Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Ebury Press (Fiction) (2014)
Description
"Detective Maeve Kerrigan is away for a colleague's wedding, and she's enjoying an excuse to spend a beautiful fall weekend relaxing in the English countryside. It's a much-needed break from the grit and grime of her daily life on the London police force. But even at a wedding, the job is never far away. Midway through the reception, Maeve and her abrasive but loyal partner on the police force, DI Josh Derwent, are called back to London. A fellow policeman has been murdered, in a compromising position in a public park at night. And when Maeve and Derwent arrive to speak with the victim's family, his wife and daughter are surprisingly cold and reticent, which adds further layers of complexity to an already delicate investigation. And Maeve knows the victim and his family aren't the only ones with things to hide: the dark secret that her boss, Superintendent Godley, has been keeping for years is threatening to blow up in his face, and if that happens, they'll all be caught in the aftermath. 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 in Jane Casey's most intimate, compelling novel yet"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Bookmarque
When will people learn that there is no traditional safety on a Glock. It's in the trigger. Sigh.
LibraryThing member nicx27
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
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 open for book number six which I will look forward to (I hope there will be one!).
As with the previous two books, I loved the relationship
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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 open for book number six which I will look forward to (I hope there will be one!).
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LibraryThing member nbmars
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
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 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.
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
Show More
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 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.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
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
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 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.
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
Show More
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 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.
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LibraryThing member pgchuis
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
SPOILERS
However, Rob's behaviour seemed 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?
I felt this book suffered a bit from having too many disparate murders
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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 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?
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LibraryThing member JudithDCollins
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 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 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.
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
Show More
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 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.
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LibraryThing member Carlathelibrarian
I received this book from the Dead Good Crime book club as a group read. I had never read anything by Jane Casey and think it would have helped if I had. I found the book a little hard to get into, but once I got into the story I was hooked. DC Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are partners who
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have a very odd relationship. There are times I felt he was a huge male chauvinist, and others where he was completely understanding of what Maeve had gone through and was ready to defend her. The one thing that bothered me about this novel was the way the females in the Metropolitan Police were treated by their colleagues and their reactions to it, but having said that, I do believe it is still somewhat a "Boys Club" even today. Back to the story, Police are being killed in various ways and it is up to Maeve and Josh to investigate. After 7 murders of various branches of the police, everyone is feeling scared and in danger. The police can not protect themselves, how will they protect the citizens. Maeve becomes privy to some information that turns everything upside down and she does not know what to do with it. How will they solve these seemingly connected crimes? What happens to Maeve's and Josh's partnership? Do Maeve and Rob surivive their relationship? If you are just beginning to read this series, I would recommend that you read the others first as they do refer to earlier situations that I was not aware of how they fit in to Maeve's story. Overall a very good read and I will definitely look for the rest of this series. Show Less
Awards
Irish Book Award (Nominee — Crime Fiction — 2014)
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009
Physical description
464 p.; 6.38 inches
ISBN
0091949688 / 9780091949686