Child Play opens with a blood curdling scene, there’s no slow build up here the author goes straight for the jugular, no pun attended! Which immediately draws you into Child’s Play. Diverting from her usual format the author has uses two plots to engage the reader, personally I sometimes find this affects the flow of a book, but that’s definitely not the case with Child’s Play. The first focuses on the investigation of the gruesome murder of Belinda Evans, a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. The second focuses on DC Penn whom we were introduced to in a previous book. By weaving both plots together we learn more about Penn’s personality and learn more about his strength and weaknesses during a reopened investigation.

The strength of this series lies in its characters, Kim Stone and her team are so well developed, they jump out of the pages. Like any team they each have a place, they have their disagreements, their banter is second to none and yet they are a ‘work family’ who always have each other’s back. The relationship between Kim and her sidekick Bryant goes from strength to strength, the humour better the pair adds light relief to the contrast of a dark plot. A new member temporarily joins the team, Tiffany aka ‘Tinks’ her character fits in really well with the dynamics of the team, even if Kim finds her irritatingly cheerful! I hope she makes a return in future books, as I think she would definitely make a worthy addition to the team.

As I’ve come to expect the author’s research into her plot and characters
is impeccable, she also gives an incredible insight into the psyche of her troubled characters. In this book the author spotlights child prodigies, a subject which I found intriguing but at the same time alarming, these children are often seen as oddities, they are bullied, ostracised, isolated because they are ‘different’. Marsons explores the difficulties child prodigies face, alongside the ramifications on siblings and families. Child’s Play seems such an innocent title, it’s one that conjures up images of children’s laughter, and childhood games, but Angela Marsons turns it into something dark and far more sinister.

Once again the author has written a crime thriller that will keep the reader on the edge of their seat, taut with tension and bursting with malevolence and trepidation, it’s a book that crime thriller lovers will race through. Angela Marsons once again has delivered a riveting read, with an original plot, all to human characters and a way of writing that immerses the reader from the start. I cannot wait for the next book in this ‘unmissable’ series. Highly recommended by me.

Review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

Although the subject matter is gruesome murder It is lightened by the repartee between DI Kim Stone and her team especially Stone and Bryant. Although she is his boss. he sometimes has to stop her going out on a limb as she likes to bend the rules (and yes I know that in reality she would probably be at least reprimanded or maybe sacked but this is fiction and she does get results.) Tiff is a welcome addition to the team, I hope we see her again in future books. there are loads of teasers at the end of each chapter and it switches between the main story and a secondary story with Penn so the tension builds up. I am always sad when I get to the end of one of Angela Marsons books as i then have to wait for her to write another one. We learn a little more about Kim's past with each new book and all the characters are well developed. The main story is about child geniuses and how it affects the child and also their siblings. A brilliant five star read.

Another great book in this brilliant series. The plot was interesting and kept me gripped the whole way through. I would definitely recommend this series.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

This is the eleventh book in Angela Marsons' wonderful Detective Kim Stone series and having loved them all I am delighted to find it continues to be as brilliantly thrilling as ever.

When an older woman is found murdered in a children's playground none of Kim's team are prepared for the almost totally self-contained world the death will introduce them to. The victim, Belinda Evans, was a complex woman and her bereaved sister seems even more so.

Kim is already struggling against a new internal timekeeping system as well as being one team member down and so the increase in their workload isn't helped by a rising death toll. There is also a second thread running through this story which gives Detective Penn a chance to move front and centre, upping the tension and providing two threads to keep the action and threat level high all the way to the end.

Once again Ms Marsons's attention to detail is clear to see and she introduces the characters who inhabit her worlds without fanfare but always with an authenticity which makes them both believable and well rounded.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys this excellent series, they won't be disappointed.

The game is murder.

The players: A twisted serial killer vs. geniuses. He lures his victims by drawing them in to play classic childhood games. Who will win?

*Minor Spoilers Below*

A killer is on the loose. He likes to play games that end in murder on the playground, on the hopscotch court, etc. Kim Stone and her team investigate the murders, which lead them to the dark world of the child prodigy circuit.

Unlike previous installments, the case takes center stage and the team’s personal drama is pushed to the side. Well, all except for Penn who finds himself wrapped up in a former case that gets quite personal. Penn gets most of the attention and I enjoyed getting to know him more

Child's Play was a nice break from the intensity of the last two installments. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a suspenseful read-- there is just less drama when it comes to the team members’ personal lives. I enjoyed this book the most when the team worked together--I love their dynamic and I love how Kim and Bryant bicker like an old married couple. Since there's so little drama outside of the case, they don’t know what to do with themselves. They are even worse off than usual because they are forced to give up overtime and work normal hours. Not knowing how to handle this made for some hilarious moments.

The murders were a little outlandish, but the events surrounding them were fascinating as child prodigies make for an intriguing plot line. Overall, this was another solid installment in the Kim Stone series and I am looking forward to the next!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and Bookoutre in exchange for an honest review.

This is the 11th Crime Procedural novel in the Detective Kim Stone Killer Thriller series. Angela Marsons has always been intrigued by the notion of Child Prodigies and has wanted to explore the wider issues around this subject such as to explore their home lives and the styles and effects of the pressure the children have to shoulder and the attention they may have to deal with in later life, even if they are siblings of the gifted and talented child. She wanted to find out more about the effects of having Tiger Parents against having loving caring families. This is the novel that has resulted from her meticulous research. It is an absolute cracker of a story, told with brilliant incisiveness and with a mighty talent for this genre and storytelling in general. It’s creepy and makes the reader feel all sorts of emotions; discomfort, shock, concern and worry to name but a few.
A killer is on the rampage leaving a baffling trail of death and destruction in their wake. Each victim is branded and the murder settings have been chosen and staged with the theme of child’s play activities. Add to this the deliberation and attention to detail this makes each site shocking to the core. The perpetrator seems to be taking their revenge for some past event and they are not at all subtle about what they are revealing. It’s a game of cat and mouse furnished with flamboyant red herrings, blind alleyways and as always with plenty of thrills and spills. Who will be next appears to be a lottery of a question. It defies detection, leaving Kim and her depleted team with more questions than answers and one of the most complicated and shocking cases in her illustrious career. What is so fantastic about this series is the way each novel can be read as a standalone novel, although I gain reams of pleasure from the character development of each member of Kim’s team. They have come to be reliable and interesting familiar characters each with their own unique story, gelling as an extraordinarily successful police team. There are lots of new characters in this team, such as ‘Tiff’ whose first impressions are totally misleading as she steps in to help with this new and telling case.
The ‘Game’ the killer has chosen to emulate continues with the surety that you will never guess their identity. Angela is a master of this common theme in her DI Kim Stone novels. The perpetrator is standing in full view, but camouflaged just as successfully as the proverbial chameleon. The last twist is the first sure sighting and revelation of a heinous and bloodthirsty serial killer, laid bare in full and shocking exposure, one that will then seem obvious. Angela has a brilliant talent for these stunning endings that leave you breathlessly wanting another new novel to revel in in the near future, for she is a prolific and gifted storyteller with a talent for planning a fabulous story board, fully equipped with tension and mystery.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from publisher Bookouture, through my membership of NetGalley. Thank you for my copy sent in return for an honest and unbiased review. I thought this was an excellent read and I am more than happy to recommend it.

Embarrassed to say I had never heard of Angela Marsons, let alone her Detective Kim Stone. The first few pages were so violent that I excused my ignorance by thinking this author was too graphic and that’s why her novels were a mystery to me. Suddenly we are off and running on a fabulous mystery ride and I reread the subtitle which I first thought was Roman numeral 2 and it hit me that it was eleven and I cheered that I had another ten books to read, hell yes! Now I get to go back and find out why Kim is as intriguing as she appears today. Love being surprised and delighted by a new author in my life. Great addition to my detective shelf!!

One of my favourite authors. Angela Marsons can always be depended on to deliver an exciting, gripping story. And she definitely doesn't disappoint with Child's Play! Hooked as usual from page one right to the end. I would highly recommend it. A definite five stars!

# Child’s Play Detective Kim Stone Thriller Book 11 # Netgalley
OMG Angel Marsons has done it again, written another brilliant masterpiece of her Kim stone novels. This lady never ever seems to surprise me. With is so talented beyond belief. I am still in awe of this lady one of the best female writers of crime, that I have ever come across. Oh boy am I so pleased that I did come across her, all be it by accident too. Yes purely by accident. I have always been a hardback book fan, no matter what the book was about as long as it was written by my favourite authors I would buy them without even reading the synopsis. I decided to try the kindle app on my iPad I had seen digital books on my Amazon account so I purchased a couple of books one being by Angela Marsons called Forgotten women which I enjoyed so much I then read another by her Dear mother. By now I am totally hooked on her books. My only problem was. At that time I was really struggling with digital books. So despite being hooked by Angela Marsons 2 books I had read. I just thought not a problem I will just buy in my favourite hard back books. I had 2 more books to read before I headed off into the city to buy some new books, and quite a few had just been released by a few of my favourite authors. I had seen on the kindle app that Angela was due to release a new book. On my trip to the normal book shops, who by the way all knew me, mainly by the quantity I used to buy in one go plus ordering books coming up for release. I had asked if I could pre order a book by Angela Marsons. To which at that time they looked for her name and new release when I was told they couldn’t find one in that authors name. I thought this had got to be a mistake., this was in otterkers book shop, I popped into boots and asked the same thing only to be told they couldn’t find anything under that name. By now I am thinking I had made a mistake regarding the release date. I stopped for a coffee so I could download kindle to my iPhone after searching Amazon I found the book soon to be released and the exact date. Great I thought so rather than go back to otterkers or boots, in highcross Leicester there’s a massive Waterstones which I was going into not just to try and pre order this new book by Angela but to look to see if they had any different books to tempt me, I had already bought 7 hardbacks already, I went to the counter and asked if I could pre order, I believe it was silent scream by Angela Marsons. They had said exactly what the other 2 bookstore had said they had nothing on order for that author. Very disappointed and annoyed when I got home I had to have the book I just had too. So I picked my iPad up and pre ordered it through that, one thing I did notice some books you just could not order through kindle apps on my phone or iPad. After having read silent scream at the back they said coming soon, it was another new release my Angela. Although the love of my hardbacks was still my favourite I just also had to have the other new one of Angela. The one I had just finished was the first book about Kim stone, it was heartbreaking how her and her brother had been found chained to the radiator and with her brother just having passed away as they where found was so sad. Who could treat children like that. The book itself was absolutely beyond brilliant. Also how Kim and her brother Ricky had been found, I was so intent on finding out how her life would pan out, she had already been adopted by one of the police officers who found them. She had already joined the police force.. I then found out I had lung cancer and would find it hard to start with after having had a lung removed and going through chemo. So I invested in a kindle, now it’s the best thing I have ever done, although it was difficult giving up my hard back books. Every since every single book once they become available to pre order I will guarantee I will be one of the first to pre order. I thank god every time I think about the time I decided to try a digital book. Although now you can pre order her books in the book shops now. This lady as actually become my absolute favourite female thriller writer she exceeds everyone else with her writing of thrillers than any other female. I have so much admiration for this women who had brought so much joy in my life through her books. She doesn’t realise she also introduced 3 other brilliant females into my life, by just having spoken about their books. Obviously I can not name them on here. All I will say from reading their bios they are all best of friends. I can not wait for her new release, even your friends books are brilliant yet Angela is still number one female. If you have never read her books I really suggest you do, I know you will never regret it, you will become totally hooked as I am
Ps sorry for being such a long post yet every word is worth and warrants a long post for this amazing writer

I really love this series. While this book didn't have the emotional punch of the last few novels, it was a great read.
I absolutely love that the characters I love appear in every book and that every book introduces new characters to enjoy.
This novel was all about police work. Finding the clues and putting them together to find a murderer. In this novel, someone is killing people who are involved with child prodigies. The facts were interesting, how child geniuses are treated by their parents, how the siblings of these children are treated and how the world sees them.
I very much look forward to the next book in the series. I want to read more about Stacey and Bryant and Penn, and of course Kim Stone. I kind of hope Tink, oops Tiff makes another appearance...

I absolutely love the kim stone series. This latest instalment is no exception and I genuinely do not know where the author gets her ideas from to continue this series but long may it continue.

Many thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

When an elderly lady is found brutally murdered late one summer’s evening, DI Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution to this horrific murder, but it won’t be an easy task. The victim was found with stab wounds in Haden Hill Park - she’d been tied with barbed wire to a children’s swing, and the killer had also carved an X into the back of her neck.

The victim was 61 year old Belinda Evans, a retired Professor of Child Psychology, and given the fact that she was discovered in a children’s play area, it begs the question, was there some symbolism attached to this murder?

It turns out that Belinda was quite a surprising character, and added to that, there was the strange relationship with her sister Veronica. Veronica isn’t up for talking, but there’s something she’s not telling Kim, and we all know Kim won’t leave it at that!

When two further victims are found with the same MO as Belinda’s, Kim and her team realise that these ritualistic killings are going to continue until their investigations bear fruit. This won’t be easy however because there are so many leads, and with a man down, the investigation team is seriously depleted. One of Kim’s regular team ( Penn) is on temporary secondment with West Mercia Police, as he’s needed to attend a court case where he was SIO when a young man was murdered.

The two cases running alongside make for a fascinating read. Child’s Play is a very apt title for this book, as throughout, Kim and the killer she is pursuing, attempt to outmanoeuvre each other in psychological mind games all revolving around various kinds of children’s games. The result is an utterly compelling novel that will have you gripped to the end, and incidentally I never guessed who the killer was, but then I wouldn’t expect anything less from Angela Marsons!

Great, Kim stone series just gets better and better, I think the author could do a master class in murder methods, if you've not read a Kim stone book the get cracking, they are fantastic, would highly recommend

I loved this book!!!! I have read all the books in this series .... and this one did not disappoint!!! I love this author, and can not wait for the next instalment. It’s an exciting thriller which had me hooked from the very first page. Five star recommendation!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Angela Marsons for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Just finished, Child's Play, and I loved it! Angela Marsons delivers another fantastic book from the 'Kim Stone' series, this book being number eleven. You would think that after awhile the book series would stall but no, the only get more interesting with each installment. Only Ms. Marsons could weave child prodigy and tiger parenting into a police procedural. I love all the characters in these books, Kim, Penn, Bryant, Stacy and new comer, Tink. (I am hoping she returns for the next book, she adds a lighthearted aspect to the crew.) I feel like we could all be friends, It was a fast paced read, I could hardly make myself put it down! I just adore this series, and this new installment is intriguing, I love how the author keeps everything mixed up and fresh and pulls at your heartstrings all at the same time.
Thia book did not disappoint!
#childsplay
#netgalley

As usual another 5 star book from Angela Marsons. In this D.I. Kim Stone novel we enter the world of child geniuses, not a topic one would match with serial killers but here we are!
I continue to love the character growth with each new book. The book is written in a way where you can’t put it down, just one more chapter, then you get hooked again to keep going. Palms sweaty, heart beating you don’t know what’s going to happen next and I love it! Always a surprise at the end.
This book could be read on its own but I would recommend starting with book one so one can see the amazing character development.
Thank you to Bookouture through Netgalley for the complimentary copy to review.

Angela Marsons at her best! This book was fabulous, I loved everything about it. It was tense and suspenseful, fast paced and powerful. This one had me sitting up late into the night because I couldn’t put it down. I’m a big fan of Angie Marsons and this instalment in the Kim Stone series did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book and don’t hesitate in giving it 5 stars.

Another solid instalment in this well established series with the return of several characters and not one but two complex cases for Kim and her team. As always a well written, fast paced plot with a few unexpected twists along the way.

Another good story involving Detective Stone and her Team although DS Penn is taken away to another case. The two cases running side by side felt clunky and didn't really work for me although it did hype up the stress for Stone, being a team member down. .I liked Tink as a new character and hope she reappears in future stories. The murders are rather gory and grim and we are soon into attending an annual tournament for "gifted" children - brilliant at maths, art, chess and the like. Most of the adult characters (excluding the Police) also seem to have suffered through being overly bright, some to an extreme. The writing is taut and absorbing, the characters well-portrayed so a good author for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Our children bloom in a garden not necessarily of our own making.

Angela Marsons switches gears in Child's Play #11 in the DI Kim Stone Series. She veers past Kim's mysterious childhood that drifts into some of her previous offerings and ventures into the widening topic of gifted children this time. We're drawn into the sometimes uneven road of early detection, recognition, and the often ill-planned and complicated servicing of their individual needs.

Marsons takes us into an abandoned children's playground late at night. We hear the eerie creaking of a roundabout slowly spinning under the weight of a middle-aged woman whose eyes no longer view the sky above. A call comes into the West Midlands Police Station and Di Kim Stone and her team are immediately on the scene. Keat, the pathologist, tells Kim that the victim has been tightly wired to the roundabout and an X has been cut into the back of her neck signifying a possible ritualized killing.

The victim is identified as Belinda Evans who lived next door to her sister, Veronica. Veronica is especially tight-lipped in regard to her sister. Belinda's home reflects that of a hoarder who buries secrets within its walls. Belinda was a child progidy with a long trail of questionable life events. As Kim and her team slowly uncover Belinda's secrets, they will be thrust into the world of gifted education and the choices made by doting parents for all the right and all the wrong reasons.

Angela Marsons is extremely creative in her storyline here. She layers this one with a parallel story involving the newer team member., DS Penn, and a previous burglary/murder case from his past. It adds spark to the story and we come to see a different side to Penn. As always, Marsons' chapters are short and extremely crisp moving the storyline along quickly while the reader hangs on to every word. Her research on gifted children is spot-on. With an Angela Marsons' novel, you're gonna get quite the package.......signed, sealed, and delivered.

I received a copy of Child's PLay through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Bookoututre and to the talented Angela Marsons for the opportunity.