View source for A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11) by Jane Casey

{{infobox1
|title=A Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)
|sort=Stranger in the Family (Maeve Kerrigan 11)
|author=Jane Casey
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=It's the eleventh in the series and I think it's the best yet.  Highly recommended.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=384
|publisher=Hemlock Press
|date=March 2024
|isbn=978-0008405021
|website=https://twitter.com/janecaseyauthor?lang=en
|cover=0008405026
|aznuk=0008405026
|aznus=0008405026
}}
It's sixteen years since nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall disappeared from her bed one summer night.  She was never found and the investigation ground to a halt.  Now, her mother, Helena, and her father are dead in their bed.  Initially, it looks like a straightforward murder/suicide but there's something about the positioning of the bodies that makes DS Maeve Kerrigan and her boss DI Josh Derwent suspicious.  What looked as though it was going to be an open-and-shut case is now a complex double murder.  Kerrigan is convinced that the explanation lies in Rosalie's disappearance: others (such as Derwent's boss, Una Burt) are less convinced.

Whenever I pick up one of Jane Casey's books - particularly her Maeve Kerrigan series - I have a sense of dread.  Is this going to be the one where the bubble bursts?  Will this be the one that I finish thinking that it was OK?  Decent but nothing better?  Inevitably - and usually by the time I've read to the bottom of the first page - I know that I'm in safe hands, that this will be another cracker.  ''A Stranger in the Family'' was no exception.  It wasn't just good - it was the best yet and I've read them all.

With most detective stories either the plot or the personal life of the lead detective predominates.  When the personal life is at the forefront it's usually because of some problem such as alcoholism, womanising or a complete inability to accept authority or work as a part of a team.  They are, of course, brilliant detectives who solve complex cases without much (or any) help from other people.  They're also completely unbelievable.  In the Maeve Kerrigan series, I've always found a perfect balance between plot and personal life.  The chemistry between Kerrigan and Derwent burns off the page but nothing happens.  Derwent is with a partner.  Although that relationship is barely functioning, Melissa has a young son, Thomas, and Derwent is devoted to him.  He doesn't want to hurt him: he has an older child from an earlier relationship and doesn't want to repeat the mistakes he made with Luke.  He's reluctant to make Maeve 'the other woman' - and Maeve doesn't want that either.  They're normal, decent people, struggling to do the right thing.

The plot is complex and very satisfying, although I must give a health warning about the ending.  I nearly cried but do read the acknowledgements at the end - you will be reassured.

As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio download, which I bought myself.  It's narrated by Caroline Lennon and is excellent.  Lennon has a very varied range of voices and I was never in any doubt as to which character I was hearing.  The pacing is perfect and I'd happily listen to more from her.  I'm particularly looking forward to the next Kerrigan book in April 2025.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

You could read this book as a stand-alone but why deprive yourself of the pleasure of reading the series [[Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series in Chronological Order|in order]]?

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