Hidden Scars: A completely gripping crime thriller with a nail-biting twist: 17 (Detective Kim Stone) - Softcover

Marsons, Angela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1803147725 ISBN 13: 9781803147727

Publisher: Thread, 2022

Synopsis

While Jamie’s cold, lifeless body lay in the morgue, Detective Kim Stone stared at the empty board in the incident room and felt her anger boil. Why were there no photos, details, or lines of enquiry?

When a nineteen-year-old boy, Jamie Mills, is found hanging from a tree in a local park, his death is ruled a suicide. Detective Kim Stone’s instincts tell her something isn’t right – but it’s not her investigation and her temporary replacement is too busy waiting for the next big case to be asking the right questions.

Why would a seemingly healthy boy choose to end his life?
Why does his mother show no sign of emotional distress at the loss of her son?

Still mending her broken mind and body from her last harrowing case, Kim is supposed to be easing back into work gently. But then she finds a crucial, overlooked detail: Jamie had a recent injury that would have made it impossible for him to climb the tree. He must have been murdered.

Quickly taking back charge of her team and the case, Kim visits Jamie’s parents and is shocked to hear that they had sent him to a clinic to ‘cure’ him of his sexuality. According to his mother, Jamie was introverted and prone to mood swings. Yet his friend speaks of a vibrant, outgoing boy.

The clues to smashing open this disturbing case lie behind the old Victorian walls of the clinic, run by the Gardner family. They claim that patients come of their own accord and are free to leave at any time. But why are those that attended the clinic so afraid to speak of what happens there? And where did the faded restraint marks identified on Jamie’s wrists come from?

Then the body of a young woman is found dead by suffocation and Kim makes two chilling discoveries. The victim spent time at the clinic too, and her death was also staged to look like a suicide.

Scarred from an ordeal that nearly took her life, is Kim strong enough to stop a terrifying killer from silencing the clinic’s previous patients one by one?

A compulsive page-turner that will have your heart hammering in your chest and leave you absolutely reeling when you discover the explosive final twist. If you’re a fan of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid, and Robert Dugoni, you’ll love Hidden Scars.

Can be read as a standalone.

Read what everyone is saying about Hidden Scars:

‘WHY DO I DO IT TO MYSELF EVERYTIME????? Why can't I just be a sensible reader and savour every sentence, why do I have to halt the universe, sit in a quiet room, mute the kids and hubby and devour it in one sitting???’ Bookreviewercakemaker, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Without exaggeration this is the best book I’ve read.’ Nigel Adams Bookworm, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Oh my gosh every time Marsons puts out a new Kim Stone book, I think there’s no way it can be as good as her last and every time it’s BETTER! I’m freaking obsessed...’ firepitandbooks, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I love Kim Stone!!... I must admit I did make a little squeak of excitement when I read it!... gripping, thrilling… I was hooked from the very first page! The Queen of Crime has done it again! Fab, fab, fab!!!’ Stardust Book Reviews, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I adore Kim Stone… I started reading last night and kept going until I finished, I did try to put the book down several times but failed hence another night’s sleep lost to Kim Stone.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I absolutely devoured this book in less than two days… I didn’t want the book to end.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Drew me in from the first page… made me gasp out loud.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An absolute corker… spectacular!’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Edition details

• Publisher: Thread
• Publication date: 2022
• ISBN 10: 1803147725
• ISBN 13: 9781803147727
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 374