First Blood – Marsonsová Angela (2022)

In this prequel to the internationally bestselling DI Kim Stone thrillers, Detective Kim Stone arrives at Halesowen Police Station to meet her new team for the first time. When a young man is found beheaded and staked to the ground in a secluded woodland area of the Clent Hills, Kim and her inexperienced squad investigate. A search of the victim’s home reveals a little girl’s bedroom and a hidden laptop, but the child is missing, and the man’s sister seems relieved that he is dead. As Kim uncovers the victim’s shocking secrets, similarities emerge with the recent murder of a man found beneath the staircase of Redland Hall with multiple stab wounds. Both victims are linked to a women’s shelter, an organisation that has particular significance for Kim, who grew up in the care system. With the killer preparing to strike again, Kim must hold together a fragile new team: brilliant but nervous Stacey, calm and reliable D.S. Bryant, and volatile D.S. Dawson, whose troubled home life is affecting his work. Kim must bring Dawson under control and catch the killer before another life is taken, while one of her own people may be in terrible danger.