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Publication Date: 30th May 2024

She lies on the floor, her blue eyes wide and unseeing, arms outstretched as if begging for help. Kneeling next to her, wearing a purple sequinned ballgown and holding a knife in shaking hands, is her daughter…

In a quiet kitchen, where two mugs wait by the kettle to be filled, Sheryl Hawne lies in a pool of blood. Her only daughter, Katie, is found at her side, still clutching the murder weapon and apparently incapable of speech. To Detective Kim Stone, the case seems open and shut. But Katie is in no state to be questioned, so Kim and the team must dig deep to understand what triggered this brutal act.

Soon, they learn that Katie participated in beauty pageants as a child, and her mother kept a shrine to her achievements. As Kim gazes at the golden trophies and shiny rosettes, she is forced to wonder if this was what set Katie on the path to murder…

But then Kim receives a shocking call. Another woman is dead. And with Katie safely locked up, she cannot be the killer. The second victim also entered her daughter in pageants, and a broken tiara is found thrust down her throat. Someone clearly feels that these mothers are guilty – and that they deserve to die. Forcing back the memories of her own monstrous mother, Kim vows to find justice for these women, no matter what pain they caused.

Now more than a day behind their killer, Kim races to learn more about a competitive world where appearances are everything and mothers will go to any lengths to ensure their daughters triumph. Buried somewhere in this dark past is the key to unlocking the case… but will Kim be able to find it before another family is destroyed forever?

The twentieth book in the international, multi-million-copy bestselling series, Guilty Mothers will have you glued to the pages. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid and Robert Dugoni will devour this gripping crime thriller.

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My Review

This is book #20 in the Kim Stone series. Whilst it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone book, although I would recommend reading the books in series order for better understanding of the characters and their storylines. We return to the Black Country where DI Kim Stone and her team have a tricky case to solve which seems to revolve around the world of child pageants. When they find their victim, Sheryl Hawne has been viscously murdered, Stone and the team struggle to work out who is responsible and how everything fits together.

This was another great read, although I expected nothing less from this author!! I love this series and have followed it right from the very first book. You certainly get to feel like Stone, Bryant, Stacey and Penn are people you know very well and this book gives us the added team member of Tink, who we’ve met before in previous books. The storyline grabs you right from the very beginning and you find yourself in the surprisingly murky, cut-throat and bitchy world of child pageants. We also find another storyline running alongside this one where Tiff and Penn are investigating a body pulled out of a local fishing pool. Both storylines are gripping and whilst they have a common theme, they are both completely different to each other!

If you’ve read any of the other books in the series, you’ll already know that DI Kim Stone is certainly a force to be reckoned with. She’s still just as fabulous in this book with her dry humour and quick comebacks, and we still get to see the humour (and despair sometimes!) in her relationship with her second in command, Bryant. Stone does though let her vulnerable side show through on occasions, and we again get to see this briefly when the subject of poor maternal parenting comes up. The plot of child pageants is an unusual one, and one I haven’t read about before. The storylines cleverly twist and turn, giving you so many characters to suspect. As the book moved on I found myself mentally ticking them off and then re-adding them to my ever growing suspect list! It will certainly keep you guessing all the way to the big reveal as to who is the killer is!

Of course, living in the Black Country, I knew a lot of the places mentioned in the book and could picture the team working their way across the Dudley Borough (and beyond!) as I read. I did let out a little squeal of excitement when I found the team in Wordsley, literally going past where I work – I’m surprised they didn’t see me in the doorway as they drove past!! Yet again though, this was another fabulous read and one which had me hooked to the very last page! I absolutely love Kim Stone and hope that this series of books never ends! Fast paced, intriguing and well researched, this book definitely gets a big thumbs up and five big shiny stars from me!

The Author

Angela Marsons is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the DI Kim Stone series and her books have sold more than 5 million in 7 years.

She lives in Worcestershire with her partner and their 2 cheeky Golden Retrievers.

She first discovered her love of writing at Junior School when actual lessons came second to watching other people and quietly making up her own stories about them. Her report card invariably read “Angela would do well if she minded her own business as well as she minds other people’s”.

After years of writing relationship based stories (The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother) Angela turned to Crime, fictionally speaking of course, and developed a character that refused to go away.

She is signed to Bookouture.com for a total of 28 books in the Kim Stone series and her books have been translated into 30 languages.

Many of her books, including Blood Lines, Dead Souls, Broken Bones, Fatal Promise and Dead Memories reached the #1 spot on Amazon on pre-orders alone and the translation of Dead Souls, La Verita Sepolte, recently won the prestigious Primo Bancarella award.

To receive news of upcoming releases follow this link http://angelamarsons-books.com/email/