There's no point me saying anything about the actual plot, because I don't want to give a thing away, but there's a reason this is one of the most beloved procedural series around: Jane Casey is the best of the best and this is another fatally compelling book that'll have you neglecting all of your responsibilities as you read hungrily late into the night.

I love Maeve Kerrigan so much and I always want to read about her. I read the series basically every year, especially if a new one is coming up

For this novel, Maeve and Josh are in a weird limbo in regards to their relationship, ever since the previous book The Close ended.
There is a lot of will they, wont they, and it honestly reads amazingly. You can feel the tension between them!

The case itself is one where you think you may have an idea, but in the end, it is all very different.

Also, that cliffhanger????

It’s hard to believe this is the 11th book detailing the cases of Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent – and things are at breaking point. Not only is there a double murder case, but the police officers are in turmoil as regards their relationship, professional and personal. Putting matters of the heart aside, albeit temporarily, their focus is on the murders. The parents of three suffered an unbelievable loss when their nine-year-old daughter was taken from her bed 16 years ago. Her abduction was never solved and it’s clear that her parents were keeping plenty of secrets. Until the officers can understand what happened to little Rosalie, they’ll be unable to make headway with the case. Well, plenty of time to look inward then, and fret about how they feel about their lives outside the force. It’s a case where you’ll have an opinion, no doubt, and it’s difficult not to love Maeve. Eleven books in, she’s every bit as astute and impressive.

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date 14th March. I love the DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent series and I was delighted to get my hands on the next book in this series. This book is a fantastic police procedural book with lots of twists and turns that kept me glued to my kindle! I really couldn’t put it down!

The cliffhanger at the end of made me gasp out of loud I can’t wait for next book! I would love if this was made into a tv series it would be great!

If you are a fan of police procedurals this book is definitely a must read and even if you’re not I’d highly recommend everyone to read this book you won’t be disappointed!

Once I started reading this book, I struggled to put it down. This is one of the best police procedural series around, thanks to excellent characterisation. I love Maeve and Josh, as well as the rest of the team. There is a slight difference in the plotting with this latest episode but it works very well. I was guessing right to the end and the ending left me gasping! That's all I will say other than, read it! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are investigating a suspected murder suicide of a couple whose daughter vanished 16 years ago. Will they manage to find out what happened now and all those years ago?

This is the first book I have read in this series and although reading the others would have given a better idea about the characters and their relationships, it did not detract from the overall story and I found that I REALLY enjoyed it. I felt really connected to the characters, despite it being the first time I encountered them and loved their personalities and situations. The storyline was clever, complex and dark. I found myself really engaged in the story and desperate to know what happened next. Some of the chapters ended with cliffhangers which made me need to read one more chapter… which turned into ten more chapters. The ending was unexpected and I did not guess where the story was going.

I always love it when I discover a new author and I have already bought her first books so I can start from the beginning. I can definitely see this becoming one my new favourite series! I can’t wait for the next one but at least feel lucky I have so many to catch up on. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy in return for an honest review.

4+
Maeve Kerrigan #11

It’s early morning and the tail end of the summer holidays and Helena Marshall wakes to a dispiriting number of jobs, not least in their old house in Richmond. Her husband, Bruce, 13 years older than her, is still asleep, so she gets up quietly. She has an unsettling sense of doom, so checks her two boys, 14 year old Ivo, now as silent teen and 12 year old Magnus, lazy but cheerful, but she doesn’t go to the top of the house to check on nine year-old ‘wilful’ Rosalie. This later, she can’t explain, except perhaps it’s to do with the nature of the child. However, never, not for one minute does she consider that anything could be wrong or that there’s anything remotely to worry about, as she dismisses those early morning thoughts. That happens 16 years ago, the night Rosalie vanishes and is never seen again. In the present day, Helena and Bruce are found dead, side-by-side, an apparent murder suicide, but Maeve and her boss DI Josh Derwent aren’t so sure.

Maeve is back, three cheers, especially after that last belter of an outing in “The Close”! I’m pleased to say this is another good ‘un. So, what’s so good about this series? In a nutshell, it’s the fantastic characters that Jane Casey has created. Maeve is great, she can be very funny and the teasing between her and the team is a welcome relief from a tough plot. The dynamics between Maeve and Josh are fascinating, it’s a very complex and complicated situation and the police team members Georgia and Liv do their best here to help the ongoing ‘dance’ between them. It’s a diverse, likeable team but the jury is out on DSU Una Burt with her thinning lips and she’ll stick the boot in whenever she can. Maybe she needs to.

As for the clever plot, this one starts in one place with the storytelling taking us in directions that are so unexpected. It becomes darker and darker with characters presenting one face to the world when the reality is something very different. There are some insightful points of views that are revealing though you ponder if they actually muddy the waters. Some links and connections begin to be made via dogged investigations and there are some terrific plot twists and plenty of tension. The ending is dramatic and also poignant. As for the ultimate ending well, I can’t say much for risk of a spoiler, but let’s settle for, here’s hoping number twelve is well underway. Tenterhooks or what.

Overall, this is another cracking and gripping read, which is full of suspense, constant surprises and excellent characters.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, HarperFiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review

Thanks to netgalley for providing me with this advanced copy for the purpose of review.

This is my favourite series so I was eagerly awaiting this latest addition. I was not disappointed and everything about this was amazing. I highly highly recommend the whole series and cannot wait for the next book.

For my money, Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent detective series is the best out there in the category of ‘duo detectives’. Casey is incredibly successful at delineating the couple’s ever-developing relationship whilst also giving the reader two complex individuals who enjoy plenty of verbal sparring alongside watching each other’s backs. ‘A Stranger in the Family’ develops Josh and Maeve’s relationship to a whole new level. After living together for professional reasons in ‘The Close’ (the previous novel in this series), they are beginning to be more honest about their feelings for each other – if only to themselves.
In this novel, Josh and Maeve are investigating the murder/suicide of an elderly couple whose nine year old adopted daughter went missing sixteen years earlier. As ever, Casey gives the reader a very well plotted narrative, including scenes from the past to ensure that we care about the missing Rosalie, even though we have no idea whether or not she is still alive. Her exploration of the emotional needs of adopted children is skilfully handled and allows us to see why Rosalie behaves in the ways that she does.
Whilst this is not the most memorable of all the crimes that Josh and Maeve have investigated so far, the strength of their feelings for each other is extremely well developed. Obviously, Casey leaves us wanting more still!
My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

I enjoyed this book but I can’t say I was totally gripped. It was well written with lots of twists and turns and a clever plot. Personally, though, I felt there was quite a bit of unnecessary repetition and padding, and the ‘relationship’ between two of the main characters really started to grate on my nerves. I also thought the epilogue was unnecessary but I assume it’s there to make readers buy the next book in the series. I’m sure A Stranger in the Family will be a huge hit, and thank NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read it.

I really love the books in this series. The story begins with Helena waking up to find that her daughter is missing having vanished at some point in the night. Flash forwards and Helena and her husband Bruce have been found dead in their home. Maeve and Derwent think there must be a link between these deaths and the disappearance of Rosalie. The author takes you back to the events leading up to her disappearance through the eyes of different members of the family and friends at the same time as the investigation continues. Alongside this, of course, is the banter between Maeve and Josh which makes these stories so enjoyable. Things do move on in this book although I’m not sure what the point of the epilogue is. Definitely read this books but start at the beginning or you will miss out on the slow development of the central relationship. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC.

I struggled with this at the start but once i was into it a pretty good murder/thriller. The ending left me wanting more. My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.

Nine year old Rosalie Marshall vanished from her bed one summer and was never seen again. Now, 16 years later, her mother and father are found dead in their apartment in what appears to be a murder-suicide. DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are back, investigating the case but nothing is as it seems. 

This one was so well plotted, with the interwoven scenes from the past and Rosalie, along with the strained family relationships they have to navigate and their own personal problems at play. It was tense and mysterious, hooking me from the moment the story opened. Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this gifted review copy. 4.5*

Another good police procedural with an interesting plot.

Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent investigate a double murder possibly linked to the disappearance of a young girl sixteen years previously. There are a fair amount of possible suspects, all interesting characters, as well as the rest of the squad. It's a great story but, for me, hindered by the will-they or won't-they plot from the previous novel (which I've also reviewed). Much as I enjoy the interaction between the characters, this features a little too much for my liking. (thus 4 stars rather than five). There's a nice bit of cliffhanger at the end as well. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Possible spoilers

Murder? What murder? The biggest cliff hangers here are not involving a crime. I'm not usually one to get sucked in by will-they-wont-they stories, but I'm completely on edge of my seat for this one.

The murder really does take a back seat though, to the 16 year old disappearance of 9 year old Rosalie.
A few twists in that story, it kept me guessing to the end.

It's an enjoyable addition to the series.
Maeve is someone I like a lot, hope she's around for a long time.

Maeve Kerrigan is working with Josh Derwent on another case. It seems straightforward enough at first glace, murder-suicide, but when Maeve notices details that don’t quite add up the pair are plunged into a sixteen year old mystery that might not stop at just two deaths. What happened to Rosalie Marshall all those years ago? Why did Helena Marshall try to commit suicide - guilt or grief? And why would someone want them dead all these years later? Brilliantly constructed this compelling book keeps you guessing right to the end. I love Maeve, but I’m a bit disappointed that this strong character has melted into one half of a will-they-won’t-they sub-plot.

Maeve and Josh are back - and after the events in The Close their relationship is even more 'It's complicated' than ever.
I once read an early interview with Jane Casey in which she expressed surprise at how much readers had taken Josh Derwent to their collective bosoms and chests, and even more how much they shipped Maeve and Josh. He was, she said (paraphrasing, I read it a long time ago), an unrepentant sexist dinosaur. True, but Casey has done a fabulous job at peeling back his layers over the series and she has definitely leaned into the sexual tension more and more...
And it's that sexual tension which hooks readers into this series, coupled with twisty, tense crime plots and a host of realistic secondary characters, who like Josh, develop with every book. Georgia, not just less self involved, but looking out for Maeve to both Maeve and the readers' shock, Liv, combining new motherhood with the unforgiving hours and expectations of CID, Una, now the big boss and if she has layers we are yet to see them.
But of course A Stranger in the Family isn't just about the detectives, it's about the crime that consumes them and once again Casey has conjured up the kind of dark, involved plot that keeps you guessing right to the end. An elderly couple are found dead in their flat, an apparent open and shut case of murder suicide. It doesn't take Maeve long to see some clear inconsistencies and the mystery thickens further when they realise they are the victims are the parents of a missing child, Rosalie a nine year old girl who was abducted sixteen years ago and never found.
The books changes pov and time to reveal just what life was like in the riverside Richmond house where Rosalie lived with her parents and older brothers, myths and half truths and family secrets uncovered as Maeve tries to justify her conviction that if she can solve the mystery of what happened to Rosalie, she can solve the murder.
Gripping, fast paced and cleverly plotted. Highly recommended.

After reading this I am now going to order the others in the series as it had me wanting to know more but overall the mystery and suspense had me gripped.

My advice to anyone who hasn't read any of the Maeve Kerrigan books is number 1 - read them immediately and number 2 - clear some time to do it as once you pick them up, they're very hard to put down! The latest in the series, A Stranger in the Family, is the best yet. The characters and situations are all so well developed now that it's easy to pick up again with what feel like old friends.

The story centres around Maeve and the team investigating the apparent murder of an elderly couple. It soon becomes clear that the couple had previously been in the news with the unsolved disappearance of their young daughter many years before. Alongside this we have the ongoing situation between Maeve and her colleague, Josh Derwent, and that is as far as I'm going into the plot details as there are so many twists and turns and it would be a shame to spoil any of them!

Once I started this book, I couldn't stop. Jane Casey writes so well that the procedural part feels believable but never slows down the pace and the plot is interesting and very hard to guess. This series is one of my very favourites and I'm more excited than ever for the next instalment.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

What really sucks about this book is that it’s the latest in a series, and it was so brilliant that now I have to read all the others 🤣 I’m always sad when a book ends but this one really hurt. Probably because the characters are so real. I believed in them. Really impressed by this one. I desperately wanted to finish it and see what happened, so I stayed up and fell asleep reading it.