The Secret Room

"I’ve read all of Jane Casey’s addictive London-based Maeve Kerrigan detective novels at least twice. All 12 are deviously smart and character-driven, blending meticulously plotted mysteries with psychological insight, like Tana French’s Dublin Murder series – but with more chemistry and snark. The Secret Room delivers two impossible scenarios. The first is that the investigation Maeve is leading is a locked-room murder with a married woman found dead in the bathroom of her swanky hotel room. The second, which Maeve shouldn’t touch but can’t resist, is that nemesis-turned-trusted-colleague (and would-be lover) Josh Derwent is suspected of beating his semi-estranged partner unconscious in their home. It’s completely out of character, yet the evidence says otherwise. The twists are diabolical."