Wicked Women

D.I. Kim Stone #23

by Angela Marsons

The woman is lying on her back, eyes closed, face still. The blood from the single stab wound in her chest has pooled on the ground, interrupted only where her killer stood to watch her die…

Detective Kim Stone knows from the moment she looks down on Ashley Reynolds that this is no ordinary crime. No one has a bad word to say about this loving wife and mother. So why did someone murder her, and wait to make sure she was dead?

Ashley was a social worker, and some claimed she tore families apart. But her husband is also acting strangely, planning to take their daughter and leave town. Did the threat to her come from home or work?

Then another woman is killed in the same cold, calm way. Nadine was a honey trapper, and the men she tricked blamed her for destroying their marriages. Someone clearly believes Ashley and Nadine were wicked… and that wicked women deserve to die.

But when a third woman is murdered, Kim and the team can’t find anything that even the sickest mind would find fault with. Certain that time is running out, they search desperately for something that links their victims.

And then Kim realises something that chills her to the bone. Because if she’s right, the worst danger is yet to come…


A brilliantly gripping crime thriller about secrets and revenge that will have you gasping at the final reveal. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid and Robert Dugoni will love Wicked Women.

Can be read as a standalone.

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Detective, Procedural, Mystery Thriller

368 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2026

About the author

Angela is the author of the Kim Stone Crime series. She discovered a love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got.
Angela wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.
After much urging from her partner she began to enter short story competitions in Writer's News resulting in a win and three short listed entries.
She used the Amazon KDP program to publish two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion - Crime.
Angela is now signed to write a total of 16 Kim Stone books for http://bookouture.com and has secured a print deal with Bonnier Zaffre Publishing.

Reviews

[Holly]

I don’t even read the synopsis for an Angela Marsons book. It’s an automatic read for me. Kim is one of my favorite characters. She’s tough, takes no shit from people, & will do everything possible to do right by the victims. Love her team as well. Each new investigation still feels fresh after 23 of them. I could read a new story every month and still not be tired of following Kim and her team.

[Jonetta]

the setup…
DI Kim Stone is called to the scene of the latest murder victim, Ashley Reynolds, a married social worker with a seven year old daughter. After close inspection, she was killed with a knife and left on her back while the murderer stood until she died. By all accounts, she was well liked by most everyone. Her husband wasn’t a suspect until he suddenly tries to leave town. But then a second woman is found murdered almost identically to Ashley and there is no apparent connection. The team has their work cut out for them when a third woman turns up dead.

the heart of the story…
These cases were interesting enough but then there were subplots that were just as or even more intriguing. Ashley’s daughter is also caught up in the failures of the Child Protective Services system which was terribly heartbreaking as it’s a mirror of real life. The procedurals were outstanding (as usual) and I gave myself whiplash trying to settle on a theory and a suspect.

the narration…
Jan Cramer is the voice of this series…period. By now, I readily identify her voice distinctions with the primary characters and adore her storytelling.

the bottom line…
I love this series and it’s still fresh after more than 20 books. This was a massive puzzler that I never could get quite right. Didn’t matter because I was trailing the team and let them do the work. Marsons masterfully weaved together a host of subplots that ended in a coherent solution I never would have figured out. I also enjoyed how the team is evolving, even the formidable Kim Stone.

Posted on Blue Mood Café

[SVETLANA]

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another enjoyable Kim Stone investigation. As always, I loved the methodical police work, the teamwork, and the personalities of Kim, Bryant, Stacey, Penn, and Keats. These characters are the reason I keep coming back to this series, and I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

The only reason this one lost a star is that the motive didn't fully convince me. For the number of victims and the level of violence, I needed a stronger, more believable reason behind the crimes. The investigation was excellent, but the final explanation wasn't quite enough for me.

[Violet]

My Rating: 2.5/5 (Rounding up to 3 stars)

As a dedicated fan who has read all 23 books in this series, it’s tough to admit that this was likely my least favorite.

I struggled to connect with the story right from the first chapter. While I usually enjoy Kim’s grit, her stubbornness felt a bit over the top this time, and the witchcraft and curse elements just didn’t resonate with me personally. I still have a lot of respect for the series and am looking forward to seeing where the team goes next.

[Sean Peters (A Good Thriller)]

Wicked Women, Book number 23 in the DI Kim Stone Series.

Time seems to flashed past. An important factor of this series, is the different characters, but also love Bryant, his character brings the straight cop, but also add the great wry humor to the book.

Another gripping, tense strong story, the last third of the book was so fast paced, so tense and nail biting, great stuff.

The woman is lying on her back, eyes closed, face still. The blood from the single stab wound in her chest has pooled on the ground, interrupted only where her killer stood to watch her die…

Detective Kim Stone knows from the moment she looks down on Ashley Reynolds that this is no ordinary crime. No one has a bad word to say about this loving wife and mother. So why did someone murder her, and wait to make sure she was dead?

Ashley was a social worker, and some claimed she tore families apart. But her husband is also acting strangely, planning to take their daughter and leave town. Did the threat to her come from home or work?

Then another woman is killed in the same cold, calm way. Nadine was a honey trapper, and the men she tricked blamed her for destroying their marriages. Someone clearly believes Ashley and Nadine were wicked… and that wicked women deserve to die.

But when a third woman is murdered, Kim and the team can’t find anything that even the sickest mind would find fault with. Certain that time is running out, they search desperately for something that links their victims.

And then Kim realises something that chills her to the bone. Because if she’s right, the worst danger is yet to come…

A brilliantly gripping crime thriller about secrets and revenge that will have you gasping at the final reveal. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Val McDermid and Robert Dugoni will love Wicked Women.

4 stars Enjoy.

[MaxDisaster]

5 stars
Very very good. This time the topic was witch-hunts. Both literally and figuratively. There was a hint about halfway through that allowed for solving it if you read very very carefully, but otherwise the pacing of the story allowed for a very satisfying climax of the whole thing.
Can wholly recommend

[Donna]

I have to marvel how Angela Marsons at book 23 is still writing absolutely fantastic stories. The formidable Kim Stone is in the midst of a murder investigation and the distraction of a feud between two neighbouring families. Kim is one of my all time favourite characters with her feisty pull no punches attitude and she is as strong as ever in this book, backed up by her usual colleagues who in their own right are all tremendous characters. This may not be as dark as some of the previous books but it is full of twists, turns and a clever use of misdirection. The tension and pacing are nigh on perfect and makes for a compelling hard to put down book. If it has Angela Marsons on the cover then I'm always going to read it - another fantastic 5⭐️ read.

[Wulf Krueger]

“Wicked Women” is one of those rare long-running-series instalments that makes you feel, within a handful of pages, that you have come home. As the twenty-third novel in the Detective Kim Stone series, it has every right to coast on familiar beats, but it does the opposite.

Angela Marsons drops you straight back into Kim Stone’s world with that familiar, brisk authority - sharp observation, sharper dialogue, and a case that refuses to sit still.

The premise flirts with witchcraft, but the book’s real trick is how elegantly it keeps the supernatural at arm’s length: present as culture, performance, fear, and suggestion, yet never allowed to bulldoze the procedural logic. Like Kim, I do not believe in witches, and I loved how the novel leans into that scepticism while staying delightfully ambiguous.

»‘But no one really believes in them,’ Kim stated.«

That line sets the tone: we are here for evidence, motives, and human choices, not for easy explanations. Even when “witches” turn up in conversation, they function as a lens - on community, on misogyny, on the stories people tell themselves, and on the harm that can hide behind the theatrics.

What I appreciated most is how the book refuses to answer the wrong question. It is not “are witches real?”, but “what do people do when they want power, belonging, or someone to blame?” That is why the ambiguity feels earned: the plot stays anchored in human behaviour.

What makes this entry feel so strong is the emotional density Marsons layers beneath the suspense. Kim is, as ever, fiercely competent, but “Wicked Women” also gives her room to be quietly, stubbornly humane. There is a particular strand involving a child where Kim’s judgement is both steely and compassionate - decisions that feel earned, and that underline why she is such an extraordinary series lead.

Kim’s confidence - her refusal to be nudged off the track by anyone’s discomfort - remains one of the series’ great pleasures.

»‘And get ready for a miracle to occur because for once in your life, I’m about to prove you right.’«

Marsons also threads in a note on immigration that landed with me in a way crime fiction often fails to manage: it is not a token “issue”, but a human reality, treated with empathy and gravity. Immigrants are still, wrongly, frowned upon by many in my native Germany, whereas I value what they bring to “my” country - alongside a reasonable expectation of integration, such as learning the language. The novel’s brief, mournful question is devastating precisely because it is so plain.

»‘How bad must life be to risk that?’«

It is that ability - dropping a line that opens a whole moral landscape - that gives “Wicked Women” its weight. Even smaller, quieter beats carry a lingering pull: the way certain families, certain homes, certain griefs refuse to let Kim simply walk away.

»There was something about these families that would not let her go.«

And Marsons can sketch tenderness without sentimentality, too:

»Everything seemed more colourful, more animated, more alive.«

In terms of series craft, this is police procedural at its most propulsive: the pacing is tight, the stakes keep escalating, and the investigation feels like it is constantly shedding skins - new angles, new contradictions, new urgency. Marsons also remembers that pace is not the same as noise; she gives the story just enough air for dread and tenderness to register.

Compared with a lot of contemporary procedurals (which can drown in either forensics fetishism or overwrought melodrama), Marsons stays clean and readable, letting character and momentum do the heavy lifting.

Compared with earlier Kim Stone novels I have read, this one feels especially confident in how it balances the team dynamic, the darker edges of the case, and the quieter ethical questions. Kim’s leadership is not softened, but it is rendered with a little more texture - still abrasive when she needs to be, still allergic to nonsense, and still able to surprise you with how deeply she cares.

Most importantly, it is tremendously suspenseful. I kept turning pages, not because the book waved cheap cliff-hangers at me, but because it earned my trust: the storytelling is controlled, the ambiguity is purposeful, and the emotional pay-offs are honest.

Five stars out of five.


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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam

[Jen]

One murder, many suspects. So far, just another run of the mill day for Kim Stone and her team – in as much as murder can ever, really, be called run of the mill. It’s an unusual start to this book, strange circumstances to find Kim in for sure, who is a little like a fish out of water for reasons that will make long terms fans smile, but are quite fitting given the events of the previous book. Angry as she may be for the victim, that fateful call from Keats could not have come soon enough. And, for us fans, its a call that plunges us all into a case often as emotional as it is baffling, as much for the family of the victim and the events that spiral totally out of control.

I like what Angela Marsons has done with this book. It is perhaps not as dark as the theme in its predecessor, but it still packs a real punch. The victim, the first victim at least, in this book, is a young mother, a woman whose murder opens up opportunities for less ethical people to take advantage, especially as suspicion falls towards the husband as if often the case in these kinds of cases. Its a set of circumstances designed to make the blood boil, ones that show how easy it is for a wrong decision to be made over a child’s welfare, driven by what is legal rather than what feels to be morally right. In this case it demonstrates not only Kim’s deep understanding of the impact of a caring family on a young child’s development, but also allows the author to explore aspects of Stacy’s relationship with her partner, Devon, that might otherwise have been hard to address given the strong focus towards the complexities of the case.

Now there is a secondary thread in this book that I don’t want to go into in too much detail, but it acts as a distraction for Kim who is being pushed to treat it as an open and shut case given that the suspect has made a full confession, but who can’t ignore some small niggle that makes her doubt what she has heard. Needless to say that this causes conflict with powers that be, especially as the first murder case escalates with a second, and then third victim being added to the files in fairly quick succession. I love to see Kim staying true to her principles, finding ways to continue to investigate the ‘closed’ case, whilst still moving forward on the initial murder enquiry. There is a real sense of mystery around this secondary case, and as the reasons for the incident become clear, it almost beggars belief that the root cause could be something so, well, petty. Which is where I agreed with Kim, and why you just know that this case will be something far bigger than we expect.

As ever the humour between the team is what makes this series so special. There are some quite intense moments with the team all affected by the way in which the case progresses, but the banter between them all helps to diffuse some of the harsher moments that can hit quite hard. And you get a real view of the camaraderie and the dedication of the team, not just to the cases, but to each other, in the way in which a few of the situations unfurl. That unity, the willingness to step up for each other, is why this is such a brilliant team to read about.

There is plenty of tension, a lot of misdirection, and scenes that will make the blood boil as I have come to expect from this series. As ever, I tore through the book in next to no time, aided by the pitch perfect pacing and the twists that just kept the story feeling utterly unpredictable. The ending becomes quite intense, the implications of what could happen the kind to keep you right on the edge of your seat, and definitely reading far beyond a sensible bedtime. This may be a long running series, 24 books and counting, but somehow every case feels fresh and yet familiar. The familiarity comes from the characters who I have grown to love more and more with each book. The freshness comes courtesy of the devilish mind of Ms Marsons who seems to find some new dark and deadly situation to lead us into, every single time. Taking something so mundane and turning it into something so dark, this is definitely recommended.

[JulesGP]

Kim Stone books never get old. A long time blood feud between two families, murder, and multiple mysteries make for another excellent story. The question of who will make the best parent for an orphaned girl adds good depth. I also appreciate how the author tied it all back to Devon’s and Stacey’s journey as a couple. Wonderful narration.

[Kat (Katlovesbooks) Dietrich]

Wicked Women by Angela Marsons is the 23rd in the Detective Kim Stone Police Procedural series.


Let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author (Angela Marsons), for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

 
First, I love this series.  Each book brings old friends back into my life.  I feel like I am part of Kim's team as we try to figure out the identity of the killer.  Sometimes I am ahead of Kim, but usually a step behind.  In this one, I was not even in the same race.  That is always so much fun.  A real mystery!

The book looked at families, both the good and the bad.  It also looked at strong, determined women - both the good and the bad.  It even looked at witchcraft and curses.  It was really entertaining.

I love the characters.  Bryant is probably my favorite after Kim.  But I love that Stacey and Devon played a big part in this book.  Their storyline was wonderful.

I know that at Book 23 in a series, if you haven't started reading these books, it looks like an unsurmountable task to start now, but I guarantee picking up Book 1, will be one of the best things you could do....and they really should be read in order.

I don't often give 5 star reviews to books within a series, but I have recently done so, and here I am, doing it again.  This one was worth every star!



For a more thorough review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, my own synopsis of the book, and its author information), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

 

[Nora Wolfenbarger]

A high octane story with many twists and turns. A bit far reaching in believability but I like a book that steps outside established boundaries. I recommend taking your time reading this book as there are many characters and it is easy to lose track of who is who. Overall an entertaining read.

[Amy]

Wicked Women by Angela Marsons is the twenty third installment in the Detective Kim Stone series—and somehow, it still feels just as sharp, gripping, and emotionally resonant as ever. While you could technically jump in here, this is one of those series where the long term character development truly matters. The history, the trust, and the bond between Kim and her team have been built over years, and that connection elevates every case. As always, Marsons delivers an intricate, multi layered investigation, weaving together several threads that keep you guessing while never losing control of the story.

The case itself is classic Kim Stone: dark, complex, and impossible to look away from. When multiple women are murdered in cold, calculated ways, the team is faced with a chilling question, what makes someone “wicked,” and who gets to decide? Each victim’s backstory adds another layer of moral ambiguity, and the tension builds with every twist. The pacing is fast and relentless, with reveals that hit at just the right moments, making this one of those “just one more chapter” reads that’s nearly impossible to put down.

But what continues to make this series stand out (especially this deep in) is the character work. Kim Stone remains one of the most compelling leads in crime fiction: fierce, determined, and completely unwilling to tolerate nonsense. She presents herself as hardened and emotionally distant, but this installment peels back that armor just enough to remind us there’s real softness underneath, albeit reserved for very specific moments and people. Her team is equally well drawn, each bringing something vital to the dynamic. This series is, without question, one of the best in the police procedural genre, and Wicked Women is another outstanding addition.

[Heather Love]

All I can say is I do hope that Angela Marsons carries on with this series….. book 23 and as good as the first….. I love Stone and her team…. What’s next for Stacey and Devon…? Great police procedural…. Also love the empathy and compassion.

[Thomas Stroemquist]

This was another excellent D.I. Stone, just the right amount of suspense and tugging of your heart strings to keep you turning pages way later than you planned to. The big reveal/the motivation behind it all is a bit far-fetched, but the result is so good and this is close to a 5-star crime drama and an incredibly impressing book #23 in a series!

[bookster]

4.5 stars rounded up

[Sue Plant]

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this amazing book

oh my god this book made me cry.... real tears.... but man what a read....

stone is up for an award and man she hates every second she is there... she doesnt want to be there at all and at the last minute before she is called up to receive her phone goes off and off she runs to a murder scene....

ohh there is so much going on in this book but the feel of being back in stones world with her crew was amazing they just feel right and this storyline hits you in the heart... this is an officer that you want on your side if you ever feel the police at your back....

i cant wait to read the next book in this brilliant series...its addictive

[Bibli-ophelia Clerico]

First, thank you to Angela Marsons and NetGalley for the advance copy to read on my Kindle!

I ADORE this cast of characters, and normally read each and every Kim Stone book within 24 hours of its release in the U. S. The team are an eclectic group that bring their own storylines from outside of work into each case which seems to deepen the readers interest and keeps bring us back to see what private details we can lean in each book.
Kim, the team leader, who was horribly abused by her mother as a child has her no nonsense, blunt, super guarded manner tempered by her right hand man, Bryant, who is a married father that seems to be Kim’s humanity and often voice of reason. They bicker like an old married couple but complement each other like the left and right in a comfy, old pair of slippers.
Stacey, the computer whiz is youngest of the team and least experienced, a black lesbian married to Devon a more reasonable, emotionally balanced woman you just have to love.
Penn, is the logical element that balances everyone. Caretaker of his younger brother, who has Down’s Syndrome and loves to bake, has recently opened his heart to Lynn a patient and truly kind woman who accepts the brothers and keeps the little family going.

This case brings the team what begins as 2 cases- a young murdered mother of a very lovable disabled girl, and Martha, a frequent flyer known to the whole station as much as for her lack of hygiene as her hatred of her neighbors- against whom there has been a “Hatfield and McCoy-esque” feud for generations. Unfortunately for Kim, just as she catches Ashley’s ( the young mother)murder, Martha refuses to speak to anyone except “inspector Sow” about shooting her next door neighbor.
For some reason Kim keeps turning back to Martha and her feud while working the murder (and others with the same MO, which seem to be stacking up. She can’t explain why but she’s determined for there to be an end to the feud and the family “curse” causing all of the men in Martha’s family to die by the age of fifty.

The imagination and level of detail in these two cases, much less how there are intertwined blows me away. It’s much more involved than just finding the killer. Both have back stories and multiple characters that seem completely unrelated until final few chapters… in a way I didn’t see coming!

Bravo, Angela! Another win for Kim and the team!

https://www.netgalley.com/book/805392...

[Michelle]

If the door says Kim Stone..... I'm in and it's a five star read before I even start. Angela Marsons' writing, her characters all of it, I know it's just going to work for me Every.Single.Time!

[Rachel Louise]

This was incredible - I couldn’t put it down! I don’t know how she does it, but the books keep getting better and better. I’m disappointed to have finished it so fast and now have another long wait for the next one!

I particularly like that not only do I get to read an incredible story - I always learn something new - this time about witches and curses!

Can’t wait to find out what I will be learning next time!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

[Marion Sheppard]

Wicked Women by Angela Marsons is a gripping installment in the Detective Kim Stone series, blending psychological suspense with a tightly woven police procedural. The novel centers on a series of chilling murders in which the victims appear to have dark pasts connected to a group of troubled women. As Detective Kim Stone and her team investigate, they uncover a complex web of abuse, revenge, and long-buried secrets that challenge conventional ideas of justice and morality.

What makes Wicked Women particularly compelling is its exploration of the gray areas between victim and perpetrator. Marsons crafts her characters with depth, especially the women at the heart of the mystery, whose traumatic histories blur the line between sympathy and condemnation. Kim Stone herself remains a standout protagonist—sharp, driven, and emotionally guarded, yet deeply committed to uncovering the truth no matter how uncomfortable it becomes. The pacing is brisk, with short chapters and multiple perspectives that keep the tension high and the reader constantly reevaluating their assumptions.

Det. Stone’s team complements her strengths in ways that make their collective investigations far more effective than any one individual could achieve alone. Detective Sergeant Bryant serves as a stabilizing force, bringing experience, patience, and a more traditional investigative approach that balances Kim’s intensity. His ability to empathize with victims and witnesses often helps elicit information that might otherwise remain hidden. Stacey Wood, the team’s tech specialist, is another critical asset; her expertise in digital forensics and research allows the team to uncover connections, track suspects, and process data at a speed that keeps them ahead of the case. Meanwhile, Detective Constable Penn contributes through persistence and attention to detail, often picking up on smaller clues that prove pivotal as the investigation unfolds.

What truly defines the team’s strength is their dynamic: a blend of contrasting personalities and skills unified by trust and a shared commitment to justice. Kim’s leadership fosters an environment where each member’s abilities are valued, even if her style can be blunt or demanding. Together, they form a well-rounded investigative unit capable of tackling complex, emotionally charged cases like those in Wicked Women, where understanding both evidence and psychology is essential. The Det. Stone books are always entertaining and exhilarating, keeping your interest and curiosity at a high level, and delivering great storytelling.

[Carla]

Wicked Women is the 23rd installment of the D.I. Kim Stone crime thriller/police procedural series. I have enjoyed each of these books and although each book could be read as a standalone, I recommend you read them all, they are that good. The book opens with the body of Ashley Reynolds, a dedicated social worker, discovered with a single stab wound to her chest. Kim and her team struggle to find anyone who holds a grudge against her. She is well liked, and it seems that everyone has good things to say about her. When a second murder occurs in the same way, a woman named Nadine, a "honey trapper" is found. It could be any number of men that blames her for ruining their marriage. It seems the killer things these women are wicked, but the next victim has done nothing wrong. What is Kim and her team missing, or has the killer broken his pattern?

I always enjoy watching Kim and her team investigate and solve the cases they are dealing with. They work so well together, with each person having their own strengths to add to the investigation. This book also has a secondary plot, where Ashley's husband and seven year old daughter have a secret that can blow their lives apart even more. Child Protective Services get involved based on a lie, so someone can get their hands on seven year old Ava for the money they would receive. This was another case that kept me guessing from start to finish. I thought I had it figured out, then another clue or twist had me looking in another direction. A well written and plotted story with great characters and wonderful outcome. I've been listening to this series and Jan Cramer does an exceptional job with the story, and the characters, giving them voice and adding to the tension and suspense. I highly recommend this book and series.

[Claudete Takahashi]

Kim is about to receive an award for bravery when she answers her phone and goes to work on a crime scene. A woman has been murdered and the more they investigate and follow leads the less they find as the motive for her death, until another woman is also killed in exactly the same way. If those crimes were not enough for Kim to handle, her boss asks her talk to Martha, well-known to the Police Force in town because of frequent fights with her neighbor. She'll declare herself guilty of killing said neighbor because he trespassed established land limits. Kim will then, through her relentless gut feeling and investigative skills, discover two families believing and having their lives bound by a curse that will make them do the unthinkable. Wicked Women is fast-paced, engaging, and is a story about family relationships, belief in the occult, hate, and faith in the future.
I thank the author, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

[Suzi]

This definitely one of the most consistently good series I've ever read - to still be writing bangers at book 23 is quite the achievement.

That said, this one didn't quite live up to the greats of the series. The curse and witchcraft element was a unique way to go and I didn't see the ending coming which is always a win for a thriller.

[Linda Costello]

Followed Kim Stone from book 1 Silent Scream and Angela Marson’s books just keep getting better. Wicked Women has got to be one of the best yet and I can’t wait for the next Kim Stone book. Well done again Angela!

[Nicola Southall-Lowe]

Angela Marsons has done it again

One of my favourite authors and one of my favourite crime series.

This is also in my opinion one of the best she’s written.
I don’t want to give any spoilers at all but just brilliant, gripping short chapters which make the book very fast paced.
Twists and turns
And Kim and her team are such great characters and work so well together.
And we see a little more of Stacey’s partner Devon is this book too.

[Tove R.]

I’m starting to think my relationship with the Kim Stone series might be slightly unhealthy, borderline obsessive, even. And honestly? I’m completely fine with that.

Wicked Women is everything I’ve come to love about Angie Marsons’ writing: dark, gritty, and utterly addictive. From the very first page, the atmosphere pulls you in, and the tension never really lets go. The murders are chilling not just because of their brutality, but because of the unsettling logic behind them.

The case itself is brilliantly constructed. Each victim seems so different on the surface, yet the thread connecting them slowly tightens in a way that keeps you guessing. Just when you think you understand what’s going on, the story shifts again, and that final realization is genuinely chilling.

But what truly elevates this book, as always, is the characters. I’ve completely fallen in love with Kim and her team. They feel real, flawed, and deeply human, and coming back to them feels like returning to something familiar, even when the cases themselves are anything but comforting.

This is one of those books that reminds me why I love crime fiction so much. It’s gripping, emotional, and impossible to put down.

And now, like always, I’m left wanting more.

[Pauline Conlin]

Another excellent book in the Detective Kim Stone series with a totally unexpected ending.
.

[Joanne Smith]

Great storey, good twists, loved the personal, heart felt side of Kim coming out. That team sounds awesome to work in, wish it was a real team!

[Vicky Griffin]

No surprise that a Kim Stone mystery took me only a day to read. So addictive