Title: The Close
Series: Maeve Kerringan #10
Author: Jane Casey
Publisher: HarperCollins
Synopsis:
At first glance, Jellicoe Close seems to be a perfect suburban street – well-kept houses with pristine lawns, neighbours chatting over garden fences, children playing together.
But there are dark secrets behind the neat front doors, hidden dangers that include a ruthless criminal who will stop at nothing.
It’s up to DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent to uncover the truth. Posing as a couple, they move into the Close, blurring the lines between professional and personal as never before.
And while Maeve and Josh try to gather the evidence they need, they have no idea of the danger they face – because someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind.
My review:
I’m a big fan of Jane Casey’s books, and The Close is another brilliant release from the Maeve Kerrigan series. It’s a book that feels quite different to others in the series, because a lot of this book takes place as Maeve and Josh go undercover in a suburban neighbourhood near London, pretending to be a married couple house-sitting for a friend to infiltrate the community there. This means there’s plenty of sexual tension between the two on top of the investigation and mystery. We also have two investigations taking place simultaneously – the one they’re undercover for, and another serious case involving the death of a surgeon.
Though Maeve feels out of the loop at times, the danger levels in Jellicoe Close – the street they’re both pretending to house sit in – get higher and higher, so we still get plenty of high stakes and mystery alongside Maeve and Josh’s interactions.
There’s lots of history in this book so I’d recommend starting earlier in the series if this is your first book – I haven’t read all of the series but have read enough to know what was going on and appreciate the development in Maeve and Josh’s working and personal relationship.
I hugely enjoyed this novel. I don’t want to give anything else away but just say, if you’re a fan of this series, The Close is a must-read!
My rating: 4.5/5
Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest review.
The Close is out in the UK on 2 March – pre-order here from bookshop.org or Waterstones.