36 Hours is the 21st book in the astonishing DI Kim Stone series, set in England’s Black Country, which began in 2015. Twice a year, Angela Marsons manages to find a topic that I wouldn’t think would be interesting, in this case geocaching, and yet she builds a gripping story around it every time. This one is no exception - Kim’s team are set a series of puzzles to solve, with a strict deadline if they are to save a life, by a callous sadist whose motivation is chillingly vacuous. All of these books can work as standalones, but knowing the regular characters so well adds a much deeper layer of enjoyment so I would still recommend reading them in order.

It’s early on a Sunday morning and each of Kim’s team are contemplating what to do with their day off, when they are summoned to the police station for a new case. Kim’s longstanding frenemesis Tracy Frost, the journalist who has plagued her for years but earned her grudging respect, has brought her a sinister email message which ends a series of instructions with “Make no mistake. Play the game or people will die.” Initially sceptical, she knows they can’t risk dismissing the threat, and so the hunt is on.

36 hours is how long the team are given to play the villain’s sick game, but it didn’t take that long to tear through this one (although unlike Kim & co I did get the luxury of sleep haha.) I liked the way Tracy was brought into the investigation, even though they’re all still suspicious and mistrustful of her. There are plenty of suspects and the usual misdirection so it was never obvious who was behind the twisted plot. The chapters are short making it just so easy to keep turning those pages, although the clue-solving pattern did start to get a bit repetitive. It wouldn’t be a Marsons book if one of her characters’ didn’t end up in mortal jeopardy but she avoids leaving us on too much of a cliffhanger. Now I just have to wait for the next one! 4.5 stars rounded up for the humour that’s another hallmark of this series.

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC. 36 Hours is published today.

Number 21 did not disappoint! I could not put this book down. I highly recommend this series to anyone who enjoys police procedurals. Must read the series in order as each book builds upon the previous one.

My only complaint is that I read them too fast :-)

Thank you #netgalley and #bookouture for the eARC.

Angela Marsons has done it again! I couldn't put this down and read it in one sitting I wish she could write as fast as I could read!
Kim and her team are solving this puzzle based mystery which is very cleverly set up and really kept the readers guessing! Cannot wait for the next instalment.

Kim Stone’s newest case is on a tight timeline, with new clues leading the team from one gruesome discovery to the next. With no clear suspects and high stakes, this case is rather unusual. The plot is filled with twists and turns, with a surprising ending.
The team worked exceptionally well together, with everyone contributing valuable input to solve the case. I especially liked Kim’s leadership in this book; she truly understands her team and knows how to make the most of their strengths. Tracy Frost plays an important role in this story, and I enjoyed her interactions with Kim. Over the course of this series, Tracy has actually grown on me.
My favorite parts of the book were the first and last chapters, they really tied the story together and I enjoyed them very much.
Even after 21 books, I’m still very much looking forward to the next one. Kim remains one of my favorite investigators!
I would like to thank to NetGalley, Bookouture, and author Angela Marsons for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another brilliant book in the Kim Stone series. I feel like every one of these books is always going to be a 5 star read.
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The plot how's a real cat and mouse feel to it as Stone and her team try to race against the clock and the clues to save the day. As always there is great police work, procedure and character dynamics. I really love the story like revolving around the reporter and her seeing life from inside the police station.

Another twisty and epic installment in an already brilliant series. Highly recommend.

I feel like a broken record every time I talk about the latest installment in the Kim Stone series because I always say the books just keep getting better, but y’all, they really and truly do! The authors true talent to genuinely improve book after book in such a long running series is beyond impressive, it’s a special gift that few possess and it always leaves me in awe. The other thing I find myself repeating each review is yes, you should read the entire series in order. Technically you can read this as a standalone but you would be missing out on so much history and rich character development and I’m not sure you would appreciate just how fantastic this series is.

This time around Kim and her team are racing against the clock, literally. Every case has pressures but the addition of a ticking clock really heightened everything to a new level. The team doesn’t get any rest while they’re trying to solve cryptic puzzles and hard to guess clues and the intensity was at an all time high. As you can imagine this leaves Kim even grumpier than ever but dare I say she showed a softer side at moments here?! I know, sounds unbelievable but it’s true and I adore when the author showcases a slightly more tender side to her character. Don’t worry she’s gone too soft though, the case throws her nemesis Tracy Frost into the mix so she’s still the irritable smart ass we all know and love. As always this was fast paced, twisty and super clever with a case that I would’ve never solved before the team did. I loved how everything wrapped up, especially the last few chapters with glimpses into the entire teams home and private life, it lent of sense of intimacy to the story and brought me back down to earth after an epic conclusion to the case. I can’t say enough good things about this series, it’s a police procedural like no other and definitely one of my all time favorites!

A series I have followed from book one being published. This series is now one that I don't even bother to read the synopsis. If it has Angela Marsons name on it, then I will be reading it.
An author who has mastered her writing and gives her readers exactly what they want from a new book. Excitement, anticipation as to what the story will hold. Followed by a nail biting, gripping thriller of a read. Each and every time this author delivers and adds another cherry on top.

36 Hours is a game. A game that Kim and her team didn't want to play. Thrust into the thick of an investigation the team only have 36 hours to find a killer.
When Kim is knocked up at home in the early hours it can only be someone with a death wish, who is brave enough to raise Kim from her sleep as she has just checked her phone, she knows it's not one of her team.
As the knocking continues Kim is met with a dishevelled and not so bright looking Frost. Tracey Frost is a journalist and her and Kim have developed a love/hate relationship. Ok more of an Hate/Hate relationship. Occasionally they may tolerate each other but believe me when I say that is only occasionally.
As Kim is on the verge of killing the reporter she manages to get Kim's attention long enough to explain why she is at her home. Thus the start of a 36 hour torment.

Frost has an email that she has received, She is taking it seriously and trying to convince Kim to do the same. After some thought Kim has to agree that somthing isn't right. Can she convince her team and her boss that there is a crime being committed before it's too late.
Frost has been given a mission with a deadline, 36 hours to solve clues, report the outcome and stop anyone losing their life and Kim Stone must help her. What sort of individual could do this, have lives hanging in the balance for some sick game.
​I like a good challenge but I really couldn't have played this game.

​I must add a warning for this book. If you have any plans then DO NOT start reading it. Once started really is unputdownable. Page after page you are dragged further in to the story. Its all consuming and I challenge you to be able to put this down without thinking - I need to pick it back up.

Exceptional, I can't find enough words to say just how good this read is.

It really has been a privilege following this series and I'm excited for more to come.

Absolutely fantastic read, I am astonished again by just how good this writer is. It’s now book 21 and the plots are still fresh, the characters are growing and the writer’s ability to engage the reader is excellent. This time the plot is scintillatingly unusual, based on geocaching. Angela Marsons is at the top of her game and is one of the best procurator writers around.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of 36 Hours by Angela Marsons in return for my honest review.
I can’t believe that this is book 21 in the Kim Stone series they really do get better and better, 36 hours can definitely be read as a standalone but I would highly recommend reading all of this series you will not be disappointed with great characters and fantastic story lines what’s not to like, get reading.

Angela Marsons delivers yet another unforgettable thriller in her Detective Kim Stone series. This installment is a masterclass in suspense, blending razor-sharp wit, intricate twists, and moments of gut-wrenching intensity that make it impossible to put down.

From the chilling start where Kim is thrust into a deadly game with only 36 hours to save lives, the pace never lets up. Each cryptic clue is meticulously crafted, drawing readers deeper into a dark and twisted mind. Marsons’ ability to create tension is unmatched; the stakes climb relentlessly as Kim races to outsmart her adversary.

What sets this book apart is its ability to blend gruesome crimes with psychological insight. The antagonist’s motivations are deeply unsettling, yet disturbingly human, making the story all the more impactful. And as always, Marsons excels at delivering twists that are both shocking and satisfying.

This is a book that lingers long after the final page—a must-read for fans of crime fiction. Angela Marsons proves once again why she’s the queen of suspense. Prepare for sleepless nights; you won’t be able to tear yourself away.

All I want for Christmas is … more of this!

I’ve been having to do quite a lot of driving for the day job recently. Which meant that I could quickly and easily tell when it was 1st December. Because, all of a sudden, it didn’t matter what radio station I tuned into, each and every one of them had started to play a succession of relentless Christmas songs from around 40 or 50 years ago.

Many of these – with the notable exception of All I Want for Christmas is You by Mariah Carey and Last Christmas by Wham, which I hated first time round and still hate now – are songs that I probably liked the first few times, or even the first few dozen times that I heard them. But that was many, many years ago and hearing the same music every year since has just become boring. And it doesn’t excite me in any way to know that I’ll have to endure at least another 24 days of it.

On one journey, I really had heard enough and turned the radio off, and found myself wondering how Angela Marsons’ characters would behave over Christmas. Stacey and Devon, I thought, would be thrilled at the thought of spending their first one together, gift themselves some little knick-knack or other every day in December and end up with a home that had been decorated to within an inch of its life. Penn would be a little more measured, determined to make it an occasion that his brother Jasper could enjoy without being overwhelmed. Bryant and Jenny would put a tree up sometime in mid-December and have Christmas dinner at home together, because it’s what they had always done and it would never occur to them to do otherwise. And Kim Stone …

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She just wouldn’t understand any of it, would she? She doesn’t have the happy childhood memories of visits from Santa that everyone else does. So she’d come into work every day as usual, doing her best to ignore all of the festivities around her. And when 25th December did finally arrive, she’d wake early because she couldn’t help it, go for a long solitary walk with Barney, and then …

Would she sneak into the station and look over some cold case files that she couldn’t get out of her head, refusing to involve any of her team until at least the following day? Or maybe I’m wrong. Does she have one happy Christmas memory with Keith and Erica, that she clings on to as she works on another old motorbike?

If you don’t know what I’m talking about here, that’s your own fault for not having read the other 20 books in this amazing series. Go back to Silent Scream (officially the first instalment) or First Blood (a stand-alone prequel) and read the books in sequence. You really don’t know what you’ve been missing.

And when you get to the latest instalment, be thankful that Queen Angie has ignored my basis for a plot and come up with her own. Because – not for the first time, and almost certainly not the last – I’m wrong and she’s right. 36 Hours is fan-bleeding-tastic.

With her last couple of books, I’ve had the slight issue that, whilst the plots have been just as strong as usual and the character development has continued nicely, I’ve missed the suspense, and the tension that I know Angela can write so, so well. Good news: this time, it’s back.

As the title suggests, all of the action takes place over 36 hours. Which, for all the right reasons, is rather longer than it took me to read it. It’s a book that you pick up at your peril if you have anything else you need to do that day, because once you’ve started reading you absolutely won’t want to stop. If I may briefly bring up the subject of Christmas again, it’s as moreish as a plateful of pigs in blankets. Or that big tin of chocolates.

Kim and her team have just a few hours to solve a series of cryptic clues. And they know how terrible the consequences will be for an innocent victim if they don’t solve them in time. Every action they take, every emotion – including the fatigue – that they go through, every outburst that someone inevitably has at some point, I believed it. I felt it. And I willed them on to each do what they’re best at right up to the finish. And that finish … it’s also fantastic. I’m trying hard not to include a spoiler, but it’s one that has you congratulating Kim whilst – with the aid of Bryant – questioning her at the same time.

If I have a criticism to make, it’s this. I understood why the killer had chosen to do what they had done. But it wasn’t clear why, or how they had known to contact Tracy Frost and through her, Kim Stone – as opposed to another reporter and/or police team who perhaps wouldn’t have taken the threat seriously until it was far too late. I just wished there had been a more personal connection than seemed to be the case.

Obviously, this isn’t important. It doesn’t merit my considering removing even the tiniest fraction of a star for a single second. But think of it as one light in a long string of flashing fairy lights that doesn’t illuminate. It’s barely noticeable. You can hide it round the back of the Christmas tree and not even be able to see it. It’s just something you’ve noticed, and it bothers you that tiny bit more than it really should.

My thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book, which will be published on 10th December. I have reviewed the book voluntarily and honestly.

Having read and enjoyed the first 20 books, I was delighted to see another instalment due and especially so to be allowed an ARC.

it can be read as a standalone, but you would benefit from reading the first 20 books. They are all amazing and there are some references that won’t full make sense if you don’t have the background. This may be book 21, but its has the huge impact as the first. It grabs you, pulls you in and won’t let you go till the end, then you are left think that was the best book of the year.

How the author is still producing such an amazing book, this fare into the series is such an achievement

Another good story from Angela Marsons. Is Kim going on a wild goose chase, is there even a case at all. That's the question she asks herself, until the first of the body parts arrives. After that it's a race against time to save several innocent lives.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher I read a free, advance review copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Another wonderful addition to the Kim stone series. Always enjoy learning more about these characters and the relationships between them. Short chapters which are always a favourite. Fast paced story line that keeps you guessing, thought I had figured it out and was slightly disappointed however as usual I was shocked. Highly recommend as always.

Thank you to Bookouture & NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was AWESOME! Fast paced and super exciting.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

When you put Detective Kim Stone and reporter Tracy Frost together, it’s like mixing oil and water at best. When Frost rudely pounds on Stone’s door in the early hours of the morning, Stone is ready to bite the journalist’s head off. Her dog Barney, who’s been barking ferociously, might be willing to join in the chewing. Once inside, the two women examine an anonymous message that Frost had received. At first glance, it seems like a hoax, but it’s too threatening to ignore. 36 Hours is the 21st installment in the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons, and it’s a good one!

An unknown person has given the reporter an ultimatum: create a team, including a highly ranked police officer, and follow the clues on time, or someone will be hurt. Stone chooses to take it seriously and assembles her team. The clue is cryptic; with the team working together to solve the puzzle, Stone and Bryant barely find the box with the next clue on time. There is something else inside: a recording and .... It convinces them that the threat is real.

The clues continue at 3-hour intervals, sometimes longer. Stacy and Penn wrack their brains attempting to determine the location of the next clue as well as to seek the identity of the victim and the perp. There is little to go on, until Penn learns the victim’s name. It’s a start, but it doesn’t tell them much. The clock is ticking. It’s marvelous to “watch” this team work together. Penn seemed frustrated at times, but Stacy was her usual wizardly self at putting pieces together to find answers. Bryant and Kim did the leg work, and Bryant serves as a sounding board and conscience for his boss, even when she doesn’t always take his advice. This team is as dedicated as they come. Frost has been in the office, as permitted by Kim, speaking only when authorized. The perp has required her to write a piece for the paper after each revelation, and she is complying, albeit in very limited fashion.

Stone knows her boss isn’t happy with this case, but she’ll deal with the fallout later. A life is a life, no matter who the victim. Is this a thrill-seeker who’s doing this for publicity? For a game? What’s his motive? Whatever it is, he’s met his match.

I received a digital copy of 36 Hours as an ARC in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author.

5 stars

I want to start by saying I love the Kim Stone series, but this book did not grip me as the others have. I’m not sure what it was…maybe the story line didn’t interest me or that every chapter was from the teams point of view…but I wasn’t compelled to keep the pages turning. Hope the next book returns to style we have come to know and love in this series.

You know when you get a call from a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while and you seemingly pick up where you left off without missing a beat and the two of you settle in for a nice long chat? Well, reading another book in the Kim Stone series is just like that! This book was well-paced while adequately displaying the sense of urgency the team was up against. The story was wrapped up nicely with a couple of shockers along the way. It also set up one or two things for the next book in the series. And as is often the case after a long catch up conversation with a dear friend, I’m left feeling satisfied but also wondering when next we’ll connect again.
I would like to thank Angela Marsons and NetGalley for my ARC.

This may be book 21 in the series but it is just as amazing as the first book. I love Angela’s style of writing, she hooks me from the first page and doesn’t let go. A fast paced mystery that is like a real horrific treasure hunt with dire consequences if it’s not solved in time. I really like the banter between Kim and her team, it’s like being back with family. I can’t wait for the next instalment. I recommend this book and author 1000%

This was the first book I read from the series, and I cannot believe I have never heard of it until now! Reading this story made me so upset I didn’t find this sooner. This book was unlike any thriller I have read. Angela you have definitely made me a fan and addicted to this series! I must read them all. It makes me sad I’m finished with this one, but so excited to begin the journey of soaking in all of the others! Thank you for the opportunity to read a literary masterpiece. I can tell you worked extremely hard on this and it shows!