So enjoy the ongoing tales of Kim Stone & her colleagues.
This book didn’t grip me quite so much as the previous ones which seemed more intense.
That aside it’s a good read & I’m already looking forward to the next adventures.

I can’t believe we are on book 11 in the Kim Stone series, these just get better every time!
Kim and the team investigate when a woman is found murdered in a children’s park and with an X marked on her back. There is soon another murder where a man is found placed on a hopscotch game. The team are soon involved in the world of child prodigies and going to a convention to try and solve the case. Penn has to go back to his old team in relation to a case that has collapsed and try to find who the guilty person really is.
I have enjoyed reading this and watching all the usual characters grow in their jobs. It has been interesting to see how Penn has dealt going back to his old unit and work alongside them.
This is a well written book, with plenty of twists along the way. I was hooked from the start and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It's good to be back again with DI Kim Stone and her team! After the last two books where Kim lost a member of her team and was then targeted by a criminal recreating traumatic events from her early life, it's especially good to see her back doing what she does best in concentrating on solving crime.

After the gruesome death of children's psychology professor, Belinda Evans, in a playground and a second death with some similar features Kim believes there might be a serial killer at work. Her investigations take her into the world of gifted children and their parents, some of whom will go to any lengths to push and promote their child even if it means denying them a normal childhood.

Penn, the newest member of the team has been seconded back to his old team so he can attend the murder trial of a man he arrested. This second thread unfolds in parallel with Kim's investigation and while it was good to see more of Penn and his history, it felt a bit disjointed in being quite distinct from the main investigation. However, it did have a suspenseful ending and allowed for a new character to be seconded to the team, the bright and bubbly Tiffany, immediately nicknamed 'Tink' (shortened from Tinkerbell) by Kim.

Overall, a suspenseful thriller with Kim back at her best and an insightful look at the world of child prodigies and the way they are treated. I'm already hanging out for the next sequel and hope Ms Marsons has many more nasty crimes for Kim to solve ideas up her sleeve.

As usual anotuer gripping read.

Some interesting characters and dynamics which created interesting crimes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

I can’t believe this is the eleventh book in the Kim Stone series. This series of books just keeps getting better.

When the body of a woman in her sixties is found dead in a children’s playground, Kim and her team are called in to investigate. When two other people are murdered in a similar way, Kim has to decide whether they are facing a serial killer. The story follows Kim and her team as they race to discover who the killer is.

Another great book by Angela Marsons. It has a storyline that twists and turns, leaving you gripped until the very end. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Brilliant! Page-turning! Twisty!
Angela Marsons, and indeed Kim Stone, never fail to deliver a fast-paced, intriguing story line! Loved every page.

The story opens with a death, a horrific one at that. The victim is a retired college professor of Child Psychology. Detective Kim Stone and the Team search her home and find an overnight bag. Her sister, Veronica seems to be keeping things from them and deliberately blocking their way.

Two more bodies are found with the same mark which was on the first and the team wonder if this is the mark of a twisted serial killer. They need to quickly find the link.

DS Penn meanwhile is back with his old force regarding what could be a possible miscarriage of justice when he was SIO so he’s out of the frame. In comes Tiff (or Tink), a pretty annoying young Constable who is in awe of her new placement and of Kim Stone but who comes into her own as the story progresses.

The Team are now investigating attendees of an annual tournament for gifted children which seems to be the link to the victims and the race is on to find out why they’ve been selected for such gruesome deaths and we wonder what Veronica, is hiding. The Team head down to the hotel complex where the tournament is taking place fully expecting the murderer to be there..

As ever, a fast paced and gritty story which I couldn’t put down (and I didn’t have a clue who the killer was which is always the sign of a great read!)

Angela Marsons has done it again, yet another outstanding tale of Kim Stone and her team. (Do I start all my Angela Marsons reviews this way? As each book has just got a little better from the last and this is no exception)
We learn a lot more about Penn in this book and also a new character called Tiff. Both very different characters however enhance Kim’s Team and give extra dynamics.
There are 2 cases in this book which makes for an interesting read.
The main story follows child genius’s. It really is interesting how it is dealt with.
As always if I could give more than 5* I would
Loved it :) xx

I can't believe this is the 11th book in this series. Definitely one of my very favourites. Each of the cases (there are 2) are gripping, page turning events. From child geniuses to bank robbers. We have a new fabulous character that I hope we see more of. I would like to see more of Penn as well. I love Kim, Stacy and Bryant. Another one hit out of the ballpark. Well done Angela Marsons. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

This is a really hard review to write.....not because the book was bad in any way. Nope, it's merely I've run out of ways to praise this series! Seriously, eleven books in and it's still not getting boring. This time around the personal life of Kim goes on the back burner and instead it concentrates on the case. For some this could be a problem but for me it's great. Kim's not been tortured for a change, the team banter is back and there's a case to solve. Just brilliant. There's a nice little side story involving Penn which seems unconnected but I can't help but feel it will lead somewhere in future books...I hope!

As always a compelling, thrilling and just bloody fantastic read.

Child’s Play is book eleven in the DI Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons. I’ve read them all and they just get better each time.

We’re back with our favourite Detective and her team of Bryant, Stacey and Penn. We have a woman in her sixties who has been murdered, among her injuries is an X carved into the back of her neck. As Kim and her team begin to investigate two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings.

I finished this book in just over a day. It drew me straight in and I couldn’t put it down. It’s fast paced with twists and turns galore and an absolute joy to read.

I can definitely recommend this book and would rate it 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

Child’s Play is the latest detective thriller involving Kin Stone and her team. This time they are investigating some murders, and pretty grotesque ones at that, which seem to have links to child prodigies either these victims were themselves a prodigy or related to one.
There is another story within this one involving Penn the newest member of Kim’s team, not sure this actually worked would have preferred him to stay within the dynamics of the team as he has fitted in so well.
Whilst I enjoyed this story I felt there was a lack of depth to previous books and something was missing. That said it was good read

When the body of Belinda Evans is found in a playground DI Kim Stone is called to investigate. Meanwhile pressure is being put on the Police not to let officers work too much overtime. Penn has been requested in court for a case with his former team leaving the team shorthanded and the more deaths adding to the pressure.
This is another superb read from Angela Marsons with two investigations (Stone and Penn) running through the book. Very enjoyable.

You know you are in safe hands with DI Kim Stone I have read a number of the books in the series and whilst she is not a character you instantly warm too, she is a character you root for and during the series you understand the layers of her character more and more.

In this instalment, Stone is a team member down with Penn being recalled to a previous court case....fortunately we still see him in the book he is a great new addition....with a serial killer on her hands.

Using her own sometimes questionable methods she get a handle on the case and begins to unravel the crime.

Yet again, another thrilling adventure.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this in my honest opinion.

I have been an avid reader of detective novels for years and in my opinion nobody does it better than Angela Marsons. I was delighted to get the chance to read the newest novel in the series and I was not disappointed! Detective Kim Stone and her team faced one of their most challenging cases to detective that focuses on child prodigies. I love everything about this series of books, the plot lines are always strong and I can never see the conclusion coming. The greatest strength however is the characters themselves, I am extremely fond of the all main characters and each time I read a new book in the series it is like catching up with old friends!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC

Child’s Play is the 11th novel in a series about Detective Kim Stone. It follows as the team races to stop a killer who has been murdering former child prodigies. .

I’ll preface my review by saying that I’ve never read any of the previous books in the series, My perspective is entirely from someone who simply read the blurb and thought it sounded interesting.

I felt that my lack of prior history became a bit of hindrance to understanding all the intricate relationships between the team members. I enjoyed Tink’s character as it added some levity and humor. I enjoyed Kim’s banter with Bryant.

I wasn’t a fan of the secondary storyline with Penn, I just wasn’t emotionally invested in it. I was far more interested in the main killer. I wish there were more chapters like the first one. The first chapter had me all revved up for the book.

I’ve read plenty of crime novels to know this is a good one. It just didn’t have my full attention throughout to garner a higher rating. The novel did interest me enough that I’m going to look into reading Book 1 in the series. Might be unconventional but there’s something about these characters that make me feel like the series overall has probably been very thrilling.

Thank you to Bookouture and #NetGalley for providing me a copy of #ChildsPlay .

After the darkest of traumas experienced by DI Kim Stone and her team previously, Angela Marsons gives the reader a much needed breather with this, her 11th addition to this brilliant series. This is a series I read for the characters, the emotionally damaged Kim, and her team, the interactions and banter between them, all of whom I have come to care for. Plus, of course, for the well researched themes by Marsons, here, the topic of child prodigies, their impact on siblings, and their parents. Such gifted children, breathing the rarified air of being head and shoulders above their peers, and garnering the kind of attention it can be hard to live without as they become adults. A normal childhood is often a pipe dream for them, as can be socialising and having friends, and sibling relationships can result in bitter rivalries and resentment. Marsons looks at the parents, the quandary of just how far should they push their 'special' child, and 'tiger' parenting, more often than not built on a punitive system for the child to perform.

Kim and Kevin Bryant find themselves at the gruesome murder of a 61 year old Belinda Evans, a Child Psychology professor, at a playground park, secured to a swing with barbed wire, stabbed through the heart, with the letter X carved into the back of her neck. There are further murders with a similar MO that include a children's counsellor, and the original founder of Brainbox, which organises competitive events and quizzes for gifted children. Penn is in court accompanied by his old team members, the trial is expected to be a slam dunk affair, only for everything to disintegrate with the murder of a defense witness, and a prosecution witness that jeopardises the case and the career of DI Tom Travis. Penn is forced to painstakingly review the police case, only to find it riddled with serious problems which question the probity of the original investigation. Kim is convinced the killer will be at the Brainbox convention given all the victims are connected with it, so takes her team there, but danger awaits her and for Penn in his case.

As Kim implements orders from above to not push her team so hard and endanger their mental health, there are the comic repercussions of Kim and her team struggling to work normal hours, all their lives threaten to derail until they return to the long hours and intense pressure of their normal working lives. Penn's absence from the team results in the entry of the effusively cheerful and perky Tiffany, a new addition, whom the horrified Kim refers to as Tinkerbell or 'Tinks'. Tinks works with Stacey, who finds herself utterly surprised at how well they work together. This was a gloriously entertaining, and fun crime read, so great to catch up with Kim and her fabulous team, whilst at the same time appreciating in depth the strange world of gifted children, their parenting, and family dynamics. Looking forward to the next in the series! Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC.

Absolutely fantastic! Angela Marsons never fails to deliver an absolutely fantastic read! Thank you for letting me review this title, I can’t wait for the next Kim Stone instalment

Child's Play (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 11) by Angela Marsons. Zipped through the book at record speed. Two different crimes investigated (and solved), each having their own unique twist. Quirky new detective introduced and proves to be an asset to the team. Hope Tink will be in future books. The series keeps getting better and the characters are all evolving. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Another brilliant instalment in the Kim Stone series. I can’t believe we are on book 11 and they are all as brilliant as each other. I just love Angela’s style of writing and am loving getting to know the newer characters. Bring on book 12. I highly recommend this entire series and author, she’s just amazing.