I love the Maeve Kerrigan book series but this one isn’t one of my favourites. I found it very slow paced and a little dragged out. It was an intriguing storyline but it just didn’t engage me and felt like it didn’t have enough going on to hold my attention. Now as for Maeve Kerrigans and Josh Derwents relationship that’s a whole other story that I can’t get enough of. I love them as characters, detectives and colleagues and they just bring their own awesomeness. Really hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next instalment.

3.5/5 🌟🌟🌟/🌟

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read #AStrangerInTheFamily

Gripping from the start. First time reader of Jane Casey and while this is the newest of the books featuring Maeve Kerrigan, it wasn't necessary to have read the rest. Having said that I have bought the first book in the series and am reading it.
The story of a child's disappearance many years ago and an older couple's deaths, how are these connected? What exactly happened all those years ago?
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC, very much enjoyed this read

Once again jane casey done.

Fantastic read from beginning to end. Can't wait for more.

I wanted to finish the book but also didn't want it to end.

This was a book with two sides to me the case which had the foundations to be so much more than it was and the will they won't they saga between Meave and Josh which as the book developed I found increasingly frustrating as I wanted more of the investigation rather than the love sick duo which became repetitive and boring.

I have enjoyed the other books in this series and this one didn’t disappoint. I liked the fact it was more than a straightforward murder/detective novel and the premise of a missing child that turns up many years later has been explored in a very different way. As always the characters are interesting and it was fast paced. Recommended .

A stranger in the family. In this story we catch up with Maeve Kerrigan (I didn’t realise this was the 11th in the series) so for me it’s my 1st. Previous storylines were hinted at but I didn’t feel it distracting from this book and was able to read and enjoy despite not reading the others in the series (I will however be starting from the beginning)
In this book Maeve is part of a team investigating the deat of an elderly couple. Initially thought to be murder/suicide but soon becomes clear it was a murder.
16 years ago their adopted daughter Rosalie vanished from their house. Despite intensive investigations, she hasn’t been seen since. Is there some connection?

Maeve and her Colleagues begin to investigate. We read about their relationship, their investigation as they come closer to finding the truth about Rosalie’s disappearance and the murder of her parents.

I enjoyed the twists and turns in this book, I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and how they evolved

I am very keen to read more and will be heading back to the start of the series

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title

I always wait with bated breath for the next Maeve Kerrigan book to be published but then there’s the sense of disappointment once it’s read and I am back to square one waiting for the next one.
Jane Casey is one of my favourite authors and she never disappoints. It contains the usual amount of suspense and drama plus a bit more than the usual will they/ won’t they situation between Maeve and Derwent. The cliff hanger at the end means I need the next book sooner rather than later. Hope the wait isn’t too long.

I love Jane Casey books and I love Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent the main cop characters in these books
Yet again she has written an excellent, cross country, roller coaster of a murder mystery book
I did not know who the killer was until Maeve did and even then wasn’t sure until she said it !!
Even if you have never read her books before then start with this one they all stand alone
You definitely won’t regret it that’s all I am telling you 5*+

I have read all the books in this series (having got book 10 to review, I loved it so much I went back and purchased all the others!) and so it was a bit like welcoming old friends. A great plot with the twists and turns I've come to expect and an ending that I really didn't. Can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended.

I cannot express in words just how much I absolutely love this series and these characters. I’ve never read a Maeve and Josh book that I don’t love and that still stands. LOVE!

Another great book from Jane Casey. Maeve and Josh are working together, but have unresolved personal issues between them. To start with, an eldery couple are found dead, as the case progresses, we find out that their daughter disappeared 16 years ago . She was a 9 year old child at the time. As more family history is revealed, we discover that it was not always happy families within the family home, Rosalie was not an easy child, her brothers did miss her but have their own issues and their parents were often too involved with their own interests to pay Rosalie much attention.
There are twists in the story and Jane and her collegues follow leads throughout the country during the investigation. The plot is interesting and does seem believable. The book is written mostly in short chapters which makes for easy reading and has plenty of action throughout.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

Another great read from Jane Casey. I had no idea who the murderer was up until the reveal. I love a book that keeps me guessing the whole way through.

This is book number eleven in the Maeve Kerrigan Detective series and although it can be read as a standalone I would recommend reading the other books for the back story.

Maeve is back with DS Josh Derwent working the case of an apparent murder-suicide which is linked to a missing child case from several years previous. It is a cleverly crafted book that is full of red herrings and twists and turns and it is an amateur sleuths delight.

I rate this book 4 stars because the sexual tension was a bit over the top and took away from the plot, but I am already looking forward to book number twelve in this series.

When 9 year old Rosalie Marshall disapears from her bed in the middle of night, her family are left devastated and torn apart. 16 years later Rosalie's parents are found dead in their home in what appears to be a murder suicide but all is not what it seems...

I first discovered Maeve Kerrigan last year when The Close caught my eye in Easons and I bought it before realising it was book 10 in a series. I read it anyway, completely devoured it and fell instantly in love with Maeve, Josh and their searing tension.

So I am aware I've completely done this backwards and I do need to go back to the start 🤣

I dived right in to A Stranger In The Family hoping for another sizzling twisty page turner and it delivered. Oh it delivered 🔥

I loved the plot and was kept guessing right until the end. The twists completely got me! And that ending! Jane Casey's writing is impeccable, she just knows how to grab you and keep you gripped. The story goes back and forth between present day and the days in the lead up to Rosalie's disappearance. Sometimes flipping back and forth can be confusing but that's not the case in this book. I particularly enjoyed the past sections and enjoyed getting to know the Marshall family and trying to unravel the mystery. My head was spinning! In a good way.

I've no doubt die hard fans of this series will love this. I am excited to read the others and I will be counting the days until book 12. I hope we are not left waiting too long as that ending truly left me traumatised.

Huge thanks to @netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read and review. Highly recommend.

WHAT AN ENDING!!!!! I can't wait for the next book now to find out what happens!!

Yet again an absolutely brilliant piece of work by Jane Casey.

A Stranger in the family is Book #11 in the Maeve Kerrigan Series. This time the team of detectives are dealing with an apparent murder suicide. The book has mystery, and many, many suspicious characters! There's definitely no easy way of guessing what actually happened.

As for the characters, I adore the relationship between Maeve and Josh. The will they/won't they. The tension. The hope! The way their relationship is built up shows an excellent strength of writing, you can strongly feel the emotions. I love it!

This is Book 11. I actually read book 10 first and loved that so much I went back to the beginning of the series. So it is absolutely possible to read from any book, you just don't get the build up and background of Maeve and Josh, or the rest of the team, which makes the books even better.

I love this series, roll on book 12!!

Thank you to Netgalley, Harpercollins UK and Jane Casey for a copy of the book in return for an honest and independent review.

Oh my God Jane.... that ending!!! This series is just getting better and better and Maeve is like an old friend I get to catch up with from time to time. Can't wait for the next one. Highly recommended, 5 stars, all that :)
Thanks to NetGalley, the editor and the author for the opportunity to access this copy.

I absolutely love this series! This is Book 11 in the DS Maeve Kerrigan series - and it's yet another brilliant, tense and precisely-plotted police procedural. You'll want to clear the diary for this one as you won't easily put it down.

The story opens with Maeve being called to what seems to be a murder-suicide of an older couple, the Marshalls. However, things don't quite make sense at the crime scene and the investigation soon becomes a double murder. This would be tragic enough, until the couple's links to a child's disappearance 16 years previously are uncovered - and it seems that the motives for the double murder lie in the earlier tragic event. It's up to Maeve to unravel the truth about the Marshalls and the cold-case of the missing child - as the answers are inextricably joined.

As has become the norm with the series, there's more of the 'will-they-won't-they' sexual tension between Maeve and DI Josh Derwent. I'll admit that I was getting a bit frustrated at Josh's endless personal crises keeping them apart (something that continues in this book), but there is some progression so let's take that as a bit of a win.

However, simmering sexual tension aside, this mystery is fantastic. There were twists I didn't see coming, lots of misdirection and some real shocks. I found myself wanting to just read the next chapter...and the next one...and the next...and, yes, I've got to get up for work in not many hours, but I need to keep reading!

If you love the Maeve Kerrigan series, you'll adore this latest instalment. If you haven't yet met Maeve, start right back at Book 1 - you've got some catching up to do but you won't regret it. Either way, this is a clever and exciting murder mystery with a really rather unique premise - I read a lot of murder mysteries and felt this offered something a bit extra!

After loving the last book i was unfortunately let down by this one. I found a lot of it drawn out and repetitive and the overarching mystery just wasn't interesting enough. The ending was also a big let down and felt gimmicky.

It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night. She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt. Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed. Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious. What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder. Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.

Whenever I pick up one of Jane Casey's books - particularly her Maeve Kerrigan series - I have a sense of dread. Is this going to be the one where the bubble bursts? Will this be the one that I finish thinking that it was OK? Decent but nothing better? Inevitably - and usually by the time I've read to the bottom of the first page - I know that I'm in safe hands, that this will be another cracker. A Stranger in the Family was no exception. It wasn't just good - it was the best yet and I've read them all.

With most detective stories either the plot or the personal life of the lead detective predominates. When the personal life is at the forefront it's usually because of some problem such as alcoholism, womanising or a complete inability to accept authority or work as a part of a team. They are, of course, brilliant detectives who solve complex cases without much (or any) help from other people. They're also completely unbelievable. In the Maeve Kerrigan series, I've always found a perfect balance between plot and personal life. The chemistry between Kerrigan and Derwent burns off the page but nothing happens. Derwent is with a partner. Although that relationship is barely functioning, Melissa has a young son, Thomas, and Derwent is devoted to him. He doesn't want to hurt him: he has an older child from an earlier relationship and doesn't want to repeat the mistakes he made with Luke. He's reluctant to make Maeve 'the other woman' - and Maeve doesn't want that either. They're normal, decent people, struggling to do the right thing.

The plot is complex and very satisfying, although I must give a health warning about the ending. I nearly cried but do read the acknowledgements at the end - you will be reassured.

As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download, which I bought myself. It's narrated by Caroline Lennon and is excellent. Lennon has a very varied range of voices and I was never in any doubt as to which character I was hearing. The pacing is perfect and I'd happily listen to more from her. I'm particularly looking forward to the next Kerrigan book in April 2025.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

EXCERPT: Did you notice anything out of the ordinary?
Afterwards, when the whole horror of it had been laid out, and their innocence - or rather, the degree to which they should feel guilty - had been debated by people who knew them, and many more who didn't, it was the small, uneasy details that lingered in the mind.
What went missing with her, and what did not.
What happened during the holiday a month earlier.
The argument two days before.
The car with a broken number plate, and how many times it was seen near the house.
The tiny, bare bedroom with blood on the floor.
The visitors to the house that week.
The letters before.
The phone call after.
The open door.
The river.
The bruises and scrapes.
The way her brothers reacted, or did not; the things they said, or did not.
The way her father cried.
Her mother. Her mother. Her mother.
But most of all, how long it was before anyone realised she was gone.

ABOUT ' A STRANGER IN THE HOUSE: When nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall vanished from her bed one summer night, her disappearance tore her family apart.

Now, sixteen years later, her mother Helena is found dead, her husband by her side. It looks like a straightforward murder-suicide but DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent soon discover nothing about this case is straightforward.

The Marshalls have been keeping secrets, and they aren't alone. Josh has been holding something back too – something that could change everything for Maeve.

But one person is prepared to kill to hide the truth.

Until Maeve finds out what happened to Rosalie, no one will be safe . . .

MY THOUGHTS: A Stranger in the Family is a tantalising read. The parents of a girl who has been missing for sixteen years are brutally murdered in their home, their deaths staged to look like a murder-suicide. Why? And by whom? I was quite sure early on in this read that I knew exactly what had happened to Rosalie and who had killed her parents. I was solid on this almost until the end when I realised just how wrong I was.

This is a twisty and complex mystery with a number of viable suspects, the number of whom seems to multiply as the story progresses. My one niggle is a minor one: there are changes in the timeline from the present to when Rosalie was a child, and back, none of which are clearly marked. A couple of times I had to return to the beginning of the chapter, but this became less of a problem as the plot progressed.

Intertwined with the mystery is the complex relationship between Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent - will they? won't they? will they? won't they? Their chances are hindered by obstruction and meddling from friends and foe alike. The tension and anticipation this creates is unbelievable! And, instead of detracting from the investigative storyline, it adds to it! It is impossible not to become invested in the outcome.

As always, this was an engrossing read and I read the second half of the book in one sitting. I can't wait for #12.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.4

#AStrangerintheFamilyJaneCasey #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Born and raised in Dublin, she lives in London where she works as an editor.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | Hemlock Press via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of A Stranger in the Family by Jane Casey for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.