It’s extremely rare to fall immediately in love with a central character but Detective Inspector Kim Stone is strong, smart, dry and determined. Her lack of humour and inability to connect with others is, ironically, what makes her one of my favourite literary characters of today.
Angela Marsons drops D I Stone into an evil web of mind games when she’s pitted against a sociopath who can read her like a book. A string of unrelated cases begin to be connected through a highly-regarded therapist and D I Stone soon starts to suspect the therapist is manipulating her clients into living out their vengeful fantasies. The challenge is, how can she prove who the real culprit is?
Marsons’ characters are sublimely realised with even minor characters fleshed out appropriately. Every person is utterly believable with not a stereotype to be found. Her story is told equally from both the protagonist’s and antagonist’s viewpoint, providing a refreshing twist on the usual police procedural. By hiding nothing from the reader, she makes the challenge facing D I Kim Stone seem even greater.
There are five D I Stone novels released, but only two in Australia so far. This is the second, with absolutely no knowledge of the first book required. In fact, I’ve yet to read the first book but it’s now high on my priority list after completing this entire 400+ page novel in one day – a feat I’ve not been compelled to do for more than a decade, I think.
Her writing style is humorous, intense and easy to read. So far as crime writers go, Marsons is up there with the best. Of that I have no doubt, even after reading just one book. Some quick research into her first novel seems to confirm this view. The next three books in the series will be coming to Australia soon and will no doubt also be worth the wait.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Twitter: @StrtegicRetweet
Rating out of 10: 10
Released by: Allen & Unwin
Release Date: March 2017
RRP: $19.99 paperback
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