The At Last Girl

Jane Casey (right) is quietly becoming one of the stars of the Irish crime writing scene, penning London-set psychological thrillers - THE MISSING, THE BURNING, THE RECKONING - which feature the very likeable heroine DC Maeve Kerrigan. Her latest offering is another Maeve Kerrigan novel, THE LAST GIRL (Ebury Press / May 24th), and the blurb elves have been wittering thusly:

High summer. Wimbledon. 14-year-old Lydia Kennford returns home to discover the bodies of her mother and twin sister in the family living room, while her father, Philip, lies unconscious and bleeding in an upstairs bedroom. DC Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent begin to investigate, discounting a burglary quickly and focusing instead on Philip Kennford QC himself. There is no easy explanation for why he survived when the others were shown no mercy, and they suspect he might have staged the attack on himself after killing his wife and daughter. But Kennford is a self-possessed, intelligent man who knows criminal law inside out; proving that he’s guilty will be difficult.

  Jane Casey has twice been shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in the last couple of years, and gone home empty-handed each time. Will THE LAST GIRL become THE AT LAST GIRL, ands see her finally taking home the gong? Only time, that notoriously doity rat, will tell …

A Name To Be Reckoned With

There’s been some very nice reviews of Jane Casey’s THE RECKONING over the last couple of weekends, which have only served to whet my appetite. I’ve been looking forward to THE RECKONING ever since I finished THE BURNING, Jane’s second novel, with which I was mightily impressed when I read it late last year. And Jane’s debut novel, THE MISSING, was shortlisted for the Irish Crime Fiction Novel of the Year.

  Anyway, first out of the traps was Kevin Sweeney in the Irish Times, who - after a very odd preamble designed to establish his ‘credentials’ (i.e., crime fiction is virtually all schlock writing) - had this to say two weeks ago:

“THE RECKONING, the third novel in a series about a rookie female Irish homicide detective in London, stands out from the pack as both a twisty, well-crafted mystery and as a humanistic portrait of an ambitious professional with a strong moral centre.” - Kevin Sweeney

  For the rest, clickety-click here …

  Meanwhile, over at the Irish Independent last weekend, Irish crime fiction’s best friend, aka Myles McWeeney, pitched up with this two cents:

“How Maeve [Kerrigan] faces these challenges makes for a satisfyingly tension-filled, page-rifling read that comes with the added bonus of beautifully realised characters and elegant prose. THE RECKONING is Jane Casey’s third Maeve Kerrigan novel in less than two years, and with it she moves effortlessly into the pantheon of top Irish female crime writers, a list that includes Tana French, Alex Barclay, Arlene Hunt and Niamh O’Connor.” - Myles McWeeney

  For the rest, you know what to do …

  So there you have it. Jane Casey’s THE RECKONING. Another major Irish talent to be - oh yes! - reckoned with …

A Jones For Casey

There’s an interesting theme beginning to weave its way into Irish crime fiction, said theme being meditations on the nature of justice, and more importantly, the subversion of same by those supposed to serve and protect. Eoin McNamee’s ORCHID BLUE springs to mind, as does Gene Kerrigan’s THE RAGE. Jane Casey’s latest offering, THE RECKONING, which features her series heroine DC Maeve Kerrigan, appears to be engaged in a similar pursuit. Quoth the blurb elves:

To the public, he’s a hero: a killer who targets convicted paedophiles. Two men are dead already - tortured to death. Even the police don’t regard the cases as a priority. Most feel that two dead paedophiles is a step in the right direction. But to DC Maeve Kerrigan, no one should be allowed to take the law into their own hands. Young and inexperienced, Kerrigan wants to believe that murder is murder no matter what the sins of the victim. Only, as the killer’s violence begins to escalate, she is forced to confront exactly how far she’s prepared to go to ensure justice is served …

  I read Jane Casey’s second novel, THE BURNING, late last year, and I thought it was terrific, and was more than happy to say so when reviewing it for the Irish Times. The Maeve Kerrigan novels are set in London, but as the name suggests, Maeve Kerrigan has more than a drop of Irish blood in her veins. Her background is only one aspect of a fascinating character, though, a feisty, ambitious and fragile woman who seemed extraordinarily well drawn to me. Sophie Hannah obviously agrees: ‘Compulsive, menacing … very satisfying’ runs Ms Hannah’s blurb on the front of THE RECKONING.
  The novel is due to hit a shelf near you around this time next month. If you’re a fan of Lynda La Plante, but sometimes wish she was more ambitious in her writing and exploration of character, you could do a hell of a lot worse than check it out …