Note:  While this review will not contain spoilers for Let the Dead Speak, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Maeve Kerrigan mysteries.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.

When Chloe Emery returns early to her mother's house in Putney after a visit with her dad, she's shocked to find the place covered in blood.  The only living thing remaining in the home is the family cat.  It appears as if Kate Emery, Chloe's mother, has been murdered.  But where is the body?  And why would someone commit such a savage act against a 42-year-old single mum?

Maeve Kerrigan, a newly promoted DS, is assigned the case along with the always mercurial DS Josh Derwent.  As the duo investigate the crime, they find themselves hitting roadblocks at every turn.  The Norrises, the Emerys' disapproving neighbors, are strangely unhelpful, even when it's obvious that Chloe and the Norris' teen daughter know much more than they're saying.  Could the neighborhood bad boy have had something to do with Kate's death?  The case gets curiouser and curiouser with every clue ...

As Maeve hunts down answers in an increasingly puzzling case, tries to sort out her even more baffling love life, and tangles with a moody Derwent, she'll have to use all her patience, savvy, and detecting skills to make sense of it all.

It's no secret that I enjoy the Maeve Kerrigan mysteries by Irish crime writer Jane Casey.  Our heroine is a down-to-earth copper who's brave and devoted but also fallibly human.  It's easy to root for her as she chases killers in London while dealing with private entanglements that are almost as dicey.  Let the Dead Speak, Maeve's seventh adventure, is just as engaging as its predecessors.  It boasts a twisty mystery, lots of action, and an ending I didn't see coming.  The story is a depressing one, to be sure, but as with all the Maeve Kerrigan books, Let the Dead Speak is engrossing, addicting, and satisfying.  As always, I can't wait for the next installment in this compelling series that just gets better as it goes.

(Readalikes:  Other books in the Maeve Kerrigan series, including Left For Dead [novella]; The Burning; The Reckoning; The Last Girl; The Stranger You Know; The Kill; and After the Fire)

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