The Reckoning by Jane Casey

The Reckoning is the second book in Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series. I loved the first (The Burning), and I think I enjoyed the second even more.

Maeve is an Irish cop, and a woman, and she catches plenty of grief from her London colleagues for both. As a detective constable, she knows she has to put up with it, especially when it comes from her superiors, like Detective Inspector Josh Derwent, new to her team. Fortunately, Superintendent Charles Godley is a good guy to work for, and he recognizes Maeve's talents. However, added to her work life stress is her on-again, off-again romance with fellow DC Rob Langton (strictly against the rules).

If all the British police lingo in that last paragraph made your eyes cross, this book may not be for you. I love a good British police procedural, and this is a great one. Maeve and Derwent are investigating a series of brutal murders of sexual predators. It’s hard to feel sorry for them, but each was tortured before being killed. There are a lot of plot twists, but also plenty of character development for Maeve, Rob, and Godley.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Reckoning and look forward to the next book in the series. If you enjoy the works of Deborah Crombie, Jo Bannister, Jill McGown, or Barry Maitland, I highly recommend Jane Casey.