The Reckoning

Maeve Kerrigan, Book 2

By: Jane Casey

Narrated by: Sarah Coomes

To the public, he’s a hero: a brutal killer who targets sex offenders. To most of London’s police force, he’s the suspect in a gruesome, time-consuming case to be avoided. But to Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan, he’s a murderer - no matter the sins of his victims - and catching him is her job.

Assigned to the case with the division’s unreadable new DI, Josh Derwent, young and inexperienced Maeve is determined to prove she has what it takes to make it as a female in the tough world of the London police. But for a killer who strikes with such spectacle, this one is proving remarkably elusive. And when Maeve learns his motive might be about exacting revenge, his acts of incredible violence move from abstract justice to the intensely personal, and become all the more terrifying. Unsure whom she can trust even within her own department, and knowing that her life is at stake, Maeve will have to decide how far she’s willing to go to ensure justice is served.

Jane Casey’s taut, brilliantly executed thriller will have listeners on the edge of their seats from the opening chapter to the stunning conclusion.

©2012 Jane Casey (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Excellent Police Procedural

I listened my first novel by Jane Casey (The Burning) a little while ago and was very impressed with her talent for creating realism in the day-to-day workings of a major metropolitan police force. That book made me know I wanted to read this newest novel when I had the chance. Sure enough, Casey upheld the high standard I had found in the other novel. This book is exciting, complex, filled with tension and characters who have rich, deep, personalities. Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan is a very realistically portrayed female pursuing a career in a male dominated field. She not only has to maintain her composure in the midst of sexual bias, but also the prejudices against her Irish heritage. To say that she succeeds in every instance would not be true, but it is certainly realistic. She is not written to be made of steel, but to have a caring side to her nature which lends her a vulnerability that lets her be completely human and, in my opinion, a better police officer.

This particular story was something of a surprise for me because the direction and focus changed about mid-way through from one type of crime to another. And yet, did it really? As is true with most modern police procedural novels today there is quite a bit of description of gruesome crimes which are being investigated. The author does focus on that aspect of murder scenes so you would do well to be aware of that before you start reading here. There is a revenge aspect attached to the killing of known pedophiles and the killings are brutal. I found the information was presented with as much detail as was needed to convey the nature of the crime, but still some of it made me a little uneasy. I knew that was the style of descriptive writing this author uses because of reading the first novel so I opened this book and began reading knowing what to expect.

The inner-office tensions and relationships within the London Metropolitan Police Murder Squad are very well incorporated into the novel and I was pleased to have characters from the previous book appear again. New characters were also added to provide new foils for Maeve to react to or against. At two places the point of view changes from Maeve to another character and I'm still not quite sure if I liked that treatment of the story. I can certainly see why the information contained in those two chapters was entirely relevant coming from someone else, but I had to constantly remind myself that this was not Maeve talking now. Perhaps the different style and size of font will help readers when they get to this portion of the novel. I definitely recommend this novel. If you are interested in very realistic police procedural novels, this will certainly give you what you are looking for.

Sarah Coomes was excellent with the delivery of the story

Not as good as The Burning, but worth listening

I like the narrator and story. Not as much as I liked The Burning. I would recommend the Burning over this one.

So glad I found this series !

It surpassed my expectations.
The writing gets better and better
I love the characters
It's got it all . Police procedural, relatable characters , sick bad guys
Complex relationships . Right up my alley

Totally engrossing

Well written, well read and totally engrossing. Love the touches of humor. Maeve Kerrigan is my new addiction and I'm ready to download the next book in the series.

Love these books!

Kept my attention from start to finish! The narration is top notch as well. I found 1.25 speed was best for me.....