(4 / 5)
Evil Games is the second book in the Kim Stone series by Angela Marsons. Admittedly the first in the series was not my favourite book. Don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy it – I read it before I started blogging my reviews so I actually can’t remember what it was about it that didn’t totally grab me. It seemed to grab the majority of my reading buddies who rated it extremely highly. I wasn’t against reading the sequel, but it wasn’t on my list of priorities. However when I kept seeing phenomenal reviews for this and the third instalment “Lost Girls”, it sparked my interest again. When a few trusted book friends suggested that I give Kim Stone another shot, they convinced me. And I’m extremely glad they did!
Detective Inspector Kim Stone is back in this fabulous psychological thriller. Stone investigates the murder of a convicted rapist. Something doesn’t quite add up when they find the perpetrator, and trusting her instincts, Kim investigates deeper and gets more than she bargained for when she is faced with an extremely intelligent and difficult adversary, who is manipulating mentally vulnerable people to do their bidding.
I am really enjoying the depth of Kim’s character. Gradually we are learning more and more about why she is the way she is. Her childhood is explained in a lot of detail in this book and we begin to understand the horrors of her past. I’m extremely glad I read the second book before the third one, even though I have heard it is great as a stand alone. I also enjoy her interactions with other characters. I remember one of the things I didn’t like about the first book was the lack of… I was going to say “romance” but that’s not the word I am looking for, I guess tension or chemistry with Kim. There was a female teacher in the first one and someone else if I remember correctly, and in this one there was a glimmer of attraction with David, but I just felt it wasn’t enough. I understand why though. Her character is MAJORLY damaged… Sorting out her life comes before a roll in the hay – I understand that, but still I am hoping that the third book will focus a bit on her attempting a not so platonic relationship with another human being. I always enjoy a bit of chemistry/tension in thrillers, even if it doesn’t end well.
I really enjoyed the psychological aspect of this book. What a character Alex was! Loved to loathe her! It was refreshing and original to read of events from her perspective… Her skewed view of the world. And I really enjoyed the mind games and the extent that she would go to, to get her way. I have read characters like hers before, in other books by other authors, but I didn’t enjoy them half as much as I enjoyed Alex.
There is some subject matter that is disturbing, but there are no overly graphic scenes. So this book will appeal to any thriller fans, even the ones who don’t like too much violence and just enjoy a good story!
As like the first one, Marsons writing is impeccable. Easy and so much fun to read. There are not too many characters, but there are just enough to make it difficult to guess who the bad guy is at the end. I was glued to this book from beginning to end and I am really looking forward to the next one! I have Lost Girls on my kindle ready to go! 🙂
Would I recommend it?
Absolutely! Marsons is emerging as one hell of a thriller writer!
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