The Cutting Place by Jane Casey

 

When body parts are discovered along the banks of the Thames they are quickly identified as being a female journalist, Paige Hargreaves, who was investigating the dubious goings on at gentlemen's club for the elite. Maeve Kerrigan needs to go undercover to find out exactly what illicit acts are taking place at the Chiron Club.

The Cutting Place by Jane Casey is the ninth book in the Maeve Kerrigan series. As with all the other books in the series they can be read as standalone novels (I started out on book 10) but it is far better to read them in order so you can see the character development.

The main story, the murder of a female journalist, is quite shocking in more ways than one. To begin with, no one even realised that the journalist was missing. The vast majority of the population live shoulder to shoulder, yet Paige had no close family, friends or colleagues to report her missing. The other distressing aspect is the way in which the members of the Chiron Club, politicians, bankers, judges, etc, treat women. Women are seen as a commodity to be used and abused, discarded when they are no longer useful or become a threat.

Alongside the police investigation, we get snippets of an event which took place two years previously. The aftermath of a Chiron Club party is slowly revealed and we discover that compromising pictures and evidence are used by the Chiron Club as blackmail against some of its prominent and powerful members. We also meet an individual who is close to one of the investigative team.

While the solving of crimes is the backbone of the series it is really the relationship between the main characters that keeps me hooked. We can see there is a thawing in the relationship between Kerrigan and Derwent, whether it's because they are now so used to working together or because Kerrigan has become immune to Derwent's taunts, they now manage to step around each other with practised ease. Other members of the team are still convinced they are sleeping together, or hate each other, or both.

Kerrigan is in the throes of a new relationship. Having finally gotten over Rob abandoning her she is now involved with Seth, the solicitor she met in the previous book, Cruel Acts. Seth seems ideal, intelligent, handsome, attentive and aware of the unpredictability of Kerrigan's job. Seth and Derwent don't like each other, two alpha males fighting for the attention of the same female. My female intuition was on high alert very early on as I felt that Seth was too controlling, however, I certainly didn't expect what happened. Author Jane Casey has pulled no punches and shows that anyone can be a victim of domestic abuse.

My journey, which began a year ago with The Close, is now up to date. The last few books in the series have helped me put into place things that happen in The Close. I am so looking forward to book 11, A Stranger In The Family, which is published in March.