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Play Dead: A gripping serial killer thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 4) by [Angela Marsons]

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Angela Marsons

Play Dead: A gripping serial killer thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 4) Kindle Edition

by Angela Marsons (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The dead don’t tell secrets… unless you listen.

The girl’s smashed-in face stared unseeing up to the blue sky, soil spilling out of her mouth. A hundred flies hovered above the bloodied mess.

Westerley research facility is not for the faint-hearted. A ‘body farm’ investigating human decomposition, its inhabitants are corpses in various states of decay. But when Detective Kim Stone and her team discover the fresh body of a young woman, it seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover to bury their crime.

Then a second girl is attacked and left for dead, her body drugged and mouth filled with soil. It’s clear to Stone and the team that a serial killer is at work – but just how many bodies will they uncover? And who is next?

As local reporter, Tracy Frost, disappears, the stakes are raised. The past seems to hold the key to the killer’s secrets – but can Kim uncover the truth before a twisted, damaged mind claims another victim?

The latest utterly addictive thriller from the No.1 bestseller Angela Marsons.

Watch out for more from Detective Kim Stone

A detective hiding dark secrets, Kim Stone will stop at nothing to protect the innocent. Silent Scream is the first book in the series.

What readers are saying about Play Dead

‘I read this book in one sitting, yes it really was that good … the perfect crime thriller, well plotted, great characters, suspense … and the most deviant and chilling serial killer… Utterly gripping and it's certainly going to be in my top reads of 2016… 5 stars out of 5 plus a glass of wine (to steady my nerves, after reading such a heart-pounding crime thriller).’ The Book Review Café

‘Wow, wow, wow, I absolutely freaking loved it and without a shadow of doubt this is the best one yet… with this one being more gritty and tense. You crime book fans are seriously going to love it. If you haven't read any yet this can be read as a standalone although I would advise reading the series. It's too good not to miss... I cannot recommend this book enough it's flippin fantastic or like they say in the Black Country Supa' smashin' great read!’ Chelle’s Book Reviews

‘Hooks you and reels you in… Life gets put on hold until you've finished the latest offering in her AMAZING Kim Stone series… utterly fantastic.’ Reading Room with a View

‘Wow. Give me a minute while I catch my breath, because I've just finished the latest Angela Marson's book… Ingest it by any means, just make sure you do. It is a riveting, blood-tingling, pulse pounding read that will take you on the journey that will play on your mind long after you've finished reading.’ Caroline-Writes

‘This may well be the best thriller I have ever read. I could hardly breathe with the suspense and it was definitely a hardship to wrench myself away from the action.’ Redheaded Bookworm

‘I defy anyone to turn away from the page. I was glued to this book…a truly gripping and, at times, terrifying story.’ Book Addict Shaun

‘The best book I've read all year so far… Dark, intense, spine-tingling and absolutely perfect.’ The Bookshelf Blog

‘A thrilling, tense and nail biting read.’ Best Crime Books & More

‘Wow, I didn't think Angela Marsons DI Kim Stone series could get any better, but this one really has blown me away! Fast paced and tension filled, I loved every second of this rollercoaster of a ride. How soon can the next one be released? A highly recommended 5 star read.’ Cal Turner Reviews

‘Play Dead is fast-paced, has a complex mystery, and great, well-developed characters. I did not want to put it down (so I just kept reading).’ Bibliophile and avid reader

Length: 392 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
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Breathtakingly superb - loved it! ― Little Bookness Lane --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Angela lives in the heart of the Black Country with her long-term partner, Julie, two bouncy Golden Retrievers and a potty-mouthed African Grey parrot. It has taken many novels to find that one character who just refused to go away. And so D.I. Kim Stone was born. The Detective Kim Stone series has now sold over 3.5 million copies, repeatedly hitting the Number One spot on the Kindle bestseller charts and has been translated into more than twenty-eight languages.

angelamarsons-books.com

Facebook: AngelaMarsonsAuthor

Twitter: writeangie --This text refers to the paperback edition.

ASIN : B01D3TD9VQ
Publisher : Bookouture (20 May 2016)
Language : English
File size : 2068 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 392 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 28,694 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 763 in Serial Killer Thrillers
- 1,036 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
- 1,273 in Police Procedurals (Books)

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3,655 ratings

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Jennifer Brown

Suspenseful thriller

Reviewed in Australia on 16 April 2020

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Another great novel from this author, I do love the series I always have a climatic end. This one was a wee bit harder to figure out as a twist interns took you all over the place, I love it about these novels. I great read, just be careful who you trust. The character building is fantastic with more uncovered about some of the people who we have not like so much, maybe we shouldn’t judge. Look forward to the next book

Helpful

Great series - a must read. Highly recommended.

Reviewed in Australia on 7 December 2018

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This is the fourth book in this series, and very entertaining reading. The series so far has as its main protagonist, DI Stone, slowly unravelling to the reader her past life, and what makes her the person she is. A police procedural at its best, and a must read for readers of this genre. Combines humour and crime. Amusing comment by the author about the "hot and humid" weather - mid to late twenty degrees. While reading this book at my home in Toowoomba, Australia, the temperature was mid-thirties - and still comfortable!!! Goes to show.

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Jools

WoW! Angela Marsons just keeps bringing them.

Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2016

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WoW! Angela Marsons just keeps bringing them.

This is the 4th book in this D.I. Kim Stone series, and they just keep getting better.
These books can easily be read and enjoyed as stand alone's, but to do so would be depriving the reader of a really good series of hard to put down crime thrillers that follow these extremely well developed characters...such as D.I. stone and her colleagues...through some very challenging investigations.

I have very much enjoyed reading each book in this series as fast as they arrive on the shelves and can't wait for the next installment, these are definitely a hard act to follow.
I don't feel the need to give a rundown of the story here as the blurb says enough, suffice it to say that, if this is a genre you enjoy then look no further!
Do yourself a favour though and start with book one, you won't be disappointed.

Angela Marsons has gone to the top of my favourites list. It's a long time since I have enjoyed a series so completely.

A riveting read.
5★s well earned stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for my copy to read and review.

One person found this helpful

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Christine

Brilliant

Reviewed in Australia on 23 November 2018

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There’s always a twist you don’t see coming. Angela Marsons is up there with the best of thriller writers. If you have read DI Stone, you don’t need to read reviews,you know the next book is going to be just as good as the last one you read, or even better. If you haven’t read DI Stone books, get a move on, they are brilliant. Recommended reading for all thriller fans, and those who aren’t.

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🙂gg

Revenge Deaths

Reviewed in Australia on 9 December 2018

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Kim Stone and her team are focused on solving the murders of young women dumped at a body farm. These women ere not part of the farm's experiments but murder victims left on site. Mystery surrounds the reason behind the deaths. Good investigative initiatives by Det. Stacey reveal a connection to other murders and the involvement of youth centres. Twists in the plot reveal a history of abuse, revenge and sadism that culminate in a satisfactory resolution for all.

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Nikita

nowhere near as good as the first 3 entries in the series.

Reviewed in Australia on 15 August 2016

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I read the first 2 Kim Stone novels on Saturday & the second two on Sunday. The first three novels were an easy 5 stars for me, but this one didn't live up to the previous three entries in the series. It was still a mostly entertaining read but not as original as the previous books & had problems.

For the first time in this series there were some parts that weren't that well written & weren't consistent with the character of DI Stone from the previous books.

There was one chapter where DI Stone was searching a house & she wasn't confident that anybody had made it home recently because the kettle hadn't been turned on. The author basically stated that everybody turns on their kettle as soon as they get through the door, even if they are carrying 50 shopping bags.... seriously???? I don't know anybody who does this & surely a police offer as intelligent, methodical & tenured as DI Stone has been so far in the series would never make such a ridiculous assumption. In the same scene she also states that when women pack before running from something they always pack their underwear first??? I considered closing the book after reading 2 such ridiculous statements so close together.

**SPOILERS****

I have listed the spoilers from smallest to largest not in order of where they occur in the book to reduce the chance of someone accidentally reading the largest one. Please don't read any further if you don't want to know the identity of at least one person CI Stone is pursuing. I couldn't express my reason for the rating without highlighting these. I have tried to minimise the spoilers as much as possible while still explaining the rating.

1) I may have picked this up because I had just read novels 1 & 2 the day before but in the fight scene between Kim & Alex in Evil Games she uses almost the exact same simile (not verbatim) as in the fight scene at the end of this book when Kim is on top of the person she is fighting, comparing the position to what it feels like when she is riding her bike. 2 books later is too soon to be recycling.

2). The dumping of bodies at a body farm was used in season 3 of Law & Order SVU so not an original idea. Plus there was no real reason given as to why it had been selected as a dumping ground except that someone involved in the crimes had access to it. With 2 people dumped in the same spot it is clear that the killer wasn't trying to conceal them amongst other bodies so I can't understand the reason behind leaving them there. This is especially true when you consider there were multiple conversations throughout about why the location had been selected. I was expecting some sort of revelation like that had been the site of the killer's traumatic event, or where the house they had lived in with their mother had previously stood.

3) As soon as I read the section where the killer told the story of Louise looking at them while they were in the toilet cubicle it was clear to me that they were either a boy or hermaphrodite & had obviously been sent to school as a girl or they wouldn't be in the toilets with Louise & there wouldn't be anything strange for her to look at (inference being they were standing to urinate). So by the time DI Stone spoke to the 'Dinner Lady' it was not even a revelation that the killer was male.

4) In the scene where the killer was holding his last kidnapping victim hostage & going through his pre-killing ritual it reminded me of Silence of the Lambs. All that was missing was 'my precious' & a woman suit.

5) As soon as 'Duncan' appeared at the hospital things just didn't fit, I had his final identity in the plot pegged almost immediately. His entry into the story wasn't well written, the police didn't seem to investigate any of the info that he gave them or his background. This wouldn't be good police work, especially after he gave them a 'full name' for the victim who supposedly had a husband. If I was in DI Stone's position I would have given both men a background check & looked for the alleged 'husband' who had not reported his fictitious wife missing or shown up at the hospital. Even if his story of commencing divorce proceedings was true most people would expect a missing persons report or at least a call to the police or visit to the hospital from the 'husband'. This was a clear red flag to me that Duncan's story & the 'husband' were made up. I will however concede that I didn't pick who his 'partner in crime' was or who was responsible for the 2 murders of the men who had their hands removed.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Another winner!

Reviewed in Australia on 25 May 2016

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Once again Angela Masters has given us a 'can't put down' winner of a crime novel. In each of her books where Kim Stone is the hero we get to learn a little more of her tantalising history, making her the tenacious, loyal but often unsociable police inspector she is. Her team love her and their journey is always exciting and never dull or boring. Masters writing is well crafted and edgy with plenty of twists and turns. This is my favourite genre and I have yet to guess 'who done it' in any of Angela Masters' books. Can't wait for the next one! :)

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Top reviews from other countries

ChainsawBear

An enjoyable read, albeit with some plot and character frustrations.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2017

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I've been voraciously reading Angela Marsons's Kim Stone stories, and enjoying them very much. Play Dead however, while enjoyable, felt like it was missing something. And it's a shame, as I felt like it was the first book in the series that lacked coherence and depth.

The story concerns a body farm, and the discovery of a body that shouldn't be there. Kim Stone and her team investigate, and Stone also takes on a second murder investigation from a surprising source.

Overall, I enjoyed Play Dead but I did think it had some 'stitches missing'. Without spoiling the plot for those who haven't read it yet, there seemed to be a few occasions where conclusions were reached by the investigating team without sufficient explanation, or insight. If you've read it, you might recognise what I mean - they'll decide to interview someone or reach a realisation regarding the case, and as the reader, you'll go 'eh? How'd they work that out?'

I also thought that the resolution had a little too much Hammer Horror melodrama. And there was very little satisfying psychological narrative put around the reasons for the perpetrator's actions and complex personality. It was a reasonably clean ending, but it did leave me a little frustrated.

Furthermore, some of the secondary characters need development. I think that while the character of Kim Stone is deepening nicely, some of the other regulars risk becoming more cardboardy as the series continues, existing only to shed light on aspects of Stone's personality. So Bryant is simply there for her to trade barbs with. Keats likewise. Woody sits at a desk and squeezes a stress ball.

Dawson and Stacey are particularly frustrating. As a character, Dawson is little more than a brief sketch - he's young, a bit vain and goes to the gym a lot, occasionally says misogynistic things and Stone sees him as inconsistent - but by book four I was hoping for a bit more depth. Likewise Stacey - a Black Country accent and a gift with technology and research isn't a character. It's a shame, as there are hints of likeability and interest with both of these characters.

It was also frustrating to see the return of smirking, stalkerish man-baby Daniel Bate, who seems to have nothing to do besides hang around winding Kim up. There may or may not be room for romance in Kim's future - to be honest I reckon a good woman would make her happier than any man - but Dr Bate is not it.

Oh, and there was not nearly enough motorbike action in this one! Kim spent more time in her car than on her bike, which felt downright odd.

8 people found this helpful

Helen

How many corpses do you need for a good read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2019

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I have read all the Kim Stone series and although moderately entertaining this book was rather too far fetched for me. A promising start that slowly unraveled. I also felt for such supposedly clever and astute detective she should have been more suspicious and probing about certain people earlier on.
I like the banter and the character of Kim interests me. However Bryant doesn't get developed and seems to spend much of his time either driving or soothing down Kim's brusque approach with his obvious diplomacy.
Stacey is a real star and regularly in all books steering them in the right direction but gets little acknowledgment for all her efforts.
Kim is the one that has to shine which gets rather predictable and irritating. Huge life threatening scuffles at the conclusion of each book where Kim is generally on her own gets rather longwinded and tedious. All for dramatic effect.
This couldn't happen in real life and her team seems ridiculously small to investigate serial murders.
However if you suspend reality it is still an enjoyable read.

3 people found this helpful

Little Bookness Lane

BREATHTAKINGLY SUPERB - LOVED IT!!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 May 2016

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Play Dead is the fourth book in an impressive line up of crime thrillers featuring the indomitable DI Kim Stone. This series isn’t just detective fiction, it’s effective fiction. Its gripping opener and the suspense that followed prevented me from stopping until I’d finished. I consumed it in one greedy sitting, it was just SO good!

Returning from her ordeal in Lost Girls (book three) DI Kim Stone is restored to her optimum ‘don’t even think of messing with me’ self. She and her team are invited to a hush, hush scientific facility in a remote area of the Black Country for a rare training opportunity. It’s certainly an experience they won’t forget, as the scientists studying the effects of human decay under an assortment of circumstances are faced with a cadaver that they can’t account for.

The perpetrator’s signature is particularly brutal and unpleasantly ‘earthy’. As a sickening routine is soon established, we get a sense of their fragile unhinged state from a little voice that raises its head between the main chapters. No one could anticipate just how much their irregular upbringing would influence their twisted ambition in life. I’m not saying any more, as it’s best to allow their peculiar brand of oddness introduce itself!

As Stone’s regular team attacks every lead a pattern emerges to reveal that a newshound she’s locked horns with in the past may hold information crucial to their case. But while the Inspector’s character would audibly growl at the anyone who rubs her up the wrong way, she never allows her resentment to get in the way of any investigation – she’s thorough, just don’t expect the pleasantries. And to further complicate matters, a cold case has come to light that isn’t even within her jurisdiction. A little discreet digging later sees not just one skeleton in the cupboard, but a queue is starting to form.

What I love about Stone’s character is that despite regularly embracing her anti-social side, her own troubled background allows her to relate easily to the majority of the victims and their families. Every investigation invites us a little further into her life and occasionally a softer side peeks out from behind the protective mask she wears on duty. And is that a hint of romance in the air? A little bit of Bryant’s meddling will see his boss bumping into a colleague from a previous investigation at the most inopportune moments, resulting in close encounters of a VERY brief kind!

Well, I’ve discovered three things at the end of this novel: 1. The reasons that prevent our infamous newshound’s ‘Frosty’ exterior from thawing, whose pushy antics are renowned for getting my favourite DI’s hackles up, 2. Barney (Stone’s dog) is quite possibly the canine equivalent of his owner, and 3. Kim Stone once again excels at being her exceptional and impatient best.

This series already has the edge over most others in its category but that edge just got a whole lot sharper, as Play Dead is breathtakingly superb. But is it really, you ask? ABSOLUTELY. It’s the only series I pre-order without even reading the book summary.

9 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

Children can be the crueliest.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 May 2018

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'You reap what you sow' as the saying goes. Trouble is when the harvest is deadly.
Children will always mock those who are different, whether it is myopia, severe acne, physical or mental difference or disability. Some realise the pain they cause, many don't. The one who will always remember is the victim.. It never totally goes away. Most put it to the recesses of their mind until an occurrence or phrase brings it to the forefront & they feel empathy for their inner child.
Others keep it fresh - never forget, never forgive. Their revenge is taken cold - very cold. For a very select few it has to be fatal.
Angela Marsons has knack of latching into the psyche of those who cannot forget or accept.
Whether a childhood experience or the crossed wiring of a visually normal, even exceptional being, the need to punish never goes away.
Kim Stone's brutal childhood gives her the insight into these people & to use her hurt as a weapon against them, which she wields superbly.
Very cleverly written by someone who sees the main characters through both the eyes of the adult and the child.The
Off to read next in this fascinating series!

One person found this helpful

Caroline Mitchell

Pulse Pounding Read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 May 2016

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Wow. Give me a minute while I catch my breath, because I've just finished the latest Angela Marson's book. It's easy to see why this wonderful author has become a legend since she signed with Bookouture. Each novel evokes a myriad of emotions, leaving you feeling as if you've just stepped off the worlds biggest roller coaster. Play Dead was no exception. With its evocative cover and intriguing synopsis, I knew I was in for a treat. Kim Stone is not the warmest of characters, and as an ex police detective myself, when I read book one, Silent Scream, I remember thinking how I'd struggle to work for DI Kim Stone. But the more I got to know her, the more respect I developed. By book four I had found a woman I would follow over a cliff if she was leading the way. Such is the sign of a truly talented author. To invoke such feelings for her characters, who not only become real in the mind of the reader, but develop just as friends do.
Play Dead will not disappoint Angela's legion of fans. Buy it on paperback, ebook, or audio book if you prefer. Ingest it by any means, just make sure you do. It is a riveting, blood-tingling, pulse pounding read that will take you on the journey that will play on your mind long after you've finished reading.

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