I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again, and I will probably be repeating this for as long as Angie Marsons keeps writing…her books need to come with the following: A warning, don’t start at bedtime or you won’t sleep and A note for your boss, to excuse you for the following day at work as you will need to call in with a book hangover!
I knew that as I soon as I picked up Twisted Lies I was going to be hooked and I was not wrong. Seriously, that opening just sucked me right in didn’t it, there was no chance I was just picking this up for a quick peek before bedtime! Nope, the questions it posed meant once again Angela Marsons had me trapped, right where she wanted me to be…in between the pages of her book.
In Twisted Lies we discover that Kim Stone is less than enamoured with her boss who has agreed for Kim’s favourite person in the whole wide world, journalist, Tracy Frost, to spend the day with her. It was hard to hide the smirk as I could imagine the curses Kim was cursing!
Angela Marson’s has found the perfect recipe for the police procedural and she binds her ingredients together creating a dish that ticks every box a lover of the genre is looking for! Her characters are almost baked to perfection. I’ve said this before about the team, if anyone was going to be investigating something for me, I’d want it to be Kim and the team: they have it all in bucketloads, empathy, a tenacious desire for justice, and willing to participate in some rule bending without being ridiculous. I honestly do feel like I’m reading a real life situation when I step into the pages and I can imagine each and every one of them crossing my path in real life.
The storyline is just sublime, intrigue, mystery, spectacular twists and reveals, all take you on a journey into the world of Kim, her team and the public they must protect and criminals they strive to lock away . The dual storyline was such that I was completely hooked on both of them, the mysterious family and its parallel domestic abuse case where the alleged perpetrator has a huge media backing. I am saying nothing other than I rooting for that bleep word to get his comeuppance.
The author has perfected the knack of providing information in a way that I always feel like I’ve learned something new when I read one of her books and she has mastered the skill of providing a contemporary social commentary without ever feeling like she’s info dumping or showing off her research. She slips it in effortlessly and naturally through narrative and dialogue.
Gruesome murders, bizarre family dynamics, secrets and a new perspective on some well known characters, Twisted Lies really did do it for me in every single way. This series is begging to be on the television, it plays out inside my head! And without giving any spoilers away, the ending of this book left me wanting to go chap Angela Marson’s door and camp outside in the hope that she will let me read the next one, chapter by chapter. I need to read this now!
So did I enjoy it…eh HELL YES!
Do I recommend it…eh Double HELL YES!
What are you waiting for…get out and buy it now!

Kudos to Angela Marsons. It’s not every author that can keep a series fresh when it lands in the double digits. But she’s done exactly that, as we reach book 14 in the Kim Stone series. Kim is no one’s idea of a shrinking violet and she has definite likes and dislikes. And one of her biggest dislikes is Tracy Frost, a reporter. So, the day doesn’t start well when she learns Tracy has been scheduled for a ride along with Kim and Bryant. But it doesn’t last long when they get a call about a horrific murder, basically a man roasted alive. And what’s weirder is that within 12 hours, his family has done a bunk.
The number of victims starts adding up and yes, I might have been one step ahead of Kim in figuring out the commonality. But it’s how Marsons spins the story that works so well. She takes you in a wild ride with twists I never saw coming. She’s done her research and she really had me thinking about all the implications. The ending has a perfect symmetry to it. And I loved seeing how Stone and Frost came together.
I highly recommend this series for those that love well done police procedural with great characters.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Detective Kim Stone novels are always a joy to read, particularly if you are a big fan like me. I needed to set aside a couple of days to read this new one as I knew it would be one of those books I couldn’t put down.
Although this is the fourteenth book in the series it is still fresh and the author always manages to find a new theme to include. I won’t reveal what this is but suffice it to say it makes for interesting reading and it is extremely well researched.
There are two different strands of the plot within the pages of the book and whilst Kim and her team are investigating a series of grisly murders where the victims have been tortured, their nemesis reporter, Frost, gets involved trying to find evidence to convict a lawyer who is a wife beater and murderer. Kim is supportive of this although she is careful not to seem too enthusiastic.
There already many twists and turns along the way and an absolutely massive one towards the end of the book which I for one didn’t see coming. The characters are well developed and it felt like I was catching up with old friends as I turned the pages. Detective Constable Stacey Wood’s dilemma over a possible promotion was believable and understandable.
All in all an excellent addition to this wonderful series and I will eagerly await Kim Stone book 15 although I’m sure it will be a bit of time before it hits the shelves.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

Love the Kim Stone novels. Great writing and premise. Amazing characters. Page turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me guessing. Great twist at the end. Definitely looking forward to the next offering. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

First let me say wow, I have 1) never read this many books in a series and 2) continued to love them and rate them in the 4-5 star range. There's just something about Marsons' writing and Kim Stone's team that just makes me adore these books. Adores feels like a bizarre word to use for such dark, twisted plots but I'm a Marsons/Stone fan! There were some good twists in this one that I didn't see coming. And how cute was Penn feeding the suspects cat and Frost with Barney! The only thing that disappointed me is I expected Penn's love life to play out more in this book. Maybe next one! No surprise - not only will I continue to read but already looking forward to book 15!

Oh my days! I was having a bad day until I saw that this little beauty was available for request on #Netgalley, so I hustled my wee ass over then kept my fingers crossed hoping for approval. Sitting outside the chemist I checked my emails, and it was just waiting for me to download it. As I was waiting in the car to collect a prescription from the chemist, I happily spent the next 40 minutes lost within the pages of #Twisted Lies, to tell the truth I was sad when I remembered I had to get the prescription. It's hard to believe that we are at book 14 in this series, somehow each new book manages to be even better than the last.
Over the years DI Stone has chased after some serious adversaries, been through some horrific times within her personal life all whilst working every hour god sends. The same is expected from her tea, she does try to keep an eye on them but they still have a habit of doing things they shouldn't (I wonder where they get that from, Kim). I wonder sometimes about the authors own psyche, in the previous books we've been taken to some extremely dark places, but this is on a whole new level.
The victims in #TwistedLies are tortured in ways that most folk could never image but @AngelaMarsons obviously isn't most people. There were 2 incidents specifically that really got under my skin, pardon the pun. The brutality within the pages of #TwistedLies is somehow even more graphic when it’s written with the right amount of detail to let our imaginations run riot and I think mine ran a 5K sprint!
I had a wee chuckle on more than one occasion involving the double act that Kim and her arch nemesis reporter Tracy Frost are fast becoming. Now we all know that there’s no love lost between these 2 so when her gaffer tells Kim that Tracy would be doing a ride along day with her, and DS Bryant I very nearly spat my ginger over the steering wheel of the car. Surprisingly enough and after some ground rules were laid they manged to do it without killing each other or DS Bryant for that matter.
It really is a pleasure to catch up with the team, they seem to newly married DC Stacey Wood who laughingly took every opportunity to remind everyone of it. Everyone in the team can see how talented Stacey is, well everyone except Stacey that is. As for DS Penn he’s a treasure with a heart as big as a lion. Penn takes care of his brother after the death of his mum, the relationship between him and his brother Jasper is quite special. Jasper has a talent for baking, he sounds like he could be the next Mary Berry (maybe he should apply for Great British Bake Off).
If you’re looking for a new police procedural, one that keeps you on the very edge of your seat, from the prologue till the last page give @AngelaMarsons DI Kim Stone series a chance. I know I say it all the time but for maximum enjoyment start at the beginning with #SilentScream, it really is for the best, there's such a wealth of background information. You’ll learn about Kim's personal and professional lives as well as the team’s family lives and foibles.
It’s easy to recommend Angela Marsons work especially if you enjoy authors such as Shalini Boland, Patricia Gibney and Carol Wyer.

Read for an honest review, Thank you Ms Marsons, #Netgalley and Bookouture

What a cliffhanger!

As usual Marsons has managed to combine the interesting elements of detective work with the brutality of life. Her books always have plenty of murders, but the perpetrator is rarely obvious and there’s always a twist to surprise you.

I was suspicious about one element of the story and although a few of my hunches were correct, I was nowhere near completing the full picture. And that’s perhaps what makes me admire her books. I like to guess, but I much prefer it when I’m shocked by the ending.

As usual there are two stories in each of her books, overlapping (or not) to keep you interested and engaged in the plot.

The books are graphic but not glorified and provide enough visualisation to shock, without being excessive.

Characters are believable and likeable; the more I read, the more that is revealed about each one. The team dynamic is excellent, with plenty of different personalities all working together for the same goal - a scenario most of us can relate to!

Kim Stone is not a friendly character but she’s still appealing as a protagonist and her different relationships with Bryant and Frost really add to the series’ appeal.

This book is definitely a quick read, but it’s captivating and gripping from page one. It helps if you’ve read the other books, but it’s not necessary and works well as a standalone.

A must for crime lovers.

Another fantastic book by Angela,they just keep getting better. I loved reading this it had me gripped from page one. Looking forward to more.

I’m always excited when the next instalment of DI Kim Stone and her colleagues is released but always wonder if it can be anywhere as good as previous books. And somehow the answer is always a resounding YES. There’s a great side story with Tracey Frost, the reporter who is a thorn in Kim’s side. Loved it

Thanks to netgalley for an advanced copy! Another amazing Marsons book! This one did not disappoint! Although the murder scenes are a bit gory, the writing is excellent and pulls you in wanting to know what will happen next. I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I have never read so many solidly good books in a series before. Can’t wait for the next one!

Another exceptional book in the Kim Stone series. I was hooked from the very first page as is usual with this series. I don't know how Angela does it but to keep bringing out brilliant books one after the other is just amazing. After that ending I can't wait for the next book, being it on. I 1000% recommend this series and author.

“No person with an ounce of feeling could do this.”

Kim Stone is back and she has a god-tier-sick psychopath to find.

This is by far the most astounding installment in the DI Kim Stone Series. Twisted Lies is the embodiment of a page-turner --- I pulled an all-nighter for this novel all while a mountain of school work lay unfinished to the side.

Gripping suspense, a norm in DI Kim Stone's story, makes you both want to turn the page ASAP and not want to for fear of what comes next!

As always, the research conducted for this book is superb. The author once again stuffed us full with information about the workings of the human body, killers' minds, police proceedings (the witness protection-relocation program amazed me) and all things crime fiction.

Marsons writes boldy and bluntly. Readers are often served vivid mental images, which is great and at times gross. I. LOVE. IT. And Twisted Lies' entry in this aspect are extra gory! Which is why I suggest a bit of mental conditioning before delving into this fantastic novel...and therapy after. Jk.

We see more of Tracy Frost and obviously a lot more banters between Kim and the reporter. That along with glimpses into more of her persona: dutiful, fierce and courageous.

This novel touched on domestic violence, an issue I am passionate about and it provoked responses I hadn't expected. There were times when I had to take long pauses to process scenes and revelations. Put simply: it made an emotional mess of me! Really, how indecent!

Angela Marson's plot (twists) are dangerous, powerful and extremely lethal. She keeps them coming at every single turn, unloading one bullet after another, a relentless outpour of pure genius.

In this instalment of the DCI Kim Stone series Kim and her team are up against a killer who is inflicting the most horrendous torture on his victims, what do they have in common and what information is he trying to get from them? I also enjoyed Frost's story that ran parallel to this as I love the banter between the two head strong women.

I am obsessed with this series! Every time I start reading I think wonder what new crime the team will be up against and I am always left with stunned. Angela just has the most amazing way of creating the perfect sense of skin tingling tension and raw human emotion that I cannot put her books down once I have started. I don't tend to read this genre much any more but I will always come back for an instalment of Kim Stone!

It amazes me that Angela Marsons can keep coming up with new ideas and unbelievably gripping stories. This, her fourteenth Kim Stone novel, is just as fresh and compelling as the first one I read. And on top of that, I found it absolutely fascinating.
Marsons throws in her trademark unpredictable twists, and again we’re given short, snappy chapters, most of which end with cliff-hangers. I love her writing style – crisp, taut and yet flowing - and she peppers her pages with her wonderfully dry humour. Again, there is more than one storyline – both in this case equally compelling. I became quite emotionally attached to the outcome of the secondary plot. And then there’s very occasional commentary from a mysterious anonymous commentator, whose identity really kept me guessing.
Kim’s team has to find a killer who has tormented his victim to death in the most horrendous manner. Marsons doesn’t spare her readers the gory details. I found I was literally holding my breath on more than one occasion - this is definitely not for the squeamish. Even Keats, the pathologist, has a tremor in his voice when he calls Kim from the murder scene. Kim and her team seem to be going backwards to begin with, as things are not at all what they seem.
The story begins with Kim horrified to find her boss has organised for her to host reporter and arch-enemy Tracy Frost for the day, to give her a feel for their work. This sets the scene for the two plotlines that make up this tense, gripping story.
I so want to tell you about the fascinating backdrop, but that would be a spoiler. Let me just say that the author packs tons of insight and research into this book and I learnt so much. Enough said.
One again, Kim is typical Kim, although there are signs of her mellowing a tiny bit more. Who would ever have imagined there would be something approaching banter between her and Tracy?
Kim continues to be abrasive, doesn’t suffer fools and even when she tries, is usually unable to stop herself from being blunt to the point of rudeness. At the same time, she is fully aware of the feelings of others, absolutely dedicated to her job, and is like a mother hen when it comes to her team. I enjoyed the peeks into her home life with her two loves, Barney her dog and the motorbike she’s busy restoring.
I was thrilled to catch up with Bryant, Penn and Stacey again. Lovely, conventional, pragmatic Bryant still acts as a foil to Kim, and continues to drive her demented with his careful driving. Penn is coping after his mother’s death, and trying to juggle work with caring for his brother. And Stace is newly happily married – and unsure if she wants the promotion Kim thinks she’s ready for.
In Twisted Lies, Marson manages to combine ordinary with abhorrent, and humour with horror, all wrapped up in a novel that’s absolutely and fabulously readable. It is available for pre-order and will be published on May 13, 2021.

An absolute corker in the Kim Stone series! Gruesome and fabulous, this case was definitely not for the squeamish. For me this series is going from strength to strength and I cannot find anything negative to say.

Well written with a lot of suspense that holds your interest throughout and an ending that makes the read exceptional. The author has created an excellent character in Kim Stone and I eagerly await the next in the series.

I have been reading Kim Stone Series from the beginning and this one doesnt disappoint.

Recommend completely

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for this ARC.

I love this series. Just love it. I enjoy reading about the characters, their friendships and working relationships. The author’s latest book didn’t disappoint at all and really hit the mark for me. It started off well and had my attention right from the beginning to the end. Stone and her team investigate a horrific murder and when a family suddenly disappear the team want to know why and where are they? I thought this was a very well written book with a great plot line, it had a story that was fast paced and thrilling and at times took my breath away. I loved the secondary story thread here and can’t help but laugh at some of the conversations between Stone and another character. And the huge reveal at the end - wow, I didn’t expect that! Just when I think this series can’t get any better, the author ups the ante and proves me wrong. One of my favourite ever series and I look forward to the next book.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Twisted Lies, the fourteenth novel to feature DI Kim Stone of the West Midlands Police.

A man has been tortured in the most unimaginable way and slowly murdered. Stone notices that the victim’s wife and her sister are acting strangely and within a few hours of the death notification they have disappeared. When another tortured body is found Stone and the team realise that there too many secrets surrounding the case and they won’t be easy to dislodge.

I thoroughly enjoyed Twisted Lies which is an engrossing read, full of the eponymous twisted lies, secrets and violence. The plot is extremely well done, giving just enough to whet the appetite for more reading and to arouse the curiosity about perpetrator and motive. I love the way the author turned my assumptions on their head with more twists. The novel also raises a lot of questions that invite thought and opinion, but I can’t elaborate on this without spoilers. Suffice to say it certainly made me think.

There is a subplot running through the novel that highlights an important subject. Local journalist, Tracy Frost, is intrigued by the case of Nick Morley who is charged with murdering his wife, Trisha, and whose trial ended in a mistrial. With his second trial approaching he is mounting a public PR campaign, which he appears to be winning. Frost is determined to present Trisha’s side, emphasising the years of domestic violence that ended in her death, and investigates industriously. I’m not sure how credible it is as a plot but it serves a noble purpose.

This is an interesting novel for the characters as there is a noticeable thaw in relations between Stone and Frost as they come to appreciate each other’s strengths and jobs. I don’t think they’ll ever be besties but it’s a distinct change.

Twisted Lies is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Wow! Angela Marsons has done it again, written an absolutely unputdownable book! I love the way these books are written, the characters are like friends now, the police work is so interesting. The plot of this novel is sooooo good but I don’t want to spoil it for other readers so I won’t go into it. And, finally, how amazing was Frost!? Sworn enemy of Kim, a reporter who gets in her way but they find just a bit of common ground in this book. Go read it, read the whole series, you will not be disappointed...