Evil Games (DI Kim Stone #2), by Angela Marsons
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was very much looking forward to reading “Evil Games” by Angela Marsons, having just discovered what an interesting detective Kim Stone is. Sadly, this second instalment in Marsons’ long-running series didn’t hold up the promise of its predecessor.
There are actually two mysteries in “Evil Games” and both are completely unrelated, making the novel feel somewhat disjointed. While in the first storyline, Kim and her team have just apprehended a child molester, in the titular storyline Kim is going solo after a rogue psychiatrist.
Both storylines leave much to be desired: The case of the child molester is pretty much solved from the beginning and the team is trying to find a secondary perpetrator. There is no suspense in that part, especially since very basic procedures, e. g. comparing DNA found at the crime scene against easily accessible samples, are not even thought of. The solution pretty much occurs to Kim at the last possible moment in the novel and it’s kind of a “deus ex machina” moment of dubious probability (just like the culprit themself…).
The investigation against the psychiatrist is even worse: Said psychiatrist, Alex, is not only depicted as a genius-level manipulator who in the course of one single session can talk people into committing major crimes. She also seems to have almost everyone in her pocket under threat of revealing dark secrets. Miraculously, Alex finds out everything about everyone in very short periods of time, gets access even to violent inmates of asylums and easily coerces the staff into violating their confidentiality obligations with just a bright smile.
I just cannot buy into that kind of super villain outside of superhero stories.
Kim herself knows full well that Alex could unravel her completely, and yet ignores the advice of a former psychiatrist and mentor of hers and doesn’t make use of his expertise in any meaningful way. Kim keeps getting triggered by Alex in each and every meeting of the two but at a pivotal moment, she seemingly effortlessly ignores even the worst possible of Alex’ attempts to trigger her.
Considering Alex’ super villain status, that completely defied even the already implausible premises of the novel.
And there’s one more thing that really annoyed me:
»Kim refilled her coffee mug thinking, Jesus, I’m trying to nail Mother Theresa.«
(The misspelling is the author’s.)
Mother Teresa’s legacy is deeply problematic and undeserving of uncritical reverence. She glorified suffering instead of alleviating it, denying patients proper medical care and hygiene in her facilities. She opposed contraception and abortion, worsening poverty and systemic suffering, and accepted donations from corrupt individuals while mismanaging funds. Her theology prioritized suffering “martyrdom” over real solutions, and her approach to “charity” often perpetuated misery rather than addressing its root causes.
Many still view this despicable and disgusting person as a saint, but in reality, her actions often caused harm. Her legacy should be a cautionary tale about blind hero-worship and unaccountable humanitarian work.
Overall, this was a mediocre read, earning three stars out of five.
View all my reviews
