Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons is the latest novel in the DI Kim Stone series. While Hidden Scars can be read as a standalone, I believe it is best to read the series in order. It will allow you to get to know the characters and the backstories. DI Kim Stone is still recovering after the beatings she endured at the hands of Symes. She is returning to work with plans to go slow and ease her way back in. All that goes by the wayside when she learns how DI Ian Burns, her temporary replacement, is mishandling cases and mistreating her staff. DI Burns had written off the case of Jamie Mills as a suicide despite objections from the team. Kim decides to take another look and discovers that the teen was murdered. Kim kicks Burns to the curb and takes back her unit. The mystery is multifaceted and complex. There are twists and turns as Kim and the team uncover more details. The reveal was action packed and provided answers to any lingering questions. There is a secondary mystery involving the disappearance of Gabriel Denton, an accountant. DS Stacey Wood looks into the accountant’s disappearance. She has a feeling about this case. I enjoyed solving the mysteries. There are plenty of suspects and misdirection. I thought Hidden Scars was well-written. The chapters are short and snappy. I like that the story moves along at a quick pace. The book does contain foul language and there are graphic details with regard to the violence. The characters are developed and realistic. I like that we learn something new about Kim and her team members in each book. What happened to Kim in the previous book could have left her broken. I know that she will never fully recover from the ordeal, but I like the facet of Kim we saw in this book. I can tell the author did her research. It is disturbing to learn how parents will treat their children when they tell them they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. It is even more horrific the places they will take their kids to get them “cured”. Conversion therapy is appalling. I thought the author handled this difficult topic sensitively. Bryant and Kim’s relationship is at the foreground in this story. It was great to see Kim take such a big step. I love how the book ended. The author finally gives fans something they have been wondering for seventeen books. I wonder when DI Ian Burns will attempt retribution. I cannot wait for the next installment in this compelling series. Hidden Scars is a suspenseful, captivating tale with twists that will surprise readers.

Kim is back! Except she's not. Because Kim Stone really suffered very badly at the end of the last book and quite realistically she's not in a great place. To make matters harder when she returns to duties she finds her team on the brink of dissolving due to the eejit her superiors put in place to cover her absence. The very same eejit who was partly to blame for her ordeal. But nothing will keep Kim down for long. Especially when she realises a death of a young man that was assumed to be a suicide was anything but. Soon she and her team find themselves sinking into the murky world of gay conversion and realise other young people are been hurt and in danger too.

Starting this book I was a little worried we might be going down the "damaged detective" route. I mean Kim's definitely damaged but this hasn't been the overall focus of the series. The crime is the thing concentrated on. Luckily that is the case here and I found myself loving and enjoying yet another Kim Stone novel. As always it's a well written and riveting mystery. I completely got the culprit wrong which I love. Wonderful stuff.

Kim is recuperating after her attack by Symes which left her for dead.
After ticking all the boxes with the counsellors, she has to ease herself back to work. Thanks to the way DI Burns is treating her team, Kim steps back into her role as boss.

DI Burns won’t let Stacey look into the apparent suicide of Jamie. It’s not long before Kim discovers more to the case and the team are back on track.

This is one of my favourite series and everything gets put on hold when a new Kim story comes out!

This was a difficult book to read and it is hard to believe that there are people who hold such strong and awful beliefs (saying no more, don’t want to give the plot away).

The story is fast paced and I couldn’t put it down. It is a dark but powerful read.

The camaraderie and work ethic between Kim and the team is superb and I can’t wait to see them back again.
There were some lovely and touching moments between Kim and Bryant.

Thank you to the author for the golden nugget of information at the end of the story!

My thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another brilliant book from Angela Marsons.
The book begins with Kim easing herself gently back into work after the traumatic last case.
In true Kim fashion, she’s told the work psychiatrist what they want to hear and has been signed fit for work. We get a glimpse into her true feelings and she is far from healed mentally and physically but wants to get back to it.
Kim finds her team being led by a man whose getting everything wrong. Kim observes for a bit but realises she needs to step in quickly to save her team from disbanding.
Kim and the team soon fall back into step and with murders that have been staged as suicides, they know they’re after a clever killer.
This series is an absolute pleasure to read and this is a brilliant crime thriller.
I’ll be shouting from the rooftops that there’s a new Kim Stone book out and will be counting the days until the next instalment.
Absolutely brilliant and highly recommended.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

After the dramatic ending of the last book, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen with Kim and the team next. I was worried that Kim was going to get on my nerves with her acting like nothing affects her and she’s too good for therapy but I was pleasantly surprised. Seeing her character grow throughout the 17 books has been amazing and I highly recommend reading them in order.

The main storyline was heartbreaking but written extremely well. I was kept guessing and I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. The heart to heart between Kim and Bryant broke my heart and I loved seeing the team back together. I’m also kinda loving the potential friendship between Kim and Frost. I think this was one of my favourites of the series.

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Another cracker in this fabulous series. I love Kim Stone and her team. I love the setting as I used to live in this area, and it is always a trip down memory lane for me. and I always enjoy that.
It doesn't hurt that the stories are always brilliant as well, and this was no exception. the subject matter was difficult to read, and hard hitting, but it was written sensitively, and made for a compelling read. I recommend it.

DI Kim Stone is back at work after almost being killed on her last case. Woody, her boss, wants her to take her time and settle back in slowly. But her temporary replacement is in danger of ruining everything she has built with her team, so Kim throws herself back in.
A young man who was found hanging from a tree in a local park was initially written off as suicide, but Kim and Stacey think there is more to it. When the post-mortem proves them right, Kim and the team are led to a clinic that purports to “cure” people of their sexuality.
On the surface all seems to be above board, but when a woman is found dead who was also a patient at the clinic Kim is convinced that there is far more going on there. Staff and patients are afraid to speak, after having signed NDA’s. What is there to hide, and just what are the “cures” that are used. Kim will have to dig deep within herself and draw on the strength of her team if they are going to find the killer.
This brilliant, thought-provoking, intense book will grip you from the start and not let go until the very last page. I have no idea how Angela does it but just when I think the books can’t get any better, they do. Kim Stone is an absolute “must read” for me.

DI Kim Stone arrives back in her office after two months off work trying yo heal both body and mind after her attempted murder by Symes. Not only does she find her team about to fall apart but has grave doubts whether she is capable of leading them. Then reads a case about a suicide and finds no-one has looked into it or has even thought to just find out why. Which leads to the cause of death being changed to murder.
This is another brilliant read by Angela Marsons in the DI Kim Stone series that keeps you reading right through to the final chapter. Just cannot wait until; the next in the series.

(4.5 stars)

I'm delighted to have been the owner of a black Labrador puppy for the last 3 weeks. She's absolutely gorgeous. But the seemingly endless cycle of feeds, toilet breaks and demands for attention, all while the inconvenient but necessary task of 'working from home' has to be done, have all conspired to mean that the time available for sitting down and reading has somewhat dwindled. And as for writing reviews … I think the only way I can keep on top of them is if I completely abandon the idea of sleep.

So i think it says something that despite my new-found distraction, I still read Hidden Scars in two evenings flat. It also says that Angela Marsons must be even more incredible than I had thought. Because not only does she have not one, but two golden retrievers to look after, but each year she continues to add another two instalments to her DI Kim Stone novels, which have become - and I'm afraid I'll take no argument on this - the best current crime fiction series in publication today.

Even by Queen Angie's standards, her last book, Six Graves was something particularly special. It is, I think, the first book I've read that has actually left me in shock. The main storyline - which I won't give away in case you haven't read it - was that powerful that it left me feeling curiously numb. And it was the memory of this feeling that came to the forefront of my mind as I opened her next book. How the hell, I wondered, could she possibly follow that?

Well, she's tried. Blimey, she's tried. Hidden Scars deals with - and this isn't a spoiler if you've read the blurb - conversion therapy. Now, maybe my life as a heterosexual man has left me privileged in this respect but I would have thought that the idea that a person could be 'cured' of their homosexuality is one that should have died out with the plague. But no. I've done a little bit of research and it's actually still legal in the UK (though there is a petition to ban it).

Some of the scenes must have been hard to write. But Angie has done so beautifully and with an almost suprising amount of compassion. I couldn't help but think that the Kim Stone of old would have been furious at having been steered down a blind alley purely in order to force her to improve her knowledge of the issue. But maybe today's slightly mellowed, still-not-quite-sure-if-she's-lucky-to-be-alive Kim was that bit more ready to educate herself.

As if this wasn't enough, able to present an alternative side to the argument so convincingly that by the end, my mind was just as confused as Bryant's was. Of course, by end, there could be no doubt and I was left almost feeling annoyed with myself at having been willing to listen.

So far, so typically brilliant. But, I'm afraid that I did have one or two small, but slightly larger than normal problems.

Firstly, I said that the main storyline was beautifully written, and it is. But I still couldn't help but think that it reminded me a little too much of Book 12 in the series, Killing Mind. Substitute 'cults' for 'conversion therapy' and you have what did seem to be a very similar plot.

Secondly, in previous books - Fatal Promise and Dead Memories come to mind in particular - Angie has done a stunning job on the psychology of Kim's character. Here, though, something seemed to be missing. I just didn't quite get how Kim felt when she first returned to work. Her rapid transition to working full shifts was necessary for the storyline, but it did seem rather abrupt. A single brief appearance by Ted felt as though it had been shoehorned in and overall, I wondered if a bit more of the book needed to have been devoted to this aspect.

Dare I go so far as to suggest that it could have come at the expense of the sub-plot. Perhaps this could have worked better for me if - again - more had been made of the story, including the motivation of the character in question. However, as it was, I have to say that it felt just a little bit silly.

Make no mistake: Hidden Scars is still a really, really great book by a superlative author. But I think it goes to show that even the amazing Angela Marsons can't always beat herself.

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book, which I have reviewed voluntarily and honestly. I will post my review on Goodreads and Amazon.

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Kim returns to work after having to take time off after her last case nearly killed her.
When she learns that a 19 year old lad called Jamie Mills has committed suicide she goes to investigate as something doesn't seem quite right. What she learns is that there is noway Jamie could have taken his own life.
When another body is found Kim and the team look into it and find that both had been at a clinic where they believe they can be “cured” of their sexuality. They were made to feel that being gay was very wrong.

Angela Marsons has done it yet again. You get pulled into the story very quickly and find yourself racing to the end of the book to see what happens. I can't recommend these books enough. Like many other readers I look forward to her next book to see where Kim and her team go next.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy. This is my honest and unbiased review and I give it a full 5stars

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Hidden Scars, book 17 in the Detective Kim Stone series written by Angela Marsons, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

DI Kim Stone is back at work after the two months it’s taken for her to recover both mentally and physically from her last traumatic case, just in time to stop her replacement DI Burns from destroying the morale of her team. She’s been told to gently ease herself into work but when did Kim ever obey Woody as she’s goes head first into two possible suicides that Kim is convinced are murders. While Kim, with the help of Bryant, Penn and Stacey, work to find the killer Stacey is mystified by the disappearance of an accountant.

‘Hidden Scars’ is another exceptional crime thriller that’s so compelling it’s had me enthralled from page one, through each jaw-dropping incident, each twist and turn, as Kim and her team seek to find the connection between the victims and identity their killer. The storyline is well-written and packed with action, drama, suspense and twists and turns, as they finally fit the pieces of the jigsaw together and reach the conclusion that’s as surprising as it is unexpected. Yet again Ms Marsons has shown her phenomenal ability to bring excitement, shock and intrigue into each page and give us a thriller that’s worthy of far more than five stars.

Hidden Scars is a tense and thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller. Fragile yet tough-as-nails Kim is back after her horrific near-death experience - having expertly faked a full recovery during her psych evaluation. Instead of heeding the advice of her empathetic boss and taking it easy, she cannot tolerate the inept, despicable, misogynistic and ambitious DI who’s been standing in for her – especially the negative effect he’s having on her precious team.
She soon gets rid of him in her typically direct and undiplomatic way and is back on the job in full force, much to the gratitude of Bryant, Stace and Penn. While her management style is certainly not to everyone’s taste, she sure makes things happen and has the utmost respect of her team.
Reading a Kim Stone novel is like being welcomed back into the bosom of a favourite family. I adore catching up with the personal stories of this diverse police team as much as I enjoy the gritty crimes they tackle. (Each of the novels in the series, by the way, can be read as standalone books.)
In Hidden Scars, Kim and her team investigate a number of supposed suicide victims, each of whom seem to have links to dodgy practitioners who try to change a person’s sexuality. Marsons turns her considerable skill to exploring conversion therapy, or turning gay people straight. In parallel with this thread is an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of a seemingly normal husband.
Hidden Scars is written with Marson’s wonderfully fluent and gripping writing style, complete with her trademark humour and a cast of characters ranging from the truly despicable to the absolutely delightful. It’s clever and surprising and utterly readable.

I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

To say I was delighted to be approved to read this ARC would be the understatement of the year!.

I love this series so much, it’s got a special place in my heart and I’m invested in these characters so much that they feel like family at this point.

When you start a new D.I. Kim Stone book it feels like you’re home at last.

Kim is back at work after the devastating events that happened at the end of the previous book, she’s been going through the motions to be declared fit for work. Now that she’s back will she ever feel like the old Kim again?.

This was another amazingly fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. It has everything you know and love from a Kim Stone story, it also had a lot of hard hitting subjects that I found deeply disturbing but feel they should be brought to light and talked about as they happen in real life too.

I loved the little reveal at the end and that I think loyal readers will enjoy it so much.

Roll on book 18!!.

Detective Kim Stone was returning to work after her two months of rehabilitation after the case that almost killed her, and walking into the room where her team were, Kim was shocked at the apathy, the lack of information on the incident board. It wasn't long before she booted her replacement, resurrecting the case that he'd deemed unimportant. As Kim, along with Alan Bryant, Stacey and Penn, dug deeply into the apparent suicide of a young Jamie Mills, she could see things didn't add up. Finding something wrong with Jamie's parents reaction to his death, it didn't take Kim long to discover it was murder.

Soon she was on the hunt for a cruel and vicious killer; with links to a nearby clinic, each of the victims had been admitted for treatment and left when they were supposedly cured. The race was on, but could they find and stop a killer before the next person was taken?

Hidden Scars is the 17th in the DI Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons and once again it was breathtakingly brilliant! Twists and turns - I didn't pick the perpetrator - and with Kim still trying to overcome the trauma from her last case, I was impressed with the team and how they fell back into place, having Kim's back, and working their hearts out. An excellent thriller, Hidden Scars (and the series) is one I recommend highly.

With thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

Kim is back after the last horrendous case, but she is not fully recovered yet. Kim does not believe that a young man killed himself, but her replacement think the case is closed. It is far from closed. Turns out that there is someone killing people due to twisted beliefs and insane minds.

It is nice to see an author tackling sensitive issues that most people do not even want to think about. There are many people in the world who are not willing to budge one bit from their "truth", and in this case, these people think it is fine to, by any means, get the demon of being gay out of a person's system, so that this person can live happily ever after as a "normal" heterosexual person.

Kim is not ready to budge either, and I admire her stubbornness in this case. She is in fact quite a character. I love her in these books, but I can imagine that she can be the greatest pain in the arse, if she were a real person. Once again, I read this book in a matter of hours, just devouring page after page. The hate in me grew quite strong towards many people in this book, so it did stir up emotions, even though I know it is fiction. What can I say? I feel protective of Kim (even though she would never admit she would need my protection), and I most definitely understand her devotion to this case.

Highly recommended! Thank you Angie for writing about this disgusting subject and reminding the world these clinically insane people sadly exists among us! Referring to the culprits, not Kim :D 4,5 stars.

Kim Stone has returned to work after being badly beaten and close to death at the hands of Sykes. The person who has been taking her place is cherry picking what jobs they take on. Her team is deflated and ready to transfer. Kim is spitting feathers as he has literally hog tied her team and Kim can take no more and unleashes a verbal assault on him and sends him packing. Her team breathes a sigh of relief, they have their boss back.
But Kim is battling with her demons about Sykes and the aftermath. There have been several deaths that have been classed as suicides but as Kim's spidery intuition kicks in it soon proven that they are murders. Another fantastic five star read in this gripping and very addictive series.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Hidden Scars is the seventeenth instalment in the constantly compelling DI Kim Stone series, set in Britain’s Midlands. In some respects these are formulaic police procedurals, with similar elements and tropes repeating in each book, but you can’t really blame Marsons for giving her fans what they want. She manages to keep the series fresh by introducing a new topic into each book - in this case conversion “therapy” - and coming up with twists that still manage to catch me out every time.

Two months on from her near-fatal assault by twisted killer Symes, Kim is feeling the need to return to work, despite knowing she’s neither physically nor emotionally ready for it. Her team are being nominally led by the clueless and lazy but glory-seeking DI Burns, who is only interested in cases which will advance his career. When Kim discovers that he’s forced Stacey to stop investigating the apparent suicide of a young man, she can’t help but get involved, introducing her to the murky world of sexual reorientation clinics.

This was another gripping and fast paced crime thriller, where as ever the character dynamics are the most interesting and entertaining aspect. Kim’s rock-hard facade (Stone, geddit?) is starting to crack just a little, and she is finally starting to listen and learn from those who care about her - including, always hilariously, surly pathologist Keats and sarcastic journalist Frost, but most importantly she is finally starting to trust her best friend, whose first name we finally learn (okay second best after Barney, obviously!) If you need trigger warnings, this includes apparent suicide, extreme homophobia and emotional and physical torture which is referred to rather than portrayed. It’s a dark book with light moments - yes the adorable Jasper features in most of them, but there’s also a charming minor character called River that I’d love to meet again.

As with most of the books in this series, there are separate cases going on, which may or may not turn out to be connected. An author as experienced as this shouldn’t have to resort to coincidence to hold her plots together. Also, and I know I sound like a broken record complaining about this every time, a serial killer turning up in every book is just too unlikely, and the increasingly untenable no-Covid setting also stretches credibility, but these are my only criticisms and will certainly not stop me eagerly awaiting the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC. I am posting this honest review voluntarily.
Hidden Scars is published on November 9th.

If you’re a fan of this series you know the previous book, Six Graves was an emotional rollercoaster leaving Kim in a dark place. I won’t say more just in case you haven’t read it, but IYKYK. So I wasn’t sure what to expect as far as Kim and her team are concerned but things were definitely off and it was unsettling. Just another layer added to the multitudes the author already has laid out for us readers and somehow she’s always able to tug at my emotions while reading a thriller, which is not an easy task. She does it with a deft hand too, I never feel toyed with and I trust her process and know that everything is well thought out and handled meticulously. All of that to say, it’s a rocky beginning for the team when this book begins but soon enough you’re thrust straight into the action per usual.

The author usually explores two different cases in each book and this was no exception. This is such a clever tactic because there is never a dull moment and it always adds even more tension and suspense to the story. This time Kim and company are investigating murders staged as suicides and it takes them inside the world of conversion camps. I knew very little about these horrific camps or clinics beforehand but as always Marsons took great care and an empathetic hand when exploring them. On the lighter side I always enjoy my time with Kim, Bryant, Penn and Stace and I devour any new information revealed about who they are and what makes them tick. The final chapter answered the long awaited question of Bryant’s name and I loved that it ended on a lighter note. Overall another fabulous read in an excellent series, if you’re a thriller fan and you’re not reading this series are you even a thriller fan?! 😉

This series just gets better and better.
Kim is back, just but is still haunted by past events. Her team need her though.
Cases that have been ignored in her absence are now taking on a sinister turn and we are taken into a world of discrimination and hatred that is chilling.
Great story.

When the death of nineteen-year-old Jamie Mills is ruled a suicide, Detective Kim Stone is not so sure. He seemingly had no need to take his life so why is his mother so keen to put the death of her son behind her? After the body of a young woman is found in what initially looks like another suicide, the alarm bells start to ring when a connection is made between the two victims. Kim and her team soon find themselves involved in a shocking investigation into a clinic whose aim is to ‘cure’ people of their sexuality and it seems that there is someone targeting the patients…

The story starts straight after the events of the previous book, Six Graves, and we see a more vulnerable side to Kim, understandable after what she recently had to endure. Despite this, as we would expect, Kim is soon burying her fears in order to take control of her team and start to investigate cases she feels have been neglected in her absence. One of the main strengths in this series is the characterisation of the main players and the empathy Angela Marsons makes you feel towards them. The re-introduction of DI Burns, therefore, made me feel just as angry as it made Kim and I was pleased to see her reaction!

Although I have heard about these ‘conversion therapy’ clinics, this was the first time I have read about one in a fiction book. The author deals with the issue with sensitivity and I was filled with disgust at the lengths some people will go to in order to make people conform to what they feel is the norm. Angela Marsons makes it clear just what happens at this clinic but spares us the graphic detail, something I was pleased about.

This is the seventeenth book in the series and there are references to events in previous books although these are not spoilers. I liked how the author reminded us of things long-time readers would be familiar with without giving the game away to those who had picked up a Kim Stone book for the first time. I’m sure that like myself, fans of the whole series will have had a smile at the revel that takes place right at the end of the book!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: why have these not yet been made into a television series?!