Kim had read her statement a few times. It was accurate, factual and bore no hint of the emotion behind it. Tiffany was a professional and Kim respected that.
‘So, how are you doing?’
‘I’m fine, boss. Eager to get back to work.’
A little too bright and a little too quick.
‘Yeah, Tink, thanks for the answer you think I want, but now I’d like the truth.’
‘I feel like I let you down,’ she blurted out and then looked away. That wasn’t what Kim had been expecting.
‘You know what, Tink, I feel the same way.’
Tiffany’s eyes opened wide. ‘But I didn’t get anything on the cult. I didn’t uncover anything that…’
‘Tink, you were with the murderer the whole time and I put you there,’ Kim said.
Tiff opened her mouth, but Kim held up her hand.
‘No, listen. I allowed, no persuaded, you to enter into a situation that I didn’t know enough about. I threw you into the face of danger because I was uninformed and ignorant to the kind of damage these places can do. I sent you in there and for that I’m sorry.’
‘But I wanted to help. I was flattered that you asked me, and I’m fine, I didn’t get hurt and now life can go back to normal.’
Not quite, Kim thought, folding her arms.
‘So, what kind of stuff did Jake say to you?’ she asked.
‘Aah, it was all just bullshit,’ she said, looking away.
‘All of it?’ Kim probed.
‘Yeah, yeah, I didn’t listen…’
‘Tink, I’ve been honest with you and I’d appreciate the same courtesy in return.’
Tiffany took a deep breath.
‘He told me that it wasn’t my fault that my mother favours my brothers over me. It wasn’t my fault that she loves them more.’
‘And does she?’
‘Well, Ryan’s in the box room instead of me,’ she said, with a half-smile.
Kim frowned having no idea what that meant. ‘Is that important?’
‘Yes, it kind of is.’
‘So, you listened to him? Jake got you to take notice of everything he said?’ Kim asked.
‘I suppose so. He did seem to know…’
‘He seems to know that targeting family relationships is the quickest way to emotional vulnerability. It’s his favourite party trick.’
Tiff looked surprised.
‘But how did he reel you in, Tink?’
‘I think from the second you’re involved you feel important. They make you feel loved, wanted. They make you feel that everything you say is valued, that they want you. They make you feel like you matter.’
‘You always mattered to us, you know,’ Kim said, gently.
Tiffany swallowed, hard. ‘I know and I think I felt that. It kept me grounded. I knew why I was there and I think that stopped me falling over the edge. It would have been so easy.’
Kim tried to push down the guilt that rose in her stomach.
Unwittingly she had put this girl in danger both physically and psychologically. Tiffany’s eagerness to help had blinded her to the dangers to herself.
Tiffany may only have been at Unity Farm for a couple of days but the impact was something that even the girl herself wouldn’t understand.
And Kim wasn’t going to let her down twice.
The shadow of Kane Drummond loomed in the doorway.
‘Tink, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
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Books by Angela Marsons
Detective Kim Stone prequel
FIRST BLOOD
Detective Kim Stone series
1. SILENT SCREAM
2. EVIL GAMES
3. LOST GIRLS
4. PLAY DEAD
5. BLOOD LINES
6. DEAD SOULS
7. BROKEN BONES
8. DYING TRUTH
9. FATAL PROMISE
10. DEAD MEMORIES
11. CHILD’S PLAY
12. KILLING MIND
Other Books
DEAR MOTHER
THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN
Available in audio
Detective Kim Stone prequel
FIRST BLOOD (Available in the UK and the US)
Detective Kim Stone series
1. SILENT SCREAM (Available in the UK and the US)
2. EVIL GAMES (Available in the UK and the US)
3. LOST GIRLS (Available in the UK and the US)
4. PLAY DEAD (Available in the UK and the US)
5. BLOOD LINES (Available in the UK and the US)
6. DEAD SOULS (Available in the UK and the US)
7. BROKEN BONES (Available in the UK and the US)
8. DYING TRUTH (Available in the UK and the US)
9. FATAL PROMISE (Available in the UK and the US)
10. DEAD MEMORIES (Available in the UK and the US)
11. CHILD’S PLAY (Available in the UK and the US)
Other Books
DEAR MOTHER (Available in the UK and the US)
THE FORGOTTEN WOMAN (Available in the UK and the US)
A Letter from Angela
First of all, I want to say a huge thank you for choosing to read Killing Mind, the twelfth instalment of the Kim Stone series and to many of you for sticking with Kim Stone and her team since the very beginning. And if you’d like to keep up to date with all my latest releases, just sign up at the website link below.
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I’ve been interested in cult psychology for many years and have read many books and personal accounts. Like most people I always felt there was some kind of aggressive, physical method of brain-washing innocent, naïve individuals into a totally different way of thinking. The more I read the more I learned and understood that the expertise lies in persuasion and manipulation and that we are all subject to subtle forms in our everyday life.
In Killing Mind I wanted to explore the tools used by cults to remove people from their everyday lives, friends and family and also to look at the challenges in trying to bring those people back to what they were before.
My research covered many of the well-known cults and sects both in the past and in operation today but it became increasingly clear that these groups always dress up as something else to lure unsuspecting victims into their ideology. They are more common place than we imagine.
As ever the normal team were present as well as a character that seems to have won over both the team and readers (and me too). I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you did enjoy it, I would be forever grateful if you’d write a review. I’d love to hear what you think, and it can also help other readers discover one of my books for the first time. Or maybe you can recommend it to your friends and family…
I’d love to hear from you – so please get in touch on my Facebook or Goodreads page, twitter or through my website.
Thank you so much for your support, it is hugely appreciated.
Angela Marsons
www.angelamarsons-books.com
FIRST BLOOD
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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 area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her new squad rush to the crime scene.
Searching the victim’s home, Kim discovers a little girl’s bedroom and a hidden laptop. Why
is his sister relieved to hear he’s dead – and where is the rest of his family?
As Kim begins to unearth the dark secrets at the heart of the case, D.C. Stacey Wood finds a disturbing resemblance to the recent murder of Lester Jackson. But that’s not all Stacey finds…
She’s convinced there is a link between the victims and a women’s shelter run by Marianne Forbes, Lester’s niece. A child of the care system herself, Kim knows all too well what it means to be vulnerable. Could Marianne 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…
Discover where it all began for Kim and her team. An absolutely heart-stopping mystery thriller that will keep you glued to the pages, reading late into the night. Perfect for Kim Stone fans and new readers to the million-copy bestselling series.
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SILENT SCREAM
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 1
#1 BESTSELLER
Even the darkest secrets can’t stay buried forever…
Five figures gather round a shallow grave. They had all taken turns to dig. An adult-sized hole would have taken longer. An innocent life had been taken but the pact had been made. Their secrets would be buried, bound in blood …
Years later, a headmistress is found brutally strangled, the first in a spate of gruesome murders which shock the Black Country.
But when human remains are discovered at a former children’s home, disturbing secrets are also unearthed. D.I. Kim Stone fast realises she’s on the hunt for a twisted individual whose killing spree spans decades.
As the body count rises, Kim needs to stop the murderer before they strike again. But to catch the killer, can Kim confront the demons of her own past before it’s too late?
Fans of Rachel Abbott, Val McDermid and Mark Billingham will be gripped by this exceptional new voice in British crime fiction.
SILENT SCREAM IS OUT NOW
EVIL GAMES
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 2
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The greater the Evil, the more deadly the game…
When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal attack, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But, as more vengeful killings come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone far more sinister at work.
With the investigation quickly gathering momentum, Kim finds herself exposed to great danger and in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment.
Up against a sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time - it’s personal.
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LOST GIRLS
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 3
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Two girls go missing. Only one will return.
The couple that offers the highest amount will see their daughter again. The losing couple will not. Make no mistake. One child will die.
When nine-year-old best friends Charlie and Amy disappear, two families are plunged into a living nightmare. A text message confirms the unthinkable; that the girls are the victims of a terrifying kidnapping.
And when a second text message pits the two families against each other for the life of their children, the clock starts ticking for D.I. Kim Stone and the squad.
Seemingly outwitted at every turn, as they uncover a trail of bodies, Stone realises that these ruthless killers might be the most deadly she has ever faced. And that their chances of bringing the girls home alive, are getting smaller by the hour…
Untangling a dark web of secrets from the families’ past might hold the key to solving this case. But can Kim stay alive long enough to do so? Or will someone’s child pay the ultimate price?
The latest utterly addictive thriller from the No.1 bestseller Angela Marsons.
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PLAY DEAD
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 4
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The dead don’t tell secrets… unless you listen.
The girl’s smashed-in face stared unseeing up to the blue sky, soil spilling out of her mouth. A hundred flies hovered above the bloodied mess.
Westerley research facility is not for the faint-hearted. A ‘body farm’ investigating human decomposition, its inhabitants are corpses in various states of decay. But when Detective Kim Stone and her team discover the fresh body of a young woman, it seems a killer has discovered the perfect cover to bury their crime.
Then a second girl is attacked and left for dead, her body drugged and mouth filled with soil. It’s clear to Stone and the team that a serial killer is at work – but just how many bodies will they uncover? And who is next?
As local reporter, Tracy Frost, disappears, the stakes are raised. The past seems to hold the key to the killer’s secrets – but can Kim uncover the truth before a twisted, damaged mind claims another victim…?
The latest utterly addictive thriller from the No.1 bestseller Angela Marsons.
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BLOOD LINES
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 5
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How do you catch a killer who leaves no trace?
A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. A caring, upstanding social worker lost to a senseless act of violence. But for Detective Kim Stone, something doesn’t add up.
When a local drug addict is found murdered with an identical wound, Kim knows instinctively that she is dealing with the same killer. But with nothing to link the two victims except the cold, calculated nature of their death, this could be her most difficult case yet.
Desperate to catch the twisted individual, Kim’s focus on the case is threatened when she receives a chilling letter from Dr Alex Thorne, the sociopath who Kim put behind bars. And this time, Alex is determined to hit where it hurts most, bringing Kim face-to-face with the woman responsible for the death of Kim’s little brother – her own mother.
As the body count increases, Kim and her team unravel a web of dark secrets, bringing them closer to the killer. But one of their own could be in mortal danger. Only this time, Kim might not be strong enough to save them…
A totally gripping thriller that will have you hooked from the very first page to the final, dramatic twist.
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DEAD SOULS
Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Series Book 6
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The truth was dead and buried… until now.
When a collection of human bones is unearthed during a routine archaeological dig, a Black Country field suddenly becomes a complex crime scene for Detective Kim Stone.
As the bones are sorted, it becomes clear that the grave contains more than one victim. The bodies hint at unimaginable horror, bearing the markings of bullet holes and animal traps.
Forced to work alongside Detective Travis, with whom she shares a troubled past, Kim begins to uncover a dark secretive relationship between the families who own the land in which the bodies were found.
But while Kim is immersed in one of the most complicated investigations she’s ever led, her team are caught up in a spate of sickening hate crimes. Kim is close to revealing the truth behind the murders, yet soon finds one of her own is in jeopardy - and the clock is ticking. Can she solve the case and save them from grave danger – before it’s too late?
An addictive, sin
ister crime thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seat.
Killing Mind: An addictive and nail-biting crime thriller (Detective Kim Stone Crime Thriller Book 12) Page 29