A good book which I have read before. Not so keen on the narration but. Will definitely read more in the series

I’ve been meaning to read the Kim Stone series from the beginning (I started at book nine), but haven’t yet. I was therefore delighted to be approved to listen to the Silent Scream audiobook on Netgalley – and what an absolute treat!
I somehow thought that the first book of the series would be slightly clunky with under-developed characters, clumsy plotting and an easily identifiable villain. Some googling shows that this was not in fact Marsons’ first novel; she had written two previous books, both self-published. Silent Scream, however, is not the novel of an almost-debut author.
The characters are fabulously real, rounded and totally believable. It’s amazing how much back-story and depth Marsons manages to convey in so few words. Right from the start we understand DI Kim Stone and her team - the interrelationships, strengths and weaknesses.
It was clever of Marsons to set their first investigation in a children’s home – an institution so well-known and so repugnant to Kim. It enables her to use her excellent policing skills combined with her intuition and empathy for the home’s former ‘inmates’.
I love the way Kim’s always prepared to wade in, boots and all. She never expects her team to do anything she herself wouldn’t do, and isn’t afraid to put herself at risk. There are some very close shaves for her at times.
I was intrigued by the relationships Kim forms with her team and others. She is so utterly blunt and socially inept, undiplomatic and rude that it’s a wonder anyone likes her. And yet she manages to win people over, gaining their respect and friendship.
And no, the villain isn’t obvious at all! Marsons laid a few red herrings, and surprised me!
I absolutely loved listening to this book, which I did obsessively. For others like me who haven’t read the series from the beginning, I highly recommend this. (And read the prequel, First Blood.) For those that haven’t yet discovered the Kim Stone series, start with First Blood, and you then have 21 books to enjoy thereafter!

This one was a bit of a mixed bag. I wasn’t very Ken on Kim the main investigator but her team kind of made up for her and I would like to get to know them more and with all the follow on books in this series I’m guessing they will all star in one or more of them. It seems to be par for the course for the lead police officer to have a dodgy past and to say this fits that bill is an understatement.
I’m not an expert on accents but I did think Stacy’s ‘voice’ tipped between Black Country and Scouce quite often. However other than that I do think the narrator did a pretty good job.

Silent Scream
(Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 1)
Angela Marsons

Reviewer
Debra Gaynor debg121254@gmail.com
Hancock Clarion www.hancockclarion.com
Book Reviews By Debra www.facebook.com/bookreviewsbydebra
This is the first book in the Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series. It was published in 2015. Author Angela Marsons has provided readers with 16 books from this series.
The five of them dug a shallow grave.
Years later, human remains are discovered in the field next to the children’s home. DI Kim Stone is heading the team assigned to the case.
The characters are rather predictable. DI Kim Stone had a terrible childhood. She is strong, independent and doesn’t need a man. Neither does she need rules because she doesn’t like them or follow them. She comes across as sour, uncaring, and incapable of dealing with her past. She comes across as a bully. The plot had too many coincidences. Toward the end the plot is very confusing. There were threads that just don’t make sense. But this is the first book in this popular series.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.

Silent Scream is the first in the Kim Stone series and it kicks of her story with all the thrills! I listened to the audiobook and it was well done. I hadn't read any of the books in this series yet, but will be checking out more! This story had my spine tingling and I didn't want to stop listening!

Thank you to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the audiobook for review!

Detective Kim Stone's first outing and a very enjoyable start to the series. A pact years earlier now members of the group are being murdered, remains in the grounds of an old children's home are also discovered can Kim and her team find the killer before mire are dead. A good well paced novel with plenty of red herrings. Jam Cramer narrating of this book is excellent, easy to listen to. Thanks to Bookoutre Audio and Netgalley for this review ARC.

I love this series and was thrilled to see it’s now available on audio. If you’re new to DI Kim Stone and her team you’re in for a treat.

So here is another bad ass detective, who has zero tolerance to bullshit.
The first books of this kind of detective-phycological trillers is always shocking and brilliant. The mystery around 4 missing girls could capture anyone's attention and keep it alive for couple of hundreds of pages.
I admit that the book is really very well written, detailed, smoothed out. The complex characters are in place, Kim, Briant, the evil guy. The soft spots of Kim and her inner feminine struggles. I am impressed by all of those. However the story and the characters has just felt like I have read it before.

The Silent Scream, by Angela Marsons is book #1 in the multi book Detective Kim Stone crime thriller series, and I am a fan. The story and the voice acting were great. I'm definitely going to read the subsequent books.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house, audio house, narrator, and author for the opportunity to listen to a complimentary copy of this book in return for review, based upon my honest opinion

This is the first book in the detective Kim Stone series. It was a really good listen. I really enjoyed the main character. Kim Stone, she was funny, fierce and determined. I look forward to reading more books in the series in the future.

I've spent a portion of this year reading the first book in a number of well-regarded mystery/police procedural/mystery series. D.I. Kim Stone is a compelling character with a terrible background. We know early that her mother is institutionalized for a mental illness and that her twin brother died when they were six. So, Kim spent most of her life in "care." This story takes place in "The Black Country" somewhere in England. Kim has not only no social skills but actively poor social skills. She is not without empathy, but you'd better deserve it. She is a very competent Detective Inspector. She loves to restore old motorcycles. She has one good friend, her sidekick at work and sometimes for social time. She respects her team but forgets that not everyone is as driven as she is. She breaks rules, puts herself in very dangerous situations and she will do it again. And that's just book one.

Someone is killing people who obviously have some connection to one another. And.... Something odd has just turned up on the grounds of an abandoned home for girls in care, a terrible and depressing and terrible place to have landed ten or more years ago. And anything else I tell you would be a spoiler. But along the way, we meet some great characters, learn about the victims and their past, and enjoy how the story unfolds with every clue in place and a little twisty surprise at the end. I see why this book was so successful and now I must excuse myself to look for more Kim Stone books. Brilliant of Net Galley to give me Book 1 and Book 21 on audio to read. Think I want to at least check on Books 2-20. The narrator was good. Definitely recommend this novel.

Glad to see that Bookouture is adding an audiobook option to the DI Kim Stone series from Angela Marsons. The first two audiobooks are the latest book, 36 Hours, and this book - Silent Scream - the first book in the series.

"When human remains are discovered at a children's home. Detective Kim Stone realizes she's hunting for a killer who may have been killing for decades. Stone and her team are desperate to catch the killer before there are more murders. But Stone must confront her own past before it's too late."

This book introduces to the complex character of Kim Stone. She's very different than the Kim Stone of Book 21. She has an awful backstory that she is constantly struggling with.
You meet her team but don't get too comfortable with them because Marsons is not afraid to kill off a character - any character.
Always some good detective work a wild ending in this series.

Jan Kramer does a nice job with the audio.

Good start to the series.

I thought I had this story figured out and I was SO WRONG! This was my first experience with Angela Marsons' work and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot was intriguing with an excellent twist at the end. Perfect for fans of Linda Castillo or Agatha Christie!

This one got me hooked from start to finish. The audio narration is quite good, only had a slight problem with the rate of speech at the begining.

At a friend's recommendation, I finally jumped into the Kim Stone series, eager to see what has her so excited. I was rewarded with a dark, gritty, and fast-paced police procedural that held my attention throughout. This is my first Angela Marsons book and I'd happily read more.

"Silent Scream" kicks off with a string of murders, with Detective Kim Stone in charge of leading the investigation. Raised in a children's home herself, Kim is immediately intrigued by the crimes, which seems to center around people associated with a girl's home many years prior. This series of crimes comes to a head when a local professor finally receives permission for an acheological dig on land near the home. Someone has been blocking his requests to dig, and it soon becomes clear why.

Often gruesome and definitely twisted, this won't be a thriller for everyone, but for those who like to take a good look at the uglier sides of humanity, there's much to enjoy here. The audiobook narration was very well done and helped keep me immersed in the story. While the twists go a bit off the deep end at times, it's a fun ride overall.

Thank you to Angela Marsons, Bookotour Audio, and NetGalley for an audiobook ARC for honest review.

Silent Scream is a book that has been on my TBR for years now. I kept meaning to get around to reading it, but never did. And I kept seeing the subsequent books being released and people seemed to be genuinely enjoying them. This week, the 21st book of the D.I. Kim Stone series was released and honestly it feels daunting to start a series that already has so many volumes. But when I saw that NetGalley had the audiobook version available to listen to of the first book, I jumped at the opportunity to finally see if this was an investment of my time I was willing to engage with.

This book is a thriller mystery through and through. It follows my favorite formula of the genre, with two separate crimes in two distinct timelines. The current timeline finds past associates of a girl's home being murdered in various ways while we learn of past events that lead to the death of several girls at the girl's house. Detective Stone finds herself trying to uncover the identities of the forgotten girls and to save any potential future victims of the current murder spree.

This book was a wild ride. I normally don't listen to thrillers as audiobooks because I find I miss too many details (translation: I get distracted and stop listening closely) but with this book I couldn't stop listening. The narration was perfect and the chapters from the killer's point of view were downright creepy to listen to. This book did have some gruesome details, more than I usually expect from this type of book so if you are easily put off by gore, beware. While I was able to guess several of the twists by the end, I still really enjoyed the book and look forward to reading the rest of the series!

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review*

A fantastic start to the series, I have enjoyed listening to this story which had me gripped throughout. I look forward to listening to more

Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood…

Years later, a headmistress is found strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country. But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed.

Detective Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades. As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late?

5⭐ (story) Suspenseful. Excellent writing. Gripping from the first sentence. This is the first book I've read from Angela Marsons. It will definitely not be the last! I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves police procedurals.

4.5⭐ (audio) I listen to TONS of audiobooks, and as long as the narrator doesn't pull me out of the story, I'm happy. This narrator did an excellent job, adding depth and character through voices and narrative tension. I really enjoyed this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced audio copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

This is the 1st book in the Detective Kim Stone series. I have also read the 21st book and reading them out of order hasn’t hindered my understanding or ability to follow the story. This story tugs at the heartstrings being about children who have been removed from their parent’s and put in care homes.

This is my second book by Angela Marsons and I really like her as an author. Jan Cramer did an excellent job with the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bookouture Audio for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A police procedural, a complex plot that is revealed layer after layer and a strong, determined female detective with no people skills and who doesn’t care what others think about her because her only goal is to catch the person who brutally killed three teen-aged girls are what made this a story I couldn’t quit listening to. DI Kim Stone’s childhood was unimaginably horrible, but she emerged from it determined to catch those who would dare to hurt others, especially children. I can’t wait for more Detective Kim Stone.