HIDDEN SCARS

4 stars out of 5

It's safe to say that Detective Inspector Kim Stone has been around the block a few times - this is the 17th book in the series, for goodness sake - but this time she's struggling to get back in the swing of things after being savagely beaten and way too close to death. 

There are several concurrent plot lines going on here, and more than a few characters (and all their relatives and coworkers) to keep straight. Among the first casualties is Jamie Mills, who is found hanging from a tree in what initially is ruled a suicide by an officer in Kim's department who is intent on finding high-profile cases to work on that will better serve his career mobility. That and the fact that he's racist, sexist and homophobic mean he really rankles his co-workers, who are not only enlightened but very loyal to Kim (who despises him also).

Meantime, a distraught wife asks Kim's team buddy Stacey to find her missing husband; that, too, doesn't rise to the promotion-oriented officer's level of interest and, were it not for Stacey's instincts, would have been swept under the rug. 

With help from her trusty partner and good friend Alan Bryant, Kim digs in her heels (no matter how much they, along with the rest of her body, still hurt) and broadens the investigation into Jamie's death. That in turn leads to a clinic that purports to use conversion therapy methods to  "change" gay people back to what they insist nature intended. The methods they use are no less than horrific, but the owners continue to tout the clinic's exemplary success rate. The pro-LBGTQ perspective is a strong focus throughout, by the way - almost overkill, in my mind, given that in this day and age most readers (at least those who want to be) already are aware and accepting of the facts with regard to the basic issues thereof.

When another victim is murdered and has connections to the clinic, though, Kim and her team redouble efforts to dig into what's really going on - forcing Kim to push the limits of her post-injury physical and mental condition to get to the truth. All in all, another one well done - many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. I'm ready for No. 18 - bring it on!

Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons (Bookouture, November 2022); 356 pp.