Although this is the 8th book in this series, this book can be read as a stand-alone. Having said that I will be reading earlier books in the series. Maeve Kerrigan is an officer with a conscience who is more interested in bringing justice for the dead and answers for the bereaved than in her own career. Josh Derwent doesn’t like to be crossed, he embarrasses Maeve but obviously cares about her. This makes a refreshing read. Maeve is a complex character well portrayed and the plot is well crafted making this a real page turner.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Jane Casey/Harper Collins for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another in the DS Mauve Kerrigan series and what a belter. Leo Stone a convicted killer is about to be released, all because a member of the jury has written a book. In it he has stated that before the trial he looked up Leo on the internet and then discussed his findings with other members of the jury. This is against the law hence Leo is released pending a new trial. Now it is upto Kerrigan and her boss DI Joss Derwent to go back through all the evidence so Leo can be put back behind bars. After Leo is released pending a new trial another young woman goes missing. Is it Leo or a copycat????
I was gripped from the first page and read this book in one sitting. So many twists and turns and plots within plots. OMG WHAT A BOOK!!! This is definitely my type of book, this author has done it again. An easy five stars and so Highly Recommended, this book definitely leaves you wanting more. A very very happy reader.
I would like to thank the author, HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

This is the first book I've read from this author but it certainly won't be the last. Although there are previous books in this series you don't need to have read them to enjoy this one.

I enjoyed getting to know the characters and the story has enough twists and turns to keep you interested right til the end.

Great book and I would easily recommend it.

I’d like to thank HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Cruel Acts’ by Jane Casey in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Leo Stone is in prison for the murder of Sara Grey and Willa Howard. On appealing against his conviction he’s released from prison while awaiting a retrial as weaknesses have been found in the prosecution’s case against him. DI Josh Derwent is tasked with re-investigating Stone and brings in DS Maeve Kerrigan who has the reputation of finding clues that nobody else has unearthed. Maeve is also interested in learning what happened to Rachel Healy who disappeared around the same time as the two women. Was Stone responsible for what happened to all three women?

‘Cruel Acts’ is a amazing novel with all the ingredients to make it a sensational police thriller. It has a complex and macabre plot, suspense, excitement, a number of suspects, twists and turns and a horrifying conclusion. I love the character of Maeve Kerrigan whose instinct leads her to make the right decisions despite the evidence pointing elsewhere. Jane Casey has a fantastic way of writing, showing her phenomenal ability in bringing together intrigue and suspense. I was gripped from page one and couldn’t stop reading until I’d discovered the truth. I’d give more than five stars if I could, it’s absolutely brilliant!

I was recommended to this author by a friend and really enjoyed my introduction to Jane Casey's writing and her heroine Maeve. It has all the elements I enjoy in a good detective novel, suspense, human interest, good background detail of the individual characters and a satisfactory conclusion. I can't wait to read more of Maeve's adventures.

It's a joy to read Jane Casey's latest addition to the DS Maeve Kerrigan of the London Met police series, which has become a favourite of mine. A major reason for that is the often spiky but close and complex relationship between Maeve and her partner and superior, DI Josh Derwent. Josh has no qualms about picking on her personal life, she has none since her break up with Rob Langton. She has been struggling to get over it, pouring all her energies into the job, a job she has a real talent for, although Josh keeps niggling at her to find a life outside of it. Maeve and Josh find themselves re-investigating an old case, that of Leo Stone, when his conviction and sentencing for life, for the killing of two women, Sarah Grey and Willa Howard, is overturned when a juror reveals the jury was prejudiced. With a retrial coming up, it is down to Maeve and Josh to sift through the evidence and determine whether Stone is indeed guilty.

For Josh, its straightforward, their job is simply to reinforce the findings of the original police inquiry headed by DCI Whitlock, but Maeve is not so convinced of Stone's guilt and more open minded. She hones in on another missing woman, Rachel Healey, who is likely to have been another victim of Stone's, but the police failed to find evidence or her body. Despite the scepticism from the rest of the police, Maeve feels Rachel deserves justice and should not just be forgotten. However, Maeve and Josh find their inquiries derailed when another woman, teacher Tessa Marsh, goes missing in a manner that eerily echoes that of Stone's original victims. With Stone out on bail, but with an ironclad alibi, is there a copycat killer on the loose? Maeve and Josh find themselves with the most twisted of investigations, shifting from one direction to another as Maeve chips away, uncovering surprising leads, as it turns out there are more victims than they could ever have imagined.

Casey writes a riveting and beautifully plotted addition to her enthralling DS Kerrigan series, packed with suspense and tension, so much so that once you begin reading, it is hard to stop until you come to the end. The characters and their development are brilliant, and the relationships in the police team feel realistic, with the politics and rivalries, especially that of the ambitious and jealous DC Georgia Shaw and her below the radar machinations to discredit Maeve. This is a hugely compelling read, it is crime fiction that stands out. Fans of Jane Casey will love it, as indeed will those who have yet to discover Maeve Kerrigan. Many thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

This was a brilliant read and was so exciting that I now absolutely must go out and investigate the other 7 books in the Maeve Kerrigan series. It is well written and has sufficient pace and tension to keep you reading. I ignored my work and practically everything else in order to carry on reading so that I could finish this book in (almost) one sitting. Jane Casey has produced a plot that was not predictable and that was cleverly crafted to feel realistic and as if you were actually there, taking part in the events that unfolded. The beginning gets you hooked straightaway and wanting to know more about the small boy huddled in a room cuddling his dead mother and how this one event links to the rest of the unfolding storyline. I was emotionally invested in the characters Maeve and Derwent and all supporting cast. I wanted to read on but at the same time didn't want the book to end which is always a sign of a good book and which is why I'm off soon to purchase books 1-7 in the series! If you love crime thrillers without gore, and a plot line that stands up to scrutiny, then this is a book you will enjoy reading. I am sure all Jane Casey fans will not be disappointed.
Thank you to Jane Casey, Netgalley and HarperCollins for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

I hadn't read any of Jane Casey's books before this one. Cruel Acts is the eighth in a series of police procedurals involving DS Maeve Kerrigan. She is an interesting character with not much of a personal life and a spiky relationship with her colleague Josh Derwent. They have been asked to investigate the case of Leo Stone convicted for the murder of two young women. He has been let out on appeal following the publication of a book by a juror telling of how the jury had looked him up online and discovered he was a baddy and had let that influence their decision of guilty. Immediately they find themselves in difficulty as they come into conflict with both families of the dead women. Maeve is also obsessed about finding out more about another woman who she believes to have been a victim of Stone's. Meanwhile another young woman goes missing.

This is a really good police procedural. There's a lot going on with relationships inside the police, ambitious colleagues that sort of thing and the final outcome is a bit of a surprise. I really enjoyed this and will be looking out for more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, Harper Fiction for an advance copy of Cruel Acts, the eighth police procedural to feature DS Maeve Kerrigan of the Met.

Maeve and her boss, DI Josh Derwent are asked to re-investigate the case of Leo Stone who was convicted of two murders but released on appeal after a year in prison. Derwent and his superiors see it as a case of confirming their evidence for the retrial, Maeve isn’t so sure and becomes preoccupied with a potential third victim whose body was never found.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cruel Acts which had me gripped from start to finish. It is not a high octane, action packed thriller, although it has its moments, but rather, an intense investigation with plenty of twists and turns, false starts and blind alleys. Told in the first person from Maeve’s point of view it has an absorbing, detailed plot which gives the reader a good view of the crimes and the politics involved in solving them and allows room for reader speculation. I was amazed at how it turns out, not least because there are no early hints. Is it fair to keep information hidden? I say yes because it surprises the reader and is a fair imitation of real life investigation.

Maeve Kerrigan can be a difficult character to like at times. She is a clear eyed investigator who often produces the forward momentum in the investigation but she’s very uptight and has no sense of humour. The number of times I wanted to say “lighten up” or “get over yourself” is beyond counting. Still, I enjoyed her interactions with Derwent and her thoughts on life, hers in particular.

Cruel Acts is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

Usually i am not a big fan of crime books but this book intrigued me.

All the different twists and turns really keeps you wanting to read more.

A real good book.

I have really enjoyed this series and this latest installment is just as good, The story is set around the release from prison of Leo Stone, a man convicted of the murder of two women. A juror has written a book admitting that a group of them read about Stone’s violent past on the internet and were convinced of his guilt from this point forwards. Kerrigan and Derwent are asked to take another look at the case before it goes to retrial. The story is quite violent and disturbing in parts, more so than other books in the series. What really makes these books, though, is the combatant relationship between the two detectives. They bicker and squabble but always care very deeply about each other, I like the fact that no one is without flaws.
This book is highly recommended but it would be worth reading the whole series to fully enjoy the developing character.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DS Maeve Kerrigan, what a woman. She goes about her job, minding her own business and is unaware of Derwent liking her and others trying to put her down. Gruesome murders have occurred and after being taken off the case officially she manages through sheer hard work find others that have been murdered and hidden eventually leading to extreme danger for her. A well written book, descriptive and engrossing. Well worth a read.

Cruel Acts by Jane Casey
I did not realise for some time that this was a book in a series about Maeve Kerrigan so I found some of the relationships difficult to understand, particularly the one she has with DI Derwent. I thought I had missed something in the book that would have explained their attitude to one another but I think Jane Casey assumes her readers have been following the series.
The story is about a convicted serial killer who has been released because of a technicality caused by the use of technology. One of the jurors had looked on the internet and it was revealed Leo Stone had had previous convictions before finding him guilty. This meant he had an unfair trial and had to be released from prison. Kerrigan is determined that he is guilty and her job is to prove this is the case before he kills more women. The plot has many twists and turns and kept me wanting to know what really happened. There is a lot of graphic descriptions which are not always very pleasant but overall the book is well written and once you get into the plot the it is quite a page turner. The real strength of this book is that it was almost impossible to predict the ending and the final reveal is very unexpected.
Would I go back and read any of the prequels to this book? Yes. I think I would like to know how the relationships had developed and there is reference to a past boyfriend of Maeve’s and it is totally unclear from just reading this book what had happened to them. Maeve as a character can be quite difficult and stubborn but very committed to her work and it is her doggedness that actually solves the crimes.
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

What I love most about this series is the relationship between Maeve and Derwent; just when I think they are going to get together, something one of them says makes me think they will always be frenemies, or friends, or, ooooh I don't know, which is why I love reading about them.
The crime itself (a re-opened case due to a mis-trial) is a good one, with plenty of twists and turns. I particularly liked the epigraph at the start of the book, as this added another little element of intrigue. Should the detectives carry on pursuing Leo Stone, or widen their nets and pursue other avenues? As Maeve and Derwent dig into the evidence, another woman disappears the race is on to track down who the killer is and stop anyone else being murdered. As if this wasn't enough to keep you on your toes there's a wonderful little bit of office politics played out and Maeve is told that her position in the department might not be as secure as she would like.
I can't wait for the next book in the series and would like to thank Net Galley and the publishers for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Harper Collins UK for the ARC.
This is a very well-written, excellent police procedural/crime thriller and I thought it was just Great. Having not had the pleasure of reading any previous books in the series I came to this as a standalone. There's a cracking suspenseful opening chapter but you don't get to understand its significance until all is revealed, following a pacey and, at times, harrowing, reinvestigation of a double murder case.
Leo Stone was imprisoned for life 13 months ago for killing 2 women, Sarah Gray and Willa Howard. Their skeletonised remains were discovered on open ground in a nature reserve. He has been granted leave to appeal because one of the jurors wrote about how previous conviction information on Stone had been obtained and discussed amongst the jury before giving their guilty verdict. A mistrial is declared and Stone is out on bail.
DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are tasked with re-examining all the evidence to ensure a watertight case, especially as the original pathologist has since died and cannot defend his findings. It's feared that if any mistakes in the pathology were found this would lead to a spate of appeals from different cases.
One other young woman disappeared during the same period - Rachel Healey. Her body has never been found and Maeve feels the investigation into her disappearance was cursory at best, and she is determined to link Rachel to the Stone investigation - against the better judgement of her colleague Josh.
Is Leo Stone solely responsible for the murders? Maeve seems to think not because another young woman goes missing since his release but he has a watertight alibi. We follow a cleverly woven story, interspersed with clashes of opinion between her and Josh, and fielding DC Georgia Shaw's overt positioning to take over Maeve's job.
Maeve is a clever detective and seems to pick up on clues where others don't have her tenacity and gut instinct to follow through. This leads us to a few twists and certainly surprises as she begins to work out exactly what's been going on.

Thoroughly recommended.

Jane Casey is a class act in crime fiction and Cruel Acts is another good instalment of the Maeve Kerrigan series.

It needs someone with Casey’s skill to make a good book from this, because there’s a lot of very familiar stuff (alone and confronted by the killer...of course) and, to me, some very off-putting plot elements – especially the serial killer torturing and killing women theme, of which I have had quite enough now, thank you. Nonetheless, Casey’s ability to create very real, human characters and to structure her story well makes it a gripping and enjoyable read. Maeve Kerrigan is an interesting narrator, with both her strengths and failings very well portrayed and other characters convincingly depicted.

This isn’t perhaps a classic of the genre, but it’s good. Jane Casey is always worth reading and Cruel Acts is no exception. Recommended.

(My thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.)

A good solid police procedural. I haven't read many about a cold case, a case that caused a man to go free and then a retrial.

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are a solid pair - imagine re-examining a case of someone like Leo Stone, a convicted serial killer. Someone who was in prison but now has been let out on a technicality.
He seems a really bad one that one and the police are convinced he needs to be locked up. Someone however seems to think he should be free. Was the evidence back then reliable?

The case is not all it seems and the twists and turns are good even if I did get a little mixed up towards the end. Maybe I and Maeve Kerrigan have different ideas of things , which I would hope her being an experienced policeofficer, she does!

Good solid procedural

Leo Stone was convicted a year ago of murdering 2 women and sentenced to life with no chance of parole. However his original trial is deemed a mistrial as it comes to light the jury, against advice, looked up Stone's previous criminal convictions and clouded their judgement. Stone is released and it's up to Detective Maeve Kerrigan and her colleagues to reexamine the evidence for a pending retrial. There is also a potential 3rd victim, who's body was never recovered and was only linked to Stone in a dubious manner which Maeve is determined to investigate more thoroughly.

I read the first chapter as a sample on another website and couldn't wait to get my hands on this. I was hooked from the word go! I love Casey's writing, about midway through the novel I thought I had it all figured out perfectly but there were more layers and surprises to go. Everything feels right, there doesn't seem to be shocks or twists just for the sake of them which I find happens sometimes with this genre. I enjoy Maeve and Josh Derwent's relationship most of the time, it's interesting and there's a chemistry there that is laced with love and hate. It shows how easy it is to trust someone's instincts or respect their work manner but at the same time be absolutely driven mad by them! I do wish we saw a bit more of Maeve's personal life. I know work is pretty much her life in some sense but I think Maeve could do with loosening up a bit. That said, it's a cracker of a book and I'm already looking forward to book 9!

As I’ve frequently mentioned, I love a good police procedural, and Jane Casey’s are among the best. Cruel Acts is the eighth in a series featuring DS Maeve Kerrigan (I haven’t read them all yet, but I’m sure I will eventually), and like the others I’ve read it’s an excellent read.

The trouble with series featuring recurring characters is that by the time the next one comes out, I’ve always more or less forgotten what happened to the characters previously. Ideally I’d just read them all one after the other, but of course that’s never - well, rarely - how it works out. I had only a vague memory of the latest events and relationships involving Maeve, her colleague Josh and others, though some of it did come back as I read.

In the latest instalment, convicted killer Leo Stone - a particularly unprepossessing character - has been released from prison following his original conviction being found to be unsafe, due to irregularities with the jurors at his trial. The investigation into the murders is reopened, with a view to finding further evidence pointing to either Leo or someone else. Maeve becomes particularly focused on the disappearance of another woman which she, although not the original investigators, believes to be linked.

The relationship between Maeve and her frequently infuriating colleague Josh Derwent is, as ever, a highlight. Admittedly there’s sexual tension between them you could cut with a knife, but I’d really rather they stay as friends.

Another brilliant read, and I really must find time soon to catch up on the two or three books in this series which I’ve so far missed.

This series just get better and better. I was gripped from the first page and i so felt for Maeve trying to discover the truth and work out who she could trust. Her friendship with Josh continues to be a complex highlight and i was stunned by the twists there. I'm really hoping that aspect will be continued in the next book. 5 stars all the way.