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clairelitch1's review against another edition
5.0
Full of twists, it left me guessing until the very end. I loved it! Can't wait for more in the series
beth_morton's review against another edition
5.0
Slow to start, but a great second half. Stick with it!
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
The Reckoning (Maeve Kerrigan, Book 2)
by Jane Casey
★★★★☆
483 Pages
1st person, dual-character POV
Themes: murder, crime, violence, friendship, romance, relationships
Triggers: murder, violence, stalking, mentions of off-page rape, kidnap, child pornography, slavery, torture, dark-web websites, murder-suicide, teen criminals, historical rape and violence of a teen
Genre: Crime, Contemporary, Murder Mystery
~
The Reckoning is Book 2 in the Maeve Kerrigan series, and takes a twisty look through historical crimes, and the consequences that come with a dark past.
The plot begins with the violent torture and murder of a trio of men who were previous convicted, and served time for, paedophilia. They've been tortured according to the severity of their crimes, e.g. whether they were physically violent or secondary observers.
As the case builds, it's discovered these crimes are committed for a reason – the kidnap of a teenage girl.
The story progresses Maeve's time on the murder squad, and shows in a new light how she'd treated like an accessory, by certain men on the force. The crude jokes, the inappropriate comments, the whole 'stand still look pretty' comments, and police urging her to use her femininity to sway suspects or witnesses. There's also the slagging off about her being Irish, and the bad jokes. It's not an easy world for a woman to inhabit, but Maeve handles it well, without compromising herself or her career. I love that Maeve's inexperience is shown through her decisions, and how people treat her. I love that she makes mistakes, totally innocently, but she faces up to them and doesn't shy away from taking responsibility. I also really love that she's not perfect. It makes her more real, relatable, and gives her plenty of room to grow throughout the rest of the series.
Rob gets to shine here, again. He gets to have his POV a few times, and shows more of his personality than we've had the chance to see before. There's an early scene where you wonder if he's going to go too far, but it also shows how passionate he is about his work, and about Maeve. I really feel like he grew a lot, both in maturity and in his place within the book, here.
As for secondary characters, enter Liv, a new policewoman to share Maeve's horror stories with. As a young woman, pretty, well organised and who likes paperwork, Liv is interesting. As a lesbian within a heavily male dominated world, she's suffered a lot of backchat and prejudice, just as Maeve has. Yet, she's strong and feisty. She gives Maeve strong, trustworthy back-up, and she likes Rob. She did everything possible to win me over, and I really loved having another woman on the team.
I liked seeing the members of the last book back again, like Colin – who I really like – and Pettiford and Maitland, as well as the disgusting dirtbag, Belcott. A new member of the team, who really shook things up, was the sometimes arrogant, always annoying, Derwent.
Derwent was a new member of the team, brought in with another guy, Bryce, from the big boss, Godley's old team. Brash, arrogant and happy to stir the pot, Derwent loved teasing Maeve, even inappropriately – or maybe that's especially inappropriately.
So...after all that, why didn't I give it 5*? Well, there were NO trigger warnings, and there are A LOT of triggers within the book. I get that it's probably going to be a theme, in this series or with this publisher/author, but it's frustrating when the triggers are so serious and there isn't a single warning – in the blurb or at the beginning of the book.
In terms of execution, there were a lot more issues than the previous book, with some dialogue crossing paragraphs, where two people spoke in one paragraph and it was a little difficult to follow, without appropriate dialogue tags. Sometimes the content was REALLY heavy, and there wasn't always a break when I needed to digest what we were dealing with.
~
OVERALL
The proportion and division of personal and professional life was well handled. I loved Maeve's progression throughout the story, and how she dealt with the serious issues of the murders. I liked the continued progress of Rob's character, and the new characters, that gave the plot some new blood and gave us a breather from Maeve's life.
I'm disappointed that the major plot of Maeve's stalker wasn't resolved, and can only hope that it's continued in the next book.
~
Favourite Quote
“‘It’s just that I’ve been thinking. About us. And I’ve realised that being with you isn’t the worst thing I can imagine. The worst thing I can imagine is being without you.’”
“He pulled his shoulders back, broadening his chest. I wondered if he was even conscious of doing it. It was so much a throwback to the apes it was almost ridiculous. The missing bloody link, alive and well and policing London with maximum offensiveness.”
by Jane Casey
★★★★☆
483 Pages
1st person, dual-character POV
Themes: murder, crime, violence, friendship, romance, relationships
Triggers: murder, violence, stalking, mentions of off-page rape, kidnap, child pornography, slavery, torture, dark-web websites, murder-suicide, teen criminals, historical rape and violence of a teen
Genre: Crime, Contemporary, Murder Mystery
~
The Reckoning is Book 2 in the Maeve Kerrigan series, and takes a twisty look through historical crimes, and the consequences that come with a dark past.
The plot begins with the violent torture and murder of a trio of men who were previous convicted, and served time for, paedophilia. They've been tortured according to the severity of their crimes, e.g. whether they were physically violent or secondary observers.
As the case builds, it's discovered these crimes are committed for a reason – the kidnap of a teenage girl.
The story progresses Maeve's time on the murder squad, and shows in a new light how she'd treated like an accessory, by certain men on the force. The crude jokes, the inappropriate comments, the whole 'stand still look pretty' comments, and police urging her to use her femininity to sway suspects or witnesses. There's also the slagging off about her being Irish, and the bad jokes. It's not an easy world for a woman to inhabit, but Maeve handles it well, without compromising herself or her career. I love that Maeve's inexperience is shown through her decisions, and how people treat her. I love that she makes mistakes, totally innocently, but she faces up to them and doesn't shy away from taking responsibility. I also really love that she's not perfect. It makes her more real, relatable, and gives her plenty of room to grow throughout the rest of the series.
Rob gets to shine here, again. He gets to have his POV a few times, and shows more of his personality than we've had the chance to see before. There's an early scene where you wonder if he's going to go too far, but it also shows how passionate he is about his work, and about Maeve. I really feel like he grew a lot, both in maturity and in his place within the book, here.
As for secondary characters, enter Liv, a new policewoman to share Maeve's horror stories with. As a young woman, pretty, well organised and who likes paperwork, Liv is interesting. As a lesbian within a heavily male dominated world, she's suffered a lot of backchat and prejudice, just as Maeve has. Yet, she's strong and feisty. She gives Maeve strong, trustworthy back-up, and she likes Rob. She did everything possible to win me over, and I really loved having another woman on the team.
I liked seeing the members of the last book back again, like Colin – who I really like – and Pettiford and Maitland, as well as the disgusting dirtbag, Belcott. A new member of the team, who really shook things up, was the sometimes arrogant, always annoying, Derwent.
Derwent was a new member of the team, brought in with another guy, Bryce, from the big boss, Godley's old team. Brash, arrogant and happy to stir the pot, Derwent loved teasing Maeve, even inappropriately – or maybe that's especially inappropriately.
So...after all that, why didn't I give it 5*? Well, there were NO trigger warnings, and there are A LOT of triggers within the book. I get that it's probably going to be a theme, in this series or with this publisher/author, but it's frustrating when the triggers are so serious and there isn't a single warning – in the blurb or at the beginning of the book.
In terms of execution, there were a lot more issues than the previous book, with some dialogue crossing paragraphs, where two people spoke in one paragraph and it was a little difficult to follow, without appropriate dialogue tags. Sometimes the content was REALLY heavy, and there wasn't always a break when I needed to digest what we were dealing with.
~
OVERALL
The proportion and division of personal and professional life was well handled. I loved Maeve's progression throughout the story, and how she dealt with the serious issues of the murders. I liked the continued progress of Rob's character, and the new characters, that gave the plot some new blood and gave us a breather from Maeve's life.
I'm disappointed that the major plot of Maeve's stalker wasn't resolved, and can only hope that it's continued in the next book.
~
Favourite Quote
“‘It’s just that I’ve been thinking. About us. And I’ve realised that being with you isn’t the worst thing I can imagine. The worst thing I can imagine is being without you.’”
“He pulled his shoulders back, broadening his chest. I wondered if he was even conscious of doing it. It was so much a throwback to the apes it was almost ridiculous. The missing bloody link, alive and well and policing London with maximum offensiveness.”
sofferman's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
chrisheitz18's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pandasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Okay now we're getting good! Book 2 introduces the best character in this entire series - Josh Derwent. The relationship between partners, Derwent and Kerrigan is at the centre of this exceptional long-running series and it just gets better with each book. Do yourself a favor and dive into this one.
meiyee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75