Dying Truth: A completely gripping crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone) Paperback – 19 Aug. 2021

So… Here we are again. Kim Stone book eight. Can you believe it? Me neither. It barely seems five minutes since I read Silent Scream and yet it has been three years since the release of the book that launched one of my favourite series of all time. I have been looking forward to the release of Dying Truth for what feels like the longest time and now that it is here and I have read the book I am left feeling both satiated and bereft. I thought the last two books took me on emotional rollercoaster ride but this one… Gah.I was torn writing this review between waiting, processing and savouring what I had read ,or just capturing my emotions as raw as a fresh read can leave them. And raw they are. This book has given me a complete book hangover. I am not sure I can wait for book nine and I am as equally unsure that I can get over this one. This has to be the Team's most emotional and personal case to date and that is all I will say on this matter. You need to read to find out why. But believe me, it's traumatic.The plot then? Well Kim and Bryant are called to the scene of a potential suicide, the person involved reported to be atop an old bell tower at a very prestigious school. By the time they arrive it is too late, the young girl seemingly having jumped or fallen. It should be an open and shut case but something about the scene sets Kim’s Spidey senses tingling, much to Bryant’s dismay. And this is where it all begins because, dear reader, by this point we know what really happened.Now if you’ve read the prologue which has been floating about in cyberspace (and which I have provided the link to above) then you are probably already anticipating something epic, something that will be so tense, so off the charts fabulous that you have to wonder if it can live up to expectation. I can tell you now that it does. From start to finish I was totally immersed in this book, gripped by the story and trying to piece together what was going on. A story of privilege, secrets, abuse, bullying, hazing and murder, this book really has a bit of everything for everyone. Including a good side dose of Barney. We love Barney.The team is on fire this time around and we get to see them all in their element. There is a side track to the main action as Kim performs their overdue staff appraisals and you get a true measure of the respect she has for her team and they for her. Perhaps driven a little bit by prejudice against the higher classes and their sense of entitlement, there is no denying they also have a real sense of justice, and all are determined to find out what really occurred. None more so it seems than Kev Dawson who finds a kindred spirit amongst the tortured and victimised children at the school, seeing his own school days play out once more and making him more determined to uncover the truth about the secret societies which rule the school. Alongside the team there are a quite a few recognisable characters reappearing in the book to support the investigation, including Kim’s longstanding nemesis, Alex Thorne. A brief but thoroughly enjoyable interaction that I think could pave the way for more cameos in the future perhaps? Great news if, like many, you are a fan of this master manipulator.As the bodies rack up, the secrets start to be revealed, one by one, and so the tension begins to build. Slowly, surely, definitely, until a dozen or so chapters from the end the sense of foreboding, the shadow cast in the prologue, which looms large and lingers over them all like an ominous threat, becomes so intense that my heart began to race, my muscles tighten and my nails, never in the longest or tidiest of conditions to be fair, saw themselves being chewed to the quick. And oh that ending … I am still so lost, so completely floored by it. So utterly perfect, and a truly fitting way to end, but by god so emotional that I am raw and perhaps a little scarred too. I’ll forgive Ms Marsons one day for putting me through the torment. Not sure when, but it will happen. It there is one Kim Stone book that will reduce you to tears then I truly think this is it.If you love this series then you will love this book. A work of absolute class which will leave you shocked, frustrated, angry and devastated whilst keeping you totally and utterly thrilled. Possibly one of my favourite (and certainly the most devastating ) books to date. Superb. Totally deserves one of these ...

This book is absolutely gripping and very emotional. A real page turner with a shocking ending. Really shocking. Quite brilliant.

With me having slowed right down on my reading it means that I get seriously behind especially with series and one of which I love has been the Kim Stone series by Angie Marsons. The weirdest thing happened this time around which was that I picked this book up and read the first two chapter sand then I didn't pick it up again for another couple of months. With the release of book 9 now upon us I figured it was time to start again. It took me not time at all to catch up with the gang which consists of Kim Stone, Bryant, Stacey and Dawson.They get called to a school where a child has commit suicide but as soon as they get there they realise this was no suicide. When they start to investigate they start to unravel a rather disturbing set of events surrounding secret clubs and societies. Before long the whole team are involved in some level of this very twisted and disturbing plot. Once I was past the first few chapters I was reminded of why I fell in love with this author and rarely put the book down.The ending was full of tension and to be fair when I had read the final few chapters I admit I was a little shaken. However this book just reminded me how much I love the authors writing and I suddenly realised with a thrill, that being behind has its advantages. I can now move straight onto book 9 (how did that happen) which I intend to do immediately! An absolutely brilliant book although for some strange reason a little slower than maybe some of her others. A series I would hugely recommend.

In Dying Truth we have a thirteen year old girl who has apparently committed suicide from jumping from the roof of her expensive boarding school. The immediate narrative from those in the school is that Sadie was a ‘troubled girl’ but Kim wants to know more. Those words don’t explain to her quite how such a young girl can take such desperate measures and she’s determined to find out more.Heathcrest Academy is an exclusive establishment and because of that there is the perception that the children, and more importantly their parents are somehow more elite than the everyday kid. Sadie Winters is a loner, the other kids with their overinflated egos pretty much ignore her but she doesn’t seem to mind. Although Sadie’s elder sister Saffie is also at the school, that hasn’t helped and when Kim meets their parents, she thinks she may understand why, but something doesn’t add up.Then just as Kim begins to push for Sadie’s death to be investigated, there is another death and Kim is more determined than ever to winkle out the secrets that are hidden behind the fancy panelling, and opulent façade.Angela Marsons has a great knack of writing stories that weave different strands together, never forgetting the psychology of crime but still presenting the story as a police procedural. Because of the nature of the deaths in this book our dear DI Kim Stone is forced to seek out her nemesis Alex Thorne for advice about kids who kill. This chapter is one of the most chilling exchanges that I’ve read, the truth underpinning this work of fiction is what makes the entire series so great.There is another element to the storyline dealing with secret societies, something that has popped up from time to time in real-life tragic stories and yet each time this subject was broached in the book, I had to remind myself to close my mouth which dropped open in horror, not because I didn’t believe what I was reading could happen, but because I did!If you haven’t started this fantastic series, do and not with this book because they are all amazing and each time I read a new one I say it was ‘the best yet’ and I’m going to again because it is true. The interaction between the characters is so natural and at times, like when Dawson tried to cheer up the ‘fat kid’ Geoffrey Piggott, it bought tears to my eyes with the careful yet supportive way he spoke, demonstrating the brilliance of the character himself, but then I love all of this small team and I can’t wait to see what life (or death) throws at them next.

Omg what can I say about this book. I've loved all Kim Stone series but this is by far my favourite. Have to say my eyes were leaking in quite a few parts. Highly recommend this book

It’s rare I give 5 stars, and I really do mean rare, but the novels featuring Kim Stone & her awesome team of detectives are one of the best that you will ever read, trust me I’ve found a few bad ones during my reading over the years.This author deserves so much more credence and applause than she is receiving. The plot twists & turns are ingenious & keep you guesstimating with every turn of the page, you will be so sure you’ve worked it all out, then *Wham!* she hits you with a sucker punch of a new twist you never saw coming.I also rarely write reviews as such, with kindles and Good Reads I’ve found myself more drawn to using those functions to review as I go along, I mean who remembers at the end of a book all of the details you noticed while reading? A word to the wise though, my guesstimating & inventing my own plot twists can spin you around sideways! Oh and if you ever wonder what the term ‘little red fishies’ means in my notes, it’s my lingo for Red Herrings, something most readers know of.Finally, I never saw this ending coming, I won’t say why…Thank you Angela Marsons for your amazing gift as a writer & allowing all of us to enjoy it as well.Aroha no Aotearoa (love from NZ)

Angela Marston never fails to deliver..... right up there with Michael Connolly

I love to read a good mystery book it is hard to keep me interested in a book that I don't want to put it down but the decetive Stone series keeps me interested it makes you want to know how it is going to end but also the charceters in the book are great and keep you interested This is a must read series I have ordered all her series and I am looking forward to her next book this is without a doubt a must read I guarantee you will not be able to put it down

Desde que comecei a ler esse livro da Detetive Kim Stone não consegui largar até acabar. Os últimos livros da série não tinham sido "page turners" pra mim, mas aqui Angela Marsons voltou com todo vigor.Finalmente voltamos com a estrutura de "who done it", que é a minha preferida para livros policiais. A história envolve assassinatos e sociedades (não tão) secretas em uma escola de elite. Os acontecimentos prendem muito o leitor, apesar do final um pouco rocambolesco. Recomendadissimo para os que acompanham a série!

The book is very gripping and picks up pace as it goes and is nearly impossible to put down towards the end. Go for it, you won’t regret it.