
Member Reviews

I was really impressed with Jane’s standalone novel The Killing Kind from 2021, which was one of my top crime novels of that year, and I have regularly dipped into and enjoyed the books in her Maeve Kerrigan series. The Secret Room is the twelfth book in the series.
The previous book, A Stranger In The Family, concluded with a cliff hanger ending, but before dealing with that Jane neatly sets up the main crime at the centre of The Secret Room. At 2.32pm on a Wednesday afternoon, wealthy, privileged Ilaria Cavendish checks into a luxury London hotel and orders a bottle of champagne. Within the hour, her lover discovers her submerged in a bath of scalding water, dead. At first glance it looks like an accident. No one went in with her. No one came out. But all the signs point to murder.
For DS Maeve Kerrigan, the case is a challenge and a welcome distraction. With no obvious suspects and no clue as to how the murder was committed, Maeve struggles with what avenues to pursue, but soon her attention is further diverted by another crime impacting her close colleague DI Josh Derwent.
The crimes at the centre of The Secret Room are well thought out and captivating, and it is good to watch Maeve skilfully work her way through both of them. There are several twists and shocks, and the outcomes for both crimes came as a surprise to me. There is also good tension generated by the second crime involving Derwent.
The characters are well drawn and the relationships between the various members of Maeve’s team are convincing. An interesting new character in the form of detective Roz Fuller adds some bite to the story and it would be good to see her again. Those who have read the earlier books in the series, will not be surprised that a lot of attention is paid to Maeve’s waxing and waning personal relationships and her feelings. This does slow the pace at times, and on a couple of occasions I found it to be a bit tiresome. I suspect, however, that others will be more interested in this aspect of the book than me.
Overall, I found The Secret Room to be a really enjoyable read. The police aspects are well handled, and the book really does build to an unexpected and satisfying ending. Highly recommended, especially for regular readers of the series.

Illaria Cavendish checks into a luxury hotel and shortly after, her secret lover finds her dead in a bath full of scalding hot water. All signs point to murder but how could that be possible when no one entered or left the room!
A fab locked room murder mystery case intertwined with the drama following "that phone call" at the end of the last book, Maeve is being pulled in all directions and is struggling with everyone in her life telling her to walk away from the drama.
This book was really unputdownable!
While all books in the Maeve Kerrigan series work as standalones, this is one that you won't fully appreciate if you haven't experienced the build up from previous books regarding the Maeve/Derwent saga!
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s 1am and I should have been asleep hours ago, but I couldn’t put the book down until it was finished. Oh how I love Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent and how their will they, won’t they, dominated this book.
At times frustrating and others amazing, I loved it. The crime that was actually committed was an intriguing one too. The other investigation was a surprise I did not see coming! Ooh how that angered me and how I loathed Melissa.
Thank you so much for the ARC. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book since I finished the last one and will be eagerly awaiting the next.

OH MY GOD, absolutely stunning I lost sleep because I couldn’t stop reading. I’m just about to start it again and savour it this time. Can’t actually say a lot about the book because spoilers. Just read it the first day ours out book a day of work and enjoy. It was really worth waiting for.

It seems to me that the more gruesome the murder element of the plots in this series, the more the reader is drawn into the lives of the detectives rather than the detecting. This is indeed much of the joy of following a long series.
Nonetheless this is a particularly horrible investigation set within the confines of a ritzy hotel. The title indicates that this may be a locked room mystery, which indeed it is. There the parallels with the golden age of crime end. The crime and its motivation take the whole novel to unravel by which time, I had stopped wondering. I was far more engaged in the internal investigation within the Met and what the fallout might be for "our" detectives.
I found it page turningly addictive!
With thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollinsUK for the opportunity to read and review

Oh wow. Obsessed with Maeve.
Hard to review without spoilers.
Such a great read. A closed room mystery and a personal investigation go side by side in this book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in return for my honest review

Absolutely no spoilers here for the latest in Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series, but a clear thumbs up from me as a long time fan of the books. This is a suitably twisty take on a locked room mystery and a suitably twisty take on Maeve's own circumstances. I enjoyed this hugely.

I couldn't have been more excited for the latest Maeve Kerrigan book and was certainly not disappointed. Quite the opposite!
Like all of the previous books in the series, it draws you in immediately with a captivating case and interweaves it with what is going on in the private and job lives of Maeve and Josh. And boy is there a lot going on! It's fast paced and something happens on every page.
Expect nail biting and very late nights - I couldn't put the book down! It stays tense to the very, very end. Thoroughly enjoyed the ending and now can't wait for the next book and how the overarching story continues.
I am very thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. My only regret is that the wait for the next installment is now even longer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but I felt the mystery took a bit of a backseat to the personal relationships and I felt that some of the history established in earlier books seemed to be rewritten to fit this plot. The "shift in history" served the plot, but it felt like certain past events were reshaped to fit the current story.
That said, the case kept me guessing, and many of the twists genuinely surprised me. As with all Maeve books, I’ll definitely be rereading this one, though it fell a bit short of some of my expectations.

Jane does it again!! I am obsessed with Josh and Maeve so devoured this latest installment, the ending is so satisfying especially after the very long build up!! Great mystery as always and Jane is a master at romantic tension. Loved it!!

The DS Maeve Kerrigan series is one of my top favorite series of all time and I would highly recommend it but they MUST be read in order to get the full experience. Great procedurals set in the UK with interesting cases, a cast of complex supporting characters, and one of the best slow burn will-they-or-won't-they relationships since Strike and Robin (IYKYK ). So. Much. Tension. These books are ones I want to rip through quickly to find out what happens but also want to savor them as long as possible. I have been anxiously awaiting The Secret Room for over a year and once again Jane Casey put me through the wringer. Maeve is called to a luxury hotel for a woman found dead in the bathtub. The evidence points to murder but the CCTV footage and door swipe log show that the victim was alone in the locked room. All of our favorite members from Maeve's team are involved including (enigmatic, frustrating, sexy) DI Josh Derwent. As usual, nothing in Maeve's personal or professional life unfolds in a straightforward manner but that's what keeps me glued to the pages. I don't want to give away any spoilers but this book put me through ALL of the emotions and as usual has me once again dying to get my hands on the next installment. #NetGalley #TheSecretRoom

Firstly don’t read this is you are new to the series as it won’t make as much sense or leave you as emotionally drained as it would if you know the background to the relationship between Maeve and Josh. It’s the perfect follow up to Stranger In The Family and delivered a gripping storyline that pulled out all the best in these characters that I have come to know and love over the years. Brilliantly executed from start to finish-I absolutely loved it!

I couldn't believe my luck when I was approved to read an advance copy of The Secret Room by Jane Casey.
Finding this author (and this series in particular) has been one of the highlights of my year so far, providing a distraction in the grim winter months and keeping me turning the pages long after I should have gone to sleep. I can't believe I hadn't come across Jane Casey until December 2024, but a flurry of mentions by various trusted sources online meant that the call of her books quickly became impossible to ignore. I thought I might read one or two over the next year but I have actually read the entire 12-book series since the start of January (it's now 20 February!) in one great big gulp. I guess new readers could read this one as a standalone, but why on earth would you do that when such delights await?
I don't want to put any spoilers at all in my review, but suffice to say that Jane Casey knows her readers so well and has lovingly crafted a book that will give them an amazing experience, with all the heart-racing twists and nervous "will-they, won't they" butterflies we've come to expect. She also knows her characters inside out and I was particularly impressed that she created tension and conflict in unexpected places, rather than taking the "easy" option that would not have been true to them. This was the kind of novel that brought about a wistful sigh at the end, after I'd unwittingly been holding my breath for who knows how long... I even wanted to hug the book close – I may have to buy a physical copy to do just that.
Thank you, Jane Casey, for this wonderful gift! I can't wait to read what you write next.
With sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of The Secret Room in exchange for an honest review.

I am a MASSIVE fan of the Maeve Kerrigan series so was completely delighted to receive this advance review copy - and I was not disappointed!
A clever, almost Jonathan Creek style mystery to solve - and the eternal will they/won't they between Maeve and Derwent. I enjoyed this book enormously and powered through it in a night. If you're a fan of the series, then you'll love it!

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an ARC for the purpose of review.
I discovered the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey during Covid and the books are a firm favourite. Unlike other books in the series, there are two crimes/storylines running along side each other. “The Secret Room” does more of a deep dive into our favourites Maeve and Josh and the closest people to them. We learn a lot more about each of them.
“A Stranger in the Family” ended on a cliffhanger for the duo and “The Secret Room” is unputdownable, I read it in one sitting! Fans of the series are going to love the latest instalment. I can’t wait for the next one already.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.
This is my most favourite series and following the cliffhanger in the previous book, it was highly anticipated. It didn't disappoint and everything about it was perfect. Jane Casey writes so well that all the characters feel real. The mystery was gripping as was the character development and progression. I highly recommend reading the whole series from start to finish.

When I finished Jane Casey’s previous book, A Stranger in the Family, I know I wasn’t alone in wishing the next book was ready to read immediately after the jaw-dropping epilogue she left us with. So to say I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the new book is not an exaggeration!!!
The Secret Room is the twelfth in the Maeve Kerrigan detective series, a series I first discovered in 2023. From the very first book, I was completely hooked (I read it in a day!). Jane Casey has created such a brilliant character in Maeve—a detective in a London-based murder squad.
Each book usually focuses on a particular murder case, with some really interesting side stories, usually involving Maeve’s personal life. None, however, are (for me anyway!!) as gripping as the ongoing dynamic between Maeve and Josh Derwent. Josh was introduced in book three, and I hated him at first! I actually wasn’t sure I would be able to continue the series with him in it! So the fact that I’ve done a complete 180 on him is a real testament to Jane Casey’s writing skills.
This book was definitely worth the long wait—and honestly, I think it’s the best in the series so far! It’s hard to say too much about the plot without dropping spoilers, which I definitely don’t want to do. But I’ll say this: there’s a murder for Maeve to solve involving an interior designer who checks into a hotel and is murdered in a scalding bath - with no signs of anyone else in the room with her that could have done the deed. This mystery kept me guessing right until the very end. And the storyline involving Josh had me on the edge of my seat.
If you haven’t read this series yet, you are missing out. Each book has a standalone story, but honestly if you haven’t read the full series I would recommend you start from Book 1 as will get way more from it, (especially from the Josh storyline).
Thanks so much to @netgalley and @harpercollins for an advanced copy of the book. All views are my own.
#netgalley #harpercollins #janecasey #maevekerrigan #bookstagram #irishbookstagrammer

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an e-ARC; this review reflects my honest thoughts.
This is one of the most highly anticipated book series! I've been reading the Maeve Kerrigan series for years, and the author has an incredible talent for crafting plots filled with twists and turns. She skillfully presents a complicated story-line that reveals interesting truths about people's personalities. The last book ended on a cliffhanger, and the synopsis of this new instalment nearly made my heart stop. I really don’t want this series to end!
"The Secret Room" is another masterpiece by Jane Casey. It features a gripping double-case investigation that will keep you glued to the pages—don’t skip this one; it’s that good! It's always fascinating to uncover more truths about the main characters, truths that turn our understanding of the story upside down. It’s simply fantastic!
There is no doubt that anyone who is reading the series won't regret picking the latest one.

I love this series and was very excited to read this latest instalment. I wasn’t disappointed as it was fantastic with a couple of storylines. Maeve, her family and colleagues all seem like old friends as they are so well written. The main investigation is a type of locked room mystery and very good it is too. I’m already looking forward to the next book.

I didn’t like that a character who has already been long established in the series as a domestic violence survivor was here changed to have been lying about it all along. Having experienced DVI have had the Met police tell me I was lying for a long time, and ultimately half a court room say it too, before the man in question was eventually found guilty.
I started this series having heard some of Maeve’s fictional experience from a friend, and that through the series the portrayal of women’s experiences of DV is much more realistic and supportive than with the real Met. So I felt let down by the ret-con of Melissa’s story.
I kept reading to the end because I feel a moral obligation to provide feedback based on the whole book.
I’m not usually one to ask for trigger warnings but maybe this book needs one.