The Kill

This is the fifth in the crime series based in London and featuring Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan and it is excellent.

Most of the very topical story based on tension between the police and poor people of color actually focuses on the relationship with Maeve and her frequent Murder Squad partner, Detective Inspector Josh Derwent. The complexity and nuance with which Casey limns both Maeve and Josh, and the two of them together, is riveting.

Josh often behaves like a sexist churl, and while it annoys Maeve, she understands it is in part a defense mechanism for Josh, whose rage and apparent lack of compassion is a shield, “hiding what he really felt, as if anyone would think less of him for being upset at what we were about to show more see.” Nevertheless, Maeve can’t keep herself from sparring with him, as in this exchange after he basically felt her up while dancing together at a colleague’s wedding, which he claimed was her fault for wearing a provocative dress:

“‘Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that gave you a license to grope me. What should I have been wearing? A suit like this, so you didn’t accidentally forget I was your colleague?’ I dropped the sugar-sweet sarcasm. ‘It was a wedding. A party. I wore a party dress. Maybe I should have got hold of a burqa since you find it so hard to control yourself when confronted by a fucking frock.’”

Nevertheless, while both of them attack each other when alone, both also come strongly to the other’s defense when attacked by a third party. We sense an attraction between them, even though Maeve is deeply in love with her partner, Rob.

The book begins with the murder of a policeman, and as the story unfolds, there are more casualties. But are they related? And if so, how? Interoffice politics threaten to undermine solving the mystery, but Maeve’s unusual insight into human behavior and motivations helps unravel the threads of the crimes.

Discussion: Casey is excellent at detailing the small aspects of police duty that often get lost in crime stories:

“Tea, the answer for every problem. Burglary? Tea. Missing child? Tea. Dead husband? Tea. No one ever seemed to drink it. For us, the cups were a prop, something to do with your hands while gently delivering the bad news and easing yourself back out to the street. Nothing ever felt as good as the first breath of fresh air when you walked out of a house filled with grief.”

Casey is also very good at characterization - especially with respect to complicated relationships, of which Maeve has quite a few. I also admire the way Maeve is growing on the job. While this book can be read as a standalone, you won’t want to miss the pleasure of following the evolution of Maeve and Josh, their superintendent Charles Godley, and others on the squad.

Evaluation: I think this is Casey’s best yet. show less

The Kill sees a welcome return to DC Maeve Kerrigan along with her complicated private life and public relationships with her immediate superiors, DI Josh Derwent and Superintendent Godley. For lovers of the Maeve Kerrigan series you won't be disappointed and if you're new to this author, I urge you to go back and start with the first book, The Burning. While the books can be read as a standalone story, there are continuing themes between titles so it would be a shame to spoil the plots by reading retrospectively.

In this installment Kerrigan and Derwent are involved in a series of murders that personally impact on them (in ways I have no intention of revealing)when someone starts killing police officers. As with all of her previous show more book, Casey has the ability to draw you in from the beginning, not only with a compelling crime plot, that you need to see resolved, but also with her deftly drawn characters. Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent are a great team, though on paper you would not expect it to be so. Maeve is the only female detective on the team and is subject to stereotypical sexist banter from her colleagues, though she is well capable of holding her own due to her undoubted ability and a nice line in finely honed clever comments. She is also vulnerable and fallible which makes her a realistic and sympathetic character. Derwent meanwhile is a fine example of unreconstructed man, with a sexist approach that would have most women in a rage. Despite this, there is a chemistry between them that works, not least because in the most unexpected moments Derwent has the ability to throw you off guard by producing a caring response or sympathetic phrase you would not believe him capable of. While there is jokey banter, tension and disagreements there is also an underlying respect (and I feel some festering sexual attraction).

I have no hesitation in recommending The Kill, the plot was satisfying and as the tension cranked up towards the end, really merited the description “pageturner”. My only disappointment is that I now need to wait for the next in the series to follow up unresolved issues.

I received an e copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review. show less

Maeve's team is investigating the deaths of police officers in London. These deaths may or may not be connected. Maeve's concerns about Godley's possible corruption come to a head and her stalker burbles along in the background.

I felt this book suffered a bit from having too many disparate murders going on. I wanted Josh (turning into a bit of a Mr Darcy character in my opinion) and Maeve to concentrate on the Hammond case. Instead they were diverted to the mass shooting, which was, frankly, not terribly interesting. The gun club scenes were fun, as was the scene where Maeve had to rescue Josh from drowning in a bathtub, and the Maeve/Josh banter continues to be the best thing about these books.

SPOILERS

However, Rob's behaviour seemed show more utterly bizarre, both by the standards of what we know of Rob and by any normal standards. Does he know that Maeve was aware Godley was corrupt and that his officer's death was a result of pressure being put on Godley? show less

This is book five of the Maeve Kerrigan series of police procedurals and is another great read. This time somebody is targeting and killing police officers and Maeve and DI Josh Derwent are part of the team investigating the brutal murders.

As with the previous two books, I loved the relationship between Maeve and her DI. Josh Derwent is a fantastic creation, a chauvinistic, sexist oaf who just makes me smile so much. I can imagine that to work with him would be a nightmare but to read about him is brilliant. And again the relationship between Maeve and her boyfriend, Rob, is part of the underlying story.

I raced through this book. It's a page turner and there was a twist towards the end which I didn't see coming. It's also left nicely show more open for book number six which I will look forward to (I hope there will be one!). show less

Police are been targeted and killed. Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwant have no idea what the killers motive is and time will run out before the killer strikes again. Things go from bad to worst for Maeve when one if Robs colleague's is killed.

My Thoughts:

I realky like the chemistry between Maeve and Josh. They have this love / hate relationship that keeps the reader guessing where is it going to go. I know what I woukd like to see happen but I am sure that the spark will disappear.

The story itself was quite gripping and I feel a lot better than the previous book. For me though it's the character's and their lives. Maeve has a boyfriend Rob and Josh just pleases himself. All three lives mingle because of the job and it's their lives that show more hold my interest. This is the case for me in several series of books.

This book leaves the reader wanting to read the next book like now ! There are issues that need solving but I have to wait now for the next book to be released.

Jane Casey has done an excellent job in creating the characters of Maeve and Josh Derwant who I will challenge any girl not to swoon over.

A very good police procedure novel that has plenty of twists and turns, and that relationship between the two characters to keep the reader wanting more. show less

As with the last one, this was a page turner and for a me a welcome break from struggling with other books.
The romance took an interesting turn, two near-sex scenes played out different from my expactation, one bordering on rape, the other was left hanging.
The case - or are they cases and the revisiting of old enemies takes some nice turns. The story and the meandering investigation keeps you guessing, at least in my case. Some facts (key facts) are only told in the who-dunnit-reveal, Agatha Christie-like, so the reader has no real chance to solve the puzzle before.
The ending has a nasty surprise, and with that two lines of the story remain open for the next book, which is not yet published.
Highly recommended. As a standalone you miss show more out on some background, but not much, the main facts are explained. show less

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jane Casey delivers a gripping crime fiction thriller with THE KILL with a mix of wit, humor, grit, mystery, corruption and suspense, with a great balance between work and personal for an engrossing read.

For DC Maeve Kerrigan’s fifth adventure, leads her to a police officer shot to death in his car and DI Josh Derwent is along to assist with the investigation. There is more than one policeman shot; however, they all are afraid as they do not know when the killer will strike again. A scary thought, if the police cannot keep the citizens safe, who can?

Are the murders linked? Instead of personal, it appears someone is show more targeting the police as a whole. However, they do not know why? As Maeve and Josh work together, they are quite the team; they have their disagreements and he is a pig most of the time (bad boy); however they trust and respect one another. Of course, Maeve has gotten accustomed his attitude, and kept me laughing out loud. Love these two together, as reminds me of my other crime favorite duos.

Mauve’s boyfriend Rob is kind of in the background. The wedding they were to attend, afterwards she had planned this romantic night so they could be alone together, as they had not gone away on holiday for over two years. When they are at the wedding in Somerset, she is called back to London with Derwent to Richmond Park. More later in the book with some secrets.

The police are being targeted by an unknown assassin and the media aided and abetted by a politician trying to make a name for himself are keen to point out that the Metropolitan Police have bought this on themselves when they shot and killed an innocent boy.

The plot was amazing, very complex with police officers dying all over London in horrific ways. From underhanded and crooked police officers, guns, to gangsters. The author highlights the London riots of 2011. Being an American, this was quite interesting. She did a bang up job of demonstrating how the fiction version side works, as an exploration into society and law (I recall reading something about the author's inspiration behind the book). Well-researched.

Lots of secrets here from Superintendent Godley, going down-hill mentally, with his life falling apart and of course Mauve’s personal relationship issues. I love crime thrillers and cop procedurals, and when an author can combine both professional and personal with human dynamics – makes for perfect combo in order to keep the reader engaged.

My first book by Casey and even though I have not read the others in the series, she gave a good back story so I was able to catch-up. With that being said, would like to go back and read the back stories. I find myself doing this quite often since I mainly read new releases and when I find an author’s style I enjoy, I then go back and at least try and get the audio books.

Loved, Maeve . . she is smart, strong, loyal, and independent with a wild sense of humor and her enjoyed her Mum phone conversations. Pulled between her loyalties to Godley, Derwent, the victim of a murder, and her own driving sense of right and wrong, Maeve will be forced to decide how much she's willing to risk in the name of justice. A solid murder mystery with twists and turns, keeping you guessing. Look forward to reading more from this talented author and the next in the series.

PS I see Casey’s British Mauve has to deal with the politics on police force (woman in a man’s world), similar to US Karin’s Slaughter’s women and detectives dealing with the Atlanta police force. show less