20th book in the series and once again, Angela Marsons has written another intriguing and fast paced story.

The familiar characters are like old friends and Marsons manages to keep the reader engaged through the continued development of the characters individual stories. I love how she manages to develop and add to each characters background and the way they fit together to make a truely loveable team.
The storyline, like the rest of the series, is compelling and intriguing and the fast pace and scene setting that Marson's is so talented at, really added to my inability to put this book down.

Loved it, already waiting for the 21st!

I love Angela Marson and was delighted to be chosen to read her latest book. It did not disappoint! The characters feel like old friends and in each book Angela develops their personalities so well. The storyline was really interesting and intriguing and I liked the way the two investigations ran side by side. I did not guess the ending and really took on board the message at the end. Needless to say, I will be giving this book 5 stars.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion

Absolutely loved this! The narcissism of the mothers is something I regonize all to well. But my favorite part of the book was Tiff coming into her own and chasing her instincts in the case of a murder victim which leads to a shocking conclusion! Don't miss this!

"Guilty Mothers" by Angela Marsons dives right into the action with a shocking crime scene involving a mother and daughter. As Detective Kim Stone and her team delve into the investigation, they uncover dark secrets lurking beneath the surface of the seemingly perfect world of beauty pageants.

One of the highlights of the book is the familiar yet engaging character dynamics, including the introduction of Tiff to the team. Marsons keeps readers hooked with the intricate relationships between the characters and the compelling storyline.

The exploration of the competitive world of beauty pageants adds an interesting twist to the plot, shedding light on the pressures faced by both mothers and daughters. As Kim races against time to catch the killer, the suspense builds, keeping readers guessing until the very end.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall, "Guilty Mothers" is a gripping addition to the Kim Stone series that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next instalment. With its fast-paced plot and well-developed characters, this book is sure to satisfy fans of crime fiction. Solid 5 stars!

This is book #20 in the Kim Stone series. Whilst it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone book, although I would recommend reading the books in series order for better understanding of the characters and their storylines. We return to the Black Country where DI Kim Stone and her team have a tricky case to solve which seems to revolve around the world of child pageants. When they find their victim, Sheryl Hawne has been viscously murdered, Stone and the team struggle to work out who is responsible and how everything fits together.

This was another great read, although I expected nothing less from this author!! I love this series and have followed it right from the very first book. You certainly get to feel like Stone, Bryant, Stacey and Penn are people you know very well and this book gives us the added team member of Tink, who we've met before in previous books. The storyline grabs you right from the very beginning and you find yourself in the surprisingly murky, cut-throat and bitchy world of child pageants. We also find another storyline running alongside this one where Tiff and Penn are investigating a body pulled out of a local fishing pool. Both storylines are gripping and whilst they have a common theme, they are both completely different to each other!

If you've read any of the other books in the series, you'll already know that DI Kim Stone is certainly a force to be reckoned with. She's still just as fabulous in this book with her dry humour and quick comebacks, and we still get to see the humour (and despair sometimes!) in her relationship with her second in command, Bryant. Stone does though let her vulnerable side show through on occasions, and we again get to see this briefly when the subject of poor maternal parenting comes up. The plot of child pageants is an unusual one, and one I haven't read about before. The storylines cleverly twist and turn, giving you so many characters to suspect. As the book moved on I found myself mentally ticking them off and then re-adding them to my ever growing suspect list! It will certainly keep you guessing all the way to the big reveal as to who is the killer is!

Of course, living in the Black Country, I knew a lot of the places mentioned in the book and could picture the team working their way across the Dudley Borough (and beyond!) as I read. I did let out a little squeal of excitement when I found the team in Wordsley, literally going past where I work - I'm surprised they didn't see me in the doorway as they drove past!! Yet again though, this was another fabulous read and one which had me hooked to the very last page! I absolutely love Kim Stone and hope that this series of books never ends! Fast paced, intriguing and well researched, this book definitely gets a big thumbs up and five big shiny stars from me!

I love this series and always devour the books, this was no exception, within the first chapter it's like they've never been away.
Several murders relating to Pageants and its a race against the clock before any more are murdered.
I liked Tiff getting her own case with Penn and can see her getting more involved in the future
Another great read

Another roller coaster ride from Angela. It was lovely to see Tiff getting more involved with the team, following her hunches and being mentored by Penn, As usual Angela kept me guessing until the end

There should be an advisory warning given before you start reading one of Angela Marsons books to make sure that you have nothing planned because once you start, it’s almost impossible to leave it down, This one like the others leads Kim and her team into several different directions before the murderer is finally revealed. As usual it’s a five star read with only one negative thing and that’s having to wait for the next book.

Who needs sleep when there is a new Kim Stone book on your kindle!! Once again, Angela Marsons has stolen my sleep with a gripping page turner with one of my favourite teams of detectives. Book 20 now and they seriously do just keep getting better all the time.

This time the team are plunged into the world of child beauty pageants. The link between their victims is that their daughters were all participants as young girls. It is not all pretty dresses and makeup. We get into the dark side of pageants as the killer strikes again.

It is also a look into mothers and the relationships they have with their daughters. They are not always rosy, most likely they are complicated. There is no such thing as the perfect mother, and this has the team thinking about their own mothers.

I could not put this book down, reading into the early hours of the morning. Am I sorry.. not at all!

Thanks you so much to Bookouture for allowing me to read this book so early . Always a thrill. Publishes on May 30th.

Loved it loved it loved it

I love this series of books but I actually think this is one of my favourites of the series.

Gripping as always I couldn’t put this book down and now I’ve finished it I feel a little lost.

Read it!

I am a huge fan of Angela Marson and I was delighted to get the opportunity to read her newest book Guilty Mothers. This was one of the most gripping and thrilling books I have read in a long time. I read it over the course of a day as I simply couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read more from the author in the future.

Thank you to Bookouture for accepting my review request for Guilty Mothers through NetGalley.

Another fantastic installment to the D.I. Kim Stone series. (I can't believe this is book 20!).

In Guilty Mothers, D.I. Kim Stone and her team (Bryant, Penn, Stace and Tiff) are investigating murders with what they believe are links to child beauty pageants. Penn and Tiff also have their own case to investigate when another body is discovered under different circumstances and Tiff acts on her gut feeling. First of all, I absolutely love that Tiff has more of a role in this book and we get to see her find her feet a bit more within the team. It almost feels like we've watched Tiff grow up into the role she's in, and as Angela has a way of writing the characters so you feel like family, this book made me feel like Tiff had been welcomed truly into the group.

As the title, Guilty Mothers, suggests, the cases are based on the relationships between mothers and children. Angela Marsons has taken a controversial topic of Child Beauty Pageants and written a thrilling, fast paced and gripping story that had the perfect amount of twists and reveals to keep me wanting more. I can always count on Angela to grip me from the first page to the very last. The jaw dropping reveals were aplenty.

I look forward to every new installment of the series, and I'm keen to see where the team are led to next.

On the kitchen worktop stands a kettle and two mugs - waiting to be filled with one’s chosen beverage - a normal everyday event. However, the person meant to be filling those mugs, Sheryl Hawne, lies unresponsive on the kitchen floor surrounded by a pool of blood. Standing beside Sheryl’s body is her daughter Katie, a bloodied knife in her hand.

This then is the scene that awaits Detective Kim Stone, to all intents and purposes this is an open and shut case, but never judge a book by its cover - this case is going to be anything but open and shut.

Katie is in no fit state to be interviewed, so Kim begins to question everyone who knows this mother and daughter, (although it’s still likely that Katie committed the crime).

Upstairs, Kim discovers trophies and rosettes galore, which were won by Katie as a child beauty pageant, it’s almost shrine like, and she wonders if this had anything to do with the savage murder.

Just when Kim thinks she has it all sewn up, she gets a call informing her of another horrific murder, and it’s also a mum who entered her daughter into child beauty pageants. Katie is in custody so can’t be held responsible for this murder. There’s clearly much more to this than meets the eye, and Kim and her team are going to make sure they find out exactly what these mothers are guilty of.

Running parallel with this is the case of a man who’s body is discovered in a fishing lake. It’s not clear whether this was a suicide, a simple accident, or something more sinister. This case introduces a mother and son, where Detectives suspect that something’s going on behind closed doors that they find very concerning.

Well, here we are at book #20 in the Detective Kim Stone series, and Angela Marsons has introduced yet another subject that very few of us will be familiar with - that of child beauty pageants, where it appears that in some cases it’s the mothers who are after the glory of winning the trophies.

Well written and meticulously researched, with vivid characterisations which are hugely insightful, particularly regarding Kim's team - it's like they've become people that we know - friends that we enjoy spending leisurely catch up time with, and yes, people we care about. The finger of suspicion reveals various suspects in the child beauty pageant case, but I was nevertheless surprised to find out whodunnit!

Once again another fabulous tale of murders and bad deeds.
There are two different stories running parallel in this book, with Penn taking the lead and Kim doing what she does best with the other.
I raced through this like all the others in this series, and once again I am waiting for the next book to be released. Thank you Ms Marsons for another blooming good read.

Wow. I can't believe I keep saying this for every review but each Kim Stone book just gets better and better.

I could not put this down at all - I thoroughly enjoyed this.

I am even thinking I may go back and start the series again because I enjoy it so much.

I love the relationships and banter between the characters. No one does it better!

I would give this 6 stars if I could.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

When a mother is found dead her daughter seems the main suspect. Then another victim is found and Detective Kim Stone and her team are called into investigate. The evidence leads them to the world of child beauty paegents.

Book 20 in this series did not disappoint. Kim is such a fantastic character. Caring but with a hard shell. I really enjoy the banter between the team. It’s written in a very real and honest way and is relatable. I enjoy how each member of the team leads the story in parts and all of their strengths are explored. The addition of Tiffany to the team worked really well, I hope she is a permanent character.
As always Angela Marsons kept us guessing until the end as to whodunnit. Massive red herring alert!

Really enjoyed this and already looking h forward to the next one.

Guilty Mothers by Angela Marsons is book 20 in the Detective Kim Stone series. Thank you to Bookouture, Netgalley and Angela for the ARC. It is published on 30 May. Kim and her partner Bryant find themselves in the midst of horrific carnage after being called to what seems to be an open and shut case. At the same time, Tiff who is a PC transitioning to detective, is called to what seems to be an accident or suicide. There is a great sense of mystery of both cases. The characters are wonderful with the friendship and respect shown between them all. Stacey has bounced back after her previous trauma and then with the addition of Tiff, all the characters have something to offer to the story. The relationships of the characters being investigated are complex with controlling elements of their behaviour making for such sad reading at times. The child beauty pageant industry was certainly an eye opener to read about. Angela never disappoints with her books and even though this is book 20, it was still a pleasure to read.

Wow

Angela Parsons Kim Stone Series is one of my favourite series. So I was super excited to get the newest book (book 20) to review.

This was a quick read for me. Mainly cos I could not put it down was sooooo gripped and hooked.

What a way to pass the time. Thank you Netgally and Bookouture for the opportunity to review this gem. Can't give anything less than 5 stars

We are now into book #20 in this magnificent series and it's still as thrilling and interesting as it was when I read the very first book. This is a series that I can hand on heart say will never bore you, it constantly moves forward whilst reflecting on the past and the characters just get drawn deeper into your heart.

Book #20 opens with Detective Kim Stone a her team feeling rather lacklustre. They haven't had a real gritty crime to get stuck into for a while... and then the phone rings. Whilst they don't feel any happiness that someone has potentially lost their life in a despicable way, the team do have a frizz of excitement knowing that they can get on doing what they do best... catching the bad guys!

This installment focuses heavily on the relationships between mothers and daughters and the world of the pageantry world, something that I knew little about but as always, Angie manages to not only provide and sensational read but also manages to enlighten me with teachings of a subject I'm not overly familiar with. Us avid readers know just how horrendous Kim's childhood was, due to her mother, so how will she cope with a case focusing on that relationship?

The mothers of long ago pageant contestants are being savagely killed but why and by whom? Kim and Bryant seem to be going round in circles and not getting anywhere, can Stacey work her magic on the keyboards and find a missing link before it's too late?

While Kim and Bryant seem to be chasing their tails, Tink is back with the team working a case with Penn. The body of a missing man has been pulled out of a fishing lake. The circumstances don't sit right with Tink and she's given the go ahead to investigate. The man's partner, who reported him missing, is acting strangely, as is her son. Just what happened and what do they really know?

Hats off to you Angie. Once again a truly captivating read that had me up all night reading. I was second guessing everyone and everything. The pace was absolutely perfect with a plot that had me turning the pages they were struggling to keep up.

A series that I recommend time and time again. If you haven't already READ THE BLOODY SERIES PEOPLE!!!

HUGE thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Another hit in this series from the author. As with the previous books in this series, the author keeps the reader page turning to see what happens next. A good deal of mystery and intrigue makes this an enjoyable read. This is a book which I would recommend to all who enjoy a good mystery.