Absolutely bloody brilliant it had me gripped from the get go and I couldn't even i had wanted to put it down.
Thanks netgalley for introducing me to this fantastic author

A complex story with many red herrings for the police to sort through and which DS Kerrigan finally does, but not without learning about her own issues along the way.
Whilst I liked this policewoman, I think it is time that we had lead female police characters without so much baggage. Ones that their colleagues all like and are still good at their jobs, ones with happy families and children, but yes, working as a detective will put strains on a family life but they could resolve them without divorce or adultery or...
So here the story starts with Chloe coming home unexpectedly from her father’s to find her mother missing and the house covered in (her mother’s) blood.
There is a presumption of murder but they cannot find her body.
Chloe is, according to her mother and some experts, learning disabled, but still she has a firm friendship with Bethany a neighbour, some years younger than her. Bethany’s family belong to a local religious group that favour Abrahamical teachings, with full immersion baptism and the man being the head of the household and the woman the home-maker. They shun modern appliances such as mobile phones and Bethany ‘s life is quite constrained. But her friendship with Chloe is tolerated, despite their concerns over her mother’s activities – as they perceive them.
The story involves many issues relating to religious tolerance and beliefs as well as who do you believe and what do past actions mean for who you are now – can you change your character?
A nice, if fairly standard, police detective novel with the denouement being behind several twists and turns.

A young girl arrives home to find her house covered in blood and no sign of her mother leading to a murder investigation carried out by DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent. This is a definite page turner full of twists and turns the ending was enjoyable. The characters are well developed and I did like Maeve in particular. Although this is book 7 of a series you can definitely read this as a standalone book. I really enjoyed this book and will be looking out for the others as I'd love to read more of Maeve's backstory.

Thank you to Netgalley, Jane Casey and Harper Collins for the ARC copy of this book.

A new name to me in crime fiction-I'll be reading more.

I found this a really good book. On the strength of this I'd definitely read more in the series. I didn't realise this was a series when it first caught my eye. It's actually book 7-but it didn't seem to matter if you hadn't read any of the others. It was easy to follow and can definitely standalone. Or, as it did with me, could tempt you to read more of the series.

This 'whodunit' really had me guessing all the way through. I'm not very good at working out answers to a plot at the beginning of a book, which is good in that it would spoil every book I read if I could, but I usually have a good guess. This one really did hold my attention and I had a total of seven characters who had committed the murder, I took one out of the frame for a few chapters then put him back in, I was convinced they'd all done it!

This is the first book by Jane Casey I've read and, unfortunately, Let The Dead Speak is the seventh in the Maeve Kerrigan detective series. If you want to just read a great crime, detective, police procedural story this one is excellent and also works well as a stand alone novel without feeling you have lost out by not knowing the back story.

Chloe Emery returns home a few days early after staying with her father. A neighbour, Mr Norris, happens to see her come out of the railway station in the pouring rain and offers to give her a lift home. Chloe is reluctant, she doesn't lime him, but gets in the car anyway. When she walks in the house she shares with her mother, there is blood all over the walls and carpets in pools and splattered arcs. With her mother missing from the house and also the amount of blood, it's obvious there's been a murder.

D.S. Maeve Kerrigan has been newly promoted and it's clear there is a little friction, friendly or otherwise, between her and D.I. Josh Derwent. Kerrigan also has a new detective constable working with her, Georgia Shaw, who is intelligent, pretty and a slight distraction for Josh Derwent. Minor jealousies start to show from Maeve Kerrigan. It's apparent that Kerrigan and Derwent have a past but it doesn't distract from the story of this book.

I thought this was a really well plotted story, expertly written in a way to keep us guessing all the way through. There weren't too many characters but nearly all could have been the murderer, building and adding to the tension. There was a good unexpected twist near the end which turned all that we thought we knew right on its head. The characters were well developed, often with their own problems, issues and complexities.

For me, this was an excellent introduction to Jane Casey's writing and made such an impression that I will go back to the beginning of the series and work my way through from book one, The Burning.

So glad to be finished with this book. The beginning was strong, the middle mediocre and the ending ridiculous. I will be giving this author a pass in the future.

Yes, it's the fourth 5 star review in over 2 years and 150+ reviews! Absolutely cracking police procedural that begins with the police processing a murder scene where they find all the evidence they need, in fact everything, except the requisite corpse. The story moves along at breakneck pace and there are a multiplicity of suspects to choose from, but still no body.
It would be remiss to outline the plot in detail but suffice to say that apart from the plethora of suspects there are multiple plot twists and a jaw dropping denoument. All the characters are very well drawn and the plot construction is perfect. At the risk of gushing, this is the best novel I've read in a long time and thoroughly recommended

It has been sometime since I last read such a gripping crime novel. The plot was intriguing with some complex, if slightly unbelievable suspects. For once the ending was not a let down and the suspense did not fizzle out as so often occurs in such scripts. This will make a good movie or TV drama.

I read this novel in one seven-hour sitting. Despite being exhausted I couldn’t put it down, because I had to find out what happened next. This is a tightly written crime thriller, packed with suspense and an unexpected twist.

I thought this was an excellent detective book. I like the exciting plot and the characters. The detectives where finely drawn and the whole book hangs to gether very nicely. A very satisfying read. I shall read more from this author.

Chloe comes home early to her mother’s house, having stayed with her father and new wife.
Her neighbour, an evangelical Christian, gives her a lift in the rain, but when they reach the house they are horrified to find it covered in blood, and her mother missing.
The police are called, and the search for the mother’s body begins.

Maeve Kerrigan and her new constable, Georgia, are part of the investigation, along with DI Derwent, and others.
It becomes clear that Chloe may have learning difficulties, and needs support, and so she stays with the Norrises, her neighbours and their daughter Bethany.
As the police investigate, other people come under suspicion, and the mother’s life appears more and more complex, but a body has yet to be found.
I managed to guess one twist, but was blown away by the final chapters, which kept me on tenterhooks until the very end.

This is the first book I have read of this series, and I was intrigued by the relationship between Maeve and Derwent – I will certainly read the earlier books, and look forward to the next one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the opportunity to read this book.

Really enjoyed this book, just when you thought you knew which direction it was going it threw a curved ball which made you go back and look again at the "evidence". The interaction and relationship between Kerrigan and Derwent was interesting and I will now go back and read the rest of the series to get the back story as want to know more about them. Mauve Kerrigan was a likeable and, more importantly a believable character and again am looking forward to reading other books in the series to see what has brought her to the stage in life she is at in this latest instalment. Excited to have found a new author and series to get stuck into, have already recommended to friends.

Let the Dead Speak is a police procedural but, since it's narrated in first person, I found that it also reads as a psychological thriller - a perfect combination.

This is the seventh book in the Maeve Kerrigan series. I've read the first two books and the sixth, but not yet the ones in the middle. In fact, I read the sixth book as a standalone last year, and then started to catch up with the rest of the series. I just couldn't want any longer to read Let the Dead Speak, which is why I jumped ahead again. I do believe this book would work well as a standalone though.

In Let the Dead Speak, a woman has disappeared from her home, leaving just a trail of blood - a lot of blood. Maeve Kerrigan has now been promoted to Detective Sergeant, and feels she has to prove her worth in her new role. As she investigates a murder without a body, she discovers a lot of suspects among the woman's neighbours. Her search for the truth reveals dark secrets and a whole host of lies.

Jane Casey has a brilliant way of writing books that flowing seamlessly. She maintains a fast pace with a good mix of tension, action and intrigue. This is a really easy read. I don't mean the plot is a simple one - it's complex and multilayered, with subtle, and not so subtle, twists, turn, surprises and red herrings. But the writing, as always, is excellent and a pleasure to read, with plenty of humour to lighten up the dark plot. The characters are varied and believable, and this great characterisation drives the story forward. I particularly love Maeve's relationship with Derwent (in fact, I particularly love Derwent...).

Jane Casey's books get better and better! I can't praise this book highly enough. I loved it and didn't want it to end.

I enjoyed this story very much. The two main detectives, DS Kerrigan and DI Derwent, are well written, it is easy to visualise them. The story twists and turns, seeming to lead to one person as the murderer, then another, and all so feasible, you end up with no idea who it is likely to be. The two twists at the end of the book are totally unexpected, but throughout the book you are surprised by developments. A thoroughly good read, and a great whodunnit.

A really clever book full to the brim with mysterious, deviant characters. The plot of the story works well and there are plenty of twists to keep the suspense up. I really enjoyed this book and will be recommending to the book club.

Fantastic new title from Jane Casey! Well impressed! Thoroughly enjoyable and will keep you gripped, until the very end! Highly recommended!

I love a good crime story and when I saw Let the Dead Speak it sounded like a book I would enjoy. When I discovered that it was part of a series of novels centering around detective Maeve Kerrigan I wondered whether it would be possible to come in at novel number seven and not feel confused. Although some incidents that happened in previous novels are alluded to it doesn't spoil the reading of this book.
The story starts with the very bloody murder of the single mother of troubled teenager Chloe who comes back from a distressful visit to her father and stepmother's to a house covered in blood. All is not as it appears, however and Maeve must piece together just what happened at the middle class home in Putney. I know I read a lot of crime stories both fiction and non fiction but I guessed the twist fairly early on in the book and it says a lot for the fantastic quality of writing that I still read on and enjoyed the rest of the story.I will certainly be tempted to read earlier books in this series.

3 ⭐⭐⭐

This was an enjoyable police procedural book. My first by the author and I wonder if I needed to have read earlier books first. For example the relationship between Derwent & Kerrigan; not knowing the back story left me confused.

This was quite slow going till about half way through. I enjoyed it more once people started dying but I think really this want for me sorry.

Let's have a book about Georgia the poor girl who was bullied, isolated and stood no chance!

Police procedural set in South London – very good plot on the whole
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the seventh in the Maeve Kerrigan series of detective novels but my first. It involves the disappearance and possible murder of a single mother in Putney and the police investigation into her death. This involves many of her neighbours, her daughter, her ex-husband and his new family. Many twists and tuns along the way make this an intriguing novel although one “coincidence” didn't ring true for me.
The writing is engaging as are the characters although it's hard to warm to any of them with their flaws. Some humour is injected successfully and I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to all lovers of detective fiction.

I have been a fan of both author Jane Casey and the Maeve Kerrigan series for some time so when I had the opportunity to read the latest instalment, I couldn't wait. One thing I like about this author is that she is so consistently good and this book proved to be up to the same high standard.
In this latest story 18 year old Chloe Emery discovers her mother missing from her West London home with the house covered in blood. Everything points to murder but there is no sign of a body.

Detective Maeve Kerrigan and her team investigate the neighbours and discover some very suspicious characters. With no body the investigation proves to be far from straight forward and Maeve tries to decide who is lying in an effort to discover the truth.

This is an excellent series and although the books can be read as one offs, I like that having read them in order from the very start I have got to know the characters better and any subplots make perfect sense. I would highly recommend both this author and this series of books.

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