Publisher:  Bookouture  |  Publication date: 29th May 2015  |  Edition: Kindle (Netgalley)

Okay, I’m going to be honest with you here. After reading the superb Silent Scream, I didn’t believe Angela Marsons could dream up an even more depraved villain to roam the Black Country streets. But, thankfully she did and I’m absolutely thrilled about it!  Is there no limit to her fictional wickedness?

Detective Inspector Kim Stone has her work cut out for her this time round. With not one, but two vile cases that will have a profound affect her personally. It’s not long before the firewall she’s customised to keep everyone else out is tested to breaking point.

Case one involves a sickening report of child abuse. Ever the detached professional, Stone might be able to draw on experience from her own neglected childhood to get answers, but the detective’s heart silently breaks for the victims involved.

The other case takes quite a different line of enquiry altogether. A convicted rapist is found dead in what seems to be an unprovoked attack. Already Stone’s detective sense is tingling…

As ever, the devil’s in the detail.  But it’s these details that help her catch the monsters we trust the most. This time, she will have to confront her own demons to go head-to-head with possibly one of the greatest tormentors I’ve seen portrayed for some time – their character is SO well written, and oh, so cold. I despised them in a matter of seconds as they selected their prey.

DI Stone knows only too well that there’s a fine line between a fragile mind and a broken one. During the course of the investigation that line is crossed. Without knowing, she too has been invited to play ‘Evil Games’.

Our Detective tries hard not give too much of herself away, except for a stare directed at DS Bryant that would give Medusa a run for her money, or a perfectly-timed, sarcastic quip to put one of her team in their place. Will this be enough to prevent Kim Stone becoming part of the sinister experiment our curious villain is conducting? As she hunts for the dark truth in both cases, she may not have any choice in the matter.

Angela Marsons certainly knows how to throw a curve ball out of nowhere, and it’s damned subtle. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in Book three. For now, I urge you to read this – you won’t be disappointed.

DON’T PANIC! If you haven’t read book one, you can jump right with this one. It’s a stand-alone investigation and you won’t feel like you’ve been left behind.

To summarise:

Silent Scream (Book 1) was quite brilliant. Evil Games (Book 2) is EXCEPTIONAL. Clearly, the current rating system is broken as it’s unable to accommodate books of this calibre. So I give you –

6/5  – Yes, I know, I’ve invented a new one. It’s okay,  made me do it.

(I would like to offer my sincere thanks – and my left kidney – to the publisher for allowing me to download this title from Netgalley.)

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You can follow the very lovely author on Twitter: @WriteAngie  |  And the equally lovely Publisher:  @Bookouture

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BOOKS IN THE DI KIM STONE SERIES: