Cruel Acts

Written by Jane Casey

Narrated by Caroline Lennon

The Sunday Times bestseller and winner of the Irish Independent crime fiction book of the year!

Don’t miss the newest Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent thriller – A STRANGER IN THE FAMILY – Coming March 2024. Available to Pre-Order now!

Guilty?
A year ago, Leo Stone was convicted of murdering two women and sentenced to life in prison. Now he’s been freed on a technicality, and he’s protesting his innocence.

Not guilty?
DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are determined to put Stone back behind bars where he belongs, but the more Maeve digs, the less convinced she is that he did it.

The wrong decision could be deadly…
Then another woman disappears in similar circumstances. Is there a copycat killer, or have they been wrong about Stone from the start?

‘Magnificent’ Marian Keyes

‘Clever, classy crime fiction’ Erin Kelly

‘Brilliant’ Fiona Barton

‘Terrific’ Sarah Hilary

‘I adored this book’ Liz Nugent

‘Authentic’ Jo Spain

‘Compulsive’ Patricia Gibney

‘Powerful’ Helen Fields

‘Kept me turning the pages long into the night’ Rachel Abbott

‘Emotional’ Sinéad Crowley

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780008149079

Jane Casey

Jane Casey was born and brought up in Dublin. She then studied English at Jesus College, Oxford, followed by an mPhil in Anglo-Irish Literature at Trinity College, Dublin. Married to a criminal barrister, she lives in London and worked in publishing as a children's books editor.

Reviews for Cruel Acts

[Jo-Anne Botha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Excellent writing, gripping plot, interesting ending. I will read more of her books.

[Ursula Nic Suibhne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

You wish it was a little more procedural, but the story has great momentum. The story is inspired by the murderer John Cannan (Leo Stone) and his suspected involvement in the disappearance of Suzy Lamplugh (Rachel Healy) in 1994. True Crime readers will know that case, have a strong opinion on his involvement, and enjoy the use of this as hook to the story.

[Elizabeth Marie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I just found my newest favorite author! This novel has all the elements necessary to grab and hold my attention from the very first minute to the very last second. Excellent narrator to boot!

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Leo Stone was convicted of the murder of two women and sentenced to life in prison. But now he's free due to a mistrial. DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent are determined to review all the evidence prior to his retrial but the more Maeve finds out, the less convinced she is of his guilt. Another woman disappears. Is it a copycat and have they been wrong about Stone from the start?Maeve is contacted by Rob which complicates her friendship with Derwent. Cliffhanger about a new love interest has me waiting for the next book which comes out in April. Recommend this series but should read these books in order.

[Jacki Oler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Obsessed with this series. But I hate when they switch narrators on book 8! Why??!? It pulls you out of the continuity, and all the voices change. This narrator isn’t as good as the one that narrated the first 7 books. Maeve and Josh are my favorite investigative duo still though.

[tina1969_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent are assigned to a new case. Leo Stone has been released from prison on technicalities but is up for a retrial. The pair have to take a look at the evidence.This is book eight to feature Maeve and Josh. I have read them all and in order which I prefer to do. This isn't my favourite book of the series so far. This book for me was just an average police procedure thriller. Nothing new here and a little predictable towards the end. For me it's the relationship between Maeve and Josh. They are not together romantically but Josh clearly has feelings for Maeve. Their relationship for me is the strongest part of the series and for now it's that element that keeps me reading. Josh sometimes is the father and brother figure to Maeve. It would be interesting for the reader if this was taken a bit further, just to see how it would pan out. Maybe on the otherhand its best left alone as the relationship is fun as it is.The book is police procedure but not too much. I've enjoyed the series so far although police procedure novels are not my favourite. I will continue with the series purley because of the two main characters.

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If anyone can work out whether Leo Stone is truly guilty of at least two nasty murders, it will be Maeve Kerrigan. He has been released, pending re-trial, because members of the original jury were influenced by media and internet resources. One of the things that Maeve and her boss has to do is to go through the original case to see if anything was missed.Leo Stone is not a particularly nice person, but despite that, Maeve is finding that some of the evidence the police based their case on just doesn't add up.I think I suffered a bit from not reading 4 of the books in this series and I was floundering a bit with details of Maeve's personal life, and how it is she comes to be living in a flat owned by her boss.Nevertheless I have to admire her dedication to the job and her willingness to go that little bit further.This is a tightly plotted book with some threads that give the reader plenty of food for thought

[pgchuis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I think I must have had too long a gap between instalment #7 and this one, but the Maeve/Rob/Derwent dynamic felt a bit tired to me. The se-up was interesting and the plot moved along fairly quickly, but I wasn't sure why everyone was so quick to hang Maeve out to dry for meeting with Kelly at the beginning. The identity of the culprit came a bit out of left field and suggested a poor level of intelligence gathering all along the line. The final scenes in Leo's bathroom went on too long for me in a thriller rather than police procedural mode and I skimmed them. Slightly disappointed as I usually love these.