Maeve Kerrigan · #2
The Reckoning
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 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 The Reckoning will have readers on the edge of their seats from the opening chapter to the stunning conclusion.
The series
In a city that never truly sleeps—where justice is messy and violence whispers from behind closed doors—the Maeve Kerrigan series carves out its own dark corner of the crime fiction world. With an unflinching eye for detail and a deep psychological undercurrent, these novels follow a young detective who must navigate not only the brutal crimes of London’s underbelly, but the quieter, more insidious dangers that come from within the very system meant to uphold the law.
Read full series description
The series begins in the early days of Maeve’s career, but it never indulges in tidy origin stories or quick moral resolutions. Instead, each installment peels back another layer—of Maeve, of her colleagues, of the city itself. The procedural framework is there, yes: evidence, suspects, high-stakes chases. But what lingers are the silences between the interviews, the tension in the squad room, the moments where instinct and ethics collide.
Through slow-burning suspense and sharp character work, the books explore themes of power, vulnerability, and the cost of ambition. Kerrigan herself is more than a detective—she’s a woman constantly negotiating her place in a world that underestimates her, a world that expects her to be both tough and soft, relentless and restrained. That quiet duality pulses through every case she takes on, whether she’s confronting serial killers, corruption, or the ghosts of her own past.
The atmosphere is tense, urban, and deeply human—less about solving the mystery and more about why people commit the acts they do. It's this emotional depth, paired with the intricacy of the investigations, that has earned the series a devoted following among readers of psychological thrillers and police procedurals alike.
For those drawn to stories where justice comes at a cost, and where the truth is rarely black and white, this is a series that doesn’t just ask who did it—but what it means when they do.
#0.5 · 2013Left for Dead 
#1 · 2010The Burning 
#2 · 2011The Reckoning 
#3 · 2012The Last Girl 
#4 · 2014The Stranger You Know 
#5 · 2014The Kill 
#6 · 2015After the Fire 
#7 · 2017Let the Dead Speak 
#7.5 · 2018One in Custody 
#8 · 2019Cruel Acts 
#8.5 · 2019Love Lies Bleeding 
#8.6 · 2020Silent Kill 
#9 · 2020The Cutting Place 
#10 · 2023The Close 
#11 · 2024A Stranger in the Family 
#12 · 2025The Secret Room 
#13 · 2027The Silent Neighbour Be the first reviewer
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