A brilliant, brilliant thriller. Couldn't put this one down. I'm not always a police proceedural fan but I was addicted to this book and couldn't turn the pages quickly enough. Creepy, brilliant twists, great action sequences, perfect pacing - you couldn't ask for more!

Leo Stone was inprisoned for life for killing two women. But after being freed on a technicality, he's insisting he's innocent. But how is that possible when all the evidence points one way - or does it...
DI Maeve Kerrigan is brilliant - tough, determined to get to the bottom of what happened - and she does.

I guess my only teeny tiny issue with this novel is that Maeve's partner DI was so stereotypically insistent on being a white knight and rescuing her in a really cliched way - even to the point of carrying her out of a building in his (strong? manly) arms. It just pissed me off that someone as kickass as Maeve Kerrigan needed a white knight. Their whole relationship was a bit odd as well - living in his flat and his weird obsession with her life, I actually found him creepy and distracted me from watching DI Kerrigan go about saving the day.

But maybe I've just got PMT. It was a great read anyway, highly recommend.

What a fantastic read. I hadn’t read Jane Casey’s book but I’m downloading the previous books as I type. I need the back story. Great twist in this book, I couldn’t pick it and was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events.

After a slow start this book raced along at quite a pace. First one of the author’s that I’ve read and won’t be the last. It kept me guessing right to the end and I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters.

If you like your crime procedurals then this looks like a good bet for a series.

My introduction to Maeve Kerrigan , will certainly be going back for more.

There was plenty of tantalising twists in the story and it moved at a good pace. Found it hard to put down. Not sure that the title have anything to the book but that is just my opinion, I always feel that the title is very important in drawing you into a book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the chance of reading this will certainly be looking for more books by Jane Casey about Maeve.

I have heard a lot about Cruel Acts from social media and was delighted to have been gifted a copy for review. Despite this being the 13th book in the Maeve Kerrigan series, and my not having read any of the other books in the series, it didn't hamper my enjoyment of the book at all. I loved it.

Leo Stone is a convicted murderer serving life for the murder of two women. He is set free due to jury tampering a year into his sentence. Once free however another girl goes missing and it's up to Detectives Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent to review previous evidence against Leo Stone in preparation for a retrial, as well as being up against the clock to find the current missing girl. The question is...is Leo Stone responsible for all or any of the murders and where is the missing girl?

A fast paced and gripping police procedural that hurtles along at breakneck speed. I thought I had it all figured out at 70% and with just over 1/4 of the.book to go, I knew I was in for a few surprise treats. And Jane Casey did not disappoint. I didn't have any of the twists or turns figured out at all (and I LOVE THAT!!!). With likeable, relatable characters, a terrific dynamic between Kerrigan and Derwent, and a suspenseful, clever storyline, my first Detective Maeve Kerrigan book definitely wont be my last. 5/5⭐

What a fantastic read. I hadn’t read Jane Casey’s book but I’m downloading the previous books as I type. I need the back story. Great twist in this book, I couldn’t pick it and was pleasantly surprised at the turn of events.
Thank you for letting me read and review.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book after a bit of a slow start. It showed the interesting dynamics of the investigation team. Unexpected twist at the end. I’ve not read the previous books in the series but intend to do so after reading Cruel Acts.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my copy.

A very good Uk detective novel. I found some of the paragraphs and chapters a bit confusing but that might have been because it was a draft copy. The plot and characters were well developed and the story was well paced.

Detectives meave and Josh are assigned the reopening of a case where the accused Leo Stone is being released early from prison. He had been charged with the murders of 2 women and possible links with a third woman whose body had never been found.
Shortly after his release from prison a fourth woman disappears. The race is on to find whether Leo has committed a crime or this case is unlinked. As the investigation begins a significant number of bodies are discovered over 2 sites, one being Leo's back garden.
A new author for me but one I would definetly choose again. The relationships between the police officers is tricky at times with the question of trust, truth and honesty being questioned.
Well worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book although I felt it was slightly slow at the beginning. I’m glad I stuck with it because it becomes a cleverly written thriller.

The protagonist is believable and the fact that they are investigating a crime for a retrial after the suspect was released gives it a different dynamic between the witnesses/families and the police which is interesting.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book & it had me hooked from the outset.
I’ll confess I’d not read the others in the series but have already purchased these as I so want to find out more about the characters & their background.
Thanks for the introduction to this excellent series.

A highly enjoyable and easy to read book.
This had me gripped from the start and held my attention throughout. A nicely twisted plot which left a lot of scope for guessing. Everything you'd expect from a crime novel with plenty packed between the pages and enough of the unexpected to keep you guessing and hold your attention.
The characters were realistic and well thought out, in turns engaging and unpleasant (to say the least) but all drawing in the reader and adding to the intrigue.
A very good read, I will be looking out for more.

I absolutely adored this book.

This was the first book from the Maeve Kerrigan series that I had ever read - and I was hooked from the very first page (so much so that I ended up going back and reading the entire series in a week after finishing Cruel Acts).

And while it's the eighth instalment in the Kerrigan series, it works perfectly as a standalone: I never felt lost, or like I couldn't follow what was going on with the characters.

The friendship between Derwent and Maeve - and the ups and downs that the two of them go through - is so well written and, honestly, is now one of my favourites in popular fiction.

While it's a bit of a slower burn at the start of the book, the series of well thought out twists and turns make it impossible to put down.

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent team up once more in the eighth book in this police procedural series. Jane Casey writes so convincingly about the interplay between these characters as they work whilst also providing us with their plausible and interesting personal connections. From the start we believe in them and this encourages us to believe that the cases that they deal with are true-to-life too.
There is plenty to keep the reader hooked and guessing as the pair explore the history of an unreliably convicted serial killer and the part played in his release by his son. Casey is adept at leading the reader down several blind alleyways and there are more surprises than just the grisly remains found by the team.
Nevertheless, whilst the author is clearly extremely good at plotting, it is the interplay between all of the characters which really makes this novel stand out in the currently rather crowded murder mystery room. And she makes her odd couple, Maeve and Josh, funny, vulnerable, supportive, annoying, determined – just like real people. Whether they like it or not, they’re inseparable. Can’t wait to see how their relationship develops further in the next story!
My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

Cruel Acts begins with a police call out following a concerned neighbour reporting shouting at a property. Upon further investigation, a dead body of a woman is discovered, and alongside her crouches a little boy.

The story then moves to present day with a re-trial of Leo Stone following publication of a book written by a juror about his conviction. Maeve Kerrigan and her colleague DI Josh Derwent are tasked with re-investigating the case that involves the murder of at least two women. A third, Rachel Healy, troubles Maeve as her body has never been found, but she is convinced Stone is responsible. Yet as their investigation gains momentum, the truth is something that nobody could have predicted. Maeve Kerrigan, is tenacious, instinctive and wholly committed to finding out the truth, even putting her own life at risk in doing so. A thrill a minute page-turner, this is a must for fans of crime fiction.

I started reading the early Maeve Kerrigan books when they first came out, and have tried to follow the series from then on, although I think I may have a couple on my kindle waiting to be read. As things get in the way.

I love the relationship between Maeve and Josh Derwent, I find their characters to be both likeable and relatable, which for me always makes for a good read. These books are crime fiction at its best, the plots are well drawn and thought out. I remember buying and reading the first book The Burning and knew that this was an author to follow, and a series to follow. I do recommend that readers start from the beginning of a series as you just get to know the characters so much better, you see them grow.

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are assigned by Superintendent Godley to reinvestigate the case of Leo Stone who had been convicted of killing two women and had been sent to prison for life, unfortunately a juror has revealed that rules were broken, by jurors on the trial, which means that the conviction could be overturned when it goes before the Appeals Court. That would mean a retrial.

Maeve and Josh have to go over the whole case and see if they can find any more evidence to ensure that the second trial will keep the right man behind bars. As she goes through the files Maeve finds that there was a third woman that was possibly a victim of Stone’s but there was a lack of evidence so he was never charged with her murder.

Whilst busy investigating, Stone is released from prison and another Woman disappears, could this be Stone’s next victim or is it coincidence? When Maeve and Derwent find that Stone has an alibi for the latest missing woman, they have to wonder whether he was ever guilty in the first place. Or is there a copycat out there.

The story is told in the first person by Maeve, which always works well, with her comments on the people around her especially Derwent. The rest of the team is in the book as well. With all the relationship quirks that go on with them, Una Burt, Maeve’s boss, they still don’t like each other.

Maeve’s personal life is complicated as always. The good thing with this team is that they are all professional, this is a great police procedural series. There is banter between the characters which I always enjoy in these types of novels. The women don’t have to prove themselves they come across as equal with the men which is refreshing, so many books still have the women having to prove they are up to the job. I like to think to a certain extent that women are now being given equal opportunities, accepted on merit.. Although I appreciate it probably still has a little way to go. But in this series it’s good to see they are all equal and it just works so well.

The story is fast paced and gripping it’s one of those books you cannot put down, from the prologue to the end, I highly recommend, and if you haven’t read any of the previous books in this series I definitely recommend you read them from the beginning, if you like a good crime series, this is definitely a one to follow.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #HarperCollins for an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Wow! What a good read that was. A fast moving gripping tale which had everything. Jane Casey has a multitude of characters all well written and believable. A thriller in the true spirit with twists and turns aplenty. The heroine and sub-hero are well rounded figures that makes you want more from them in the future. Really looking forward to next instalment. Don’t miss this read one of the best books this year.

What a book! Kept me up all night reading. A brilliant page turner that will have you gripped. Can’t wait for the next one from this author.

A really good storyline to this thriller, few twists and turns to keep you guessing, and gripped to the end.

Cruel Acts is a dark, gripping thriller and I was hooked straight away!

I haven’t read any of the previous stories in the series but this one worked well as a stand-alone, after reading I’ve just purchased the others since it was so enjoyable! The characters are brilliant!