Bad Blood by Angela Marsons

Bad Blood by Angela Marsons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 4 days

Pages - 368

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Bought (ebook and treebook)

Blurb from Goodreads

The victim is lying under the trees, arms lifted above his head, unnaturally still. His muscles are slack. His eyes are empty. There are no signs of life. But he is not quite dead…

When Detective Kim Stone races to the crime scene, there is no body waiting for the paramedics are desperately trying to save the victim’s life. But there is something very strange about the way the man was found, his arms raised above his head, his legs spread apart. When he dies on the way to the hospital, Kim is certain she’s on the hunt for a killer… but all evidence at the scene has been destroyed.

The dead man, Eric Gould , seems ordinary, until the team dig into his past. As a teenager, he was locked away for attacking his girlfriend, and Kim suspects he was hurting his fiancé now. Was someone trying to stop history repeating?

Then another man is found on the verge of death, his bones broken to force him into an unnatural shape. The team realise the killer is sending a message – the victims’ bodies are spelling out their sins. As boys, they were both part of a group of six who bragged about their terrible crimes. But they were children then, and when she sees the grief on the faces of their loved ones now, Kim swears to find answers.

Is someone finally getting revenge… or do they think these men are still dangerous? The killer is threatening to strike again, and the only way Kim can crack the case is by tracking down the rest of the six first.

But then a revelation about what one of her team is suffering makes Kim understand why people take the law into their own hands. Do these victims deserve what’s coming to them? Or is there even more to fear from their brutal killer?

Unputdownable from start to finish, Bad Blood is a brilliantly gripping crime thriller with a reveal you’ll never see coming. Fans of Karin Slaughter, Robert Dugoni and Val McDermid will love the latest compulsive read from multi-million-copy bestseller Angela Marsons.

Can be read as a standalone.


My Review

Guys this is book nineteen in the series and normally I would say you can read as a standalone or start here BUT I would absolutely advise reading the others. One because it is a great series but if you don't want to go back that far at least read book eighteen first as there is a central storyline in this one that I feel hits more with the context/background of the previous book. A victim has been found under a tree, no signs of life, Stone is called down. A shock turn of events has no body waiting for Stone and the start of some nasty bodies popping up. From the previous book we see Stacey struggling with her stalker, trying to deal with it alone as she hasn't told anyone what is happening. With a team as small and tight as Stone's nothing remains a secret for too long and Stacey's secret has huge impact on all of the team.

I do love the Stone series, the team is such a great bunch and I love how Bryant is the Ying to Stones Yang. The investigation into the almost dead victims, why would someone do this and what are they trying to say with each body/victim. We see Stone go tonto when she discovers what has been happening to Stacey and the impact it now has not only on Stacey but the team and an investigation.

Kim is like the maw of the group and Bryant the dad I would say we see this more in this book. The usual police investigation parts with relationships, danger and shady individuals. Despite this being book nineteen Stone manages to keep the writing and plots fresh and pulling you in from the opening chapter, 4/5.

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Bad Blood by Julie Shaw Blog Tour

Today is my turn on the Blog Tour for Bad Blood by Julie Shaw, her newest novel which is now available to buy in paperback or kindle edition.





I have had the pleasure of reading this book already, you can read my review here.







Welcome Julie, thanks for stopping by and taking the time out to answer some questions for us.



1. Hi Julie, welcome to So Many Books So Little Time. This is your first Blog Tour if I am correct, how are you finding it?

I am really enjoying it. It’s especially interesting to answer the numerous questions I have been asked as it gets me really thinking about why I write the things I do.


2. I have read one of your books before Bad Blood, your settings are always in lower class gritty scheme settings, what draws you to these and do you think you will ever branch out from them?

I was actually brought up in very similar circumstances to a lot of my characters. By that I mean on the same estates, had very similar friends, and had family members who lived through very difficult circumstances. Since being very young I have tried my hand at all genres, and many different styles of writing, but I’m much more comfortable writing about the grittier, seedier side of life. Will I branch out? Maybe, I don’t know at the moment, but what I do know is that I feel much happier writing about the tougher side of life.


3. The character Lizzie, page 30 had me horrified, without spoiling it for others, how did you manage to come up with her and that scene? Creative genius or tapping into a true event?

Oh dear, unfortunately I have known many Lizzie’s in my time. Her character is an amalgamation of quite a few women I knew over the years. That scene was also easy to write as that was very definitely a true scenario, believe it or not.


4. Who inspires you to write?

Lots of people actually. As a child I would lose myself in any books I could get my hands. A story took me away from everything and I could be anyone and anywhere I wanted to be. If I had to choose an early writer that made me think ‘yes! I want to do this!’ then it would have to be Enid Blyton – I thought she was simply incredible. These days however, my hero is Kimberley Chambers. Her characters are so bad, I just love them! Now she really does tell it like it is!


5. What are your three top favourite books of all time?

I hate this question J I have so many that I love and I always feel horribly guilty about the ones I don’t mention. Also, my answer may surprise you. Okay, so the number one spot has to go to Mr Shakespeare himself with Romeo and Juliet. My first ever tragic love story. I was blown away by it. The number two spot would go to Roots by Alex Haley – another book that helped form my opinion on the world, and last but not least, They Put Me Inside by Tony Grestone – a book I read as a young teenager that really did change me.



6. What is next for Julie Shaw? Do you have another book in the process already?

I have just handed in Blood Sisters, which I’m sure you’ll like if you enjoyed Bad Blood, and I am just about to start writing a sequel to Bad Blood in fact. We don’t have a definite title for it yet, but I’m hoping it will be Sins of the Father. Watch this space J


7. Where can fans find you?

Facebook is simply Julie Shaw, though I also have a page especially relating to my books, and that is Canterbury Warriors. My Twitter is @jueshaw


8. Anything else you would like to add or tell readers about yourself?

I think I have gone on for long enough lol, but I do really appreciate all of my readers and particularly you fantastic bloggers who spread the word. Thanks again J xx



And up for grabs is 1 paperback pre-loved copy of Bad Blood, as always, use the Rafflecopter below to enter, this giveaway will run for 1 week.

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Bad Blood by Julie Shaw

Bad Blood by Julie Shaw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Harper Element

Pages - 336

Blurb from Goodreads

It’s 1981 and seventeen-year-old Christine is about to give birth to her son. When her family throw her out, Christine has the biggest fight of her life to bring up her son safe on the infamous Canterbury Estate in Bradford, rife with crime, alcohol and drugs, a place where family is everything and nothing.


It's Friday evening on the Canterbury Estate in Bradford and Christine, who's been rushed to hospital by her friend, Josie, is on the maternity ward giving birth. She's 17 and terrified. Not just of the pain, which is ripping her in two, but because she knows that once the baby arrives, her family is never going to speak to her again.


Her beautiful baby boy is about to start a chain of events that will lead to tragedy - and only her own family can save her.


My Review

Christine is seventeen, pregnant, single, it is 1981, if that isn't bad enough the fathers identity, if discovered, will have devastating consequences. With the birth of the baby life as Christine knows it changes forever. From a relatively innocent led life to one of poverty, drugs, addiction, abuse, violence and danger, Christine is forced to grow up quickly, make some tough decisions and learn that all choices come with grave consequences.

Oh this is a hard hitting book, set in estate life where drugs and poverty are rife, Christine has generally been untouched by it all until her life changes when her child is born. Gritty, hard hitting and at times makes for very uncomfortable reading with the subjects that are covered. Racism rears its ugly head, some scenes that would be fitting in trainspotting and the journey of one young woman trying to survive against the odds with her baby.

I have read Shaw before and I would read her again, whilst the subject matter is often hair raising and challenging it reflects true life which isn't always sweetness and light. There is bad language, challenging situations and questionable decisions made by the characters which again mirror reality which I think Shaw has captured well. 4/5 for me this time, thanks so much to the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. Bad Blood is available to buy now in paperback and kindle edition.

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ARC - Bad Blood by Mark Sennen

Bad Blood by Mark Sennen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Publisher - Avon

Blurb from Goodreads

‘We’re going to find them, sort them, pay them back …’

When the body of a six-year-old girl is found buried beneath a patio, nobody is surprised when a local paedophile is murdered shortly afterwards. But when a member of DI Charlotte Savage’s team is abducted and several men are executed in cold blood it becomes apparent that there’s a psychopath on the loose with no mercy for his victims…

It becomes clear that the killer isn’t selecting his victims at random and soon Savage is in a race against time to stop him. But what if this man has a message for Charlotte herself? One she won’t forget in a hurry. It’s payback time. Deadly payback time.

Part thriller, part police procedural, a must-read for fans of Mark Billingham and Chris Carter.


My Review

This is the second in a series, I was given an ARC copy from the publisher so this is my first encounter with this author. I think, personally I would recommend you go and get the first book in the series instead of starting with this one as I believe it will make the story more enjoyable. The story opens with the prologue, we meet the mastermind bad guy, Ricky Budgeon and a very brief look into his views on what has happened prior and brings him to the actions that follow. A bit vague? I thought so too and the theme follows throughout the story but it does all come together and information is released in snippets.

We move on to Savage, who turns out to be DI Charlotte Savage, at home with her family when she gets a reminder from a colleague about the PSD (Public Standards Department) inquiry meeting regarding her actions in a previous case. I believe this is also something that happened in the last book although I am not 100% sure. We then go to another scene where a body is discovered and DI Savage is called in, our story really starts here. Soon a child’s body is discovered, linked to an old residence of a paedophile and soon a paedophile is found murdered.
Shortly after that a member of DI Savages team goes missing, bodies are turning up murdered in vicious and horrific crime scenes and Savage and her team are running out of time to solve the mystery and save their colleague.


Exhausted reading all that? It is quite a lot to take in and to be honest, had I read the first book and had a feel for some of the characters it would probably have been a lot easier to get into. As it was I felt there was a lot of characters to try and get to know, a few different stories lines going on and I had to re read bits to try and establish what was going on.
There is a lot happening and plenty to keep you interested and intrigued as to what is going to happen and who is linked to whom but I would suggest reading it in big chunks or in one go if you can. Reading this over a few days can be a bit hard going as it is such a busy story.
It is quite violent and gorey, there is a lot of swearing and quite a few terms that are racist so be warned it may offend quite a few readers. DI Savage I found to be hard to like, she has been through a lot which may attribute to her attitude and almost total disregard for her professional standards and behaviour. She seemed like a loose cannon at times rather than a level headed leader of a police team and lead investigator in a high profile case. As I said I think maybe going back and reading the first book would give a bit of clarity and help with the enjoyment and understanding of this book.


All your ends are eventually tied up, most things are linked and explained although at the end of this book a character throws a curve ball that will pull followers from the first story to get the third book. I have only read book two however I want clarification and closure on this particular issue from the stories, a rather clever ploy from the author, always leave them wanting more. A rather mixed bag for me, it annoyed me on so many levels but got me there in the end and had enough intrigue to keep me going to the end so 3/5 for me this time. Thanks to Avon Books for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review and for introducing me to this author whom I will read again. This book is available to buy from all good retailers from the 26th of September 2013, in paperback format and for the kindle.

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