Fatal Promise by Angela Marsons

Fatal Promise by Angela Marsons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 409

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Netgalley

Blurb from Goodreads

Eeeny meeny, miney, moe. Who lives, who dies only I know.

When the body of a doctor is discovered brutally murdered in local woodland, Detective Kim Stone is shocked to discover the victim is Gordon Cordell – a man linked to a previous case she worked on involving the death of a young school girl. Gordon has a chequered past, but who would want him dead?

As the investigation gets underway, Gordon’s son is involved in a horrific car crash which leaves him fighting for his life. Kim's sure this was no accident.

Then the body of a woman is found dead in suspicious circumstances and Kim makes a disturbing link between the victims and Russells Hall Hospital. The same hospital where Gordon worked.

With Kim and her team still grieving the loss of one of their own, they’re at their weakest and facing one of the most dangerous serial killers they’ve ever encountered. Everything is on the line. Can Kim keep her squad together and find the killer before he claims his next victim?

The killer is picking off his victims at a terrifying pace, and he’s not finished yet.


My Review

Kim and the team are still coming to terms with everything that transpired in the last book, if you haven't read it YOU NEED TO! Physically and psychologically Kim is recovering and desperate to be back at work, six weeks is long enough for any recovery surely. As per the department guidelines she needs to be declared fit for work but Kim has been burned before and will do things her way. On top of all of that there is a ruthless killer on the loose and paths clash with characters from the previous book, Kim and the team have their work cut out for them. A new detective is joining Kim's squad and each will have to deal with issues they would rather not and focus on catching the bad guy.

As with all Marson's books we have a new case and a brutal killer, the investigation is full on and the team are dealing with personal issues linked into work. This book has a lot of heart to it and it is hard to cover without spoilers, so forgive any vagueness. Love and loss will always be a big part of the job, Stone has always been an advocate and fierce warrior for the victims. This book we see her have internal struggles and trying to deal with it as Stone does, alone, shutting folk out and playing by her own rules. She is the glue that keeps the team together but we get to see a very vulnerable side to them all and I think any fan of the series would be hard pushed to not feel a bit emosh reading this book.

Stone is one of my fav characters, she is so socially awkward but a champion for the little people so you excuse her a lot and love her flaws. This book sees her raw and vulnerable even though she tries to hide it, the reader gets to see her in a new light. I think this book made me love the characters even more and forgive them a lot when some of their choices or behaviours weren't the best. The new guy is an interesting choice and from what we see I like, the book shows the reader that for all these guys we never really know everything about a person. Stone always keeps parts of herself hidden and with all of the team we get a wee bit more.

Really good pace, we get to hear from the killer in snippets throughout the book, there is a lot of high emotions running in the book which spill out into the reader. Action, friendships, love, loss, murder, team building, personal growth, motive, ooft we have a bit of everything in this one. For a series on its 9th book you worry something will be lost or lessen but so far Marsons has managed to smash it and keep it fresh. I cannot wait to see what is next in store for these guys, 5/5 for me, roll on the next. Also, just to note, if you have never read these books, I started them earlier in the year, June, and have devoured them all, do yourself a favour and grab the first, Silent Scream, you won't look back!

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