The Close by Jane Casey

# 10 Maeve Kerrigan

416 pages

Publisher: Harper Collins

NetGalley

 

Blurb

 

At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together.

But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.

It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.

And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.

 

Review

 

As a rule, I don’t read books in a series out of order. I made an exception for this title when I found it on NetGalley simply because the blurb intrigued me. After finishing the story, I can say that being unfamiliar with the previous titles was somewhat of a mixed blessing.

Allowing the blurb to lure me into this book was the right decision though. The mystery (or should I say mysteries?) in this book was captivating, intriguing, and very well plotted. The blurb only reveals some of what is going on in this book which means we are dealing with an intriguing and action-packed story. I can’t say too much about all of that without risking spoilers, but I want to mention that this book kept me on my toes and managed to put me on the wrong footing as to the identity of the perpetrator(s). I loved the creepy insights into a murderer’s mind and the descent into madness they revealed while keeping their identity under wraps. In fact, the mysteries in this book and the outcomes were faultless and it was a delight to try and puzzle along (even if I got it wrong for the most part).

What didn’t work as well for me was the interaction between Maeve and Derwent. I don’t hold that against the book, though. This is book #10 in an ongoing series and I imagine that what transpires in this book has been set up over the course of the earlier releases. Furthermore, it is not as if you need to have read those earlier books to appreciate the complicated relationship between these two. There are enough references to what has gone before to ensure a new reader isn’t grasping around in the dark. Personally, I could have done with the blurb specifying that this book (series?) is almost as much about their complex interactions as it is about the mysteries they solve, but that is mostly because I’m not a huge fan of romance playing a (big) role in crime fiction. Again, if I had read one or more of the earlier titles, I would have been aware of this fact so it’s not something I hold against the author.

Overall, this was a gripping mystery with fascinating, lifelike, and well-portrayed characters. The plotting is tight, the resolutions are clever and (for the most part) surprising, and the writing was faultless. I’m not sure I’ll go back to read the previous titles but I will almost certainly read future titles in this series.