Deadly Fate is a good, solid read from Angela Marsons. It's the latest in the long running DI Kim Stone series. A local psychic is found dead outside a church. Shortly afterwards a psychic hotline employee is found dead in the same vicious manner. It quickly becomes apparent that all these two victims have in common is their profession. Meanwhile. Stacey draws the attention of Terence Birch. Terence has a history of relentless stalking and it looks like he's found his next target. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It felt a little hurried in places though. Thank you NetGalley for my advance copy.

Book 18 how did that happen! A woman is viciously murdered in the local churchyard. Kim and the Team find out her name and occupation. The last people who saw her alive were a group of woman who had booked her services for a tarot evening. They need to speak to all the ladies to help further the investigation.

They feel they are close to cracking the case when there is another death which seems to have no connection. He's been silenced the exact same way as she had. In the course of the investigation they need to attend a psychic show and realise quite quickly it's star is in danger..

As ever, the team tie up the loose ends and catch a killer! Great read. .

As long as Marsons keeps writing Kim Stone books, I'll keep reading them, I can't believe we're on book 18, I'm already greedily excited for book 19!
Kim and her team grow more as characters with every book and Deadly Fate is no different.

I'm finding this very hard to write without spoilers, but I will say I was very impressed that Marsons managed to portray the psychic community and its troubles incredibly well. It can be a very delicate topic, with very opposing views and values which I think came through fantastically.

Book 18 in the DI Kim Stone series. A great read yet again but not one of the better ones in the series , though it was left on a cliffhanger that I’m eager to find out what happens.

I couldn’t put this book away!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the latest instalment in the Kim Stone series, which I read during a rainy weekend in July.

I haven’t read all of the books in this series yet, but it is no problem reading them out of order.

In Deadly Fate, Kim and her team have to solve the murder of a psychic. Soon, they discover that nearly everyone they encounter has something to hide and they get sucked into some cold cases along the way.

I love the characters in this series so much! Kim, Bryant, Stacey and Penn.. they all just work so well together.
I was impressed by the research the author had done on certain topics and I cannot wait to dive back into this world and complete the series.

Amazing as always. I love this series so much and always look forward to the next book. Never disappoints.

This is a series that is best to read in order, but that is because there is so much history it is important not to miss out on. This was another great read and I look forward to the next one!

Excellant book again by Angela Marsons. Never fails to keep us in suspense, to put together a brilliant story line and further the characters.
Loved everything about the book ,the storyline, the characters, the twists and the ending.
Can be read as a stand alone crime police procedural but better as a series getting to know the team. Another fantastic addition to this series, topical subject and superbly written. I cannot wait for the next one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

I had enjoyed two of Angela Marson's previous book in the Kim Stone series and was very eager to know what happens further in DI Kim Stone's life. We meet Stone and her team of officers and detectives again in a yet another intriguing case - the murder of self-professed psychic Sandra Deakin. She has been found dead in the graveyard of the local church and it is clear, from the violence on her body that, the perpetrator harboured extreme hate for her.

Her enquiry into the timeline of the victim leading upto the murder leads Stone towards a group of women, each of whom has a secret they are not willing to share with her. Just when she begins to think her murderer might be one of these women, another young man working in a psychic call-center is murdered and Stone starts to doubt her Investigative direction. Who is the murderer? What do they have against these psychics?

Marsons answers these questions in an interesting, thrilling and empathetic story which makes the reader ponder on the lasting effects of grief and emotional trauma and the twisted effect it can have on a human being. The case, though seeming straight-forward in the beginning, is made engaging by the many red herrings Marsons throws at the readers. As always, she manages to hold the reader's attention effortlessly through her crisp and fast paced style of story-telling. There is also a disturbing event happening with one of Stone's team member and the book has been completed with a thrilling cliffhanger based on her situation. Needless to say, I can't wait to read the next book and know what happens with her.

I highly recommend this book for fans of police-procedural thrillers, particularly for those who are not too much into dark and morbid stories.

Well worth the enforced wait

I very much enjoy a blog tour now and again. To gain some recognition for reading and reviewing a book that you love is a wonderful feeling, and it’s always lovely to see what other reviewers have thought about the same book. But last month, I got a bit carried away. I somehow managed to sign myself onto six tours in five weeks, as well as promising a review for the self-published author, Mark Richards.

That’s more books than I can normally read in a month, but thanks to the extra bank holiday I did manage to meet all of my scheduled dates. However, there was still an unintended and unthinkable consequence. I had to ignore the almost physical pain it caused and shelve the latest book by Angela Marsons until I had fulfilled all of my other reading obligations. I can only apologise unreservedly to Angie and offer the admittedly weak defence that three of the six book tours were for her publisher, Bookouture.

But, I have no excuses now. Two days in to a two-week holiday and I’ve devoured the book with all the enthusiasm it deserves and – well, I would say wow, but when it comes to talking about books by Angela Marsons, that reaction has become so commonplace as to feel somewhat understated.

There are other authors who can write a clever, detailed and intricate plot. There are other authors who can write a series featuring the same characters and make them likeable and admirable enough for me to look forward to meeting them again in another book. There are other authors that can make me laugh out loud at some quick banter and other authors who can make my heart ache for the sufferer of a terminal illness. But there are no other authors who can do all of those things in alternating chapters like Queen Angie can.

Deadly Fate is the eighteenth book in the series featuring DI Kim Stone, and like many of the others its main theme deals with a quite difficult subject. This time, its psychics. Now: prior to reading this book, if someone had asked me whether I believed that genuine psychics really existed, my first reaction would have been to scoff. This book hasn’t changed my mind. But it has made me think again. I am sure that our loved ones who have passed can find ways to communicate if they want or need to, because I’ve been told of and even seen too many instances of it not to believe. So is it too much of a stretch to think that there might be some people out there who are more sensitive to others to such communications?

But of course, being psychic is also an easy thing to fake and that’s something that’s also explored in this book. As, of course, is a high body count and a race against time for Kim and her team to find a multiple murderer. Less common in this series is a cliffhanger ending that leaves the reader in fear for a particular character.

It’s another really, wonderfully, truly, fabulous book, but I do have a couple of niggles. The first is one that I noticed as I read. It’s not uncommon for the chapters in the Kim Stone books to end on a sort of ‘mini-twist’ that has me – no matter how many times I’ve told myself that I’ll put the book down after this next chapter – thinking “actually, just one more …”. Here, though, I found myself thinking for the first time that some of the endings felt just a little bit forced. An “oh, I’ve just remembered something else”, or an “oh, yes, and one more thing” at the end of a police interview. I don’t know if there are more such lines here than in previous books, or if it’s just that my becoming familiar with the books has made me a bit more aware. All I know is that it’s something I noticed this time and haven’t before.

It’s unfortunate for Angie that I didn’t have the time to write this review immediately after finishing the book, because my second niggle is one that I didn’t notice straight away. But having realised it now, I can’t ignore it. I’m trying hard not to give away spoilers, but it centres on a police officer suddenly starting to think like an innocent civilian and choosing to believe that a certain something couldn’t happen to them. I couldn’t help thinking that he/she really should have known better.

Of course, these points didn’t deter me from enjoying the book even the tiniest little bit. They’re just noticeable, in the way that a graze on your knee that’s turned into a scab is noticeable. But they do mean that my conclusion is this:

Deadly Fate, for me, is an easy five-star read. And for most other authors, this would be praise indeed. But it still falls short of the 500 or so stars that Angie Marsons is capable of.

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for the digital ARC of the book, which was published on 25th May 2023. I will post my review on Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram and Twitter.

Excellant book again by Angela Marsons. Never fails to keep us in suspense, to put together a brilliant story line and further the characters.
Loved everything about the book ,the storyline, the characters, the twists and the ending.

Honestly, if you want a really great crime thriller standalone crime thriller about a serial killer, read this one! But if you’re looking for a phenomenal series, PLEASE start with Silent Scream! I actually choked up so many times throughout this book and so excited to see where Angie’s mind takes Tink next! In between, the whole psychic thing was fascinating and figuring out who the killer was gave me shivers!

DEADLY FATE is the 18th book in the D.I. Kim Stone crime-thriller series by best-selling author Angela Marsons. Angela Marsons remains one of my favorite mystery authors, and her publisher, Bookouture, always publishes the very best novels. I have read all of her books…and she keeps getting better. I don’t want this series to end!

It was so refreshing to touch base with Kim’s CID team again: DS Bryant, DS Penn, and DC Stacey Wood. Her team are driven and compassionate in their work. The characters keep getting stronger and stronger. We also touch base with Kim’s boss, DCI Woodward, Alison Lowe, the behaviorist, Keats, the local pathologist, and Mitch, the lead forensic technician and …and who could forget Kim’s faithful dog, Barney. Love that dog!

A woman walks her Lab in the graveyard by a church for the last time…

The novel opens with Detective Kim Stone regaining her strength, mending her broken mind and body from her last harrowing case, enjoying her Sunday working on her bike with her beloved Barney by her side, when she receives a call from Keats, the local pathologist to meet him at St. John’s, a Town Centre church.

When Kim arrives at the site, she is presented with a female victim on the ground who had been stabbed multiple times…the woman’s mouth had been slashed right across her face. It had been a brutal attack. There was no evidence of sexual assault. Nothing taken. Someone she knew?

Forensic techie identified the victim as 41-year-old Sandra Deakin.

After further investigation, the team discover that the victim was a local medium, referred to as “Psychic Sandy”. Why was she targeted? The last people to see her alive were a group of women who had a session with her the night before she was killed, and each of the women are lying about their reasons for attending the session.

Sandra had been banned from the church grounds and had been receiving death threats.

But then body of a nineteen-year-old boy, Azim, is found outside a psychic hotline, – the manner of death the same as Sandra’s.

Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right. She must now stop a serial killer before he attacks again.

This was a fast-paced crime thriller, with relatable characters, and short chapters that kept the suspense level high. The book ends with a nail-biting cliff hanger! I can't wait to see what happens in the next book! Another brilliant read that gripped you from beginning to the end. Another winner!

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

EXCERPT: All the women appeared to have ulterior motives for attending the psychic night: abducted kids, criminal records, controlling husbands, and dying wishes. Their lives were filled with personal issues and questions that might or might not have been answered by the psychic on Thursday night. Had they been secretly disappointed, embarrassed, angry? Enough to harm her? How much emotional investment had the women in the readings? she wondered.
And, more importantly, did any of it have anything to do with the murder of Sandra Deakin?

ABOUT 'DEADLY FATE': The woman’s bright blonde hair floats in the breeze. She almost looks like she could be resting on the soft green grass. But her brown eyes stare unblinking up at the sky, and the final cut across her mouth is dark with blood. Her words silenced forever…

Late one evening, as the final church bell rings out, Sandra Deakin’s cold and lifeless body is found in the overgrown graveyard with multiple stab wounds. When Detective Kim Stone rushes to the scene, the violence of the attack convinces her that this murder was deeply personal. What could have caused such hate?

As the team dig into Sandra’s life, they discover she believed she could communicate with the dead. Was that why she was targeted? The last people to see her alive were a group of women who had a session with her the night before she was killed, and as Kim and her team pay them a visit, they soon learn each of the women is lying about why they wanted Sandra’s help…

Kim realises she must dig deep and open her mind to every avenue if she’s going to stand a chance at solving this case. And when she learns that Sandra was banned from the church grounds and had been receiving death threats too, she’s ever more certain that Sandra’s gifts are at the heart of everything.

But just when she thinks she’s found a lead, the broken body of a nineteen-year-old boy is found outside a call centre – a single slash across his mouth just like Sandra’s. Kim knows they are now racing against time to understand what triggered these attacks, and to stop a twisted killer.

But they might be too late. Just as Kim sits down at a local psychic show she discovers something that makes her blood run cold. Both Sandra and the call centre were named in an article about frauds. And this show stars the next name on the list. She looks around the audience with a feeling of utter dread, certain the killer is among them…

MY THOUGHTS: I loved this somewhat quieter addition to the DI Kim Stone series. For once Kim isn't rushing at everything like a bull at a gate, she isn't pissing people off - well, maybe just one or two - and she isn't putting herself in danger of being maimed or even killed. That doesn't mean, however, that there isn't someone close to her in danger. She is somewhat more thoughtful and far less judgemental. I like it.

I also enjoyed the topic - that of psychics. Are they all charlatans, or do some people have the ability to see and hear things that most of us mere mortals miss? I appreciated the insights into how psychics work and that the author leaves us to make up our own minds.

There's a good range of suspects in the psychic killings, and I had no idea who was behind them until the final reveal.

As is usual with this series, there's plenty going on other than the main investigation: the death of a homeless man; the historical disappearance of a teenage boy; a rogue clergyman, and a stalker.

I'm also delighted to see Tinks back working with Kim. I hope that she is going to become a regular character.

The full five stars from me. I had been putting off reading Deadly Fate because I really wasn't in the right space for a full-on and frantically paced violent thriller, which is the norm for this series.

Although this is the 18th book in this series, this could probably be read as a stand-alone.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#DeadlyFate #NetGalley

I: @angelamarsonsauthor @bookouture

T: @WriteAngie @Bookouture

#contemporaryfiction #fivestarread #crime #detectivefiction #murdermystery #policeprocedural #serialkillerthriller

THE AUTHOR: Angela is the author of the Kim Stone Crime series. She discovered a love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got.
Angela wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.
After much urging from her partner she began to enter short story competitions in Writer's News resulting in a win and three short listed entries.
She used the Amazon KDP program to publish two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion - Crime.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Deadly Fate by Angela Marsons for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Book 18 in the series and it isn't getting boring or old, this is still my favourite series! I absolutely love these books and this one did not disappoint. It isn't my favourite one but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't stop reading to find out who the killer was! There are plenty of twists and turns throughout that definitely keep you wanting to read on.
It was interesting to learn a bit more about how some psychics work and how they manage to do the things they do. This was a different topic for me to read about so I enjoyed it.
I can not wait for the next book in the series, which I will definitely be reading!

Many thanks to NetGalley,Bookouture and Angela Marsons for this ARC of 'Deadly Fate' in return for an honest review.

This is the 18th book in the Kim Stones series and I have read them all and they seem to get better. It can be read as a stand alone but if you haven't read the previous novels in the series, do yourself a favour and start from the beginning. You will not regret it.

The team are investigating the brutal murder of a local psychic. During the investigation, they uncover other previous crimes, including the 10-year old kidnapping of a 15 year old boy who was with a friend on their way to school.

There is also a stalker who served prison time, ruined a woman’s life, and is still active, targeting one of Kim’s team.

Full of twists and turns with surprises throughout.

Excellent read and highly recommended.

Angela Marsons does it again! The Kim Stone books are definitely the custard creams of the crime genre: addictive and leaving you wanting more when you realise you've finished the pack! Deadly Fate dives into the world of psychics and having recently watched a true life series and thinking I'd love it to be covered in this series, I was delighted to find it has been! Marsons writes with such finesse and always leaves readers wanting more!

Deadly Fate finds Kim Stone and her team investigating the brutal murder of a local psychic. During the investigation, they uncover other previous crimes, including the 10-year old kidnapping of a 15 year old boy who was bicycling with his friend on their way to school, and a stalker who had served prison time, ruined a woman’s life, and is still active, targeting one of Kim’s team members. As Kim and her team find more psychics being murdered in the same manner as the first, they do research and get expert advice to learn about what psychics actually do, leading to what will solve the case.

As usual, Marsons’ characters are well-developed, and those who have followed the series from the beginning, consider them good friends and want to know what will happen with them next. As the characters have evolved, they have become more believable and seem real. Marsons has a way of building suspense as the novel progresses, and the story-line flows and makes it very difficult to put the novel down. Marsons has also done her research on psychics, and the information is absolutely fascinating and rings true. Marsons has a talent for new story lines, and this excellent novel is no exception. The material makes the novel fun and will expand the general knowledge of readers.

All told, this is another good installment in the series and will make readers wait with baited breath for the next one to come out.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Just wonderful! I don’t know how this author does it - how she delivers a cracker of a book every single time, each one better than the last which was as always supremely hard to best! Love this series, and absolutely adore this amazing author. She tackles a social issue with each book and comments on society today but does it so subtly and with such heart and never at the expense of the story. Beautiful, heart rending and heartwarming. An absolute masterpiece.

Brilliant, creepy and unexpected twists. Another gem in this fantastic series - a MC who doesn’t disappoint and a team of great characters.

And a cliffhanger!!! cant wait for book 19…!!!!