Play Dead

Play Dead
4 Stars

A routine visit to the UK's new body farm takes a sinister turn when D.I. Kim Stone and her team stumble upon a fresh corpse that should not be there.

A solid addition to the series although some of the twists are glaringly obvious and the convenient coincidences require a healthy suspension of disbelief.

The character development is strong, especially the insights into Tracy Frost, the journalist we love to hate, as well as the additional details regarding Kim's years with her loving foster parents.

The romance element is the weakest part of the story as Kim has yet to come to terms with the traumas of her past. Consequently, the inclusion of a potential love interest at this point is a waste.

Despite these issues, show more Marsons is a gifted writer and her style ratchets up both the tension and suspense toward the gripping climax and resolution.

Overall, a compelling and entertaining read and I look forward to the next book. show less

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I have read each of the previous Kim Stone mysteries and enjoyed them, but found this fourth instalment quite disappointing. There were, of course elements I enjoyed; I like the way the author conveys the relentlessness of police work - the team are finishing off another case in the opening chapters and drop other work to focus on the murder of Jemima, the forensic team are temporarily diverted to a more urgent task. I like the banter between Kim and her colleagues, Bryant in particular, although the reprimand of Dawson for using the word "whore" seemed entirely out of character for him and was jarring.

But, on the other hand, while the chapters from the point of view of show more the murderer were chilling and gradually filled in the motivation for us, the sections from the perspective of Jane/Isobel added almost nothing and after a while I just skimmed them. In places the story felt rushed and I struggled with the continuity: why was Dawson getting paper cuts from the missing person reports at the beginning of chapter 9 when Jemima has already been identified? Ivor's identity is confirmed and released to the press so quickly we might have been in an episode of "CSI".

I didn't think Kim's character developed much; she was needlessly rude to Daniel, bizarrely lacking (even for her) in people skills and basic human empathy in the cafe while interviewing Elsie, and we knew all that backstory about her childhood from the previous books. There was a lot of telling, rather than showing; chapter 93 in particular grated on me, where we get Kim's views on how the two perpetrators should get no sympathy because she herself has managed to put the past behind her and so should other people. I appreciate that this is her perspective, but there is no suggestion that the narrator questions it or that any one challenges Kim.

The body farm scenario didn't really work for me; I did indeed read the Patricia Cornwell novel referenced here and this story don't really have anything new to do with the scene. The reason given at the end for the bodies being buried there was unconvincing and underwhelming. The red herring of the violent visitor to Isobel was hastily thrown in at the end and seemed deceitful to the reader. Finally, there is no way in a million years the body farm staff would have been permitted to "help out" in the take down at the end. show less

I stupidly jumped into the DI Kim Stone series at book 3 but at absolutely no detriment as I immediately loved Angela Marsons writing and her amazing character of Kim Stone. Book 4 languished on my TBR for far too long but good things come to those who wait and this was SO GOOD!! You can definitely read this book as a standalone and it is so brilliant that I think it will get the same high ratings from new readers as those given by die-hard Kim Stone fans.

What a highly imaginative storyline this is; it is so utterly compelling, and slightly grisly, that it draws the reader in immediately. I must have a touch of the macabre about me as I loved the setting on a body farm and, with witty names of the 'residents' like Jack and Vera, I did show more quite literally laugh out loud. To be honest, I didn't realise that body farms were a real thing but it was absolutely fascinating to think that there are such facilities where the different stages of decomposition can be observed and studied. I do love books that send me off to google to do a little research of my own.

As strong a character as Kim Stone is, she has some competition in Play Dead with reporter Tracy Frost. Oh how Tracy annoyed me! She is such a bloodhound; sniffing out stories and generally making a nuisance of herself...but you quickly get the impression that something else lies behind the facade of Tracy Frost. As much as she annoyed me, she intrigued me and I simply couldn't read fast enough to uncover Tracy's story.

Play Dead is an ingenious storyline with a touch of the macabre that I absolutely raced through. It is gripping, intriguing and utterly compelling and I am already looking forward to my next literary visit with DI Kim Stone.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

This is the 4th title in the Kim Stone series and probably the most grisly.

A university professor has set up a body farm, designed to allow forensic scientists to gather data about what happens to a body exposed to the elements after death. The bodies are generally donated by relatives, following the wish of the deceased for their body to be donated to science. He finds a body that he did not plant.

The writing in this series has become more assured with each new title. Kim Stone herself has grown in stature, and she is surrounded by the strongly drawn characters of her team. There are characters that persist from one title to the next, and in this one Kim's media nemesis Tracy Frost plays a very strong role.

The structure of the novel show more is interesting as there are chapters narrated from three main points of view, and the reader needs to decide who these voices are.

Marsons has continued with her central theme of criminal damage done to children. There is a little more background to Kim's childhood, explaining why she sometimes crosses the boundaries and becomes personally involved in the investigations.

As you can tell I really enjoyed this one. I really read it in one sitting, actually a very long plane flight across the Pacific, hoping desperately that my Kindle was not going to go flat before I got to the end. show less

DI Kim Stone is back in the fourth part of this British crime series and there are no indications that this series is becoming repetitive or dull, far from it. Following my binge reading session of Silent Scream, Evil Games and Lost Girls last November, I have to say Play Dead is the best one yet! Angela Marson has an incredible talent for coming up with creative storylines that are further enhanced by strong characters and a really pleasant style of writing.
Kim and her team are on an 'outing' to Westerly Research Facility, a body farm, where research into human decomposition is undertaken thanks to donated corpses. When Kim finds a recent addition that isn't part of the farm and further investigation uncovers another body, Kim and her show more team have their work cut out trying to establish identities, find links and work out the clues left on and around the bodies.
Characterization was particularly strong this time round. I felt we really got to see a lot more of Kim's personality. Her interactions with her boss, her team and with other colleagues, in particular, the banter with Bryant, are wonderfully entertaining. Her "relationship" with Daniel is amusing as well as almost heartbreaking, and the way she connects with victims is beautiful. I know she is often described as cold and aloof, but I actually find her really lovable. Just a wonderfully flawed character.
The plotline with the once intolerable reporter, Tracy Frost, was brilliant and deeply moving towards the end.
Angela Marsons skillfully weaves two storylines together, inserts red herrings masterfully and surprises you with excellent twists so you can't stop reading until you reach the conclusion. Absolutely brilliant and addictive series!
Many thanks to the author and to Bookouture for providing me with a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review. show less

The latest adventure for D I Kim Stone features a "body farm" (not the nicest of places!) and young girls who are discovered here.. Is there a serial killer at large and why were these girls in particular? As always it's a race against time to find whodunnit before there's another victim. A great, pacey read which drags you in from the first page and then chucks you out at the other end - breathless. With each new book the reader discovers more about Kim, what makes her tick and why she is so aloof. Great banter between members of the team too. Another fantastic book by Ms Marsons - can't wait for number 5 in the series!

This is another exciting installment in the D.I Kim Stone series. As usual, Marsons leads the reader around a series of twists and turns, makes the outlandish seem probable, and pushes the boundaries in a most enjoyable way.

In book four, D.I. Kim Stone's character continues to evolve. As her persona is fleshed out, it endears her to readers even more. The mystery, as usual, has an element that strikes close to home for Detective Stone, and the time on the clock is ticking down fast.

I love these books. A series that got under my skin after I swore off series, I can't stop myself from coming back for more. This author is fresh and inventive, balances the light with the dark through the development and healing of her characters, and is a show more true artist when it comes to weaving together the many fibers of an intricate storyline to create a perfect tapestry of crime. 5 stars! show less