Three men, all convicted pedophiles, are murdered in the space of a few days. The police are at a loss to figure out how the men are linked. Even more puzzling is how the killer discovered the identities of the men. Is there someone on the inside of the police force feeding information to the killer? As part of the investigation Maeve Kerrigan is paired with the new DI, Josh Derwent, and they really don't get on.
As part of my quest to read the back catalogue of the Maeve Kerrigan series after reading the tenth book in the series, The Close, I'm now on to The Reckoning. The story has moved on slowly from the first book in the series, The Burning, where we are introduced to Maeve. This time around we get to know more about her character and her struggle to be taken seriously in a male dominated squad.
The start of the novel raises the issue of someone murdering convicted pedophiles. Some members of the police believe that the murderer is providing a community service, others, Maeve included, are adamant that the murders should be investigated in exactly the same way that any other murder is. As we learn the backgrounds of the victims we also question if their crimes were genuine or fabricated out of maliciousness.
The story swiftly changes to one of a missing teenage girl, the daughter of a violent criminal, who has been on the run from the police for years. We soon realise that the two cases are linked.
Maeve's love life continues to cause problems. Her relationship with fellow detective Rob is "on again, off again" as they try to hide it from the rest of the team, knowing that they can't be a couple and work together. When Maeve moves to a new flat she inherits some strange neighbours and a stalker, which cause further complications.
The police team gains two new members. Liv Bowen seems to be the complete opposite of Maeve but they gradually realise they are allies in a department full of men. The second addition to the team is DI Josh Derwent. Derwent really does not come across well. There is constant friction between the pair as Maeve feels he's patronising, condescending and mercurial. The pair lock horns continually throughout the investigation.
As the story builds to the conclusion there is action, excitement and tension. At times I felt myself holding my breath as the characters put themselves in dangerous situations.
I desperately want to move straight on to the next book in the series but need to take a break as I have a mounting pile of new books to review. I will be back soon though to discover what Maeve Kerrigan is up to next.
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