This book has been a long time coming! It’s got so many twists and turns in it. Alongside that it has so many shocks and surprises in it. This is a book that is part of a series, however it could be read as a stand-alone. I look forward to the next instalment of Maeve Kerrigan!

Amazing! I am always excited when a new Maeve Kerrigan book is out, and this one has it all! A real rollercoaster, both in terms on Maeve and Josh, and in the main storyline. An absolutely gripping plot; heartbreaking and twisty all at once.

Absolutely brilliant…can I have the next one now please!!

Another excellent addition to this brilliant series
First, the main plot, 16 years ago a 9-year-old girl disappears, present day her parents are found dead and there are a whole lot of wonderful twists and turns both in between and getting to the conclusion. Clever, unusual and at times cliffhanging, a great read.
Secondly the subplot, Maeve and Josh, the tension, the will they, won't they, that resulted in my shouting at them in my head and then, the ending. Oh the ending!

I only have one complaint about this book and that is the ending! How can I possibly wait until the next book with an end like that? The Maeve Kerrigan series just keeps getting better for me, there was a lot of personal stuff in the book, seeing Maeve and Josh's relationship after their undercover assignment together does take up some of the story time but as I'm totally invested in this I didn't mind one bit, especially as the mystery of the young girl is just as engrossing, for me it struck a good balance. I'm already counting down the days until the next one comes out,

This long-awaited book was brilliant, full of twists, turns, shocks and surprises. Although this is the next instalment of the Maeve Kerrigan series, it can certainly be enjoyed as a standalone.
I do not want to give any of the plot away, but I definitely urge fans of crime thrillers to read this book. I absolutely cannot wait for the next in the series.

Ahh.. settling down to a new Jane Casey book makes me feel so happy and like coming home and getting snuggly on my sofa after a long day at work. In no time at all, I’m immersed in the story and feel all caught up with Maeve and Josh.

As we have come to expect with Jane’s Maeve Kerrigan series, alongside the main plot of the story is the ongoing will-they-won’t-they saga of our main characters, Maeve and Josh Derwent. And the storyline certainly develops a lot more in this instalment!

In A Stranger in the Family, we travel back 16 years to when 9-year-old Rosalie Marshall went missing from her family home. She was never found and the case ground to a halt years ago. Now, Rosalie’s parents have been found dead in their bed, seemingly as a murder-suicide. But Maeve quickly suspects all is not what it seems at the crime scene and that they may have a double murder on their hands.

And so Maeve and Josh begin to delve into the past and what connects Rosalie’s disappearance all that time ago to the murders of her parents. And all is very much not what it seems.

In classic Jane Casey style, there are red herrings at every turn, and it is impossible to predict what is truly going on. You can always feel in safe hands with her writing that you will be surprised and delighted - and this is certainly the case again with her new story. Meanwhile the tension building between Maeve and Josh is constantly in the background and adds another intriguing dimension to the investigation side of the story.

And the end! Oh my gosh - I don’t know what to make of it but it’s certainly a bit of a cliff-hanger that leaves us wanting more immediately! I don’t like being left worried for another year but it’s certainly going to make sure I read the next instalment as quickly as I can possibly get my mitts on it!

This is the first book I have read in this series and now I want to go back and read all of the others! I love the main character of Maeve, she is very relatable and the sexual tension between her and Derwent adds an extra element to the book so its not just crime fiction. I would love to read the earlier books in the series to catch up on the story between them. Although I am very late to the series (book 11) I didn’t feel too lost, the main story of the crime they were solving was brand new and it was just some references to previous events/relationships between characters that were mentioned but there were was enough surrounding information I felt like I was caught up so I think these could be read out of order and still be enjoyed thanks to Jane Casey’s skill.
I really love the central idea of this one as there are two crimes that have to be solved. One is a historical kidnapping of a young girl Rosalie 15 or so years before and the current crime is the murder of her adoptive parents, I enjoyed how these two events nearly two decades apart were linked together in the plot.
Really looking forward to going back and catching up on the previous books in the series before number 12 comes out!

Jane Casey is an automatic read for me, especially this series, and this book is no different. I love Maeve and Josh and the relationship Casey carefully cultivates.
The crime threads are woven so well that it keeps you guessing the whole way through.
If you haven't read this series, please do yourself a favour and start!

There is something comfortable and enjoyable reading another Jane Casey thriller starring Maeve Kerrigan and her beloved side kick (and boss) Josh Derwent. The story revolves around a double murder of an older couple in their beds- the Marshalls. A family who have previously suffered from a terrible tragedy- the disappearance of their nine year old daughter Rosalie 16 years previously. Could there be a connection? Casey leads us down several blind alleys while the complex relationship between our two detectives goes through highs and lows. As always, a fantastic read with the most crushing relevation in the final chapter. I truly hope the next book is written!

It is always a joy to return to a Maeve Kerrigan book and this was no exception. This was another cleverly written, pacy, and well plotted book in the Maeve Kerrigan series offering a compelling plot centred around a missing child, Rosalie and the apparent murder-suicide of her parents 16 years later. It was great to return to Maeve, and of course DI Derwent as they work to unravel what happened to Rosalie's parents as well as the fate of missing Rosalie. This being book 11 in the series Maeve and Derwent are well developed but there's always more to learn and I enjoyed seeing their characters develop further in this outing. This was an utterly brilliant book with fantastic characterisation and compelling plot and after that ending I can't wait for the next one! Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read.

I loved this book, it’s #11 in the Maeve Kerrigan series, and it didn’t disappoint. It’s full of suspense, lots of surprises and brilliant characters. I was hooked right from the start.

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 is safe….

A clever, complex and compelling plot which is well written with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing to the end. The characterisation is just brilliant. Maeve is a very likeable character, and she’s funny at times. I especially enjoy the relationship between Maeve and Josh.
Overall, a brilliant gripping thriller and police procedural. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I couldn’t put it down.
Definitely recommend.
With thanks to #NetGallery @HarperCollinsUK @HarperFiction for an arc of #AStrangerInTheFamily in exchange for a honest review.
Book publishes 14 March 2024.

A Stranger in the Family is another brilliant release from Jane Casey as part of the Maeve Kerrigan series! Like many of the previous novels, this one manages to combine a gripping investigation, lots of twists, and plenty of character development.

The plot was engaging and kept me intrigued. I really liked the storyline with Rosalie’s disappearance as a child – I always find missing people storylines interesting – and the present-day investigation into who killed her parents. There were plenty of twists and surprises, as well as a convincing cast of characters that were varied but never felt like ‘too much’ – they felt realistic and never one-dimensional.

For me, though, this novel felt like it had more about the development of Maeve and Josh’s relationship than other books (apart from than the previous novel, The Close, which saw Maeve and Josh go undercover as a married couple). At the start of A Stranger in the Family, Maeve is sure Josh is avoiding her because of how things were left previously. As the novel goes on, we see the tricky relationship between the two characters develop further – with the sexual tension from The Close still very much present! 😉 Surprisingly, I enjoyed this heavier focus on their relationship versus being more focused on the investigation. It adds a bit of light relief to the case they were investigating.

A Stranger in the Family skilfully continues this brilliant series, and I am already excited for book 12!

I adore Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. This one is a cracker. After the events in the last book, The Close, there’s an incredibly tense relationship between Maeve and her DI, Josh Derwent which crackles and bubbles with suppressed emotion. Now the team have a strange murder mystery to solve with layers of complexity to be unpeeled and revealed.

Topped up with the ever-present ‘will they-won’t they?’ not helped by Chief Inspector Una Birt’s determination to keep Maeve and Josh apart, this makes for a thrilling suspenseful read.

The case the team is focused on is the apparent murder suicide of an elderly couple. But something about the orderly way the scene is presented niggles at Maeve, who always has an eye for detail.

It transpires that Bruce and Helena Marshall had quite the history. Their daughter, Rosalie, disappeared when she was just nine years old. The Marshalls had three children; Rosalie was the youngest and she had two brothers, Ivo and Magnus. Helena was something of a campaigner; the kind of woman who would make her name on Mumsnet and then pronounce on motherhood in articles and radio interviews.

On the day that Rosalie disappeared, Helena had risen early, checked on her boys and then gone downstairs to work. It was much later that she realised Rosalie wasn’t in the house. A police search ensued, but Rosalie was never found. The family did what they could to find Rosalie, pouring time and money into leaflets, campaigns and appeals, to no avail.

Then the rumours started to surface and the scrutiny the family faced was unbearable, especially to Helena. Her mothering skills were questioned and she spent a lot of money on lawyers, threatening litigation against anyone who sought to write negatively about her. Eventually they were forced to move from their large, airy home with a big garden into a small and somewhat grotty flat.

Now both Helena and Bruce are dead and Josh and Maeve have to find out why. It seems obvious that one avenue is to go back to Rosalie’s disappearance and see what evidence that brings them.

It soon becomes clear that the Marshalls are a family with a faultline running right through them. This was a family whose outward façade was that of a well off, happy family, but under the surface lay a can of worms.

As the team chases each lead, Casey gives us more than enough information to keep us giessing, every now and again dropping a bomb into the discovery and causing wide ripples which change our perspective and lead us down another track. All this happens at a fast pace and keeps us wondering as the shocking plot reveals some thrilling turns.

On top of this, Maeve has to contend with a brittle Josh intent on keeping Maeve at arms length and unwilling to discuss it with her. It leaves her sad and bewildered and not a little frustrated, in all senses of the word.

Verdict: Jane Casey always leaves you wanting more and her books just get better and better. She is such a good writer that you are shocked and sometimes left reeling from plot developments and you can’t tear yourself away from such a gripping read. She is a masterclass in how to write crime fiction that has you hanging on to every word. Part of that lies in the completely compelling characters of Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent. And with the ending of this book, readers are going to loudly and insistently demand the next one!

Oh wow! I have loved all the previous Kerrigan and Derwent books and this was deffinitely up.there with the best.
Great plot, good character interaction and the usual twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, but nothing prepared me for the ending! No plot spoilers here though, just read the book!

I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an advance copy of A Stranger in the Family, the eleventh novel to feature DS Maeve Kerrigan of the Met.

When the bodies of Bruce and Helena Marshall are found it is widely suspected of being a murder suicide. Maeve and DI Josh Derwent aren’t so sure, especially when they learn that the Marshalls’ nine year old daughter, Rosalie, disappeared sixteen years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Is someone killing to keep secrets?

I thoroughly enjoyed A Stranger in the Family, which has a dense plot with several twists and an unexpected direction. It is mostly told from Maeve’s first person perspective with flashbacks to the events leading up Rosalie’s disappearance and contributions from other characters as and when required.

As ever with this series I found it compulsive reading. It is difficult to guess where the author will take the story, so it’s necessary to keep turning the pages to satisfy the curiosity. I wasn’t disappointed as the novel moves at a fast pace with reveal after reveal and they often just add to the puzzle of what went on. I didn’t guess the outcome and found my jaw dropping when the full story became clear. I should point out that some of it may require a suspension of disbelief, but by then I was too involved to care. Then there’s the cliffhanger to end it. It will be hard to wait for the next episode.

This novel picks up where The Close ended in terms of the sizzling if unrequited sexual tension between Maeve and Josh. It adds a certain something to the read and I think that the author does an excellent job of portraying Maeve’s feelings and uncertainty about the rather inscrutable Josh and the reactions of her friends. It all feels very relatable. I’m not always a great fan of romantic suspense, but I like the offbeat flirting and the way Maeve stands up for herself.

A Stranger in the Family is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is the 11th Instalment in the DS Maeve Kerrigan Mystery Series and now of course I cannot wait for the 12th, especially having been left on a complete cliffhanger. I only picked up the series from Book 10 so am now working my way through the previous 9 books too.

Picking up a case that looked like a simple murder-suicide and then finding how it connected to a cold case of a missing girl many years earlier. During the investigation Maeve and her colleagues were in danger several times and Josh was always there in the background to make sure she was ok. The romantic and sexual tension between them was both sweet and exciting.

What an amazing writer Jane Casey is.
Thank you to Jane Casey, HarperCollins UK and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Intricately Plotted..
The eleventh in the Maeve Kerrigan series finds Kerrigan and Derwent with a far from straightforward murder case as past and present are about to spectacularly collide. A propulsive plot bubbling with red herrings, twists and secrets galore keeps the reader glued to the pages whilst the deftly drawn and credible cast move the story forward seemlessly. Intricately plotted, tension fuelled and wholly immersive with a solid mystery at its very heart.

Rosalie has been adopted by the Marshall family.
Things aren't as perfect as the family like to pretend. When they wake one morning and find that Rosalie has disappeared things will never be the same again.
Sixteen years later Bruce and Helena Marshall are found dead in their beds. Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent go to the scene and quickly realise that it is not a murder suicide, but a double murder.
Is the murder tied to the disappearance many years before.
The more they investigate, the more red herrings pop up and the investigation is complicated by how things ar ebetween them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this - even the gasp at the very end. I need more immediately!

A Stranger in the Family is the 11th instalment in the Maeve Kerrigan series and what a whirlwind of a thriller new and enduring readers are in for.

A cold case of missing girl, Rosalie Marshall, is reopened after 16 years following an apparent murder-suicide in Battersea, London. Bewildering all, it’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to finally get to the bottom of it.
We find Maeve and Josh at the beginning of Stranger partnered together after somewhat of a break following the events of the previous instalment, The Close. Attempting to navigate the uncertain ground they now find their relationship on, it’s obvious our leads are hyper aware of each other – and the sexual tension exudes from every page.
The long-running will-they-won’t-they dynamic ratchets up to 11 and fans of Maeve and Josh are in for a real rollercoaster ride.
Huge praise is owed to Jane in developing and evolving their relationship since Josh's first introduction in The Reckoning. Our intrepid leads have come a long way and their chemistry is hotter than ever.
I feel Jane really hit the mark with Maeve and Josh's scenes together in Stranger – their banter, attraction, and chemistry is fiery, however, Jane always remains faithful to their friendship and partnership which is the real heart of the series.
As we delve further into Stranger, Josh’s domestic issues punctuate throughout, threatening to unravel not only his work life and career but his relationship with Maeve. We see a different side to our Detective Inspector – a man struggling to keep the wheels on in a vain attempt to try to please all around him.

There were many scenes where I just wanted to grab hold of Josh and shake him. His previous trauma, family history, and ultimate fear of loss threatens to boil over and with this, Maeve is forced to take the wheel, providing readers with a more self-assured DS Kerrigan which I adored.

The plot was really engaging with very memorable secondary characters. Jane did a superb job of portraying the regret and grief which was palpable in so many scenes.

It was great to see Liv feature a little more in this book, she’s back from her maternity leave following the birth of her baby and she plays an important role in lending Maeve some solid advice. Georgia also features sporadically throughout – she’s evolved into the little sister Maeve never had and generates some humorous moments which is always a great addition.

The cliff-hanger of an ending had me screaming into my pillow - why Jane? WHY? I'll say no more!

Jane Casey delivers time and time again with the Maeve Kerrigan series, heightening the tension and stakes while never failing to show the softer, more intimate moments between Maeve and Josh. It has to be said a certain scene involving a mirror has been indelibly imprinted on my mind.

I’m glad to say that A Stranger in the Family has shot straight into my top 3 of the series so far. Copiously addictive, Jane keeps on delivering time and time again. If there's ever a lifetime subscription to the adventures Maeve & Josh on the cards - sign me up!

I would like to thank Jane Casey, HarperCollins & Netgalley for the ARC.

Great story line. Cliff hangers at the end of each chapher. Good characters with each their own story.