Short & Sweet Review: The Stranger You Know by Jane Casey (audio)

Title:The Stranger You Know

Author:Jane Casey

Series:Maeve Kerrigan, #4

Narrator:Sarah Coomes

Published:December 2014, Audible Studios

Length:14 hours 5 minutes

Source:Personal copy via Audible

He meets women. He
gains their trust. He kills them. That’s all London police detective
Maeve Kerrigan knows about the man she is hunting. Three women have been
strangled in their homes, and it appears to be the work of the same
sadistic killer. With no sign of break-ins, every indication shows that
the women let their attacker in willingly. The victims’ neighbors and
friends don’t seem to remember anything unusual or suspicious, and Maeve
is almost at a loss about how to move forward with the investigation.

Then
the evidence starts to point to a shocking suspect: DCI Josh Derwent,
Maeve’s partner on the police force. Maeve refuses to believe he could
be involved, but how well does she really know him? Secrets Derwent has
long kept locked away are coming back to haunt him, and the more Maeve
learns about her partner’s past, the more difficult it is to dismiss him
as a suspect. After all, this is hardly the first time Derwent’s been
accused of murder.

Jane Casey returns with her most outstanding novel yet in The Stranger You Know, a taut thriller and an intimate portrayal of complicated, all-too-human characters.

***Short & Sweet Reviews are
short, quick reviews. These will mainly be used for series books where I
have already done full reviews on some of the earlier books or for
books that I feel will suffice with a quick review. These will not be
used for review requests or blog tours.

My thoughts:This is the 4th book in Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series and, though I feel like a broken record for saying this, this series just gets better and better with each book! This latest book really kept me on my toes as one of the core characters was a lead suspect in a serial killing spree and Maeve had to do the investigating!

So who was being suspected? None other than our beloved Derwant and let me tell you – even I began to suspect him at times given the clues. This case will keep you on your toes as it did Maeve – it’s that good! And the usual banter between Maeve and Derwant, despite him being on leave due to his being a suspect, is still in play and full of what we’ve come to love and expect from them.

What I loved, though, is that this book gives us a deeper look into Derwant as a person – we get a look into his past! This, not something that he necessarily wants broadcasted mind you, helps explain a lot of why he is the way he is.

This was a great installment in this series and I am looking forward to picking up the next book.

Audio thoughts: I am always amazed at how narrators can be so consistent when they narrate series. Sarah Coomes does a great job with that from book to book with this series and I just love her narration of Jane Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series – she has Maeve’s character downpat as well as the other characters. Her pacing is spot on as is the tension she adds to her voice as needed.