With this installment exploring an utterly chilling case following a
disturbing killer, USA Today bestselling author Angela Marsons
delivers the prequel to the internationally bestselling DI Kim Stone
thrillers.
In the darkness of a cold December morning, Detective Kim Stone steps
through the doors of Halesowen Police Station. She's about to meet her
team for the first time. The victim of her next case is about to meet
his killer...When the body of a young man is found beheaded and staked
to the ground in a secluded woodland area of the Clent Hills, Kim and
her new squad rush to the crime scene. Searching the victim's home, Kim
finds a little girl's bedroom and a hidden laptop, but where is the
child? And why does the man's own sister seem relieved that he's dead?
As Kim begins to unearth the shocking truth about the victim, a
disturbing resemblance is spotted with the recent murder of a man found
beneath the staircase of Redland Hall with multiple stab wounds. Both
these men had dark secrets and Kim discovers a link to a women's
shelter. As a child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well
what it means to be vulnerable. Could the shelter be the key to cracking
this case?
With the killer about to strike again, Kim is in deep water with a
rookie squad. Inexperienced Stacey is showing signs of brilliance but
struggling to hold her nerve and, while D.S. Bryant is reliable and
calm, D.S. Dawson is a liability. With his home life in pieces, his
volatile behaviour is already fracturing her fragile new team. Can Kim
bring Dawson in line and pull her crew together in time to catch the
killer before another life is taken? This time, one of her own could be
in terrible danger...
