A review by blogginboutbooks
The Close by Jane Casey

4.0

I'm a big fan of the Maeve Kerrigan crime series, so it should surprise no one who knows my reading habits that I loved this tenth installment. With the romantic tension that has been simmering between Maeve and DI Josh Derwent throughout the series, the setup of THE CLOSE is especially fun. The two are given an assignment to pose as a couple in order to surveil a suspicious woman in a idyllic suburban neighborhood. Because of the intimate situation, the book is in some ways more about the developing relationship between Maeve and Josh than anything else. Which is fine by me. It's not that Maeve doesn't have crimes to solve. She does, but they're not as complex as cases from other books in the series. The murder that starts off the novel is pretty straightforward; the suspect is not a surprise. I was surprised by the killer in the neighborhood Maeve and Josh were infiltrating, though. To be fair, there are A LOT of suspects, all of whom act suspiciously at points, making for a whole school of red herrings. Although the crimes aren't super complicated, there was enough going on with them to keep me interested (until 1:00 this morning when I finished THE CLOSE). I also just find Maeve super appealing. She's an understated heroine who's intelligent, tough, brave, funny, and compassionate. Mercurial Josh is harder to love at the outset, but his devotion to Maeve makes him pretty irresistible. It's fun to watch them dance around each other in this installment, trying to ignore their feelings for each other so they can focus on doing their job. All of these elements provide another thrilling installment in an always compelling series. I can't wait to see what Maeve and Josh do next!