This is my first introduction to DI Kim Stone and what an introduction it was. As TWISTED LIES is a dark, intense and brilliantly macabre story. That hooked me in from the start thanks to a protagonist who is ballsy, blunt, straightforward and socially inept and a story that was fast-paced, thrilling and full of twists.

And I had no idea who the killer was until they were revealed in a shocking twist or what if any link it had to the retrial of human rights lawyer Nick Morley. But I had one hell of a good time finding out.

I'm now off to buy the rest of the series, as this story was just that good!

Would definitely recommend.

This is book 14 in the D I Kim Stone series of books by Angela Marsons and Twisted Lies is an outstanding read. I have read all of the other books in the series and each book has its own very unique storyline.
In Twisted Lies the main storyline is about the witness protection programme and how lives are irrevocably changed once a witness and his family enter the programme and the protection officers who look after each case.
I found the story absolutely fascinating and read the book very quickly. It is also good to catch up on the other members of the police team, who work with Kim Stone and see how they are, like visiting old friends.
Highly recommended

Twisted Lies is the latest in the series by Angela Marsons about her Detective Kim Stone. Twisted Lies is a stand alone book, but to me it was like catching up with an old friend, as I have been with these stories since the beginning. Ms Marsons hasn't lost her touch. Some edge of the seat moments and unexpected twists keep the reading turning the pages. I want to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an early copy to review.

The cover of a book is so important, I have said this so many times. It makes a person looking for a new read, pick the book up and read the back. This is what happened to me with the first Angela Marsons book I read and i was hooked. Kim Stone is a great character and her team are varied and interesting.
Twisted Lies starts with the discovery of a body so badly tortured it is hard to stomach. When a second body is discovered with equally horrific signs of tortures, it is apparent someone is exacting revenge for something. Meanwhile Stones nemeses, from the paper has been assigned to spend a day with them. Much to Stones outrage Tracy follows them to the home of a family whose sister/ daughter was killed a year ago by her husband and it looks like the husband is going to get off. Tracy starts to investigate this case on her own and soon lands in trouble herself.
This very much was an uncorrected proof copy as a deceased person appeared alive for a few chapters then was dead again at the end. But that aside it was a dark and twisted read and I loved it.
#netgalley #twistedlies

Another triumph in this fantastic series! This one kept my heart rate up but was such a good ending like always. Roll on the next instalment #TwistedLies #NetGalley

I love the Kim stone series and this is one of my favourites yet! I love Kim’s no nonsense attitude coupled with the passion she has for finding justice and looking after her team. What is great about this series is readers can read as a standalone book and for those who follow the series the author provides little nuggets of info from previous books but not in a way that it feel repetitive. 5 stars great book can’t wait for the next one

Everything stops when the newest book in Angela Marsons DI Kim Stone series becomes available. Many thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the chance to spend some quality time with Stone and her team sorting through clues and solving crimes.

It’s another day in the life of homicide DI Kim Stone and her team of DS Bryant, Penn and Stacey Wood. A trip to DCI Woodward’s office ruins a good day for Stone when she is told she must allow reporter Tracy Frost to join Stone and Bryant for one day as thanks for her help in their last case. Their first stop is the family home of domestic abuse victim Trisha Morely. Her alleged murderer, husband Nick is set for retrial. He has hired a PR firm to play up his role as a human rights lawyer and to fill the news feeds with his good deeds and better character.Stone is happy to unload what looks like a sure win for his defense team on Frost while she and Bryant deal with another call. A man has been tortured and murdered in the most gruesome manner. Identifying this badly burned victim is going to be a challenge unlike any Kim and her team have faced before.

After meeting with Trisha’s family, reporter Tracy Frost is determined to cast a different light on Nick using her column in the local paper to dim some of his shiny publicity while digging up information the prosecution may have missed. Stone’s team run into roadblocks when they try to identify their first victim. Soon other victims of horrible deaths happen and it looks like they have a serial killer on their hands. It’s hard to solve a crime when you can’t identify your victims.

Marsons keeps the pace fast and her scenes and chapters short. Kim is forced to work with her nemesis Tracy Frost and a grudging respect does develop between the two. Stacey is now a happily married woman and is up for promotion if she agrees to take the DS course. Penn is his usual vast source of knowledge and Bryant is the solid sidekick Stone needs so she won’t spend her days punching walls. As the title implies, all is not as it first appears. I found the case Tracy Frost was digging into more interesting than the mystery of the unknown victims and their disappearing families. The Hollywood ending, while vintage Kim Stone left me a little flat. Only the mention of a possible appearance of a villain from Stone’s past has me excited about the next book in the series. This one was good but not great. Marsons has set a high bar for herself and is allowed a few average books.

3.5 Stars.

It's hard to keep a long-running series fresh and interesting, but Angela Marsons is still going strong with this 14th book featuring DI Kim Stone.

Kim Stone is quite the complicated character with all sorts of heavy backstory and an abrasive personality that has no warm and fuzzy mode. The current members of her team stationed at Halesowen CID include long-time "friends" that the reader has come to know and love through the many installments. It's always fun to catch up with them and watch their personal and professional growth as they investigate some truly awful crimes. That's why I think it would be a mistake not to read them all, in order from the beginning, before reaching for this one.

Multiple victims tortured and murdered in heinous ways with all the methods different. What do they have in common? Turns out they were all part of the witness protection scheme. Who is killing them and why?

In another parallel story, reporter Tracy Frost is digging into the past of Trisha Morley, a woman who was thought to be murdered by her husband a year ago but he has never been brought to justice. Can Tracy find information that will lead to his conviction?

The narrative features all the detail of a police procedural that we want to know including descriptions of the grisly torture. It's a solid crime thriller that won't disappoint fans.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Detective Kim Stone has visited some horrific crime scenes throughout her career but nothing could prepare her for what she was about to see. The body of a man has been found at an industrial estate, death being a release after suffering unimaginable torture. When the news of his death is shared with his wife, Kim realises that something is amiss, a theory which appears correct when the family go missing. When another body is found in similar disturbing circumstances, Kim and her team need to discover what connects the victims before others suffer the same fate.

When you pick up an Angela Marsons book, you know you are going to be in for a good read and Twisted Lies is no exception. This is a series that is still just as fresh as it was at the start and, fourteen books in, the author is showing no sign of losing her touch!

The plot is a particularly gruesome one and tests the skills of Kim and her team. Like in previous books, one of the main strengths of this series is the characterisation and over the course of the previous books, I have begun to see Kim, Bryant et al as old friends. This is a series where the characters feel very real and even off-topic conversations between them are a joy to read.

For me, I have always enjoyed any scene between Kim and her journalistic adversary, Tracy Frost. The relationship between these two strong women has always been tumultuous, each of them secretly admiring the other. In Twisted Lies, we see this relationship ramp up to provide some truly comical moments but, at the same time, showing a thaw in the frostiness (if you pardon the pun!) between them. Frost’s tenacity has never been in doubt, but here we see her using her journalistic skills to the max, and she has certainly gone up in my estimation after reading this.

With an engrossing plot and likable, well-written characters, Twisted Lies promises to be yet another hit for Angela Marsons. Keep them coming!

Wow! Book 14... and not a hint of going stale... Do yourself a favour, if you haven't already, and go back to the start and read in order. You'll thank me if you do, honest!
So... when this book first opens we witness something we never thought would ever happen. Tracy Frost on a ridealong with Kim and Bryant. Yep, you read that right. They are destined to visit the family of a victim killed by her husband. A horrible man who was put away for the crime. Problem is, he is set for a re-trial and has managed to spin the media to his favour. The visit is all a bit lip service but a necessary part of the job. Handily for Kim, just as the visit is ending, she is called to a crime scene. The body of a man has been found on an industrial estate, tortured before being killed. All a bit nasty to say the least. But I say handily as it gives Kim the chance to ditch Frost...
The man is identified and Kim sets off to break the news to his family. This doesn't really go as expected as Kim feels there is something a bit off with the way it played out. So I guess she isn't really surprised when 24 hours later the family has fled. This sets off Kim's Spidey senses and she starts to think there is much more to what is going on. And then there's a second body...
Meanwhile Frost is on a mission t help the family of the husband killer on retrial. She is in the media herself and thinks that maybe she can spin his story away from the direction he and his PR team is taking it... but at what personal and professional cost?
Although I did guess the majority early - well, I have read and loved all the author's previous book and so I think I know how her mind works by now, coupled with the sheer volume of this genre book I read per year, I'd be surprised if every book shocked me as much as the first. That said, me guessing early didn't mar my enjoyment of the book one iota. It's always great to reconnect with old friends and, yes, I consider Kim, Bryant, Stacy and Penn to be friends by now. Oh and with Frost kinda like that friend in the group that no one really likes but who continues to hang around for whatever reason! It's also nice to read a book that is delivered in a no nonsense, no waffle or padding kinda way. It means that the author gets on with the story well, which in turn means that the reader is able to better engage and fully immerse in what is going on. Popping up to breathe in the quieter moments every so often. Usually when the author drops in some of her trademark interaction - banter and bickering - between the main characters.
All in all, another winner from an author and a series I love. But, hang on... I hear you ask... you've waxed lyrical about the book, gushing nothing but love for it all the way through the review. But only dropped it 4 stars. Well... here you go... Two words... Cliff Hanger. Well, actually three words, Unnecessary Cliff Hanger. Completely out of the blue Cliff Hanger. And, I HATE CLIFF HANGERS. So... it drops half a star for this and then, cos it also ended early with advertising for previous books padding more than imo an acceptable percentage, I rounded down. It ends at 93% by the way! I though there was more story to come. Was disappointed...
Sorry for all you fans out there but... This book is great. The series is great. It is so good it compels people to get the next one on its own merits. You don't need cheap tricks to whet appetites for next time. Nor do you need to advertise so many (all the) previous books at the end. OK Sorry... Rant over...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

As always another brilliant page turner by Ms Marsons. The series is going strong and the core plots are getting better and different. Both storylines got a fitting conclusion. The reason for the medieval methods of torture is unclear as also the suicide.

Detective Kim Stone #14


when the lifeless body of a man is found on an industrial estate, Detective Kim Stone arrives on the scene and discovers he's been tortured in the worst way imaginable. But as she breaks the news to the victims wife, Diane Phipps, Kim can't help feeling something isn't quite right about the woman's reaction. Twenty four hours later. the victims family disappear into thin air. Then a second body is found staked to the ground. Kim and her team are desperate to crack the case open.

This is another really good page turner. We are now on book fourteen in this super, gripping and page turning series. It's a dark and violent read. that's full of twists. The plotline has been cleverly crafted, action packed and not for the faint hearted due to the gory details. The author has done her research and she keeps the reader on her toes whilst they try to workout what's going on. Kim and her team have their work cut out trying to solve this case. This series gets better with each new book.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #Bookouture and the author #AngelaMarsons for my ARC of #TwistedLies in exchange for an honest review.

Oh Wow!

Ever since I picked up the first book in the DI Kim Stone series I have been an ardent fan and at each subsequent book I marvel at how 'familiar' the characters seem whilst the plot-line for each novel is entirely new.

In book number 14 we catch up with DI Kim Stone and her brilliant team and also her combatant, journalist Tracy Frost. On one plotline we have a murder trial that the team are just not sure they will win despite their absolute conviction that the victim was subjected to horrific and long-lasting domestic abuse and on the other we have horrific scenes of torture.

Craftily and expertly positioned both plotlines have elements which are bound to make you think about how we perceive some crimes and evaluate whether or not justice is served.

Simply brilliant.

As always Angela Marsons has put out yet another great read. She just keeps getting better and better, the plot lines are always so different, and she keeps building the characters to the point that they feel like someone you know. Just awesome.

What can I say? I bloody love Angela Marsons books. They are amazing. Kim Stone is my favourite detective of all time. Don't ever stop writing them.

Fantastic book in a fantastic series. Some shocking and disturbing deaths to investigate. The family of the first murdere d victim have disappeared and this adds to the intensity of the plot and investigation by Detective Kim Stone and the team. I keep saying this series gets better with each book and here we are at book 14 and this one is a stunner!

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance review copy.
Gripping read from the first page to the last.
Angela has outdone herself with this instalment of DI Stone.
If you have ever read any of the DI Stone series, you will have come across some very gruesome and strange murders, this would have to be one of the most horrific murders Kim and her team has come across.
The team are practically running up against brick walls to solve this one, and you as a reader will be hard pressed to work out the who and the why.
DI Stone is one of my favourite detectives.
The story is very well written and will keep you intrigued from start to finish.
Highly recommended. Loved it.

Just Brilliant! I have read every single one of the D.I. Kim Stone series and have loved every single one, so it’s no surprise really that I was enthralled by this one too!

Angela Marsons hits the nail on the head every time. This is how murder/police procedural books should be written! I couldn’t put it down. The characters are so real and have such depth.

The book starts with a body being found, having been brutally and sadistically tortured over a period of time. The victim’s family, having been informed then disappear. I have to say I guessed the first reveal long before it was made apparent and I suspect in real life the team might have too! Then another tortured body is found. And the hunt begins. The final twist to this tale, I literally guessed the page before the reveal! Simultaneously, Kim’s pet hate, a reporter by the name of Tracy Frost is getting involved in another case thanks to being allowed to shadow Kim for a day. I loved further development of Tracy’s character and her relationship with Kim. And the final twist to that story, I could never have anticipated!!

I really enjoyed the insight into a particular part of police work that I hadn’t previously given much thought to - that was an eye-opener for me. Won’t say any more or I will spoil things for you.

Kim’s team are a well oiled machine and each has their own back story, if you haven’t read any of the Kim Stone series, I would recommend going back to the start and reading them in order although, in fairness, you could read this as a stand alone but you get more out of them if read from the beginning! And if you are doing just that - I envy you! It’s fast approaching the point where I will go back to the start and read them all again and that alone says so much for the quality of the books as I (almost) never re-read books!

It’s a very well deserved 5 ***** from me, honestly - I’d give it more if I could!

My thanks as always to the author, the publisher and to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in return for an honest, undesired review.

4.25* Gore score 3/5
#14 in the Kim Stone series. I haven’t read them all, or in order, but I love the series and was excited to read this book. The title is very fitting.
The prologue got my attention.
Kim and Bryant are forced to tag along her nemesis journalist Frost for a day as pay back for her help with a previous case. Frost is more than a match for Kim. I enjoy the witty repartee.
Needless to say that they are called to attend a gruesome murder scene while they are babysitting Frost.
There is a second strand of the story a domestic abuse case which also ends in murder, the husband’s first trial collapsed with a hung jury. They are taking it back to court with no further evidence, and the accused is busy setting up a PR campaign to help steer a bit guilty verdict. With a hung jury and no further evidence i question whether this would have gone to a second trial. It’s fiction and needs latitude.
Frost is on the case highlighting the victim.
I love the light hearted humorous sharp snappy writing style. It has a good pace.
The main characters are interesting and the team dynamic is great.
Frost with her her integrity and determination has definitely endeared herself.
There was some information shared about witches which didn’t seem relevant as the alternative theory made much more sense and I felt there was an over share on working out burns percentages.
The mystery gets more intriguing as the family of the murder victim disappears. The more the team start digging the bigger the mystery appears to be. The reveal came just a little late as I had guessed, it’s a very fascinating subject.
An action packed ending with a twist that I definitely wasn’t expecting!
Another gripping instalment of Kim Stone.

Whenever I see that Angela Marsons is publishing a new book in her Detective Kim Stone series, I know that I will be looking forward to another good read. Twisted Lies is the fourteenth book, and honestly, I think this series just keeps getting better.
Kim and her team(Bryant, Stacey, and Penn) are about to go up against one of the most sadistic killers I have ever seen in a book. None of their previous cases have prepared them for a body that was tortured over an extended period of time As if one killing isn't enough, the body count rises, and each victim is murdered horrifically. Trying to figure out what the victims have in common won't be easy, especially when it seems someone in authority knows more than they are sharing.
The second plot involved Tracy Frost, a reporter that Kim barely tolerates. When a murdered woman is about to be denied justice, Tracy sets out to tell the truth about the victim and her abusive husband. Kim doesn't spend much time making relationships a priority except for her team, but a grudging glimmer of mutual respect may wind up developing between these two women.
Combine a determined killer with a reporter's quest to do the right thing, and this book resonated with me on every level. Add in the fact that Stacey is also coming into her own, and the fact that I just adore Penn, and this was a fast-paced page-flipping really good read. 4.5 stars.