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4nnalouise's review against another edition
4.0
This was a well written plot with well established characters. I really did not expect both plot lines to have a cross over at all and felt myself a little confused at the writing putting in effort to follow two separate story lines but it definitely delivered
suspensethrill's review against another edition
5.0
Each time I read a book featuring D.I. Kim Stone, I’m positive it’s the best one there is and that it can’t be topped. Also, each time I read the next D.I. Kim Stone novel, I find I’m wholly wrong. This is quite possibly the only time I enjoy being publicly in the wrong. I don’t know how she does it, but Angie manages to take these characters we’ve grown to love and wrestle them OUT of submission. Um, what Chelsea? Think of it this way; how many times have we started a series we love, only to find out come the third + book(s) have turned stale and stagnant, predictable in a way that disappoints the reader to no end and forces us to toss aside an author and move on to greener pastures? This has never been the case with our Kimmy; I think characters of long running series naturally want to become tired, but Angie maneuvers her entire crew into situations we’d never dream up, keeping the series fresh and the reader on their tippy toes.
For those who have followed the series from [b:Silent Scream|24483265|Silent Scream (D.I. Kim Stone, #1)|Angela Marsons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421169346s/24483265.jpg|44077500], you know that Marsons always includes an element of diversity and a focus on a timely injustice toward either a minority group or those of a more vulnerable classification (I.E. children or those with disabilities). This book is no different and includes a nice focus on what a nasty monster racism is. I won’t be giving away any spoilers, but I loved how she caused me to pause and do a little introspective thinking; as a white female in the United States who has lived an entirely privileged life, it was eye-opening and breathtaking to pause and soak up the horror that other races have to endure on a daily basis. Clearly this novel focuses on an extreme variety of such hatred, but the author does touch on a different type of racism, the type where people hold a fear of any other race assimilating into their neighborhood while claiming they cannot be racist because “they have a friend who is of _____ race”. This type of detail and uncomfortable thought provoking narrative is precisely why Angie always earns a 5 star rating from myself and many other readers.
As I stated above, I won’t go into detail concerning the plot, but I enjoyed how Kim was also put in an uncomfortable situation herself. We get a good bit of backstory into a minor character who has been mostly mysterious since the first book, and we also get to know Stace a little better as well. If you are a fan of exciting crime fiction with a lovable cast of close-knit characters, please pick these up. I rarely implore new readers to start at the beginning of a long running series, but this one is so worth it. The books are extremely affordable on kindle and you will race through them at lightning speed. I’ve once again found myself with a Bookouture hangover, as I just finished all the latest in my favorite series that they publish, so I will just cry into my pillow until it’s time to meet up with Kim Stone once again.
*Many thanks to the publisher and author for providing my copy; it’s always a pleasure to participate in the blog tours.
For those who have followed the series from [b:Silent Scream|24483265|Silent Scream (D.I. Kim Stone, #1)|Angela Marsons|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1421169346s/24483265.jpg|44077500], you know that Marsons always includes an element of diversity and a focus on a timely injustice toward either a minority group or those of a more vulnerable classification (I.E. children or those with disabilities). This book is no different and includes a nice focus on what a nasty monster racism is. I won’t be giving away any spoilers, but I loved how she caused me to pause and do a little introspective thinking; as a white female in the United States who has lived an entirely privileged life, it was eye-opening and breathtaking to pause and soak up the horror that other races have to endure on a daily basis. Clearly this novel focuses on an extreme variety of such hatred, but the author does touch on a different type of racism, the type where people hold a fear of any other race assimilating into their neighborhood while claiming they cannot be racist because “they have a friend who is of _____ race”. This type of detail and uncomfortable thought provoking narrative is precisely why Angie always earns a 5 star rating from myself and many other readers.
As I stated above, I won’t go into detail concerning the plot, but I enjoyed how Kim was also put in an uncomfortable situation herself. We get a good bit of backstory into a minor character who has been mostly mysterious since the first book, and we also get to know Stace a little better as well. If you are a fan of exciting crime fiction with a lovable cast of close-knit characters, please pick these up. I rarely implore new readers to start at the beginning of a long running series, but this one is so worth it. The books are extremely affordable on kindle and you will race through them at lightning speed. I’ve once again found myself with a Bookouture hangover, as I just finished all the latest in my favorite series that they publish, so I will just cry into my pillow until it’s time to meet up with Kim Stone once again.
*Many thanks to the publisher and author for providing my copy; it’s always a pleasure to participate in the blog tours.
wc4's review against another edition
5.0
At this point, I think I should just cut and paste my reviews of all the previous Angela Marsons books to explain how much and why I love this one, too. This one is a bit different in that DI Kim Stone's team is forced to work separately. Kim is ordered to work a case involving discovery of human bones in a field with DI Travis. He's someone she used to work with but they had a falling out and now can't stand each other. That leaves Bryant, Dawson, and Stacey having to handle cases on their own. They ended up investigating sickening hate crimes, and invariably the old and new cases all connect to each other. I enjoy that Bryant and Dawson has to partner up when they did not really got along. Stacey became obsessed with a teenage suicide, deciding to look further into it without proper authorization. We see different and complex responses to racism and hate, from Stacey who has had to deal with it since childhood, and Dawson and Bryant, who are Caucasian males.
What else can I say? Angela Marsons is a brilliant writer who has penned another thrilling, engrossing book.
What else can I say? Angela Marsons is a brilliant writer who has penned another thrilling, engrossing book.
emmalynn's review against another edition
5.0
This was my fave one in the Kim Stone series so far and that means a lot considering I've been in love with this series ever since I started the first one.
Dead Souls might be a bit slower to get the plot going than the other Angela Marsons books (or maybe it's just me not dealing with change, here, Kim leaving her team for a while) but it's totally worth it considering how epic and breathtaking the last 2 thirds of this book are.
Dead Souls might be a bit slower to get the plot going than the other Angela Marsons books (or maybe it's just me not dealing with change, here, Kim leaving her team for a while) but it's totally worth it considering how epic and breathtaking the last 2 thirds of this book are.
pgchuis's review against another edition
4.0
Kim is paired with a former colleague (now enemy) to look into the case of human remains found in a farm field on the boundary of their two force areas. This unlikely doubling up of two DIs running round together leaves Kim's usual team (two DS's and a DC) on their own looking into a series of hate crimes.
For the first two-thirds of this novel, I was ready to give it five stars; the plot moved along at a fast pace, with many little cliff-hangers at the end of chapters as we switched between the storylines. (Perhaps some of the chapters were a little too short and the constant switching a little wearing after a while, but whatever).
However, the ending was a disappointment to me. Maybe I am being naive, but the explanation for what was doing on seemed excessively gruesome and extremely unlikely. I also started skimming a little, partly because "action" really isn't my thing and partly because I wanted the action over so the mop up and holding to account could begin. The appearance of Tracy Frost didn't really add anything and the chapters from Jacob's perspective were so grim that I skipped most of them.
I liked Doctor A, although the quality of her English seemed highly variable.
For the first two-thirds of this novel, I was ready to give it five stars; the plot moved along at a fast pace, with many little cliff-hangers at the end of chapters as we switched between the storylines. (Perhaps some of the chapters were a little too short and the constant switching a little wearing after a while, but whatever).
However, the ending was a disappointment to me. Maybe I am being naive, but the explanation for what was doing on seemed excessively gruesome and extremely unlikely. I also started skimming a little, partly because "action" really isn't my thing and partly because I wanted the action over so the mop up and holding to account could begin. The appearance of Tracy Frost didn't really add anything and the chapters from Jacob's perspective were so grim that I skipped most of them.
I liked Doctor A, although the quality of her English seemed highly variable.
danyspike's review against another edition
3.0
This is my first book by Angela Marsons and I'm sure it will not be the last. I enjoyed reading this book and knowing this author's work, so I want to start reading the series from the beginning!
Ok, I'll start mentioning the things I didn't quite like, so we can go on to review the good things.
The first thing that I noticed was that I was always aware that I was reading. The writing wasn't too fluid, so I couldn't get lost in the story and forget the world around me. That usually happens with new authors, so I was surprised to find that in the sixth book of a series. Related to that last point, some dialogues were too forced sometimes. Most chapters ended with short phrases such as (and this is an invented example):
"He found a body.
He knew who it was.
He knew what it meant.
And time was running out"
They reminded me of the beginnings of CSI Miami episodes, where the guy finds a body, puts on his sunglasses and says some cheesy line while putting his hands on his hips and looking towards the horizon lol
Now, let's move on to the good bits! I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't be too descriptive, but I'll try to do my best.
The plot in general was very intriguing and interesting. I really liked that Angela Marsons takes the time to touch the very important topic of discrimination while developing the story. It reminded me a little bit to what Henning Mankell did with his Wallander series: always a new complicated theme right alongside the murder investigation.
I also loved that there were many stories within the book, so you were constantly moving from one plot to another, and there were always something new to find, even when most of the time I disagreed with the decisions the characters made!
On one side, there's the rivalry between Kim and another detective with whom she has a story and now she has to work with. On another side, we find two investigators from Kim's team having to learn how to function as partners. Then we see Stacy, trying to work amidst talks of racism and figuring out if she could trust her gut. Finally, of course, there's the murder part of the plot. It all starts with some bones found during an archaeological dig and it all blows up from there, ending up in a nerve-raking scene which I really cannot describe without giving it away, but it's good!
That's it. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and thank you Angela Marsons for a great story!
Ok, I'll start mentioning the things I didn't quite like, so we can go on to review the good things.
The first thing that I noticed was that I was always aware that I was reading. The writing wasn't too fluid, so I couldn't get lost in the story and forget the world around me. That usually happens with new authors, so I was surprised to find that in the sixth book of a series. Related to that last point, some dialogues were too forced sometimes. Most chapters ended with short phrases such as (and this is an invented example):
"He found a body.
He knew who it was.
He knew what it meant.
And time was running out"
They reminded me of the beginnings of CSI Miami episodes, where the guy finds a body, puts on his sunglasses and says some cheesy line while putting his hands on his hips and looking towards the horizon lol
Now, let's move on to the good bits! I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't be too descriptive, but I'll try to do my best.
The plot in general was very intriguing and interesting. I really liked that Angela Marsons takes the time to touch the very important topic of discrimination while developing the story. It reminded me a little bit to what Henning Mankell did with his Wallander series: always a new complicated theme right alongside the murder investigation.
I also loved that there were many stories within the book, so you were constantly moving from one plot to another, and there were always something new to find, even when most of the time I disagreed with the decisions the characters made!
On one side, there's the rivalry between Kim and another detective with whom she has a story and now she has to work with. On another side, we find two investigators from Kim's team having to learn how to function as partners. Then we see Stacy, trying to work amidst talks of racism and figuring out if she could trust her gut. Finally, of course, there's the murder part of the plot. It all starts with some bones found during an archaeological dig and it all blows up from there, ending up in a nerve-raking scene which I really cannot describe without giving it away, but it's good!
That's it. Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and thank you Angela Marsons for a great story!
louiseog's review against another edition
5.0
This series just gets better and better.
I like the fact that the protagonists are real people with real, sensible lives.
This story is about hate and is chillingly relevant in our world today. Great.
I like the fact that the protagonists are real people with real, sensible lives.
This story is about hate and is chillingly relevant in our world today. Great.
itsallaboutthebooksuk's review against another edition
5.0
Woo Hoo Kim Stone is back in the 6th book in this series and boy what a cracker it is. When I heard there was new book coming out I was like a little kid on Christmas eve, super excited. I’ve read and loved every book so far and I’m sure I say this each time I write a review but this is the best one yet.
In Dead Souls Angela Marsons has mixed things up a little. When human bones are found in a field that sits on the border of two police districts Kim finds herself having to work alongside an old colegue Tom Travis. It’s clear from the very beginning that something happened between Kim and Travis but we don’t find out until much later on what that is and the tension between the two and Kims frustration really get the readers mind going, I’m such a nosey parker.
Meanwhile Bryant and Dawson are paired up while Kims away and tasked to solve a spate of hate crimes which leaves Stacey on her own where she takes on the task of investigating a young suicide. I have to say it was a bit of a shock when I first realised the team were being split up, I’ve really come to love the connection between the four, the way they work together and how they each have each others backs, but this worked wonderfully well and although the story still focuses on our main lady Kim, Bryant, Dawson and Stacey all have a more prominent role in Dead Souls.
You know when you pick up an Angela Marsons book you’re going to get a blooming good story and in Dead Souls this is no different. The story centres around hate crimes and what maybe a very difficult subject for people to read about Angela Marsons has really done a fantastic job and has clearly done much research on the subject. I’ll not lie, there are some quite disturbing scenes in this book and it’s difficult to comprehend how people can be so vile but for what’s a very prominent subject in today’s world, Angela Marsons has tackled these issues and written one hell of a good story.
Dead Souls is another sleep depriving page turner, it had me on the edge of my seat at points, it gave me shivers and at one stage I was looking for the matchsticks to keep my eyes open as I really didn’t want to stop reading. As you can probably tell, I just love this series and hope it continues for a long, long time.
I honestly can’t big up this book enough, actually the whole series has to be read. You could read Dead Souls as a standalone but you’d be missing out on so many good books if you did.
So if you hadn’t already guessed, I highly recommend this book. You won’t be disappointed.
In Dead Souls Angela Marsons has mixed things up a little. When human bones are found in a field that sits on the border of two police districts Kim finds herself having to work alongside an old colegue Tom Travis. It’s clear from the very beginning that something happened between Kim and Travis but we don’t find out until much later on what that is and the tension between the two and Kims frustration really get the readers mind going, I’m such a nosey parker.
Meanwhile Bryant and Dawson are paired up while Kims away and tasked to solve a spate of hate crimes which leaves Stacey on her own where she takes on the task of investigating a young suicide. I have to say it was a bit of a shock when I first realised the team were being split up, I’ve really come to love the connection between the four, the way they work together and how they each have each others backs, but this worked wonderfully well and although the story still focuses on our main lady Kim, Bryant, Dawson and Stacey all have a more prominent role in Dead Souls.
You know when you pick up an Angela Marsons book you’re going to get a blooming good story and in Dead Souls this is no different. The story centres around hate crimes and what maybe a very difficult subject for people to read about Angela Marsons has really done a fantastic job and has clearly done much research on the subject. I’ll not lie, there are some quite disturbing scenes in this book and it’s difficult to comprehend how people can be so vile but for what’s a very prominent subject in today’s world, Angela Marsons has tackled these issues and written one hell of a good story.
Dead Souls is another sleep depriving page turner, it had me on the edge of my seat at points, it gave me shivers and at one stage I was looking for the matchsticks to keep my eyes open as I really didn’t want to stop reading. As you can probably tell, I just love this series and hope it continues for a long, long time.
I honestly can’t big up this book enough, actually the whole series has to be read. You could read Dead Souls as a standalone but you’d be missing out on so many good books if you did.
So if you hadn’t already guessed, I highly recommend this book. You won’t be disappointed.
leahmichelle_13's review against another edition
5.0
Angela Marsons is one of the greatest crime writers, ever. Yes, that is a big statement and yes, I said that. Her D.I. Kim Stone books have been keeping me on the edge of my seat for 2 years and it's incredibly hard to believe that it has only been two years, because it feels like Angela and Kim have been around forever. We are so incredibly lucky that Angela seems to write so fast and that we have had six books since 2015. There's to be (at least) 16 in total and that just blows my mind with excitement, to see what Kim, Bryant, Stacey and Kev can get themselves up to book after book, and what kind of cases come their way.
In Dead Souls, the team are split in two as Kim partners with Detective Tom Travis, from West Murcia when bones are found straddling the two counties, while the rest of Kim's team get to work on solving hate crimes that seem to be going around. It was pretty interesting to see both Kim away from her team, having to work with someone she clearly doesn't get along with/has had a spat with and her team have to manage without her. I'm so used to them all working together, putting their heads together and solving cases quickly and efficiently and to see them split in half was a bit sad. Even more so, since Stacey seemed to be particularly bothered by everything occurring. I've always felt Stacey's a bit softer, a bit more sensitive than the rest of the team and this comes to the fore during Dead Souls. She feels like she's not getting enough credit, that they're leaving her out of the investigation and it was interesting to see where her own leads took her, since no one else was particularly interested, as the boys were busy with their own stuff and Kim was working her case in West Mercia.
The team that's been built in six books is incredible. They're a small team, there's only four of them after all, plus the occasional appearance from Woody, and I love all the new bits we learn about the team members because it feels like they're becoming real with each and every book. I loved seeing Kev and Bryant have to work together, which sounds like the dream partnership in that Kev is a bit like Kim in that he dives in to stuff head first without thinking and Bryant can be there to pull him back, as he does with Kim, but it's not like that. Kev, once again, has issues with being told what to do (when I suspect if he did just do as he was told, he would likely progress a bit quicker in his career if that's what he wants). But it was intriguing. It was also interesting seeing Kim outside her comfort zone. We're so used to Bryant being there to pull Kim back from the brink and bounce ideas off and the way the team works altogether is incredible. All of their four heads put together equals amazing police skills.
The fact the plot dealt with hate crimes was eye-opening, made me sick to my stomach but also made me glad more attention was coming to it. In an uncertain world, with people being told every day to "go back to their home countries", it's good it's being tackled in fiction. Hopefully it will open people's eyes, because it can't be nice to be beaten up because of your skin colour. Angela handles the plot so well and it just made me so angry because you know this is happening in the real world.
Dead Souls was another outstanding read. When I say Angela Marsons can do no wrong, I am no lying or pandering; she is genuinely one of the best crime writers around. Her books keep me entertained from start to finish, whether that's banter between the team or Dr A who was freaking hilarious, or just anything. I'm always on the edge of my seat and for two books now, there's been the promise of a shock, of a team member in jeopardy which I'm not a fan of, really but as long as no harm comes to any of their heads (there's only four of them! YOU CANNOT KILL ANY OF THEM OFF) they can be in a bit of jeopardy. I will allow it, but only from Angela. I can't wait for book seven, whenever that may arrive. I'll be pre-ordering it as soon as Amazon allows and devouring it the moment it is released.
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