The newly promoted DS Maeve Kerrigan is back, and you won’t be disappointed.
Whether you’re new to Jane Casey’s work, or a fan of her books, this is a treat.
Although this is the latest in a series, it reads well as a stand-alone. So, if you are new to Maeve Kerrigan and her team you won’t feel like a stranger at a party; and if you’ve read the previous books, you will love this one.
Maeve is single, again, she’s still working on the Murder Investigation Team, but has been promoted to Detective Sergeant. With the added responsibility comes the added problem of looking after a new team member. Detective Constable Georgia Shaw is not exactly making friends. Being young and attractive is enough to rile some people, but add to the fact she is on the fast-track-promotion scheme, and has little or no experience as a copper, and you have a character that adds a nice little sub plot to the main story.
The main story is brilliant in its simplicity. The crimes all happen on the same street and involve two families and a few other local members of the community.
Kate Emery is a 42-year old single mother, divorced from her husband for over 12 years. Her daughter, 18-year old Chloe has cognitive disabilities, and Kate has dedicated her life to being her carer.
When Chloe returns home, from a weekend stay with her father and his new family, she finds her mother missing and the house is a blood bath.
Kerrigan and her team start a murder enquiry.
Chloe is left in the care of a family living over the road from her house. The Norris family are a tremendously well written bunch of characters. Devoutly Christian they stand for everything that Kate didn’t, but the daughter Bethany is Chloe’s best friend.
As the inquiry into Kate’s murder progresses Kerrigan and her team start to find evidence that Kate was not the woman she seems. Single, and attractive, it appears she has a secret life her daughter and “most” of the neighbours don’t know about.
She is receiving money from her ex-husband, and has her own business, but it still seems she needs more money.
Is Chloe actually as bad as her mother would have people think, or are her disabilities an exaggeration of her shy personality that her mother is trying to use to get benefits, schooling, and more money from her ex.
The story has a limited bunch of characters but anyone of them could be the killer, and I didn’t see the end coming right up till it leapt of the pages of the last chapters.
The Norris Family could have a whole book written just about them, would any of them want Kate dead, and what possible motive could any of them have for killing her.
Brian Emery, Chloe’s dad, and his new family could have a book written just about them too. His new wife is a bitch, and her two teenage sons are spoilt brats, who Chloe hates. So why does she spend the odd weekend at their house. Could one of them have wanted Kate dead. Does Chloe really hate them or would her mother’s death mean she could spend more time at the house.
This book has twists and turns in every chapter.
It has moralistic issues as well. I found myself liking characters I shouldn’t like.
Casey writes the story so well that when you are seeing things through Maeve Kerrigan’s eyes you find yourself going with her thought process. In other books of this ilk I often find myself disagreeing with the main character, or think “don’t be daft” but with Kerrigan everything just seems right and justified. Maybe we just think the same way.
If you haven’t read the other books in this series you really have missed out. Read this one then go back and start at the beginning.
Like I said at the start of this blog YOU WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED
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