Play Dead
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 …?
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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.

