Crime writing at its best as dark secrets come to light
The Cutting Place is the ninth novel in the DS Maeve Kerrigan series penned by award-winning Irish crime writer Jane Casey. It opens with the vicious murder of a young journalist called Paige Hargreaves who, it turns out, had been working on an investigative story about the corrupt goings-on at an elite private club in London.
Reserved only for the richest and most privileged men, the Chiron Club throws decadent parties where the champagne flows, the drugs are in plain sight, the hired girls do as they are told and very bad behaviour is tolerated.
Once Maeve starts investigating this unfamiliar world of wealth and luxury, it quickly becomes clear that many of the club members are hiding a host of unsavoury secrets and will do anything necessary — including murder — to ensure they are never revealed.
The Cutting Place also updates us on Maeve’s personal life and the difficulties she’s encountering trying to balance her demanding job alongside her new relationship with handsome lawyer Seth.
Meanwhile, her partner DI Josh Derwent finds himself in uncharted waters when some ghosts from his past come back to haunt him.
Often with a crime thriller series, the books — and the main characters — can eventually run out of steam. This is absolutely not the case with Casey. She has delivered yet another cleverly layered plot that unfolds in a tense and dramatic fashion.
With Maeve and Josh, Casey has created two authentic and likeable protagonists. Their sparky relationship makes them one of the best police duos I have encountered in print.
The Cutting Place is crime writing at its best and I’ll be first in the queue for the next instalment that Casey shares in this terrific sequence.
It’s also worth noting that if you can’t get your hands on a printed copy at the moment, audio and e-book versions are available from the usual outlets.