Published by Bookouture Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, suspense, thriller
Format: ARC, eBook
Angela Marsons delivers yet again (seriously, when doesn’t she deliver?) with Guilty Mothers, the 20th book in the DI Kim Stone series!!!!! As with the other books in the series, this book was gripping, thought provoking, shocking and hard to put down. This series is a MUST read for me. I love the camaraderie between Kim and her team, their banter, their humor, their detective work, the cases they investigate, and Angela Marson’s wonderful writing. Plus, the character development that has occurred in this series has been wonderful to read. I enjoy the balance between the characters’ personal lives and their detective work. Having said that, this book is mainly focused on the case(s) Kim and her team are investigating.
Things aren’t always pretty in the world of beauty pageants. The focus to be perfect, to stand right, to walk right, to weigh the right amount…. For some it is a fun experience, for others it is a highly competitive and brutal experience. In Guilty Mothers, the Stage Moms/mothers of former child pageant contestants are being murdered. As Kim and her team begin to investigate, they learn that walking on the stage was not always a walk in the park for the child pageant contestants.
I always found child beauty pageants to be icky and creepy: putting make up on children, parading them around in high heels and wearing not always childlike costumes. This book shows the mother’s drive to have their daughters win, the focus on being perfect, the impossible beauty standards, and having to be judged. There is a lot of food for thought in this alone.
In another case, a man’s body has been found in a fishing lake. Did he fall in, how did he die? He has been reported missing and when Tiff visits the woman who reported him missing to inform her of his death, she gets an uneasy feeling about the woman’s son…
The book has many themes, the main one being about Mothers/Motherhood and the relationships between mothers and their children. Readers of the series are aware of the relationship that Kim had with her mother as a child and see the relationships that the characters in this book have/had with their mothers. This book also touches on competition, relationships, trauma, jealousy, abuse, and loss.
There was a nice amount of tension, twists, and reveals in this book which had me turning the page and wanting more. There is a lot going on in this book and Kim and her team are kept very busy as they investigate whodunit. They will have their hands full but will not be deterred.
Gripping, shocking, thought provoking and hard to put down!
Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
