Building to a breath-holding, heart-pounding, race-against-time climax, Dying Truth is installment eight of the Detective Inspector Kim Stone crime thriller series, written by Angela Marsons. Dying Truth opens with an action-packed prologue that foreshadows its denouement. The remainder of the novel counts down toward its life-or-death-hanging-in-the-balance-finish!

Along the way is a layered, complex exploration of coming-of-age themes that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt that they didn't "belong" at any time in their lives. This reader was particularly struck by DI Stone's fierce loyalty to her squad, and to the well-being of the school's children, and by Detective Sergeant Kevin Dawson's tender empathy for, and defense of, one tormented and bullied student who, we learn, reminds Dawson of himself and his own struggles around that age.

Dying Truth involves the dark, gothic happenings at a coed, boarding school called Heathcrest Academy, located in the Black Country region of England. Teenagers are dying at the school. Is it a result of the pressure to achieve and to conform placed upon these young people by parents and teachers who also attended the school, and for many of whom Heathcrest is an elite symbol of social prestige? Or does it have anything to do with the sinister, cloak and dagger societies, founded in 1949, that meet secretly by candelabra in the base of the school's old bell tower?

While Dying Truth does contain some spoilers for earlier installments, it is a testament to Ms. Marson's talent that a reader new to the series becomes so emotionally invested in the characters of DI Stone and her team within the course of just this novel, that it is like a gut punch when any one of them is put in harm's way.

Dying Truth by Angela Marsons is a not-to-be-missed installment of this always emotionally impactful, thrilling, and recommended British police procedural series!

Best for Crime Fiction Readers:

• Who enjoy reading crime fiction that opens with action and suspense that pulls the reader immediately into the story.
• Who appreciate crime fiction and mysteries with relatively short chapters, sometimes with "mini-cliffhangers", that encourage flipping the pages, and reading "just one more chapter".
• Who appreciate crime fiction and mysteries set in British boarding schools, which often lend a gothic atmosphere to the plot.
• Who are interested in coming-of-age themes, and stories exploring the lives of adolescents.
• Who enjoy British police procedurals.
• Who enjoy British crime thrillers.

Pages: 399 (e-book)

Publisher's Blurb:

How far would you go to protect your darkest secrets? 

When teenager Sadie Winter jumps from the roof of her school, her death is ruled as suicide – a final devastating act from a troubled girl. But then the broken body of a young boy is discovered at the same school and it’s clear to Detective Kim Stone that these deaths are not tragic accidents. 

As Kim and her team begin to unravel a dark web of secrets, one of the teachers could hold the key to the truth. Yet just as she is about to break her silence, she is found dead. 

With more children’s lives at risk, Kim has to consider the unthinkable - whether a fellow pupil could be responsible for the murders. Investigating the psychology of children that kill brings the detective into contact with her former adversary, Dr Alex Thorne – the sociopath who has made it her life’s work to destroy Kim. 

Desperate to catch the killer, Kim finds a link between the recent murders and an initiation prank that happened at the school decades earlier. But saving these innocent lives comes at a cost – and one of Kim’s own might pay the ultimate price. 
 

MINM Overall Rating: 4.75/5

Angela Marsons first appeared on the crime fiction scene in February 2015 with her Kim Stone series debut: Silent Scream. Since then, she has published a total of eight, thrilling police procedural installments (with a current contract to write eight more!), all with Bookouture, a British publisher of e-books. Have you read any (or all) of the books in this series? If so, which is your favorite?

Mystery in Minutes would love to hear from you!