Having read and thoroughly enjoyed the previous 19 books in the Kim Stone series, I was keen to get my hands on this latest instalment, after all, spending time with Kim & Co is like spending time with friends. As with the aforementioned books, we have a strong cast of well-developed and well-loved main characters, and I was thrilled that Tiff (Tink) was back with the team, investigating the sub-story with Penn, a combination I thought worked really well. I was also pleased that there was not too much time spent dealing with the personal lives of the team, this book was more about the murders.

I will admit that I struggled with the main storyline – how relationships between daughters and their mothers are affected by the sometimes-toxic world of child beauty pageants. The author had undoubtedly researched the topic thoroughly – but it just didn’t grab me, and I was grateful for the sub-story, which was both fascinating, and disturbing in equal measures. I also struggled with the constant use of the word Mom; this is not a series that has embraced American terms in the past, so it felt displaced and unnecessary to me.

Whilst not my favourite book in the series, I read it over two days and am now impatiently awaiting book 21.

I really couldn’t wait to read this I can’t believe it’s the 20th book and I still love them. There are two cases to solve Kim and her team have their work cut out firstly a mother is found brutally murdered and it looks to all intense and purposes that her daughter has done it but it’s not all it seems as another body was found who died in the same way they were both mothers of children that were in beauty pageants.

The next case is a man who died some years ago and was reported missing Tiff paid a visit to the family and felt very uneasy and wants to investigate more.

I can’t praise this book enough it’s one of her best and a real page turner can’t wait for No. 21

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for ARC

Oh no, this book is absolutely brilliant and wonderful! I want to read it again and again. The story is amazing.

I love the cover of this book!

This was an enjoyable read and one that i will recommend. This book explores the relationship and what can happen between a mother and a child and how things can go so wrong when they arent expecting it. I always wondered about pageants but this definitely tells what can go wrong in the aspects of pageants and how competitive they are.

This book also has domestic violence which is def a trigger warning for some. The twists and turns keep you wanting more. When a Main Character is likable that makes the story even better so this was not a hard follow read. This book did not disappoint and i will recommend this to other readers.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

GUILTY MOTHERS is the 20th book in the D.I. Kim Stone crime-thriller series by best-selling author Angela Marsons. This novel can be read as a standalone. Angela Marsons remains one of my favorite mystery authors, and her publisher, Bookouture, always publishes the very best novels. I have read all of her books…and she keeps getting better. I don’t want this series to end!

It was so refreshing to touch base with Kim’s CID team again: DS Bryant, DS Penn, and DC Stacey Wood. Her team are driven and compassionate in their work. The characters keep getting stronger and stronger. We also touch base with Kim’s boss, DCI Woodward (Woody), Keats, the local pathologist, and Tiff Vera, in training for CID and currently working with Penn on a case…and who could forget Kim’s faithful dog, Barney. Love that dog!

This novel explores the world of child pageantry and their controlling mothers.

Detective Kim Stone and her colleague, DS Bryant are called to a crime scene, by the local pathologist, Keats. The victim, forty-eight-year-old Sheryl Hawne had been brutally murdered in her suburban home, with multiple stab wounds and a flipper forced down her throat. Her twenty-five-year-old daughter, Katie was found at the scene clutching the murder weapon and was taken into custody. Katie was in shock and was unable to be questioned.

After further investigation, the Kim learns that Katie participated in beauty pageants as a child.

But then there was a second victim, forty-seven-year-old Andrea Shaw who was also violently stabbed multiple times in her home, with a broken tiara forced down her throat. Her twenty-two-year-old daughter, Toyah had been out at the time. The second victim also entered her daughter in pageants.

And with Katie safely locked up, she cannot be the killer.

Then a third victim, Sally-Ann Davis, married had been found stabbed twice in the back while out in the open, and an object had been forced down her throat. She had a twenty-six-year-old daughter, Lottie, who also had been in pageants.

But what was the connection between all three victims? Kim and her team must discover the truth before there is another victim.

This was a fast-paced crime thriller, with relatable characters, and short chapters that kept the suspense level high. The book ends with a reveal you will never see coming. Another brilliant read that gripped you from beginning to the end. Another winner!

My thanks to the author, Bookouture and Netgalley for my digital copy.

Alright y'all i love me some Kim stone! I've read almost all of them and I love her 😭 I'm literally still freaking out that I got an arc!

This one was all about the pageants , kids pageants and the show moms. I personally can't stand this stuff but my opinion doesn't really matter.

When it comes to moms and trauma this book takes the cake. I loved the way you got to see how the case affects each of the investigators based on their life experiences and their own trauma.

I don't think this is totally my favorite one of the Kim stone novels but I definitely enjoyed it! I cannot wait for the next one!

Every single book in this series is a corker, this was no exception, I spend half my time reading holding my breath, fast paced and well written story, brilliant addition.

A very enjoyable read. We delve into many brave but strangely fascinating worlds. The relationship between mother and child is deeply explored and the ways in which this can go wrong with high expectations from both sides. There is also a trip into the intense and competitive world of pageants for young girls and the dedication and unnatural lengths some will go to when competing or living the process vicariously through a child. There are also some dark scenes of coercive control and domestic abuse and this is all before we mention the murders…..
The plot unravels at an intriguing and compelling pace with plenty of twists and turns and sub plots to keep me thoroughly enthralled. I was engaged with the main detective character and she was very likeable which always helps too. I have enjoyed previous books by this author and certainly wasn’t disappointed this time. I’m off to polish my tiara and to find a new read that remotely lives up to this one. Recommend.

Guilty Mothers is book 20 in the DI Kim Stone series from Angela Marsons.

“Several suspicious deaths cause Kim and her team to look closely at the pageant world. Someone is killing pageant moms - ones that went too far in pushing their young daughters to compete. But no one deserves that. Kim and her team must work to find the killer quickly.”

Marsons will often center a motive around a topic - here it’s pageant moms. (Stage moms, tiger moms) She veers close at times to over-explaining. The newest character, Tiff, shows up more in this story. And Stone has to deal with her own Mommy issues. Another good crime fiction story from Marsons.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture and Angela Marsons for allowing me to read the ARC of "Guilty Mothers" in exchange for an honest review.


I can't believe that I only NOW learn about Angela Marsons, on the 20th book of the Detective Kim Stone series. This is outragous and I plan to redeem myself as soon as possible, because I just need more from her. Her being Kim Stone and her team as well as Angela Marsons.

Anyway, let us focus on the review of this book in particular.

The case starts off simple at first, a dead mother and a daughter who seems to have taken her own mothers life. Quickly however, we discover that this is not the case at all and Kim Stone and her team are diving into the world of Beauty pageant for children, which happens to be a lions den behind the shiny and glamourous facade. Now it is on Kim Stone and her team to uncover whether this is the revenge of traumatised daughters who never recovered from their time at those pageants or something else entirely. After all, many have a reason, because as already mentioned, behind the scenes it was a bloodbath, figuratively speaking. (It has only later become one literally.)

HOWEVER, as exciting, as captivating and mind blowing the case of the death mothers was, what caught my attention moreso was the case of Olivia, a grieving mother and her son Logan, who seems to be ever so protective and caring about his mother when the news is broken about the death of Olivia's boyfriend. But is he really as caring and protective? Well, that is for the reader to find out, but let me tell you, nothing is as it seems.

I just DEVOURED this. 10/10 if you love thriller would recommend.

Will this author ever run out of ideas? I highly doubt it!!
This is yet another fabulously gripping instalment to the Kim Stone series which covers the dark side of Pageants.
I will never tire of raving about these books as they are just so addictive and I just love getting back involved with the whole team!

Absolutely fascinating crime thriller around the theme of mothers.
This is a multifaceted investigation that focuses on maternal relationships and is very thought provoking. The added dimension of the pageant is intriguing and somehow Marsons manages to keep the reader off balance as our sympathies sway from character to character.
Tense, brooding, thought provoking and compelling

Another brilliant entry to the series. A thoughtful look at the impact of beauty pageants and the different relationships between mother and daughter. I couldn't put this one down, fantastic! Lots of twists too, loved it.

I can't believe this series is on book 20 already and the plots haven't become stale! Each one could probably be read as standalone since enough background is given. There were plenty of twists so I was unable to pinpoint who I thought the killer was, but Kim and her team solved the case. In my opinion, a great read (I read it in one sitting)

Great book from beginning to end. Detective Kim Stone and her fellow work colleagues have their work cut out when women keep being found brutally murdered. They soon find a link between them all but not the motive.
There are so many twists to this book to keep you guessing right up to the end. I have read other books from this author and each one is great.

Angela Marsons never fails to deliver a compelling storyline, and, look, I'm from the Black Country, so the fact that this novel starts off with a murder in my home town hooked me immediately. Say what you want about 'quality of writing', but what Marsons never skimps on is plot, meticulous research and compelling theme. The theme of this one being beauty pageants - which, come on, is a thrilling concept to spring a story from. It confounds me how Marsons can keep delivering the goods like this. If you love a twisty plot and realistic characters, you won't be disappointed. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the privilege of an early read.

I cannot even believe it but this is the twentieth installment in the series, how impressive is that? What’s even more impressive is that this still felt as fresh and exciting as book one did, there is nothing formulaic or repetitive here and is the reason I have stuck with the series so long. I’ll continue to do so as long as the author keeps writing, Kim and team may as well be part of my family at this point and I never tire of reading what they’re up to. I always get asked if you can jump into the series late and technically yes, you can and would be fine because each book follows a new case. But in this instance the twenty book commitment is well worth it so I say start at the beginning, enjoy the ride and thank me later!

The team is tasked with not one, but two cases simultaneously here, someone is hunting down the mothers of former beauty pageant contestants and brutally murdering them and there’s a side case involving a long dead body found in a fishing lake. So no shortage of excitement here, I have always thought child beauty pageants are both fascinating and slightly creepy so that angle interested me greatly. It focused heavily on the relationship between mothers and daughters and if you’re caught up on the series then you already know about Kim’s complex relationship with her own mother so the parallels and introspection Kim had while working this case was highly engaging. I love how the author always lays the groundwork where you could, plausibly solve the case as you read but I never quite get there before Kim and the team crack it wide open themselves. It’s so fun to look back after I finish and think, oh I see what you did there, the breadcrumbs were all strewn about I just didn’t figure it out. Per usual this was fast paced, gripping and exciting with plenty of dark and disturbing reveals that were balanced by snarky comments and banter between Kim and her team. There are always moments of levity in these books and it is executed so well. Another winner, the author never misses for me and continues to write some of my very favorite crime fiction out there.

⭐️⭐️ 2 stars sorry:

I have read every Kim Stone book and most have been four or five stars - the odd three stars. But never have I ever given two stars.

I just didn’t gel with this book at all. It lacked the usual zing between Kim and her team, it had a weird talent show thread that Woody was apparently keen on, but most of all, it was like it was written in American using as much American slang and terms as possible. Which would be fine if this was the norm but it was a total departure from previous books!

There were American phrases not used by Brummies ata ll and every mum was Mom. It just read really odd.

The pageant storyline didn’t grab me and I had no interest in who died next or who did it.

Lastly, Stacey really needs to go. Even with her own storyline in a previous book, she’s so dull. Move her out and bring in Tiff.

PS. What had happened to Penn’s girlfriend?!

Loved this book, and read it in one sitting I was so engrossed. What a very interesting storyline about child pageants and the psychological damage that they can do, which I genuinely believe must have some truth behind it.I am in awe of anyone who can construct a web of murder, abuse, and abduction, and produce it into a novel. I love the main characters who form Kim Stones team. Not sure but is Kim mellowing?!!

I’ve read all of Angela Marsons’ Detective Kim Stone series so was very pleased to receive this review copy of her latest which I discovered was set in the world of child beauty pageants and examined relationships between mothers and daughters, a difficult subject for Kim whose own mother neglected and mistreated her as a child.
When a woman is discovered brutally stabbed to death with her daughter present at the scene of the crime, it seems an obvious quick solve case but gradually it becomes apparent that the daughter might not be the guilty party.
Very soon the team discovers a link to beauty pageants- a room full of costumes and trophies in the house. However the relationship between the deceased and her daughter does not seem to be straight forward. As Kim and the other detectives look into the beauty contests, it becomes clear that it is a competitive and sometimes toxic world with mothers and daughters often not seeing eye to eye. The children are pushed to behave in a certain way, mainly by their Mums and it does not always work out well when they grow up. As more murders occur it is a race against time to catch the perpetrator. I must add here that the author has done so much research into the child beauty pageant world!
There is also another plot line about a man found drowned in a fishing lake 2 years after being reported missing by his girlfriend which leads 2 of the team to Logan and his mother Olivia. This is another difficult relationship but in a completely different way. Coercive control and intimidation are words that spring to mind.
I really liked the way the two stories came together, sharing a similar familial theme. There was not too much about the personal lives of the detectives in this book, it was more about the murders but after the previous novel which focused on Stacey, this did not matter at all.
I enjoyed trying to work out who the culprit was and to be sure I did not guess as there were so many possibilities.
As ever this was a compelling read, a book which I found hard to put down which is always a good sign.
I definitely recommend this and the whole series to crime thriller fans and have no hesitation in giving it five stars.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance copy.