Loved this book and couldn't put it down, a murder scene with no body, dissappearing girls, many suspect people. Kerrigan has her work cut out getting to the bottom of it with her colleagues, one she doesn't take to one she has great banter with so we get to see there characters as the story unravels. A book that definitely drags you in from page one and keeps you there right until the last page

This is the first book I've read by Jane Casey and I've dropped into the middle of a series featuring a number of regular characters. From that point of view, this story works well as a standalone, but I feel I'd have a better sense of the central police personnel and the nuances of their interactions if I knew more about their back story. That said, I really enjoyed the complexity of this book, a thrilling and well written police procedural.

Chloe, an eighteen year old with some difficulties, returns home early from a few days away with her father. Her parents are divorced and she lives with her mother. A neighbour offers her a lift home from the station and there's an immediate sense of potential danger to a vulnerable young woman. When she goes into her home, she's faced with a bloodbath scene and no mother. Secrets and lies soon start to unfold as the police investigation gets underway and the plotting is tight and often intense.

The potential suspects soon mount up and it seems everyone has something to hide. Set in south London, I felt a strong sense of location. I also enjoyed the banter at scene between the various investigators; dark humour and some lack of political correctness made the dialogue interesting as they worked through the clues. I found the plotting intriguing and it's a story well told. I whizzed through it in a couple of sittings and I certainly enjoyed it well enough to be keen to read the earlier books in the series.

My thanks to the publisher for an advance review copy via Netgalley.

Let the Dead Speak by Jane Casey

This is the latest book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and like all the others it does not fail to please.

Detective Maeve Kerrigan newly promoted and mourning the loss of her relationship with her cheating boyfriend is called upon to lead her team in investigating Chloe Emery’s mother who is missing – her house empty but covered in blood. Has she been murdered; where is the body? The investigation introduces us to the neighbours and their behaviour, who can be trusted, who is honest, and who is lying?

As in most crime novels, the police are under enormous pressure; from the media; from the senior officers; from the general public. Maeve is led by Josh Derwent and theirs is a strange relationship. She is keen to prove worthy of her promotion and at the same time she is irritated by a new member of her team who she does not really trust – is this just paranoia.

I was so happy to read this book and welcomed my reintroduction to Maeve and Derwent. Casey’s characterisations are a joy. How could you not love Maeve who is struggling with lack of sleep and concerns about her ‘new’ tidier image and whether further crimes will be committed on her watch. How could you not fail to admire Derwent, a maverick (don’t do as I do…)? Her portrayal of the different neighbours illustrates Casey’s manipulation of the readers’ expectations. How can you not find the Norrises a bit weird; how can you not worry and ache for Chloe?

I cannot recommend this highly enough. The worst bit of the book? The end – I just wanted to carry on reading it. A very satisfying tale with a well-structured plot and incredible characterisation. If you have not met Maeve Kerrigan before I urge you to remedy this as soon as possible, you will not regret it.

NetGalley supplied this book via Kindle in return for an honest review.

Let the Dead Speak sounded like a book I would really enjoy in the blurb' but sadly it didn't quite live up to premise.
A good murder mystery to me needs good twists and turns and needs to be unpredictable - sadly not the case here as I guessed a lot of the story. Also it helps to like the investigating team - I didn't, I don't know if it's because I haven't read any previous books but I couldn't connect with Kerrigan. I have read many a detective novel without this being an issue but sadly it was with this one. Even more disappointedly I didn't much care for the 'victim' for the first two thirds either.

I hate to leave a negative review and I've given it three stars as it it was entertaining read and I did read through til the end.

Having read all of Jane Caseys books I was looking forward to this and it did not disappoint. This is an absolute stormer- intelligent, sharp, suspenseful writing that meant I devoured the whole thing in one sitting. I love Maeve, I love Derwent and in this installment I started to love Una as well. More please!

I would like to thank HarperCollins and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Let The Dead Speak by Jane Casey in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Teenager Chloe Emery has been staying with her divorced father and leaves for home unexpectedly. She receives a lift from the station from her neighbour, Oliver Norris, and on opening her front door they find the place covered in blood.
DS Maeve Kerrigan arrives to investigate accompanied by DI Josh Derwent and DC Georgia Shaw and their initial problem is that although there’s a lot of blood from Chloe’s mother Kate, there’s no body.
‘Let The Dead Speak’ is the seventh in the Maeve Kerrigan series and although it would have helped if I’d read the earlier books in the series to be able to work out the relationship between Maeve and Josh Derwent, nevertheless I found the book to have sufficient detail to be read alone.
I thought this crime thriller was entertaining with a good storyline and believable characters. There were a lot of twists and turns especially in the final pages, and the ending surprised me as it was not what I was expecting.

A police storyline with complex characters that do not show their true selves until the end. I enjoyed this book and would like to think it is the first of a series involving DS Maeve Kerrigan and team. Murder, emotions and all other reasons people use to commit crimes are in the storyline of this book together with characters good and bad.. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good read.

There is no body, but Detective Maeve Kerrigan is sure a murder has taken place. Chloe Emery returns home to find her mother, Kate, missing and blood all over the house, too much blood for a simple accident. Because there is no body, Maeve and fellow detective Josh Derwent look at the people closest to Kate, beginning with her neighbors. They’re a strange lot, the Norrises act holier than thou, but their teenage daughter is obviously hiding something, could it be murder? Then there’s neighborhood criminal William Turner, who was once accused of stabbing a school friend and who now is the go to person any time something bad happens in the neighborhood. Maeve will have to tease through many layers of lies, secrets and neighborhood gossip to discover what really happened to Kate. Casey is one of my favorite British crime writers, her stories are always exciting without being gory, with intricate mysteries and well drawn characters

A really enthralling read, such realistic characters, and I could never have guessed the ending.
Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for an advance copy of Let The Dead Speak, the seventh police procedural to feature Maeve Kerrigan.

18 year old Chloe Emery returns home to find blood all over the house and her mother, Kate, missing. Chloe is a bit slow so it is her neighbour, Oliver Norris, who calls the police and takes Chloe in. Although there is no body the amount of blood suggests foul play and the police launch a murder enquiry. Who would believe a suburban street in Putney could hide so many secrets?

It has been a few years since I read a novel in this series so it was like starting fresh and I can assure new readers that it works well as a stand alone with a clever plot and some interesting characters.

The plot has plenty of twists and turns with 2 very big twists, one of which I guessed almost immediately and then spent chapters wondering why the police were so slow to pick up on it, the second I didn't guess at all. Otherwise the team spend their time picking apart the lives of Kate and her neighbours, none of whom turn out to be pleasant individuals.

I like Maeve and the team. Her love/hate relationship with her immediate boss, Josh Derwent, is prickly and adds a bit of spice to the narrative. It is unusual to see a working relationship where home truths are the order of the day. I also liked newly promoted to sergeant Maeve's ambivalent attitude to newest team member DC Georgia Shaw, a shiny with an attitude problem. I think I'd have done a bit more than tell her that respect has to earned!

Let The Dead Speak with its fairly intricate plotting and sparky inter-personal dialogue is a good read and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

Chloe is arriving home earlier than planned from a visit to her dads. When she gets home she doesn't find her mom Kate but an awful lot of blood.

May contain mild spoilers.

This is book seven to feature Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent. I have to say that they are my favourite crime solving duo. As always I'd say to read the series from the beginning. This is so that the reader can get to know both Maeve and Josh and see how their relationship is. They come across as if they really don't like each other but there are undercurrents there. For me I would like to see perhaps a kiss or even a bit more. Would this work out. Only Jane Casey, Maeve and Josh know the answers.

The plot was quite engaging. As always there is plenty going on with lots of twists turns and then twists again. I always the books this series as it progresses I think it gets better.

There isn't really anything I didn't like about this book as I always enjoy them which I do think is down to the two brilliant main characters.

Thank you to the publisher via Netgalley for the chance to read and review the book.

This is another good instalment in a fine series. I find Casey's writing compulsive; her prose is unflashy and very readable, but she can create a fine sense of suspense and her plotting is extremely skilful. Maeve and the other characters Casey creates are generally very believable, too and the whole adds up to a gripping narrative.

This time the team are confronted with a bloodstained house and a young woman whose mother is missing, so it's not even clear whether a murder has been committed. The plot develops well, with surprises but no ridiculously implausible "twists," and it's a very engrossing and satisfying read.

This can be read as a stand-alone book, but it's probably best if you have read at least some of the previous Maeve Kerrigan novels. Either way, I can recommend this to both newcomers and old fans. You won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed the book, it was well written and got into the characters immediately.

An 18-year-old arrives home to find blood everywhere and her mum is missing. Is it murder? Maeve and Derwent - great name - have as conundrum on their hands. The subject matter isn't nice of course but with humour and sarcasm thrown in this becomes a lively tale of whodunit and how. What with a twist here and there and the odd controversial comment I found Let the dead speak thoroughly absorbing. Well done, Jane.

Another one-sitting read from Casey, though best approached in relation to the earlier books in the series. The plot is a complex one that explores the sometimes twisted and perverse nature of love between lovers and within families, not uncharted territory for crime fiction but always approached by Casey with a mix of empathy and a chillingly cool eye.

That said, long term fans may find the relationship between Maeve and Derwent seems to be suffering a slight form of book amnesia: at one point she tells a colleague that she never trusts him - surely those of us who have been following this series know perfectly that when Maeve is really in trouble Derwent is the *only* person she trusts; and that when he underwent his own trial by fire earlier in the series, she believed in him utterly? Of course, theirs is a complicated relationship and with more latent, at least on his side, than can be spoken out loud (though, as usual, there are some fine giveaway moments) - still, an odd vibe.

Nevertheless, this remains one of my favourite crime series: for the unobtrusively smooth writing, but mostly for the fine characterisations that give the books real personality and emotional depth oh, and the snarky humour that balances even the grimmest scenes with something wayward and authentic.

Brilliant. Jane Casey is a brilliant crime writer and this book lives up to all its promises. Maeve Kerrigan is at her best as always. A novel with plenty of drama right up until the last page. I would definitely recommend this book and eagerly await another one by this author.

Firstly, thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Secondly, what a great book!
How have I never read any Jane Casey books before? Now I have discovered her I will definitely be reading more!
I won't go into the plotline - that is what the description is for - but I will say this:
Let the Dead Speak was gripping, (literally in some parts, my poor Kindle!), the story was tense and well told. The main characters are believable and likeable (the same cannot be said for some of the suspects though!). I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and have been recommending to all.
I am looking forward to reading some more Jane Casey books now....

What a fantastic book. An unputdownable, nerve tingling cracker of a story.

With a vast web of evil and a race against the clock. This is well worth a read.

This is an interesting multi layered story following the investigation of a crime with an interesting twist towards the end. There are several storylines involving the families involved and the investigators which increases the interest. I do think that the end where the investigation makes an error is rather glossed over. It seems unlikely that members of the detective team would make this mistake and then the consequences are minimal. This felt a little unrealistic. However, it added to the story. I enjoyed it.
Would I recommend it to my book group? Probably not. It's not quite demanding enough.

It's such a thrill when you find a new author. I shall have a wonderful time catching up on the rest of the series. A house is like a blood bath as the daughter arrives home but there's no body. DI Derwent and DS Kerrigan have to figure out this strange incident. I loved the rapport between Derwent and Kerrigan - banter with an edge of flirtatiousness. Such a lot of humour. I loved it. They are a good team in some ways although neither quite trusts each other as they know each other so well. Kate, the owner of the house is missing and her daughter who is supposedly simple is put in with a family nearby. The book is not short of suspects which makes it exciting and frustrating in equal measures. I must confess it highlights what a seriously dangerous jobs the police do and the decisions and checking out every possible shred of evidence and information that could lead to a solved crime. A tense, unexpected ending.