Killing Mind by Angela Marsons | @WriteAngie @bookouture

Delighted to join the blog tour for Killing Mind by Angela Marsons today! My thanks to Kim Nash at Bookouture for the invitation.

Author : Angela Marsons
Title : Killing Mind
Series : DI Kim Stone #12
Pages :
Publisher : Bookouture
Publication date : May 13, 2020

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

When Detective Kim Stone is called to the home of Samantha Brown, she finds the young woman lying in bed with her throat cut and a knife in her hand. With no sign of forced entry or struggle, Kim rules her death a tragic suicide. 

But a visit to Samantha’s parents rings alarm bells for Kim – there’s something they’re not telling her. And, when she spots a clue in a photograph, Kim realises she’s made a huge mistake. Samantha didn’t take her own life, she was murdered. 

Then a young man’s body is found in a local lake with his throat cut and Kim makes a link between the victim and Samantha. They both spent time at Unity Farm, a retreat for people seeking an alternative way of life. 

Beneath the retreat’s cosy façade, Kim and her team uncover a sinister community preying on the emotionally vulnerable. 

| MY THOUGHTS |

It’s hard to believe but Killing Mind is already the twelfth (12th!!!!) instalment in the Kim Stone series. By now, you’re probably thinking a long-running series like this must have lost its shine. You’d be awfully wrong. Angela Marsons is here to show you that a series need never grow stale. This latest addition is every bit as fresh as the very first book in the series and that is no mean feat. It does however mean that I ran out of words to describe the awesomeness of these books a long time ago.

DI Kim Stone is called to the flat of Samantha Brown, a young woman who’s been found with her throat cut and a knife in her hand. With no signs of forced entry or a struggle, there is little else to do but for this tragic death to be ruled a suicide. But DI Kim Stone’s spidey senses are tingling. Is it too late, though? Has vital evidence been lost? When a second body is found, it seems all roads lead to Unity Farm.

Unity Farm is an idyllic retreat, offering its residents an alternative way of life. There is a variety of classes, like meditation and reiki, and a sense of community that seems to appeal to quite a lot of people. But something is lurking behind the retreat’s pretty walls.

There are a few things that get me excited as soon as I spot them in a book description. Boarding schools, for instance, will get me every time. This time around, another setting that makes me stand up and pay attention from the get-go. Cults! Killing Mind offers the reader a fascinating insight into how these cults operate and it never failed to keep me utterly enthralled. It seems it should be easy for an outsider to pick up on the signs but what if you’re vulnerable or struggling? How easy is it for those who prey on the vulnerable to pull new members in? To woo them? To indoctrinate them, to manipulate them and to somehow instil this fear in them that the outside world is just no place for them to be? And as a parent, whose child has found themselves in the clutches of cult life, how far would you go to get your child out of there?

As for the team, all hail the return of Tiffany, aka Tink. What a delight to see this superduper enthusiastic energiser bunny again. I for one would absolutely love for her to become a permanent member of the team because it’s just so easy to imagine her getting on someone’s nerves. Penn has finally shaken off the “intruder syndrome”. He’s settled in and he definitely deserves to be where he’s at. Even if that other desk still looks a bit weird. (Therapy still available for those who know what I’m talking about.) As for Stacey, she’s somewhat distracted by her upcoming wedding. But mostly by food. Or the lack thereof.

Meanwhile, Bryant isn’t quite himself either as he finds himself distracted too, by an old case that has haunted him since his early beginnings on the force. Standing guard over the mutilated body of a murdered fifteen year old girl, Bryant vowed he’d do whatever he could to make sure her killer would never be able to hurt anyone again. But all these years later, the murderer is up for parole and Bryant has a bad feeling about it all. I often truly felt for him but this was also an excellent way to get to know him even better.

I’m sure you can tell there’s quite a lot going on in Killing Mind and I was completely gripped by it all. I do so enjoy it when there isn’t just one case to focus on in a story. There’s always a brilliant balance between the professional and the private lives of the various members as well. We know these characters, yet it also still feels like there is much more to discover about them. In these crazy times, Killing Mind was the perfect medicine for me. An escape from reality, a chance to sink deep into a story and forget everything around me for a few hours. It hasn’t been an easy thing for books to do these last few months, but Killing Mind managed it effortlessly.

The DI Kim Stone is a hugely popular series for a reason. Many people, including myself, eagerly await the next instalments. As is evidenced by the enormous pre-orders every new book racks up. Killing Mind is another gripping, compelling and addictive addition to the series. I often say I need to leave a few series behind because I can’t keep up with all of them but you can rest assured that the DI Kim Stone series will never be one of them. As long as Angela Marsons keeps writing them, I’ll keep reading them!

If you’re a fan, you’ll love this one. If you’re new to the series, trust me, you have such a fabulous time ahead of you! Do try and catch up and join the rest of us, as we once more count down the months to the next DI Kim Stone book!

Killing Mind is available to buy!

Affiliate link : Bookdepository
Other retailers : Amazon US | Amazon UK | Hive UK | Kobo

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 3 million in 3 years.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 16 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into more than 27 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone.

Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website