#CruelActs by @JaneCaseyAuthor | #BookReview|@HCinIreland

They said he was a serial killer…
But now they’ve set him free.
HOW CAN YOU SPOT A MURDERER?

[ About the Book ]

Leo Stone is a ruthless killer – or the victim of a miscarriage of justice. A year ago, he was convicted of the murder of two women and sentenced to life in prison. But now he’s free, and according to him, he’s innocent.

DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are determined to put Stone back behind bars where he belongs, but the more Maeve finds out, the less convinced she is of his guilt.

Then another woman disappears in similar circumstances. Is there a copycat killer, or have they been wrong about Stone from the start?

[ My Review ]

Cruel Acts is the latest release from Jane Casey and sees the return of the irrepressible DS Maeve Kerrigan. Due for publication on 18th April with Harper Collins, Cruel Acts is described as ‘a crime thriller which will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final page!’.…and it does.

I read the following quote from Jane Casey and was immediately struck by the truth of this statement…

“All my criminal elements have some basis in reality, no matter how awful they may be. Nothing is completely farfetched.”

The scenes depicted, the crimes described are all portrayed with an uncanny authenticity that is so convincing, it’s almost like reading a true crime novel. Jane Casey raises the bar in crime fiction, writing with an astute hand and an insightful knowledge of the subject matter, the complete package I would think.

In Cruel Acts DS Maeve Kerrigan is summoned to an urgent meeting. Convicted killer Leo Stone is about to be released on a miscarriage of justice plea and all hell is about to break loose. Having been initially incarcerated for the brutal murder of number of women, he now claims his innocence and intends on remaining outside of the prison system. It is up to Maeve and her team to put Leo Stone back where he belongs…behind bars.

As they trawl through the files from the previous conviction, the depravity of the killer’s methods is exposed. Old photographs are studied and the team speak to the experts involved. Reading some of the details of the case make for some stomach churning moments as Jane Casey doesn’t spare us the details. Again this all adds to the credibility of the story…

‘The worst part…is between four and twenty days after death. The gases build up inside the body. Once the abdominal wall is breached the body deflates and starts to dry out and most of the insect activity is from beetles, mites – that kind of thing. She was well into this stage when she was found in the first week of December, which was some five weeks after she disappeared’

Maeve and her team, using all this information, retrace the steps of the victims as much as possible in the hope of unveiling a missing chunk of evidence or a witness that was never revealed during the original trial.

But, as the days pass, another victim, a woman, disappears leading the crime team to the possible conclusion that Leo Stone has wasted no time and is back out there terrorizing women again. But with each piece of the jigsaw revealed Maeve is not so sure that Leo is the man responsible for this or any of the previous murders he was originally charged with. As ever she raises the heckles of her superiors and the ongoing tensions continue between herself and DI Josh Derwent. DS Maeve Kerrigan is one strong and determined detective, one not to make an enemy of. She is driven and fearless in her quest to unearth the truth and will stop at nothing to reveal the true perpetrator behind these murders.

Cruel Acts is a compulsive and exciting read. The characters are all perfectly pitched, each bringing out a variety of emotions as you race to the finish. Cruel Acts is an intelligent and convincing read. It keeps you gripped throughout as the tension builds and the story reaches it’s climatic conclusion.

Excellent read. Highly recommend. You will not regret it.

*And by the way I jumped in on this series late and it has made no difference to my reading experience

[ Bio ]

Jane Casey is no stranger to the crime world. Married to a criminal barrister, she’s got the inside track on some of the country’s most dangerous offenders, giving her writing an unsettling realistic feel.

This authenticity has made her novels international bestsellers and critical successes. They have been nominated for several awards and in 2015 Jane won the Mary Higgins Clark Award and the Irish Crime Novel of the Year for The Stranger You Know and After the Fire, respectively. She is also an active member of Killer Women, a London-based group of crime writers.

Born in Dublin, Jane now lives in southwest London with her husband and two children.

Twitter ~ @JaneCaseyAuthor