Kim Stone is perhaps one of the most flawed human beings ever to carry a warrant card in British fiction. I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to love her. In
Fatal Promise
, Angela Marsons shows us the flaws of others on Inspector Stone’s team. We understand their behavior. They’ve recently lost a valuable team member who was near and dear to them. Now they have a replacement assigned to the team. He’s a good cop, someone they already know, but he’s not the guy they lost.
Kim is just getting out of a cast and is hobbling about on a very sore leg, thanks to the injury she suffered in the same terrible tragedy that took the life of a trusted colleague. Now she must regroup and catch a killer. Never mind the rules and restrictions that she is supposed to follow – psychological treatment, physical therapy, and light duty. Kim won’t be restricted. It’s not in her nature.
There is a killer to be caught. With Bryant at her side, and Stacy and newly assigned Penn in the office, her team chases down leads, gathers forensic evidence and interviews suspects. The killings continue.
In the past, Stone’s team has functioned like a well-oiled machine. With the loss of their friend and their boss on medical leave, the others were reassigned to other units. Now, nothing is the same. Kim and Bryant are snapping at one another, Stacy is acting way out of character, and Penn, the new kid on the block, is taking it all like a trooper. Kim should be acting like a supervisor and be the mature mediator in this scenario, but her people skills are not that well developed. Fortunately, she does have some redeeming qualities. She is an excellent police investigator – most of the time. This time, however, even her instincts are a bit off. Can she recover in time to nab the killer before he kills even more victims?
What I really liked about this book was the way these guys all handled their grief. They displayed anger and denial. They took out their sense of loss on each other. Kim basically shuts down and refuses to talk, except possibly to Ted, her long-time go-to therapist. We are not privy to most of their talks, but we do know that she sees him on multiple occasions in lieu of going to the police psychologist. Stacy is quite rude to Penn, who had spent time with these guys on another case. He knew what he was getting into, and he just goes with the flow. I found him to be quite likable.
My other favorite part is the arc about Stacy’s missing girl case. Kim pushes her to use her skills and her instincts, and she does. More than that, she must figure out a way to adjust to Penn being in her world. In doing so, she must face her own feelings and own up to her bad behavior. Can she accept a new team member, or will she try to go it alone? This aspect of the story was extremely well done.
When a pair of suspects emerge, it’s not too difficult to figure out where the plot is going. But it’s the journey that makes reading it so worthwhile. These characters know each other so well; yet, it takes a tremendous challenge like the one they are living for them to realize that there is still much they don’t know. These guys are more than co-workers, more than colleagues. They are family. They have each other’s backs. They disagree and squabble. But they care, more than they will admit sometimes. Angela Marsons makes me care, too. Angela, please don’t kill off any more of these guys!
5 stars