Number twelve in this excellent series. Author Jane Casey gets the perfect blend of believable characters in a Met murder team and the interesting cases she throws their way. Main characters are DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent. The stories are told in first person perspective from Maeve Kerrigan.
Here there are two main threads, a “locked room” mystery with a murder in a hotel room, and the arrest of Derwent for a serious assault on the woman he is living with. Linking the two threads is the simmering relationship between the two main characters continuing the will they/won’t they theme of previous books.
Well written as always and both incidents are well plotted and multi layered. I was “slightly” less fond of the relationship stuff but it is relevant to the story and taking things forward.
A consistently good writer delivers once again.

DS Maeve Kerrigan is back in this gripping read.
A woman is found dead in a hotel bath .
She is a regular customer at the hotel and always in the same room .
It seems no one went in or came out until her lover arrived and raises the alarm.
It looks like an accident but everything seems to point to murder .
This is definitely a page turner with plenty of twists and turns.
No spoilers here but I loved the ending!
Highly recommended!
Can’t wait for the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction.

Another brilliant book
Just had me hooked from the start to the finish I
With twist galore and a biggy at the end
This series is fantastic one of my favourites
Thanks Netgalley

This has been one of my most favourite series and I just don't ever want it to end.
The 12th book in the series, the story does not become stale and the relationship between Josh and Maeve rollercoasters constantly.
The plot was full of suprises and twists along the way.
Definitely worth reading this series.
Thank you to Netgalley, Jane Casey and Harper Collins UK for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Book 12 in the DS Maeve Kerrigan series. This was one of my favourite series, good storylines and the side story of Maeve & Derwents relationship but this book focused on their relationship rather than the storyline. It was more of a romance novel than crime. After the first few chapters when the murder is committed, it’s not mentioned again until near the end of the book !! A huge disappointment for me.

This is the twelfth book in the Maeve Kerrigan series by author Jane Casey.

Jane Casey returns with another instalment of the Maeve Kerrigan series which took me a while to get into but improved the more I read. The story opens with the death of Ilaria Cavendish, a wealthy woman found scalded in the bath of a luxury London hotel. An intriguing plot and Maeve has to work out how the murder was committed when the room was locked, no one entered or exited and yet someone managed to kill her.

DS Maeve Kerrigan is a fascinating character, determined, impulsive and very competent so is well equipped to solve this mystery. Initially the death was thought to be an accident but quickly turns into an intriguing puzzle of deception and murder. The crime appears to be an impossible crime and perfect for someone like Kerrigan to solve.

Meanwhile Maeve’s colleague DI Josh Derwent is suffering a personal crisis that could destroy him. Maeve is determined to help and must put everything on the line for him which is going to be an emotional encounter.

The series is full of very good characters and the story improved for me as I got back into them. The book is well written and flows at a good pace. A twisty novel with an intriguing plot and a backbeat of emotion.

I would like to thank both Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve enjoyed the previous books in this series and the characters are always entertaining. This one however had a crime element that didn’t ring true at all but the romance part was excellent. No spoilers from me though so now my lips are sealed …

The Secret Room is the twelfth book in Jane Casey's ongoing and excellent Maeve Kerrigan series. I am always excited to pick up the latest book because with out fail I am treated to a clever case to be solved by characters that at this point almost feel like friends. Of course The Secret Room did not disappoint , in fact I think it is one of my favourite books in the series to date, and I suspect that many long term readers will feel the same way.
The book opens with a rather mysterious case for Maeve and her partner DI Josh Derwent when the body of a woman is found submerged in scalding water by her lover in the hotel room that she had checked into less than an hour before, The couple met there weekly, a regular tryst in their ongoing affair and there seems to be no obvious motive for her murder, and even more perplexingly, from the security camera footage, it appears that she was alone in her room at the time of her death. D.S. Kerrigan is quick to sink her teeth into the case but is not making much progress when everything is derailed and her partner, Josh, is arrested on suspicion of brutally attacking his girlfriend. The Maeve/Josh relationship is complicated, and more so than even following a stint of living together while under cover, but she knows that he is not capable of the brutal crime he has been accused of, and despite numerous warnings of the damage it might do to her own career, she sets out to clear his name.
I really do not want to say too much more about the plot because with a book like this seeing how it all unfolds is part of the magic, especially when you are in such capable hands as those of this author. Long term reader of the series will find much to enjoy but this book could absolutely be read as a stand alone, though if you do that I defy you not to seek out the rest of the series, and you know what, you won't be sorry that you did. Both cases in the Secret Room are well plotted and full of twists and turns to keep you turning those pages , though I suspect that readers who have been following along from previous books will be more invested in Josh's case.
Another excellent outing for one of my favourite series, and I am glad to hear that there is more to come.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own,

I loved this book!! The ‘how it could have happened’ frustrated the life of me but not in a bad way. It was done in a way that I just wanted to keep reading until it was all finally explained.
I also love the dynamic between Josh & Maeve.
Thoroughly recommend this book (& series!)

Jane Casey writes a good story and this is no exception. I think the title was a mistake as it gave the game away from the start. I felt this was more a romantic drama than a police procedural a lot of the time but it was still an enjoyable read.

Jane Casey is such a great writer, realistic characters and the most anxiety inducing storyline.

In this installment a woman is found dead in a locked room. How did this happen? There's good reason to think it wasn't an accident... There's also the ongoing saga between Maeve and Josh with some extra drama.

To be honest I'll have to read this one again as I rushed it and think I missed lots of details. Great read

This is book 12 in the Maeve Kerrigan series and it’s another goody. I’ve read a good few of the books in the series and they never disappoint. The characters are like family especially Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent. There are 2 storylines running alongside each other in this one and both are as interesting as the other. Both storylines are well developed and keep you engaged. Jane Casey has definitely upped the anti in this one 😉. She writes such incredible characters that come to life on the page and in audio version. Loved it and found it really engaging on audio. Caroline Lennon does a great job on the narration as always. Looking forward to the next instalment.

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

A wealthy woman is found dead in a luxurious hotel. The main suspect is her lover but as DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent investigate the plot becomes tangled and the lover is the least likely murderer. However Derwent is suddenly arrested for assault, his partner has been found injured and has accused him of systematic abuse. Now Maeve has to solve two cases, one of which is way too close to home.
I absolutely love Casey's books and I galloped through this one as I wanted to know what was going to happen. The plotting is tight, I got the 'how' but not the 'who' and I love that I am kept intrigued to the last page. As to the rest, well there was a plea from the publisher at the start of my proof copy and a plea from the author at the end as to refrain from giving spoilers. All I will say is that this is a fantastic series of books, it's not supposed to be ending and please read from the beginning to get the full benefit!

The Secret Room by Jane Casey is the latest in the Maeve Kerrigan series and though I'm an intermittent reader of the series I loved the previous book (A Stranger in the Family) which left us hanging. Here, we have one case involving the locked-room death of the young attractive wife of a wealthy man, murdered while at her weekly tryst with her lover; and another featuring Josh Derwent (Maeve's boss and erstwhile will-they / won't-they love interest) coming under suspicion after his girlfriend is beaten.

I'd not remembered where the previous book in this series had finished, but my review indicates it was a cliff-hanger. This opens six months or so after that and Maeve's trying to move on from her not-entirely unrequited love for Derwent while he's still with his partner and her young (unwell) son. I must confess I guessed where this was going (in terms of Melissa and her son) very early on in the book, but maybe that's because—like the doctor who ultimately diagnoses him—I'm a terrible cynic, but although it could be predictable Casey introduces evidence that Derwent isn't the good guy Maeve's believes him to be. And then there's the cop hellbent on proving his guilt, and thinking she's saving Maeve from herself and career suicide at the same time.

The murder investigation is (mostly) front and centre here, but we dip in and out of Derwent's unfolding circumstances. And of course although he forbids Maeve from getting involved, she can't help herself. The murder on the other hand becomes quite complex as we learn the husband of the victim was indeed aware of her trysts and had a habit of ditching ageing wives and moving onto a younger version. The murder is puzzling as there are security cameras outside of the victims room and the only visitor before she was found was a staff member delivering her usual bottle of champagne. Room / card access details also indicate no one else entered. So, the quintessential 21st century version of the locked-room mystery.

I must confess intriguing as [that case] was I didn't particularly connect with the victim or suspects... many of whom were quite unlikeable. I was however more interested in the case involving Derwent and continue to delight in the tortured relationship he has with Maeve. I was also however, happy to see some changes on that front. 

I very much enjoyed this and was again reminded early of Casey's eloquent prose...

'Death had arrived just ahead of me, and greeted my like an old friend, which was fortunate because the staff downstairs had been distinctly chilly. Here was the familiar nightmarish sense of everything normal having shuddered to a stop, the ordinary and everyday turned strange.' 2% through ebook #perfection

The Secret Room by Jane Casey is the 12th book in th Maeve Kerrigan series and is the first book I have read - Where have I been? It was an excellent book especially as it had me sitting on the edge of my seat till I had finished it! It is full of great twists and turns throughout that will have you gripped from the beginning till the very end!

I loved the two main characters DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent they were great and worked well together.
This was a book I had wished I had read the other eleven book before this one, but don't let this put you off,
I found it easy to get into though but going back to get the audiobooks.

A superb read and I love the way Jane writes, She just drew me into this book and now I am craving the other 11 books! lol

The twelfth book in the Maeve Kerrigan series, and though past events are referred to in passing, this works well as a standalone.

For this book Kerrigan and Derwent are once again having to work together, this time on the murder of a woman in an hotel room. Very much a locked room type of plot, with some exciting twists and turns. Running alongside this is a domestic abuse case, which brings doubts and suspicions all round.

Through out it all, there is the undercurrent volatile relationship between two detectives, with one never quite sure of the outcome.

A good, well thought out story, with two equally unpleasant cases, plus the inevitable will they won’t they thrown in.

A worthy read.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK.

I really enjoyed this book, I listened to it on audio alongside my other reads.
I hadn't read any of the previous books in the series, but it didn't matter. I was already so invested with the characters right from the off.
The narrator was fabulous, kept me engaged and did a wonderful job of portraying Maeve's feelings and emotions.
My only negative is the title, I can't help but think this gives away an awful lot of the plot, and readers didn't need the help. Let them work it out.

How can the corpse in the bath of an upmarket London hotel have been murdered, when nobody went into the room, and nobody left?

This is the huge problem facing DS Maeve Kerrigan and her colleagues. Until she gets distracted by problems so much closer to home...

Another brilliant adventure in this always excellent series

The Maeve Kerrigan series is one of my favourite series that I'm halfway through, although I've read it in a completely random order. I enjoyed a few of the later releases so I tried to go back to the beginning, but keep getting distracted by the new releases, so I'm a bit back and forth with it at the moment. But I definitely enjoy these later instalments much more!

Maybe it's because I've come to love the characters so much and I want to know what's going on with them now, which is what this book is perfect for. Because let's be honest, the investigation part of this book is only about 20% of it, while the rest focuses on a situation with Josh and how Meave deals with that. I won't go into too much detail because this is definitely a book for the fans. I haven't read A Stranger In The Family, which I hear this follows on from rather well, so if you loved that, then this is sure to be a must-read for you.

If you're not a fan of the series, I wouldn't recommend starting here as it does rely on you knowing the characters, but I've seen others say that it's also an easy book to get into. Whatever the case, it's a series you need to be involved with in some way! So get on it!

A very enjoyable book. I have read 3 other books in the series but felt I needed to have read the previous one as there seemed to be a lot of references to it. There are two cases for Maeve and Josh - a seemingly impossible murder and domestic violence. Solving the crimes and their personal lives become intertwined. I'd forgotten how good they were. Can't wait for the next one.