Review of "Dying Truth: A D.I. Kim Stone Mystery" by Angela Marsons

In this eighth addition to the 'Kim Stone' series, Detective Inspector Kim Stone and her team, who work in the West Midlands region of England, investigate suspicious deaths at a prestigious boarding school. The book can be read as a standalone, but familiarity with the characters is advantageous.

*****

When DI Kim Stone and DS Bryant get a call in their car saying a girl is about to jump from the roof of the elite Heathcrest Academy, the detectives rush to the school.



They're too late, though, and the dead, broken body of 13-year-old Sadie Winter is on the ground. People are calling it suicide, but DI Stone's sharp eye - and an autopsy - reveal that Sadie was murdered.



Kim and her team interview Sadie's family, roommate, fellow students, and teachers. They learn that Sadie was a quiet girl who kept to herself and had no friends.....and no enemies. When DS Kevin Dawson asks several students if Sadie was bullied, he's repeatedly told that NO ONE would bully Sadie. Digging into this further, Dawson squeezes out the fact that Sadie's older sister, Saffron, is the 'Queen of Hearts' in a clandestine Heathcrest club, so no one would dare hassle Sadie.



Dawson, who has vivid memories of being the bullied 'fat kid' at school, is intrigued by these 'secret clubs' and investigates them further. It turns out that the clubs are very selective, have initiation rites that amount to hazing, and expect total loyalty reminiscent of the Mafia's Omertà - "a code of silence about criminal activity and a refusal to give evidence to authorities."

Sadie's death is the beginning of a crime spree at Heathcrest, and students as well as faculty are targets. Kim wants the school closed and the pupils sent home. However, the head of the institution, Principal Thorpe - who's main concern is the school's reputation - refuses to close the doors. Moreover, Thorpe is uncooperative with the police. He assigns the detectives a dim, dusty storeroom for their interviews.....and Kim's 'remedy' for this is priceless. 😊



Given the nature of the crimes, Kim has to consider both children and adults as potential suspects. To probe the possibility of a child killer - which she finds very troubling - Kim asks the opinions of her colleagues; the coroner; her police mentor; and even Dr. Alex Thorne - the imprisoned sociopath who tried to ruin Kim's life.



As Kim and her squad pursue their inquiries, they learn that Heathcrest has a dark history, and past events hold clues to the school's present difficulties.

In a side plot, Kim has to write up the yearly appraisals for the cops on her team. To accomplish this, Kim has a brief meeting with each of her detectives - DS Bryant, DC Stacey Wood, and DS Kevin Dawson - and it's interesting to observe Kim's thumbnail sketches of their professional strengths and weaknesses.



I was caught up in the story's suspense, and intently followed all the detective work in an attempt to guess who the murderer was. I didn't figure it out....so well done Angela Marsons.

That said, I didn't completely love the book. To me, Heathcrest Academy was such a venal, unconscionable institution that I couldn't suspend disbelief. If a school really allowed the behavior that was prevalent there for decades - with no consequences for wrongdoers - social media would explode. There would be an investigation, parents would boycott the school, and Heathcrest would go bankrupt (IMO). Some of the students were SO entitled, they were openly rude and snide when the police questioned them. To me, this behavior just isn't believable.



Since the 'school atmosphere' underlies the book's plot, it reduced my enjoyment of the story.

Still, this is a well-wrought mystery and a laudable addition to the series. Recommended to mystery fans.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Angela Marsons), and the publisher (Bookouture) for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars