First Blood
Meet Detective Kim Stone. A detective hiding dark secrets. She’ll stop at nothing to protect the innocent.
In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She’s about to meet her team for the first time. The victim of her next case is about to meet his killer…
When the lifeless body of a young man is found in a secluded woodland area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her new squad rush to the crime scene.
Searching the victim’s home, Kim finds a little girl’s bedroom and a hidden laptop, but where is the child? And why does the man’s own sister seem relieved that he’s dead?
As Kim begins to unearth the shocking truth about the victim, a disturbing resemblance is spotted with the recent murder of a man found beneath the staircase of Redland Hall with multiple stab wounds.
Both these men had dark secrets and Kim discovers a link to a women’s shelter. As a child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well what it means to be vulnerable. Could the shelter be the key to cracking this case?
With the killer about to strike again, Kim is in deep water with a rookie squad. Inexperienced Stacey is showing signs of brilliance but struggling to hold her nerve and, while D.S. Bryant is reliable and calm, D.S. Dawson is a liability. With his home life in pieces, his volatile behaviour is already fracturing her fragile new team.
Can Kim bring Dawson in line and pull her crew together in time to catch the killer before another life is taken? This time, one of her own could be in terrible danger…
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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.

