Child's Play
Finally we’re playing a game. A game that I have chosen. I give one last push of the roundabout and stand back. 'You really should have played with me,’ I tell her again although I know she can no longer hear.
Late one summer evening, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Haden Hill Park to the scene of a horrific crime: a woman in her sixties tied to a swing with barbed wire and an X carved into the back of her neck.
The victim, Belinda Evans, was a retired college Professor of Child Psychology. As Kim and her team search her home, they find an overnight bag packed and begin to unravel a complex relationship between Belinda and her sister Veronica.
Then two more bodies are found bearing the same distinctive markings, and Kim knows she is on the hunt for a ritualistic serial killer. Linking the victims, Kim discovers they were involved in annual tournaments for gifted children and were on their way to the next event.
With DS Penn immersed in the murder case of a young man, Kim and her team are already stretched and up against one of the most ruthless killers they’ve ever encountered. The clues lie in investigating every child who attended the tournaments, dating back decades.
Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late?
Readers also enjoyed
Angela Marsons
Angela Marsons is a storyteller whose work delves deep into the complexities of human nature, darkness, and the emotional undercurrents that shape crime and justice. Raised in the heart of the Black Country in the UK, Angela’s journey into writing was a quiet rebellion against convention. From an early age, she was captivated by the stories around her—both the ones told and the ones left unsaid. The crime genre found her in an unexpected way, through her fascination with the psychological intricacies of people and their darkest actions.
Detective Kim Stone
The Detective Kim Stone series invites readers into a dark and emotionally charged world of crime-solving, where every case reveals more than just a killer—but the scars that lie beneath the surface. At the heart of this gripping series is Detective Kim Stone, a sharp, driven investigator whose dedication to uncovering the truth is matched only by her own troubled past. As she uncovers buried secrets in the bleak, industrial backdrop of the Black Country, each case tests not only her intellect but her ability to confront her own emotional demons.
Detective Kim Stone consists of twenty-three primary books, and includes one additional book that complement the series but is not considered mandatory reads and series is set to expand with the upcoming release of one more book. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.
