Review: Dead Memories by Angela Marsons

Dead Memories (D.I. Kim Stone, Book #10)

by Angela Marsons

Release Date: February 22, 2019

2019 Bookouture

Ebook Copy; 459 Pages

ISBN: 978-1786817723

ASIN: B07KYS8SPF

Audiobook: B07NGVZBBB

Genre: Fiction / Mystery

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

She ruined their lives. Now they’re going to destroy hers.

Faced with a killer who is recreating traumatic events from her past, Kim must face the brutal truth that someone wants to hurt her in the worst way possible. Desperate to stay on the case, she is forced to work with profiler Alison Lowe who has been called in to observe and monitor Kim’s behaviour.

Kim has spent years catching dangerous criminals and protecting the innocent. But with a killer firmly fixed on destroying Kim, can she solve this complex case and save her own life or will she become the final victim?

 

My Thoughts

Dead Memories is the next book in the D.I. Kim Stone mystery series, and this series continues to deliver on multiple levels.  This one is personal to Kim as the murders mimic traumatic events in her past and she not only has to work on solving the cases, but has to relive the memories and cope with the onslaught of emotions she thought long buried.  Personally, I really enjoyed the psychological aspects of this novel much more than the mystery although the mystery was fascinating as well.  I did have some difficulties with this book though that lowered my overall rating.

 

First of all, while I really enjoyed the psychological aspect of this novel, I still don't think it went far enough and explored it enough, almost as if the author was afraid to take it to the next level. I mean, Kim was being forced to relive extremely traumatic moments in her life, things that she had kept quiet and locked away, and not only were they being ripped out of her, they were being done in a way that was very, very public.  It is fine to have this emotionally stunted person who is leading a team of investigators, but do her a bit more credit when everything goes pots up. My biggest concern however wasn't with Kim's development, but more with the secondary characters. Gosh, the development in the first eight books was fantastic, and then we arrive in this book and then it seems like the secondary characters are just there to do...what? I don't know. I absolutely loved Stacy in previous books, but in this one she just seemed to be on the side, the token LGBTQ character. Personally, I felt like the author wasn't sure which character to follow, but to a reader it is clear the MC is Kim and the rest of the story needs to revolve around this character or it simply won't work.  So, when I mention we need more of Stacy, we need more of her in her job, working with the team. I don't necessarily need more of their personal lives, especially if it veers way off the story line and has nothing to do with what is happening.

 

The plot itself was interesting and while I liked the mystery, I did think the execution was a bit erratic and some of the dialogue was silly, especially the visits to the prison and the discussions with the prisoners.  I mean, these are dangerous people that Kim put away and some of the dialogue just felt so stilted and unconvincing, relying a lot on sexual innuendo and threats.  The POV also switched to some of the characters in the prisons and I personally thought those were useless and distracting.  I think a lot of what works really well in these books is when most of the POV is Kim's.  While the plot moved along rather quickly and I always like the investigating side of things, I wasn't convinced when the killer was revealed nor did the motives seem completely believable. I thought it might go in a different direction, at least I was hoping it would, but it didn't. I think I wanted to be shocked, horrified, like in previous novels, but this one was a bit of a letdown.

 

Verdict

Dead Memories definitely had some strong moments that I enjoyed quite a bit and I was glad to see the focus on Kim and her secretive past.  And while the psychological aspect was good, I did think the author could have gone a bit deeper and darker with Kim and the trauma from what she was experiencing.  The plot moved along rather quickly, but some of the POVs were fillers and unnecessary, and I thought some of the dialogue, especially the scenes in the prison were trite and silly, relying more on threats and sexual innuendos. I would also like to see the development of the secondary characters in their roles and utilized a bit better than in this book. Also, why do authors continuously have their DIs go alone on dangerous missions because they don't want to jeopardize the rest of their team? Sounds stupid to me because isn't that why you have backup?  

 

 

 

 

Review: Dead Fake by Vincent Ralph

Dead Fake (Bleak Haven, #1)

by Vincent Ralph

Release Date: January 20, 2026

2026 Wednesday Books

Ebook ARC; 256 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250372123

ASIN: B0F5PDV41V

Audiobook: B0GH8NKFJK

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3.5 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Would you Swipe to Die?

When the new craze takes over Bleak Haven High, Ava Wilson refuses to join in. As the niece of an infamous murderer, it’s the last thing she needs.

The mysterious website allows people to view their own ‘death’ – an AI generated version of their final slasher-movie-moments. But, when some of her classmates’ deepfakes are replicated in real life, Ava can either catch the killer…or be the next victim.

 

My Thoughts

Dead Fake is the first book in a planned trilogy revolving around a town suffering from a past history of brutality with several 'slasher' episodes in its past. The story features Ava, a teenager whose own family suffers with a notorious past, one that Ava is not sure she is in complete agreement. I really enjoyed this book, enjoyed the characters even though they could have used a bit more character development, and thought the ending set up the second book quite well. 

 

I really liked Ava as a main character and enjoyed her character development as she faced new trials and tribulations with a possible new serial killer in town, one linked to her family's past. She is a bit of a loner due to her family's history, but has a solid friend group to help support her when events start spiraling out of control.  Having taught high school for many years, I did think the cliques and the groups were realistic, and enjoyed the different dynamics that came into play as new classmates and characters were introduced. The way the author introduced the new characters also fed into the plot as it created tension and suspicion within the cliques and towards each other heightening the fear that was slowly spreading through the school community.  Ava had to endure a lot of gossip and suspicion herself when events started happening and I have to give her credit for being brave and continuing to keep her head high as it would not have been easy.

 

The plot moved along rather quickly, and the author did a great job keeping the tension at a high level throughout the book.  Because Ava's family has a dark past, there was this atmosphere that surrounded them all of the time, almost one of urgency so people didn't start turning on them.  The new app situation in this book was kind of cool and I did wonder if I would have swiped it myself to see what my own situation would have been.  I would like to think I wouldn't have, but as a teenager I hate to say it, but I probably would have considering my love of horror and mystery.  The ending to this book was satisfying even if I figured it out. Definitely a lot of themes to explore in this book as well, trauma, friendship, loyalty, suspicion, death, lying, cheating, family, and so on. 

 

Verdict

Dead Fake is one of those books that I can't really explain very well why I liked it, but it just resonated with me.  It wasn't that it was wholly original or that I didn't guess the killer because I did, but I just empathized with Ava and her situation and liked how she had this strong moral code. Maybe it's because she didn't feel entitled to know everything whenever the police were involved, tried to stay out of dangerous situations, and was very loyal to her friends.  The author did manage to create a slasher vibe with the story and the town and it just seemed to work.  

 

Review: Lost Girls of Hollow Lake by Rebekah Faubion

Lost Girls of Hollow Lake

by Rebekah Faubion

Release Date: January 27, 2026

2026 Delacorte Press

Ebook ARC; 384 Pages

ISBN: 978-0593900437

ASIN: B0F8N3ZXLT

Audiobook: B0F9QLGVB8

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

 

3 / 5 Stars

 

Summary

Eight were lost. Five were found. None will ever be free.

For Evie Williams, life is about to get a lot more complicated. Haunted by the events of a school trip to Hollow Lake National Park that went disastrously wrong, Evie and her friends returned changed, their lives forever marked by the mysterious Island they encountered—and the three girls they left behind.

Now, someone is picking off those who were involved, one by one. Their families, friends, and even online investigators are all caught in a deadly game. The stakes are raised when Evie receives a chilling to save her loved ones, she must return to the Island.

 

My Thoughts

Lost Girls of Hollow Lake had a really cool premise; one that featured a supernatural world and all the legends that go with that world, legends with which the people of the community grow up and are familiar, and one that featured feminine power and resilience. And although the narrative weaves around trauma, secrets, and something unspeakable, for me there was something missing that made this less than compelling.

 

I really enjoyed the mystery of the island and how only a few select people actually see it and hear it. Evie has seen it a few times over the years and has been drawn to the legends and the lore for years, but when her classmates go on a science trip that takes her close to the island, she realizes there are eight other girls who also see and hear it, something that sets them all up for trouble.  The island had great atmosphere, but while the descriptions were its strength, they were also this book's weakness.  Let me explain. The author did a great job at setting up an eerie little world on the island with disturbing elements and the girls found things that belonged to previous people who had attempted to land on the island. The explanations were so vague however, in order to keep things 'mysterious' that I started to question what was happening and stopped believing in the paranormal aspect of this book.  It also became a real distraction from the more interesting things that were going on and that was the relationships between the girls and their mental health as they faced deteriorating conditions after being kept on the island for so long.  

 

Evie was a great character and when the book begins, you realize that there is this big secret the girls are keeping about what happened.  Now, having read a lot of horror novels in my life, my mind automatically went to the worst possible scenario and it could be that when the reason was revealed and it was not even close to what I imagined, I was a bit let down.  So did that mean I expected more from the horror element? Yes, I think so.  Would a YA novel be prepared to go down that route? Depends on the author, I guess.  However, Evie and the other girls did experience a lot of trauma on that island and this is where I thought the author did a great job, at revealing the after-affects of what happened on their lives and on their relationships.  I did wish it would have gone a bit deeper and dug a bit harder, but it was still good.  For the record, I didn't like the ending and who ended up being the killer. I figured that's who it was, but hoping the author wouldn't go down that route as it seemed way too easy a solution. 

 

Verdict

Lost Girls of Hollow Lake had a great premise and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of this novel. I thought Evie's character development was great and enjoyed the dual timeline of the novel. I did think there wasn't enough development of the paranormal stuff from the island to make it convincing, and I definitely didn't like who ended up being the killer as I thought there wasn't enough development to make it credible. Would I read another book by this author? Yes, definitely. Would I recommend this one? Yes, definitely, as the writing was compelling and there were a lot of great elements in this book.