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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I liked this, although I don't remember how it ended up on my to-read list. Good story, good characters and I'll be sure to read more in this series by this author.
Review found on The Life & Times of a Book Addict.
The first book in the Maeve Kerrigan series is told from two POV’s. That of Maeve Kerrigan, a young up and coming detective constable, and Louise North, a solicitor working at a financial firm who happens to be a friend of the latest victim, Rebecca.
The Burning starts off on a high note when a young woman fears she might be the next victim of the serial killer, “The Burning Man” and decides that she isn’t going down without a fight. Unfortunately for her and the residents of London she is mistaken, and the “The Burning Man” is still stalking the streets.
Maeve and her co-worker Rob Langton are investing the horrific murders of the five women who are supposed to be victims of “The Burning Man”. As they delve into the life of Rebecca (the fifth victim), they discover that everything doesn’t completely add up. And their investigation takes them someplace they hadn’t expected…
The Burning is a cleverly written crime mystery that is perfectly suited for a rainy weekend. Maeve is a solid strong character who is dealing with the stress of her job and her relationship with her live in boyfriend Ian. I enjoyed witnessing the banter between her and Rob. They have a good rapport and work well together. It wasn’t as much of a psychological thriller like I had first anticipated, but I did enjoy it and found the story to flow nicely.
**I received this book on behalf of the Publisher in exchange for nothing but my honest opinion.**
The first book in the Maeve Kerrigan series is told from two POV’s. That of Maeve Kerrigan, a young up and coming detective constable, and Louise North, a solicitor working at a financial firm who happens to be a friend of the latest victim, Rebecca.
The Burning starts off on a high note when a young woman fears she might be the next victim of the serial killer, “The Burning Man” and decides that she isn’t going down without a fight. Unfortunately for her and the residents of London she is mistaken, and the “The Burning Man” is still stalking the streets.
Maeve and her co-worker Rob Langton are investing the horrific murders of the five women who are supposed to be victims of “The Burning Man”. As they delve into the life of Rebecca (the fifth victim), they discover that everything doesn’t completely add up. And their investigation takes them someplace they hadn’t expected…
The Burning is a cleverly written crime mystery that is perfectly suited for a rainy weekend. Maeve is a solid strong character who is dealing with the stress of her job and her relationship with her live in boyfriend Ian. I enjoyed witnessing the banter between her and Rob. They have a good rapport and work well together. It wasn’t as much of a psychological thriller like I had first anticipated, but I did enjoy it and found the story to flow nicely.
**I received this book on behalf of the Publisher in exchange for nothing but my honest opinion.**
mysterious
tense
This novel was recommended to me after I finished reading one of Tana French’s novels; and on the surface, Jane Casey’s The Burning does share some similarities with French’s Dublin Murder Squad series. DC Kerrigan is Irish, though the novel is set in London not Dublin. We focus on Kerrigan’s relationships and struggles with her fellow police officers. The police are treated as fallable, unlike some books in the detective genre where the lead officer is basically an omniscient God.
However, that’s where the similarities end. One of the reasons why I am such a fan of Tana French’s novels is that it never feels like I am reading the script for an episode of Law and Order. With Casey’s novel, there was a strong “police procedural” vibe that got a little tedious in later chapters. Casey also made the strange decision to split her points-of-view between two female characters using first person narrative. It might be a personal pet peeve of mine, but I find it’s much easier to do split-POV from a third person perspective. I can only occupy headspace with one character at a time.
Overall, The Burning was a very “by the book” murder-mystery. It kept my attention throughout, but didn’t provide anything particularly exciting. If you like whodunnits, you’ll probably like this novel.
For more book reviews check out https://www.oneyearonehundredbooks.com/
However, that’s where the similarities end. One of the reasons why I am such a fan of Tana French’s novels is that it never feels like I am reading the script for an episode of Law and Order. With Casey’s novel, there was a strong “police procedural” vibe that got a little tedious in later chapters. Casey also made the strange decision to split her points-of-view between two female characters using first person narrative. It might be a personal pet peeve of mine, but I find it’s much easier to do split-POV from a third person perspective. I can only occupy headspace with one character at a time.
Overall, The Burning was a very “by the book” murder-mystery. It kept my attention throughout, but didn’t provide anything particularly exciting. If you like whodunnits, you’ll probably like this novel.
For more book reviews check out https://www.oneyearonehundredbooks.com/
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maeve Kerrigan is the only female detective on Scotland Yard's special murder squad. Currently they're chasing a serial killer the press has named the Burning Man. After bludgeoning his victim to death he sets the body on fire.
Called to the scene of the 5th murder, Maeve notices inconsistencies with the regular MO. Pointing these out, her boss decides to let her investigate this as a separate but parallel case. Maeve begins digging into the life of the victim and becomes more convinced she's right this is different.
In working with her fellow officers, Maeve has to deal not just with sexism, but with racism for lack of a better term. Her coworkers give her as much grief for being Irish as they do for being a woman. Makes me a little crazy to see nowadays.
Maeve is a good and effective cop. She's not overly strident to balance the pressure from others. She's also not too timid. She strikes the right balance. Mostly. Being a woman, I always want to shake these assholes in books like this. It's the 21st century!!! But I don't work in a really testosterone driven workplace like this.
Of course, I think Casey has done a great job of capturing the 21st century in her characters. There's more than one cop who just doesn't care about her gender. They think of her as just another cop. She's not 100% against the tide. Just mostly.
I thought this was a great police procedural. There was plenty of life outside the station. You got to know Maeve on several levels. There was also a good exploration of victim and killer. You meet women who won't let themselves be victims and you meet women who don't even know when they've been victims. It's great and frustrating. And so real.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
Called to the scene of the 5th murder, Maeve notices inconsistencies with the regular MO. Pointing these out, her boss decides to let her investigate this as a separate but parallel case. Maeve begins digging into the life of the victim and becomes more convinced she's right this is different.
In working with her fellow officers, Maeve has to deal not just with sexism, but with racism for lack of a better term. Her coworkers give her as much grief for being Irish as they do for being a woman. Makes me a little crazy to see nowadays.
Maeve is a good and effective cop. She's not overly strident to balance the pressure from others. She's also not too timid. She strikes the right balance. Mostly. Being a woman, I always want to shake these assholes in books like this. It's the 21st century!!! But I don't work in a really testosterone driven workplace like this.
Of course, I think Casey has done a great job of capturing the 21st century in her characters. There's more than one cop who just doesn't care about her gender. They think of her as just another cop. She's not 100% against the tide. Just mostly.
I thought this was a great police procedural. There was plenty of life outside the station. You got to know Maeve on several levels. There was also a good exploration of victim and killer. You meet women who won't let themselves be victims and you meet women who don't even know when they've been victims. It's great and frustrating. And so real.
I'm looking forward to reading more.
The Burning by Jane Casey is a mystery about a serial killer who burns his victims when he is done with them. After coming off of reading The Keeper of Lost Causes, this simply did not compare. Maeve Kerrigan did not really grip me as a character and the mystery seemed predictable. Overall, the plot and the characters lack depth, everything seemed one dimensional. As a reader, you totally lose sight of “the burning man” during the course of the book. Since this is the first in a series, perhaps depth will develop over time.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes