View source for Blood Lines (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons

{{infobox1
|title=Blood Lines (D I Kim Stone)
|author=Angela Marsons
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=The 5th book in the DI Kim Stone series is another stonker.  Well written, great plotting and a brilliant ending.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=386/8h52m
|publisher=Bookouture
|date=November 2016
|isbn=978-1786810991
|website=http://angelamarsons-books.com/
|cover=B01MCXO4DK
|aznuk=B01MCXO4DK
|aznus=B01MCXO4DK
}}

'''Warning: this review contains a spoiler for [[Evil Games (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons|an earlier book in the series]]'''

Initially it looked like a robbery gone wrong, or possibly a carjack, only the car was still there and so was the expensive watch and the jewellry.  Her wallet hadn't been taken either, but she'd been killed by a single, precise stab to the heart.  There was no sign of anger: in fact there seemed to be a complete lack emotion and there was nothing to suggest that the victim had attracted the violence - she was a caring mother and dedicated social worker.  D I Kim Stone wasn't alone in thinking that something didn't add up.  Then a local drug addict was found with an identical wound.  There's nothing to link the two cases other than the wounds and Stone's instincts.

Stone's instincts ''are'' heightened too: she's had a letter from her nemesis, Dr Alex Thorne, whom Kim put behind bars in [[Evil Games (D I Kim Stone) by Angela Marsons|Evil Games]].  Thorne has appealed against her conviction and Kim Stone is one of the two people she needs ''not'' to give evidence at the appeal hearing.  She messed with Stone's mind before and this time she's using Stone's hated mother to get into her head again.  If you haven't already read ''Evil Games'' reading ''Blood Lines'' could take away a ''little'' of the pleasure, although - in fairness we know who the perpetrator is right from the beginning of ''Evil Games''.

It's a humdinger of a story too.  It looks impossible to solve, but there's a very logical explanation and it's fascinating to watch the CID team working their way through the clues.  And even with all of them laid out I had no idea who was behind the murders until the name was revealed, in a finale which had me holding my breath.

This is the fifth book in the series which I've read in less than a fortnight.  Stone is an excellent character, with a finely-balanced mix of brains, bravery, determination and vulnerability: she keeps you reading, not just through the individual books but from book to book.  I'm not alone in this: I passed one book to my husband a week ago and he's already bought another two.  I read the earlier [[Peter Robinson's Chief Inspector Alan Banks Novels in Chronological Order|DCI Alan Banks books]] by Peter Robinson in a similar way, along with Ian Rankin's[[Ian Rankin's Inspector John Rebus novels in chronological order|Inspector John Rebus]] and Quintin Jardine's [[Quintin Jardine's Bob Skinner Novels in Chronological Order|Bob Skinner]] books.  That's elevated company and I'd rank Angela Marsons' writing as being right up there.  She's definitely one to watch for the future.

I listened to an audio download of ''Blood Lines'' (which I bought myself) narrated by Jan Cramer.  She has a reasonable, if not exceptional range of voices (although she has Kim Stone to perfection - that's the voice I hear when I read the books) but that's me being very picky indeed.

D I Kim Stone reminds me of Frances Brody's [[Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton Mysteries in Chronological Order|Kate Shackleton]].  The stories are set in a different period and Shackleton is a private investigator, but the women have similar attitudes.  If Stone did friendship they might just appreciate each other.

[[Angela Marsons' D I Kim Stone Novels in Chronological Order]]

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[[Category:Thrillers]]