DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bookouture via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Hidden Scars by Angela Marsons for review.

She’s convinced there is a link between the victims and a women’s shelter run by Marianne Forbes, Lester’s niece. She has a big heart, and it shows in her interactions with Bryant and a young man named River in this book. Kim and Bryant’s work relationship really comes to the fore this time around, and it’s beautiful to witness, the storyline was distressing yet current. Although Kim's social skills are lacking, her heart is in the right place, and her detective skills outstanding . But her love of her team and what they are having to ignore and the way they have been treated in her absence.Anyway, after 17 books, you would think they would be getting "old", but each books is fresh, and I can't wait for the next one! When the suicide victims are all linked back to the clinic Kim and her team begin to uncover some even darker goings on there. If you need trigger warnings, this includes apparent suicide, extreme homophobia and emotional and physical torture which is referred to rather than portrayed. On the lighter side I always enjoy my time with Kim, Bryant, Penn and Stace and I devour any new information revealed about who they are and what makes them tick.

I think long-time readers of this series had a nice chuckle at that, since that isn’t at all how Kim rolls.Faced with hundreds of potential leads and a bereaved sister who is refusing to talk, can Kim get inside the mind of a killer and stop another murder before it’s too late?

Kim and the rest of the team feel like old friends, and it’s always so great to meet up with them again.The Gardner family, who run the clinic are not very helpful, and insist their methods for curing homosexuality are legal and humane. A victim killed with a single, precise stab to the heart appears at first glance to be a robbery gone wrong. Meanwhile, Stacey is trying to find a missing accountant, but feels it may just be a case of him leaving his wife. I knew what conversion therapy was before I started reading Hidden Scars, but I really had no idea of the extremes to which it could be taken. She reveals a certain vulnerability that we have not seen before and which takes a bit of getting used to.

No longer ‘just’ the junior of the team, she’s really developing great instincts and it’s been wonderful seeing the author chart her journey and her growth as a character and as a police officer. There’s real friendship there, even if Kim is not the first one to show it, and the way this is expressed in the book makes you feel a real part of the team – of the family – as you embark on each new thrilling instalment. When another young woman's death also looked like suicide, it is quickly linked to Jamie's when it is discovered that Stephanie had attended the same clinic.Stacey learns that he was in a emotional but platonic relationship with a co-worker and withdrew a large sum of moey from the bank before he vanished. A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. This was another gripping and fast paced crime thriller, where as ever the character dynamics are the most interesting and entertaining aspect. Kim resumes her duties and kicks Burns out, when she immediately realizes her team is ready to revolt. As more sex workers are murdered in quick succession, each death more violent than the last, Kim and her team realise that the initial killing was no one-off frenzied attack, but a twisted serial killer preying on the vulnerable.