The Angela Marsons books in order are led by the D.I. Kim Stone crime thrillers, which follow a determined Black Country detective investigating brutal murders while confronting the trauma in her own past. Marsons also writes standalone women’s fiction and has contributed short fiction to multi-author anthologies.
Kim Stone’s cases combine police procedural investigations with continuing character arcs involving Kim and her team. This guide covers the numbered novels, the full-length prequel, the short stories, the standalone books, and Marsons’s anthology appearances.
Jump to:
- D.I. Kim Stone Books
- Angela Marsons Standalone Books
- Anthologies Featuring Angela Marsons
- Who is Angela Marsons?
D.I. Kim Stone Books
The D.I. Kim Stone series has 23 numbered novels. First Blood is a full-length prequel outside that official numbering, while One Hour and First Fight are unnumbered short stories.
Each novel has a new central investigation, but Kim’s history, her team’s relationships, and several recurring storylines develop across the series. I strongly recommend publication order for a first read. Start with Silent Scream, read First Blood after Child’s Play, and then continue with Killing Mind. The audiobook editions follow the same reading order.
D.I. Kim Stone Books in Publication Order
- Silent Scream (2015)
- Evil Games (2015)
- Lost Girls (2015)
- Play Dead (2016)
- Blood Lines (2016)
- Dead Souls (2017)
- Broken Bones (2017)
- Dying Truth (2018)
- Fatal Promise (2018)
- Dead Memories (2019)
- Child’s Play (2019)
- Killing Mind (2020)
- Deadly Cry (2020)
- Twisted Lies (2021)
- Stolen Ones (2021)
- Six Graves (2022)
- Hidden Scars (2022)
- Deadly Fate (2023)
- Bad Blood (2023)
- Guilty Mothers (2024)
- 36 Hours (2024)
- Little Children (2025)
- Wicked Women (2026)
D.I. Kim Stone Prequel and Short Stories
- First Blood (2019) (Full-Length Prequel)
- One Hour (2022) (Short Story)
- First Fight (2024) (Short Story)
For publication order, read First Blood after Child’s Play. I’d place the optional short story One Hour after Stolen Ones and First Fight after Bad Blood. Bookouture offers One Hour to Angela Marsons’s newsletter subscribers. First Fight was distributed to newsletter subscribers in 2024.
D.I. Kim Stone Books in Chronological Order
The story premises suggest that One Hour comes first, followed by First Fight during Kim’s police training and then First Blood as she meets the team readers know from the main novels. This sequence is inferred from the story events rather than presented as an official numbered order. I still prefer publication order for first-time readers.
- One Hour (Short Story)
- First Fight (Short Story)
- First Blood (Full-Length Prequel)
- Silent Scream
- Evil Games
- Lost Girls
- Play Dead
- Blood Lines
- Dead Souls
- Broken Bones
- Dying Truth
- Fatal Promise
- Dead Memories
- Child’s Play
- Killing Mind
- Deadly Cry
- Twisted Lies
- Stolen Ones
- Six Graves
- Hidden Scars
- Deadly Fate
- Bad Blood
- Guilty Mothers
- 36 Hours
- Little Children
- Wicked Women
Angela Marsons Standalone Books
Angela Marsons published two standalone novels before Silent Scream. The Forgotten Woman was first published as My Name Is, while Dear Mother was first published as The Middle Child. Her three standalones are unrelated to Kim Stone and can be read in any order.
The Forgotten Woman and Dear Mother are emotional, character-driven novels centered on difficult relationships and family history. If Only is a lighter story about love, friendship, and the temptation to rewrite the past.
- The Forgotten Woman (originally published as My Name Is) (2013)
- Dear Mother (originally published as The Middle Child) (2014)
- If Only (2021)
Anthologies Featuring Angela Marsons
Angela Marsons has also contributed short fiction to multi-author anthologies. These books are not part of the Kim Stone series, so I’d treat them as optional additions for readers who want to explore more of her work.
- Dead Simple (2017)
- Written in the Stars: A Charity Anthology (2022)
Who is Angela Marsons?
Angela Marsons grew up in the Black Country, the West Midlands setting that gives the D.I. Kim Stone series much of its identity. After years of rejection, she self-published her early standalone novels before Bookouture signed her to an initial four-book Kim Stone deal in 2014.
Marsons lives in Worcestershire with her wife and dogs. In May 2025, Bookouture announced an eight-book extension securing the Kim Stone series through book 36 and 2032. The publisher also said the television rights had been optioned by the BBC, but no screen adaptation has been released.
Looking for similar books in order?
If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.
4 thoughts on “Angela Marsons Books in Order: Kim Stone Series & Standalones”
Brilliant books (my second reading)
Will there be more Kim Stone books? Have read all 18.
Yes! I added the newest book to the list. Bad Blood is set to release in November.
Absolutely love detective stone stories and have read them all just waiting to get last one from library.