ABOUT THE BOOK:
When eighteen-year-old Chloe Emery returns to her West London home she finds her mother missing, the house covered in blood. Everything points to murder, except for one thing: there’s no sign of the body.
London detective Maeve Kerrigan and the homicide team turn their attention to the neighbours. The ultra-religious Norrises are acting suspiciously; their teenage daughter and Chloe Emery definitely have something to hide. Then there’s William Turner, once accused of stabbing a schoolmate and the neighborhood’s favorite criminal. Is he merely a scapegoat, or is there more behind the charismatic façade?
As a body fails to materialize, Maeve must piece together a patchwork of testimonies and accusations. Who is lying, and who is not? And soon Maeve starts to realize that not only will the answer lead to Kate Emery, but more lives may hang in the balance.
With Let the Dead Speak, Jane Casey returns with another taut, richly drawn novel that will grip readers from the opening pages to the stunning conclusion.
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MY REVIEW:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey is a 2017 Minotaur Books publication.
This series just may be nearing perfection-
I’ve been following this series from the beginning and it’s been an incredible journey. The series started off as a solid procedural, but over time has developed into a deeply complex and compelling crime drama.
In this seventh installment, we see Maeve enjoying a new promotion, which gives her more incentive to solve what turns out to be one of her most puzzling cases to date.
When Chloe leaves her scheduled visitation with her father and his new family, before her scheduled departure time, she arrives home to a house of horrors. Blood is everywhere, but her mother’s body is nowhere to be found.
Chloe is placed with a neighbor whose daughter, Bethany, is her closest friend. The girls are thick as thieves, harboring teenage secrets no one could guess at.
But, Chloe, is an unusual girl, her mother having kept her far too sheltered, which gives her a certain vulnerability due to her isolation, making her a little difficult to draw out, even for Maeve.
The suspects are plentiful, with religious zealots, shady neighbors, and Chloe’s step family all holding explosive secrets or playing their own angles.
Maeve is once again partnered with DI Josh Derwent and the pair has now relaxed into a working rhythm, although one doesn’t entirely trust the other. But, they have the added complication of dealing with a rookie who is ambitious, but annoying.
Maeve takes professional risks, walks an ethical tightrope at times, but has grown stronger, gained more self-confidence and has begun to win the battle over many of the demons that plague her.
There is a softer side to Josh, whose personal life as drastically changed, but on the job he is the same guy we all know and love- or hate- or both.
This case is one wild twisted ride, with darker psychological tones to go along with the standard police procedures. The atmosphere was tense right from the get-go and never let up, only intensifying as the case takes some shocking unexpected turns.
The ending nearly knocked my socks off. If this one doesn’t send a chill down your spine, I don’t know what will!!
I have really enjoyed watching this series develop. It has slowly turned into one of my favorite British procedurals. The stories become more tense, more complex, and riveting, as time goes by, and characters continue to grow and develop along with the storylines, keeping the dialog and dynamics fresh and sharp.
This may be one of the best in the series to date! (I know, I think I said that about the last book, too, but they keep getting better and better!) Highly recommend!
GET YOUR COPY HERE:
https://www.amazon.com/Let-Dead-Speak-Mystery-Kerrigan-ebook/dp/B01N4MA5S6/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/let-the-dead-speak-jane-casey/1124362615
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: