Hidden Scars
Angela Marsons
Bloodhound Books
Published on November 9th, 2022
356 pages
🚔🚔🚔🚔
Hidden Scars is the seventeenth instalment in the constantly compelling DI Kim Stone series, set in Britain’s Midlands. In some respects these are formulaic police procedurals, with similar elements and tropes repeating in each book, but you can’t really blame Marsons for giving her fans what they want. She manages to keep the series fresh by introducing a new topic into each book – in this case conversion “therapy” – and coming up with twists that still manage to catch me out every time.
Two months on from her near-fatal assault by twisted killer Symes, Kim is feeling the need to return to work, despite knowing she’s neither physically nor emotionally ready for it. Her team are being nominally led by the clueless and lazy but glory-seeking DI Burns, who is only interested in cases which will advance his career. When Kim discovers that he’s forced Stacey to stop investigating the apparent suicide of a young man, she can’t help but get involved, introducing her to the murky world of sexual reorientation clinics.
This was another gripping and fast paced crime thriller, where as ever the character dynamics are the most interesting and entertaining aspect. Kim’s rock-hard facade (Stone, geddit?) is starting to crack just a little, and she is finally starting to listen and learn from those who care about her – including, always hilariously, surly pathologist Keats and sarcastic journalist Frost, but most importantly she is finally starting to trust her best friend, whose first name we finally learn (okay second best after Barney, obviously!) If you need trigger warnings, this includes apparent suicide, extreme homophobia and emotional and physical torture which is referred to rather than portrayed. It’s a dark book with light moments – yes the adorable Jasper features in most of them, but there’s also a charming minor character called River that I’d love to meet again.
As with most of the books in this series, there are separate cases going on, which may or may not turn out to be connected. An author as experienced as this shouldn’t have to resort to coincidence to hold her plots together. Also, and I know I sound like a broken record complaining about this every time, a serial killer turning up in every book is just too unlikely, and the increasingly untenable no-Covid setting also stretches credibility, but these are my only criticisms, and they will certainly not stop me eagerly awaiting the next one. Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

Leave a Reply