Play Dead by Angela Marsons

6^th May 2023.

This has to be on the most original, enjoyable and distinctive crime series I’ve had the pleasure to read.

From the opening pages to the last, this is another original, hard-hitting, uncompromising, breath taking investigation by DI Kim Stone and her team. The pace and intensity never let up as Kim investigates another bizarre set of murders. The killer dumps the bodies at a forensic research facility, where they study dead bodies.

The irony’s not lost on Kim Stone, who pursues the case with the vigour and unorthodox approach she’s displayed in the previous novels. It soon becomes clear that the answers lie in the past, meaning the killer has not finished.

The characters are sharp, their relationships and banter adding touches of humour that hits the mark, even in the darkest moments. The original plot continues to surprise and throw up twists that keep you on your toes. There are even touching moments as Kim and hard-nosed reporter Frost, who hate each other with a vengeance, find common ground. It will be interesting to see where this leads in future novels.

It all adds up to an impressive, distinctive page turner that left me exhausted but exhilarated by the end. After a rest to recover, I’ll be ready for the next in the series.

Description

The girl stared unseeing up to the blue sky. Her mouth was open, as if she was about to speak, to cry for help… but her voice had been silenced forever.

When Detective Kim Stone and her team are sent to Westerley, a forensic research facility, they discover the body of a young woman, her mouth filled with soil. But she doesn’t belong there. It seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover for their crime.

Kim breaks the devastating news of Jemima’s murder to her parents, who speak of a gentle soul with no enemies. Yet when Jemima’s sister confides in Kim that she was afraid to leave the house, Kim is certain that Jemima knew her killer, and is determined to find this brutal murderer before he strikes again.

Scouring Jemima’s crime scene, Kim finds a hairgrip, decorated with a heart cut in two. Then a second woman is attacked and left for dead, her mouth crammed with dirt, just like Jemima’s. A similar hairgrip is found nearby. But when she wakes in hospital, she can’t remember what happened, only the sing-song rhyme one for you and one for me. As Kim stares into her tear-filled eyes, she vows to uncover what links the women. And when she learns they went to the same school, she knows the answers lie buried in the past. But then a third