Jane Casey is a new name to me. I was surprised to discover that this is the seventh novel in a series featuring the police detective Maeve Kerrigan.
The author herself has an intriguing life, having grown up in Ireland and is married to a barrister specialising in criminal law. Having become tired of police procedurals, as many have become increasingly cliché ridden, I was interested to see if Jane Casey had anything new to offer the genre.
The novel opens with Chloe Emery arriving home unexpectedly after staying with her Father and Stepmother. Chloe finds the house covered in blood, and her mother Kate absent. Maeve Kerrigan is sent to investigate the case and quickly suspects that Chloe knows more than she’s revealed to the police. It soon turns out that Kate Emery, like so many fictional characters has a lot of hidden secrets, which we as readers learn over the course of the novel.
Widely perceived by others as having learning difficulties, and inability to cope on her own; we learn that Chloe is actually very capable, however it suits others for Chloe to be financially and personally dependent.
The characters were well depicted, especially Maeve, her colleague Georgia Shaw, her boss Una Burt as well as Chloe and her mother Kate. The reader becomes totally absorbed by the plot, swiftly turning the pages, keen to find out what was going to happen next.
Having been sceptical of both the series nature of the novel and the subgenre; I was pleasantly surprised as it is remarkably well written, and it avoids the clichés that are often present in police procedurals and most crucially can be read as a stand-alone.
I enjoyed reading the novel and am keen to read more work by the writer.
