Book 18 in the series and this isn’t one of the stronger ones.

Someone’s killing psychics, there’s a legacy case and there’s a stalker!

The multiple storylines are handled fine but the whole thing is a little pedestrian, bordering on cosy thriller at times.

I don’t know what’s up with Kim in this book but she’s extremely one dimensional and just not her usual self at all. Feels like she’s going through the motions rather than being the star of the show.

Also what’s up with Stacey and the way she handled her storyline? Felt totally unrealistic, especially for a cop, and was just written to add some jeopardy to the storyline. Her decisions and thought processes on it were bizarre.

The whole psychic angle was pretty interesting though and the look at their practices and people attracted to them made up somewhat for the lacklustre book.

Look it’s book 18 and it’s hard to hit it out of the park every time, especially when you reach this number, and to be fair to Marsons, more often than not the books have been a great read.
This isn’t one of them unfortunately. It’s not a bad book per se. It’s just all a little flat and instantly forgettable.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

Brilliant. I loved the premise of psychics and exploring their world and the spectrum of the out and out fakes preying on the vulnerable to the shadow of doubt that some might actually be doing the impossible. The very real characters with their own carefully crafted backstories were poignant, believable and definitely food for thought in so many ways. I have enjoyed books in the series previously but also this reads well as a stand-alone, something which is difficult to achieve but nailed here. The murder investigations were fast paced, I really felt the urgency and desperation and the twists and turns were cleverly executed. I guessed the end plot twist but this was satisfying rather than annoying, which again is difficult to achieve.
A definite recommend from me.

“Deadly Fate" by Angela Marsons is an electrifying crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. When Detective Kim Stone is called to investigate the brutal murder of Sandra Deakin, she is convinced that the killing was personal.

As she delves deeper into Sandra's life, Kim discovers that the victim believed she could communicate with the dead, and that her gifts might have put her in grave danger.

Marsons expertly weaves together multiple plot threads to keep the reader guessing until the final twist. The characters are well-crafted and multi-dimensional, making it easy to become invested in their stories. The fast-paced narrative, coupled with Marsons' vivid and evocative prose, make "Deadly Fate" an addictive page-turner that's impossible to put down.

But what sets this novel apart is the author's masterful use of tension and suspense. The clues are subtle and expertly placed, and the plot is filled with unexpected turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

In short, "Deadly Fate" is a gripping, unputdownable thriller that's perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid, and Robert Dugoni. Don't miss this one!

Kim Stone and her team are solving crimes again. This is a great series and the characters are so well written. This just might be the best one yet

I started this series late, but now that I've caught up I'm not letting it slip between the cracks of my TBR mountain again... Add the fact that the DI Kim Stone books just keep delivering one satisfying detective thriller after the other, and I always do a little happy dance whenever a new sequel appears on my kindle. Deadly Fate is already book number eighteen of a series that shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. And it's without doubt another rollercoaster ride!

Before I continue, I have to insist that this is definitely a series to read in order. You will find major spoilers for past events otherwise, and you won't be able to fully understand the dynamics between the different characters either. Deadly Fate might have less spoilers than book seventeen, but there are certain characters from past books (Tiffany, Eloise) that return in this sequel you won't fully appreciate otherwise. I personally loved seeing both again, and I hope we will see more of especially Tiffany in the future because she would make a great permanent addition to the team.

One of the things that makes this series stand out for me is its cast of characters. I always have such a great time meeting up with Kim and the rest of the team again, and they feel like old friends by now. Their banter is absolutely brilliant as well, and the humor makes for a great contrast with the more serious content. It definitely helps balancing things out! Deadly Fate once again has some very serious developments on a personal level; ones that have me desperate for the next sequel to see how things will continue. If you read it already, you know what I'm talking about!

There is just something about the writing that is highly addictive, and I found myself flying through the pages. One of the things I love of this series is that there isn't just one case each sequel focuses on, but instead the characters have other cases to focus on at the same time. It just feels more realistic this way, because detectives rarely have just one case demanding their attention in the first place. The main case itself is fascinating, and I never saw the truth behind it all coming. It was interesting to see the other cases coming together as well... Very successful plot twists indeed.

It's easy to guess that I once again really enjoyed my time with the DI Kim Stone series, even though I'm still biting my nails with what is happening with Stacey. Is the next book ready yet?! If you like your detective thrillers fast, engaging, twisted and with a dose of banter on the side, I can highly recommend this series in general.

Once again Angela Marsons pens another fantastic piece. Kim and her team are back to investigate multiple murders, and a cold case. The characters are so well developed it’s like being greeted by old friends, and you find yourself turning page after page trying to figure out “who done it”, whilst rooting for Kim, Bryant, Penn and Stacey to catch the bad guys. I love this series, and they keep getting better and better, with no signs of slowing down. Please keep them coming, I’d be lost with them.

Another fantastic instalment to the DI Kim Stone series.

Angela Marsons is a writing machine! Book 18 and with no signs of slowing down, she certainly knows how to deliver.

This book follows straight on from her recovery. Back in the saddle and leading her tight team of detectives through another murder mystery.

As with all of Angela’s novels, each book focuses on a central theme of the investigation. This one in particular delved into the world of physics and whether they’re is an afterlife. As ever, the book is beautifully written and well researched leaving a lot of unanswerable questions and thoughts to ponder. Alongside this central story there’s gambling addiction and the effects of stalking.

I really enjoyed this book but it wasn’t my favourite. That in itself is hard to write because I adore Alison’s novels! But if I were to suspend my affection for DI Kim Stone books and just be ‘black and white’ about it… then I think this book, compared to the previous, just misses the mark. It didn’t have the all-consuming, time sensitive drive of the others. Instead everything kind of happened at once and then it was over. I was disappointed that the gambling aspect wasn’t concluded and that the stalking part was being carried over rather than dealt with. This book felt like a big reunion of sorts. We revisit some favourite characters and others fall by the wayside. The banter between Kim and Bryant just wasn’t there in this book either which always guarantees a lot of laughs.

I enjoyed reading about psychics and the psychology behind why they do it, how they do it and what it brings to peoples lives. I think it’s a tricky subject to review because there is no real answer or conclusive evidence to back up whether it is true or not. But I liked the balanced way that Angela approached the subject without allowing her beliefs or reasoning to cloud the storyline.

Overall a fantastic book and worth a read by fans and newbies! But compared to her back catalogue this one is quite forgettable. Sorry Angela!

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to bookouture and netgalley for this arc. Book 18 woohoo, in my opinion this series gets better and better. The debate goes on regarding psychics, do they or dont they? But the author seems to have done extensive research As a ladies body is found in a graveyard, kim is called to attend., sandra deakin was a psychic, the night before her death she had done a gathering of readings and some of the ladies were not happy, but why? When a 19 year old young mans body is found outsice a call centre, with a single slash mark across his mouth, just like sandra had, the team need to find a connection as to why these 2 people have been murdered.. what happens when kim and a colleague attend a psychics show? Will they get the answers they need? Great read,loads of twists and turns, kept me guessing.

Thanks to Netgalley, bookouture and of course Angela Marsons for allowing me to read an advanced copy.
Number 18 in the Detective Kim Stone series. It could well have been the very first as its just as fresh, exciting and gripping. Angela Marsons never fails to deliver. I would highly recommend this brilliant book to anyone!!

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

I’ve gulped this latest book down in 24 hrs…yes, I even read it at 2.30am when I woke up and just had to drive back into it. It’s a gripping read with an end that leaves me anxious for the next book!

This book delves into the world of psychics and is a fascinating read along side the interlaced murder stories with a resolution I wasn’t expecting.

All the Kim stone books are fabulous and this is no different. More please!

How dare this book finish like it did. I completely despite cliffhangers even of the gentle sort, after reading 18 books of the series i'm blatantly going to want to read the next one regardless, but now I want it immediately which is a slight problem as well it's not available yet!

But with that ending, I need to know what happens next!

Oh don't worry the main storyline in this book was wrapped up, and I completely didn't predict it in the slightest and it was completely and utterly brilliant as I have come to expect, but I need to know what happens next in a sub plot that clearly wasn't concluded neatly, and given the story ended at 90% I honestly thought there was going to be more!

Besides triggering two of my pet hates, cliffhangers and books that finish before at least 95% on the kindle... I can't actually fault this story at all.

It was an absolute joy to be back with Kim Stone and her team, and I was completely hooked from the first few pages on their latest case.

And it was an absolutely fascinating one, as the first victim believed she was a psychic and so Kim is determined to try to understand more about how psychics work, what techniques are at play, while not all of her team seem as skeptical as she is. The experts she talks to, I was hooked on what they were saying, especially about the simple but skilled ways a psychic may work.

Equally she speaks to some people in the course of the investigation that almost had me believing in them, but at least I was able to understand despite my own skepticism just why people enjoy a psychic.

But if that case isn't enough, over the course of the book, she also has Penn looking into trying to identify a John Doe, which triggered it's own line of investigation for various reasons, and then there is another case that Kim is determined should be looked at in case the team can somehow solve it.

I love how Kim has developed over the course of the series so far, she seems to have softened slightly and her compassion for some people has definitely improved, and her sense of justice is as strong as ever.

It's another completely brilliant addition to this cracking series, I am though starting to wish I could chain Angela Marsons to her computer and not let her do anything else until she gives us the next book, as one book at a time is never enough. I am a Kim Stone addict!

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Deadly Fate is the 18th book in the Kim Stone series and once again, Marsons has written a well done, believable police procedural.
The primary story revolves around the death of a psychic. The woman was brutally murdered while walking her dog. Kim and her team are faced with numerous suspects. And right on the tail of the first killing, comes the second of a phone psychic. I really enjoyed the insights into how psychics work. And like Marsons, I’ve always been curious about whether any of them truly have any real ability. It’s a question she purposely leaves open.
What I love about these stories is that there are always multiple subplots, including finding the identity of a dead homeless man, a stalker and the resolution of a long ago death of a young boy. In the end, she does a masterful job of tying them into a neat ending.
Part of the success of any police procedural series is a team that the reader can bond with. And I am a big fan of this entire team. Marsons does a good job of finding the right mix between the cases and their personal lives.
My thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

Personally I am a huge fan of the Kim Stone series, Deadly Fate, which is book 18 is once again an excellent opportunity to read some seriously great writing.
This series is best read in order due to the back stories of the main protagonist and her team. But each book has its own stand alone mystery to two! To be solved.
This book delves into the world and hierarchy of psychics and the affect their readings can have in individuals and how this can lead to devastating consequences.
This novel also looked at the terrifying reality of having a stalker and the mentality behind someone who stalks and there justification of the deed and why they do it. I found this particularly interesting.
The books are based in the Midlands and the Black Country, the detailed descriptive text used in relation to the surroundings and scenery shows the authors knowledge of the area.
No two books are the same or even have any real similarities which is great. All books are well executed and I look forward to book 19.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review "Deadly Fate".
In this, the eighteenth Kim Stone book, Angela Marsons pulls out all the stops and interweaves a number of plots and storylines to create a truly compelling narrative. I read it pretty much in three outings (pre-lunch, post-lunch and post-dinner) and don't regret for one moment the speed at which the book went by.
Kim is having a relaxing night at home, working on her Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle, when the phone rings: "Keats". And she's off to another horrific murder scene.
Someone has killed a local psychic in the most gruesome manner, a crime which sets the team off in multiple directions as they are faced with 'real' psychics, 'fake' psychics and even phone hotline psychics.
Supplementary to the main investigation, there are other tangents that the team are off on: Penn is looking into a John Doe, a seemingly homeless man found deceased in an underpass, and somehow enters the world of extreme gambling; when Stacey finds that one of the initial suspects in the murder has a horrible criminal past, she gets a peak into stalking; and Kim and Bryant find that their investigation of the original murder has become more complex as there are soon other bodies! Someone is murdering psychics - and could it be someone with an ax to grind?
At its heart, this one is about obsessions: gambling, control, stalking, unsolved/unfinished business... and more than one crime ends up being solved in the end.
Apart from the core of Kim's team, characters from previous books make appearances (Eloise and Tiff), and Woody only makes a cameo appearance. but that's okay.
I guarantee you won't want to put this one down until the very last page, and Ms. Marsons has set up what could be an explosive future storyline that will surely affect the entire crew.
Highly recommended, even if you have not read the previous 17(!) books - but you're doing yourself a great favor if you do.

Hasn’t time flown. Deadly fate by Angela Marsons is book 18th in the D.I. Kim Stone series and if you haven’t read them yet you don’t know what you are missing.
Whilst working on her bike Kim gets a phone call from pathologist Keats. You know when he rings there has been another body being found. This time it is in the cemetery at the local church. The woman has been brutally stabbed and her mouth slit. The body is of the local Psychic Sandra Deakin who recently did a reading at a party but weren’t happy about it as one of the partygoers’ sons was kidnapped and murdered and didn’t get the answers they were looking for. Whilst Kim and her team are busy investigating that. Another body is found this time of a young guy working on a psychic hotline.
Kim and her team are doing all they can to solve the murders before someone is killed again.
But later another body is found but this time a homeless man under a bridge and Kim needs the next of kin to be found. Penn is on the case to solve the mystery.
All these cases have links to psychics an article querying are they real or are they fake. The team don’t know what to believe or not.
Thank you Bookoutre for a copy of Angela Marsons latest offering. Written slightly different writing style than the previous books. This is still This is another gripping thriller with the same characters that we have come to know and love. 5 stars from me.

I absolutely love Angela Marsons' Kim Stone police procedural books, and I have read nearly all of them, so I was super excited to get this one!

This is book 18 in this awesome series, and here we have a story about Detective Kim Stone, and her team of detectives - Bryant, Stacy and Penn, as well as pathologist and friend, Keats. I love this team, which are like a family to me, and I feel like I know them so well. I am always excited to meet up with them again in every book. I also love to hear about Kim's dog Barney, and Kim's home life, with her love of motorbikes.

The first case that Kim and her team are working on in this book starts off with a female psychic medium, who is found stabbed to death in a graveyard near a church. Later, a man is also found dead, and Kim and the team need to get their thinking caps on to find out who could have done this.

I really enjoyed the spiritual aspect of this book, and I found it very interesting to hear different perspectives about it.

This is a fantastic police/crime thriller, which I adored, and thoroughly enjoyed reading. It was fast paced, and full of action, tension, suspense, mystery and twists, which I loved. I also loved to hear about the characters personal lives, and their interactions with each other.

What I really want to know, after all this time, is why a TV production company have not yet called Angela to get this wonderful series on our TV screens? Hopefully this is something that will happen, as Kim needs to be on the big screen! People who don't read books are missing out on our wonderful Kim and her team!

I highly recommend this book, and all the other books in this amazing series, which you will love and adore. If you haven't yet picked up an Angela Marsons book, then please do so, as you are in for a huge treat!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I've read other books in this series and I've enjoyed every one! I think they could probably be read as standalone, but I love how the characters have grown throughout the series. The plots always differ,the characters are likeable and seem real. This book also didn't stick to just one case, but wove a few together. I can't wait to read the next book to see how the characters continue to grow.

This is a dark, murky and tense addition to Angela Marsons's popular crime series featuring the terrific DI Kim Stone and her hard working and well established police team of DS Bryant, DS Penn and DC Stacey Wood, and this time we have the return of Tiffany 'Tink', that fans of the series will not have forgotten. It begins with Kim getting a call from Keats that has her arriving at St John the Baptist church in Halesowen, where a horrifying blood soaked scene awaits her in the graveyard. A woman has been stabbed multiple times, and her mouth has been slashed from one side of the face to the other, suggesting a deep rage and a personal motive. The victim turns out to be Sandra Deakin aka Psychic Sandy, a well known medium, banned from the church by Father George Markinson.

The police begin to delve into Deakin's life and profession as a medium, beginning with her last engagement as a medium for a group of women at the home of Catherine Taylor, who claims it was a light hearted evening of entertainment, but it soon becomes clear all the women were seeking answers from Deakin on key issues in their lives and it was far from a conflict free evening. The pressures increase, as the body of a 19 year old man working on a psychic hotline is found in a call centre car park, killed with the same MO, will the team be able to prevent any further murders? As if the team do not have enough to do, Kim instructs Penn to identify a homeless man who has died from natural causes, and has her team follow up on a cold case in which a 15 year old boy had been kidnapped and killed, but the body has never been recovered.

As usual, Marsons has a theme which here focuses on vulnerability and explores the profession of mediums, are they charlatans exploiting a person's grief, or could there possibly be something more to some of them? Throwing a light on the tricks of the trade is Richard Blake who Kim manages to persuade to work from their office. One of the most worrying storyline concerns Stacey, which remains hanging at the end, presumably to return in the next addition in the series. Once again, I was gripped by this stylish, fast paced and thrilling series that never disappoints, where we reacquaint ourselves with the latest in the lives of the police team and appreciate the banter that lightens the darkness of their cases and bonds them closely together. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Oh my goodness it was brilliant from beginning to end it starts with the murder of Sandra Deakin in a graveyard she is the local psychic with a slash over her mouth it looks like a brutal murder. As Kim and her team delve more into the psychic world it gets more intense as more murders happen Kim is determined to find the killer.

She is also trying to find out what happened to a young boy who disappeared 10 years earlier as his mother needs to know what happened to him but as she investigates nothing is as it seems, then we’ve got Stacey in a very harrowing predicament can’t wait to find out more about that.

I found the story about psychics fascinating and really enjoyed this part of the book and reading about Kim and all the other characters after reading all the books I feel I know them in real life love them all.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for an ARC of this brilliant book

I really enjoy this series of books but this one not so much. The plot revolves around psychics, with an in depth look at how they operate, and stalkers. Although the way the stalker was dealt with by Stacey was just not right, she is a detective after all. The writing was not the usual high standard we have come to expect from the author and the ending was rushed. I feel a little disappointed but will look forward to the next installment. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.