A mother and daughter are brutally slain inside their exclusive London residence. The only witnesses are the troubled twin that survived and Phillip Kennford, her father and a defense attorney who makes a practice out of twisting the truth. Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan must pick through the half-truths and lies of this wealthy family to separate the fantasy of their privileged lives from reality if she wants to catch the murderer before they strike again.

THE LAST GIRL by Jane Casey continues to follow DC Maeve Kerrigan as she tries to find her spot inside the male dominated London police department. I really enjoyed the continued banter between Maeve and her partner Detective Inspector Josh Derwent. Derwent is prickly, egotistical and a fantastic character. His off-color jokes make me laugh out loud. Derwent and Maeve complement each other in surprising ways. The fact that there is absolutely no sexual chemistry allows them to explore the roles as partners and unusual friends. I can't wait to see how their partnership will evolve throughout this series. The dynamics Maeve's interaction with various characters always reveals more of Maeve's personality. She's a very complex and real character.

I love the multiple levels of plotting in Casey's novels. The Kennford case is the main focus, but Casey never forgets about the outside world while building this suspenseful mystery. Casey's world is incredibly realistic and detailed. Maeve's still trying to find her footing in her relationship with Rob Langton and deal with his transfer to another division and his new overly friendly boss. Add in a series of drug and gang related hits that have all of London on edge and it's another typical day for Maeve. Like all great series, Casey continues to build character and recurring plot lines while heightening the suspense of the current case.

The Kennford case is extremely tragic and the fine twists of the plot caught me by surprise. I've loved every Jane Casey book I've read to date and highly recommend them. THE LAST GIRL is intricately plotted, heart-wrenching, and suspenseful.

Book Summary

Vast wealth offers London defense attorney Philip Kennford a lot of things: a gorgeous house with a pool in the backyard, connections in the top echelons of society, a wardrobe worthy of Milan runways. But his money doesn’t provide a happy marriage, or good relationships with his twin daughters…and it does nothing to protect his family when someone brutally murders his wife and daughter in their own home.

When Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan arrives at the scene, the two survivors—Philip and his second favorite daughter, Lydia—both claim to have seen nothing, but it’s clear right away that this is an unhappy family accustomed to keeping secrets. Maeve soon finds herself entangled in a case with a thousand leads that all seem to point nowhere, and it doesn’t help that her boss, whom she trusts more than almost anyone, is starting to make decisions that Maeve finds questionable at best.

In The Last Girl, Jane Casey once again demonstrates her ability to write vivid, three-dimensional characters and spin a gripping, unpredictable mystery.