the pier perhaps looking for an arcade and disappears.
There are no clues therefore no leads as to where he went.

Kim and her team are not welcomed by the Blackpool Police. They feel Lewis is a run-a-away as he has does so before. They barely investigate.
Hmm doesn’t take long for the team to realize things are not right.

Bryant is awesome how he was able to put up with getting stuck having to buddy up with the mouthy evil jerk Sergeant Roy Moss who is pushing him to what might be his limit.

The team is able to find there is a connection to the boys’ disappearance as well as other young boys. In fact, what is happening is disturbing, I thought several times it might not work for me- however since I have read Ms. Marsons before I knew to trust her and Kim. The story did have me curious.
I was pulling for the team.

I have not read all the books in this series but I still call myself a DI Kim Stone fan!
The stories I have read have been emotional reads with more profanity than I like however, I understand nasty people are . . . . Nasty!

There no doubt this is a captivating story however difficult to say I enjoyed it ~ meaning it was a pleasant experience,
It is definitely worth reading and I honestly could not put it down.
.
Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 12, 2025.

Wow, here we are on book 22 in the Kim Stone series. Yet again Angela Marsons has written a brilliant thought provoking book. Every book has a new topic and researched thoroughly. I love Kim and her team and in this book fell for Bryant even more. I highly recommend this series, an easy 5 stars again from me

Yet again Angela marsons writes a great story. I couldn't put this down read it in one night. Just had to get to the ending. Detective Kim stone is one of my favourites in the police procedural genre can't wait for her and the trams next adventure

I’m not sure how many times I can write glowing words about Angela Marsons’ books, I’m definitely repeating myself! Book 22 and the writing is even better, the stories even more gripping, the characters we know and love even more tormented but also utterly brilliant. The thrill I get to have the opportunity to read the next in the series is always a joy and something I start immediately it’s downloaded, I really cannot recommend these books enough!

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

An absolutely brilliant book! It has twists and turns that you just don't see coming. Kim and her team, Bryant, Penn and Stacey, are called upon to go to Blackpool to help find out if the anonymous allegations of misconduct are true. When they get there, they are instructed by DCI Miranda Walker to carefully look into things while helping her CID team investigate two boys being kidnapped. Kim has a strategy for each of them in order to get close to their counterparts. As they begin their review of the first case, Lewis, they find inconsistencies in the reports. Kim immediately senses that things are wrong and digs deep to find clues to figure out what is going on. As each of her team reports back with details of time spent with their counterparts, she begins to suspect they are all dirty cops but doesn't have the proof to report them. They struggle to figure out why the boys were taken, why the two sets of parents are being treated differently, and what the boys would have had in common to attract the kidnappers. It is a complex case that has you feeling disgusted, worried, and glad for the closeness of the team as they investigate. The investigative reporter popping up and harassing Kim throughout the story adds a bit of frustration for Kim. The bit of levity to the story comes from Frost texting Kim and Kim's dog, Barney which gives the reader a glimpse of her lighter side. It's a fabulous read with fantastic characters!

Interesting kim stone book. the team is relocated to both solve a mystery and seek out corruption. Lots of misogyny and a few twists and turns until there is a pretty unbelievable ending. But a fine ride getting there.