I remember the day back in 2013 when I first discovered Angela Marsons first book and thinking to myself that she was going to become a fantastic author. Now I’ve just finished book 20 and I know for sure that she’s become an amazing author and has become one of my top 10 favourites. Kim Stone is right up there with other favourite characters of mine such as Harry Bosch, Joe Pickett, Logan McRae, Will Trent and Elvis Cole. I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline of this book too. I knew beauty pageants were awful, I just didn’t realise how much!

Here we are on book 20 in the Kim Stone series and as usual it is another brilliant book by Angela Marsons. This story revolves mothers and their daughters who had been involved in beauty pageants when they were younger. Why are the mothers being murdered? The other story in the book is about domestic violence (loved Tiff being back for this story). Absolutely loved this book and this is easily my favourite series. Angela Marsons is a genius.

This book was fantastic! Never a dull moment and that kept me flipping the pages. I highly recommend.

Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley, and the author for an advanced reading copy.

Woohoo book 20 (already) Kim and her team are dealing with murders of mothers of pageant children. The book is very emotional and makes a reader think about a whole host of issues from neglect to mothers trying to live their lives through their daughters. All of the team reflect on their experiences with their mums from Stacey who has a loving relationship to Kim who's Mother was a paranoid schizophrenic.
We have the usual banter between Kim & keats and all of the team and another character who was nice too see and grounds Kim a lot!

There is another investigation which Tiff is involved in along with Penn aswell which brings out the subject of domestic violence in relationship to parent and child!
Their was chapters in book from other characters in story which was slightly different from previous books but gave more insight to them. All ties in very nicely.

An emotionally charged book loved it eagerly waiting on book 21. Thankyou for advanced copy.

This latest instalment in the DI Kim Stone series involves two storylines. The first is the murder of women, all mothers, who's daughters had all been involved in beauty pageants when they were younger. The second is the investigation into a body discovered in a local lake - at first glance the man fell in while fishing but Tiff isn't sure - especially after speaking to the victim's girlfriend and her son. The way the son behaves around the mother is in enough for her to ask DI Stone for CID assistance.

Another fantastic read - great storylines and plenty of red herrings to keep you guessing.

Thanks to Netgalley, Bookouture and Angela Marsons for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Angela Marsons is like my second favorite author after Agatha Christie because I really love her books.

I was really happy to see Kim and the team again. They keep getting better and better with each book. I really liked how the story was all about mothers. When they revealed who the killer was, I wasn't very surprised, maybe because I've read a lot of Angela's books. But still, it was a really good read, and I'll definitely read it again.

The suspense in the story was perfect. The characters were just as tricky as I expected them to be. I think everyone should read this book. You can enjoy it even if you haven't read the others. Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the e-book copy!

The latest Kim Stone? I couldn’t press the request button on Netgalley faster if I tried. Oh my, I loved this book! This series keeps getting better and better. I think this may even be my favourite instalment in the series to date.

As the title predicts, this book is about mothers. While Kim and Bryant try to solve the murders of several mothers and learn more about pageantry, Penn and Tiff (I love Tiff!) follow their guts in the case of a disturbed mother-son relationship.

I smiled broadly when I read the final scene and couldn’t help singing the song mentioned in my head.

I can’t wait for the next book. Ms Marson is a genius!

I'm always hooked on a DI Kim Stone book from the get-go, even before glancing at the blurb. This latest addition, set in the world of beauty pageants, keeps up the suspense. Kim and her team navigate unfamiliar territory as they pursue a killer. Alongside the main plot, a complementary side story adds depth. As always, I'm cheering for Kim, Bryant, Stacey, and Penn to catch the culprit. Excitedly awaiting the next installment. Grateful to Netgalley for the chance to review honestly.

Yes yes yes. another Kim Stone novel. I love this series. Kim and her team are the best. This one was a bit different and I thought better than usual

The 20th instalment in my favourite series!! What a book, honestly, I didn’t think this could get any better but this is one of those rare books that completely suck you in! I’ve not been reading much lately but I’ve been picking my kindle up at every opportunity to read up on Kim and the team, and I love the addition of Tiff too, she seems a nice fit.

Well done Angela, this one’s another cracker!

Whether you love them or hate them, child beauty pageants are the focus of Angela Marsons’ 20th Kim Stone thriller,
Guilty Mothers. As you can probably guess from the title, the victims in this book are the moms, whose focus had been doing whatever it took to ensure that their pre-adolescent daughters looked and acted the part of beauty queens. Now, years later, someone is getting revenge. It’s up to Detective Inspector Stone to sort through the evidence, the timelines, and the ever-growing list of suspects and find the killer before another woman is murdered.

One after another, Kim and her team question daughters and family members of the mothers who have been brutally killed. Is the killer someone who is so angry about her childhood that she’s getting revenge on other parents as well as her own? Is it a woman who feels that her life has been ruined because of what her mother forced her to do against her will, depriving her of friendships and a “normal” life?

As a secondary plot, a widow mourns the loss of a recent friend who went missing two years earlier. After the man’s body is found in a lake, Detective Sergeant Penn and newbie Tiffany “Tiff” Moore try to interview the mother, Olivia. The son seems overly protective, however, which raises their suspicions. Eventually, it is Tiff who takes the lead in working things out.

At times, the beauty pageant thread seemed like a bit of a mess - rather “overkill,” no pun intended. There seemed to be no end to suspects and red herrings. Fortunately, Stacey Wood is one of the star players. She’s a team player and a pro when it comes to laying things out to see the patterns, and in the end, she’s able to make connections that help point the finger at the killer.

Both cases have Kim reflecting on her past, which is unlike that of any of these victims. Will it change how she deals with others in the future? That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?

I received a digital copy of Angela Marsons’ Guilty Mothers in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

4 stars

I can read a DI Kim Stone book without even reading the blurb, knowing that I'll be engrossed by the end of chapter one and this latest installment was no different.

Sent in the world of beauty pageants, Kim and her team are on the hunt for a killer within an industry that they know nothing about. Amongst the main plot is a nice side plot that is a nice mirror to the main story.

As usual I am rooting for Kim, Bryant, Stacey and Penn to get their man (or woman)

Can't wait for the next adventure.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book, this is my honest opinion.

It should have been an easy case when a daughter is found next to her mother’s body covered in blood and holding the murder weapon. But for Detective Kim Stone and her team, nothing is ever that easy! While the daughter, Katie, is being held for questioning, another body is found. What ties these victims together? They both entered their daughters in beauty pageants as children. Not exactly an area of expertise for Kim. The team is certain that someone holds a grudge, whether it be a mother, a daughter, or someone on the periphery like a makeup artist or dressmaker. There are numerous possible suspects connected to pageantry in the timeframe they’re looking for, so it’s a good thing Stacy is on hand to sort through and narrow down their list. They need to locate their killer before more women suffer the same gruesome fate. And there’s no one better than Kim to lead the case and the race against the clock.

While the main plot is action-packed and engaging, there’s another subplot involving (hopefully) soon-to-be CID member Tiff, or Tink, as Kim likes to call her. She has a gut feeling about the next of kin for a man who was found deceased in a nearby lake. The man’s daughter lives abroad, so it’s his girlfriend and her adult son that the officers ask to ID the body. The dynamics between the mother and son are off, but Tiffany doesn’t know if her gut is enough to look further into the family. She looks to Kim for some advice on how to proceed with what turns out to be a heart-wrenching scenario. It’s a perfect example of the author’s ability to bring you to tears amidst a thrilling murder story. Here’s to another brilliant entry in this series.

Angie is always ready to surprise me, and I guess Detective Kim Stone as well. Never would have guessed we would be taken into the luxurious and competitive world of British beauty pageants. Yet, that is where we both found us. Not just us, Kim's team as well. Beauty pageants seem to be such an American things, but I guess it is a British things, at least for some. The whole thing has always puzzled me, and I think Marsons has captured the different roles mothers, daughters, and the people in the business can have.

Despite the very unlikable characters the book was filled with, the book itself was superbly likable. I so love to read about Kim and her team, and most of all about Barney, the dog. It was especially enjoyable reading about the growth of one of the team members, despite the hardships.

It is really hard to write about the story line without giving anything away, and I do not want to take anything away from this wonderful story. I cannot believe this is already the 20th book, because it is still somehow fresh and genuine. Never knew I could fall in love over and over again!

20 books later, Kim Stone is as strong as ever! I always know I'm in safe hands with Marsons.
Had to pace myself and only let myself read a few pages at a time, there's so much time between books (quite rightly, as Marsons needs time to write them - although probably couldn't write them fast enough for me!).

Kim and her team go from strength to strength as each book passes, but what really sets books 19 and 20 apart for me is how we've got to know the rest of the team on a much more personal level. It's all well and good catching the bad guys, written in clever threads that slowly untangle, but it just hits differently when you really care about the characters and are invested in their work.


**** MINOR SPOILERS BELOW ****
The UK pageants scene is much less known than the US, it's such a contentious and polarizing topic too which plays into the investigations perfectly. I have to really admire Marsons for continually digging into sensitive and potentially difficult topics, doing so with great care but also confronting rather than avoiding the problematic areas.

How can this possibly be my 20th outing with Kim Stone, it only seems like yesterday I met her and the team! 20 books down and I honestly feel like Kim and her team are a part of my life and the series feels as fresh as it did back on book one!
With two deeply unsettling storylines running concurrently, Angela Marsons immediately immerses her readers in the dark world of narcissism and coercive control. When Kim and the team are called to a brutal murder, it seems like they have the case all sewn up from the outset but it quickly becomes clear, life is not quite that easy for the team as they discover a link between this death and another and that link is the pageant circuit. I always imagined the pageant world to be largely American but it is big business over here too and the competition is fierce, not least amongst the parents. It really hit home how cut throat it really is and the pressure if puts on young girls and their body image, not to mention the eye watering financial burden of the cost of competitions! Crazy stuff!
Guilty Mothers takes us on a dark and disturbing journey as we discover just how competition impacts on the relationships between mother and daughter, and indeed the wider family. Once again, Angela Marsons takes a subject and drags you out of your comfort zone and makes you think; she always does it without you ever feeling you are being lectured to.
The other storyline features, Tiff, affectionately known as Tink by Kim. Fans of the series will have already been introduced to Tiff, a young policewoman, keen to join Kim’s team. And I’m really loving this character, it was great to see her develop throughout this book as she pairs up with Penn, demonstrating her keen nose for trouble. I’ll not give any spoilers but, again this storyline explores relationships with mothers and boy was this one harrowing. It had my blood boiling and I’m sure when you read it, you will see what I mean!
As with all books in this series, Angela Marson’s has created a cast of characters who are so multi-dimensional that they almost step out of the pages and into your lives. Kim has a very special place in my heart and if you know her backstory then you will know just how much the mother/daughter relationship impacts her life. She’s tenacious and she’s ballsy and this woman tells it how it is – but at the same time, she absolutely has her team’s back. I just love her dry sense of humour but most of all I love the vulnerability she hides under that tough exterior. Kim Stone is most definitely the detective you would want to be fighting your case! The team gel together just perfectly with the sense of camaraderie and support just shining through. It was good to see Stacey getting back into her stride after her recent trauma and I get a sense that she and Tiff are going to become very good friends.
The pace is just perfect, each little hook keeps those pages turning and I’d actually poke sticks in my eyes to keep reading well into the wee hours! The twists and turns keep you on your toes and the sense of satisfaction at the end is better than any gourmet meal you could ever eat.
You can read this as a standalone, as you can with all of the others, but seriously, if you haven’t stepped into Kim Stone’s world yet, then I suggest you go back to the start, settle yourself down in a cosy room and enjoy the ride!
I’d like to suggest that Bookouture insert a sicknote template with each of Angela Marson’s books. Readers should be given special leave because once you start reading you really shouldn’t have to stop!

Unbelievable to think that we are at book 20 in this series, and it never gets old, it is so good to be back with such familiar friends as they take on a couple of new cases.

There are two story lines in this book, firstly welcome to the world of child pageantry and a bunch of narcissistic mothers who are being slowly killed off. This is a subject you do not hear about as much now, but Angela Marsons does an incredible job of taking us into this world and showing us how competition and the desire to win can take its toll on many women, sadly it is usually the children that may suffer the most but, in this book, we see the price their mothers may also pay.

Then we have the murder of a man that is found in a fishing lake. Kim allocates this case to Pen and Tiff, and they come across a mother and son’s relationship that Tiff instinctively has a gut feeling there is a major level of toxicity about. It is great to see the increased role Tiff now has within the team and there are moments in the book where you can see that Pen is proud of the way Tiff is developing as a detective. I am sure she is going to play a bigger role as the series continues.

Kim is at her usual best, striving to solve the cases and provide closure once again to the victims. Once again, she leads the team in a way that they feel supported and they are able bring out the best in themselves, in doing so her role as a leader and mentor has once again been successful. Her caring nature and a natural ability to interact with other people makes her the great asset to the force that she is. She is tenacious and once she becomes focused on a case she will not let it go until it is resolved to her high standards and she will not accept no for an answer from anyone.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions expressed are my own.

Book 20 in the Kim Stone series and Guilty Mothers is a solid if somewhat flawed and unspectacular addition.

Here Kim and her team are faced with the world of child beauty pageants and obsessive mothers as they investigate the murder of a mother of one of those child pageant competitors. As more mothers are killed they realize what seemed a straight forward case is anything but as they try to solve the case before more are killed.

This starts off great and it’s always great to spend time with Kim and the team but, it kind of lost its way for me a bit. Too many story lines at once and potential suspects and red herrings. Too many moments that weren’t believable and the somewhat predictable ending in a remote place with Kim trying to talk someone down. (Again)
The story just wasn’t believable enough for me overall to make this one of the stronger books in the series. It was a great set up and a great subject matter to tackle but there were too many “bad” people here that felt purely there for misdirection and took away the believabilty of it. The story was just too busy, it felt like it was trying too hard.

Still I did enjoy it despite that. Just not as much as I hoped.

Three and a half stars round up to four because I love this series.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC through Netgalley.

As well as a murder case to solve, this book sees Kim have many reflective moments as the case revolves around the subject of the powerful relationships between mothers and their children. Obviously this is very poignant for Kim and also other members of her team, I love this series and can’t believe we are up to book 20!

Another gripping rollercoaster ride if a story. So many great things about this book..
Couldn't guess the outcome and after 20 books by Angela parsons I'm still ready for more of Kim stone and her amazing team