Ingrid Lewis is a barrister in London. When one of her associates borrows her umbrella, and is later tragically killed, Ingrid is convinced that it wasn’t an accident and she was the intended victim.

A number of years ago, after winning her case, she was the object of one of her client’s affections and he became borderline obsessed with her and her life. No one is taking her seriously and she sets out to try to prove that he is involved in the strange going’s on and keeping tabs on her. She enlists the help of one of the Police Officers from the aforementioned case as she is terrified someone wants her dead.

I have only recently ‘discovered’ Jane Casey and love her Maeve Kerrigan series. This standalone novel keeps you guessing right through with lots of twists and turns.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Sharp, Well Crafted Suspense....
Sharp, well crafted, dark suspense from Jane Casey with a deftly drawn and credible cast of characters. Tension mounting from start to finish with some unexpected twists and a fast moving storyline. Compelling reading.

I am a huge fan of Jane Casey’s novels especially the Maeve Kerrigan series, and this standalone read is the best so far. I tend to avoid claiming that it is the best novel I have read but this is up there and the best I have read this year. Utterly compelling and disturbing so make sure the windows and doors are locked if you read this alone in the house.

Ingrid Lewis is a barrister and used to dealing with difficult situations and tricky clients. She defended John Webster against a stalking charge. A police officer, Adam Nash, warns Ingrid that John Webster is evil, and this proves to be the case as he stalks her and her fiancé, Mark.

The story is narrated by Ingrid who is a feisty, intelligent woman and turns into a private investigator to try and find out who is responsible for her colleague, Belinda’s, ‘murder’. Belinda had borrowed Ingrid’s umbrella and ends up under the wheels of a lorry.
Superb plotting and amazingly dynamic characters with a great ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Jane Casey for my ARC of The Killing Kind in return for my honest review.

Utterly brilliant and highly recommended.

Barrister Belinda Grey borrows her colleague's umbrella on a wet day leaving the courthouse. Shortly afterwards Belinda is knocked down and killed. Pretty quickly Ingrid Lewis comes to believe the actual target was herself and her distinctive umbrella which Belinda borrowed confused the killer. Ingrid is sure the murderer is John Webster. She was stalked and tormented by him in the past and now she's convinced he's back.

This is a standalone novel from Jane Casey and it's excellent. Ingrid's fear, paranoia and distrust is palpable. Gripping stuff!

Jane Casey has smashed the bestseller charts with this book. It's bloody awesome from beginning to end. It has everything in it, murder, suspense, weird characters and a plot to get lost in. I fell in to the story straight away and just found it so hard to put down. You know when you're reading a great book when you realize you have lost hours of the day because you're just so engrossed in the story and you can't wait to see what happens next. Great characters who have depth and you can relate to them to a certain extent. It's one of those books that makes you ask yourself "what the hell is going to happen next" their are so many twists that you get dizzy reading about them and you just have to read one more page, then one more chapter and before you know it you have read the whole book. Jane's best book to date. LOVED IT!LOVED IT! LOVED IT!.

A compelling read which had me hooked throughout. The story centres around a lawyer who has a complex relationship with a criminal she represented some time ago. He is obsessed with her but wants to protect her when it is evident someone wants to hurt her. Is it him or someone else. Cleverly written and in a way where the character of the criminal is endearing. A great rad 5 stars

Jane Casey does it again, and writes a wonderful thriller full of exciting characters.

At times I did get frustrated with Ingrid. For a woman who is supposedly very intelligent, she can be naive and too trusting.
However, the final twists were exciting, even if a bit predictable.

All in all, still a very good read.

This one was so good!
The Killing Kind is exactly what I would expect of a psychological thriller.
Ingrid is a successful barrister. She takes on John Webster as a client to defend him against a stalking offence.
Expecting that, after the case is closed, she would never see John Webster again she finds herself being followed, her relationship ruined and her home broken in to.
John tells Ingrid he is protecting her not stalking her and she is in danger.
What should Ingrid believe? The man she knows is capable of terrorising women or her gut instinct.
That is all I want to say about the plot as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone but suffice to say this book had me gripped.
Red herrings, twists and turns and the kind of story that you read “just one more chapter” of before you find yourself awake all night with a book you’re unable to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Dark and disturbing brilliantly-crafted novel. I'd heard great things about the writer - now I believe them.
Not much room for humour and yet Casey manages it in places, something I appreciated as it allowed me to break away from Ingrid's train crash of a life, if only for a second. Now I want to go back to the beginning and read Casey's backlist.

Head and shoulders the best book I've read so far this year. Interesting premise of the life of a barrister developing swiftly into an engrossing thriller full of twists and turns. A must read (I know it's not a Maeve and Derwent one but it's just as good honest). I just wish I could read it all over again #mustsavourbooksmore

Jane Casey has always been one of my favourite writers. I was so excited to read this book. I was immediately drawn Ingrirds world and cannot recommend this book enough.

4.5 rounded up

Barrister Belinda Grey is killed shortly after leaving court but is the real target fellow barrister Ingrid Lewis? She has had harassment and threats made against her by John Webster following a court case. This tense novel is told in several timelines from witness statements, court scenes, messages and by interviews. This works extremely well in the unfolding drama.

Wow. I think this is the best Jane Casey novel I have read. At times it’s so tense your breathing slows to match that of the characters especially Ingrid. The storyline builds and builds and builds until you’re sure it must have reached the maximum the tempo can go but no, it escalates some more!! The plot is intelligent and clever and so well written that you are absorbed to the exclusion of all else and you’re desperate to find where the truth lies. The impact of Webster on Ingrid is done extremely well, you witness the impact on her mental health, the growing paranoia and the feeling of being hunted is chilling. She constantly checks over her shoulder and even that isn’t enough as she’s tormented at every turn. Webster is well depicted, he’s dangerous, lacks emotion, he’s clever, manipulative, capable of anything and with a smile as charming as a crocodile. You sense Ingrid's growing sense of confusion about who exactly she can trust as it’s clear she’s being royally played. You think she can’t receive any more shocks, that there can’t be any more terrible events around her but think again!! Some of Ingrid's actions do seem rash but are probably born out of fear and her determination to get the truth. There are some very good twists at the end that you don’t see coming as we reach the surprising conclusion. I like how the storyline makes you think and reflect on the judicial process and the impact it can have on victims.

Overall, a terrific read but be warned, once you start you won’t want to stop and certainly won’t appreciate interruptions - just ask my husband!!

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to HarperCollins, Harper Fiction for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Oh my god! The Killing Kind is absolutely incredible. It’s breathtaking, nail biting, spine tingling madness!! Loved it.

Jane Casey has such a fantastic way with words and storytelling, her Maeve Kerrigan series is one of my favourites and I was delighted with this stand alone thriller. It’s gripping, exciting and full of twists.

The Killing Kind is a strong five out of five and you NEED to read it.

I’ve really enjoyed Casey’s Maeve Kerrigan series in the past so I was interested in reading her new stand-alone novel. The Killing Kind is still a thriller, set in the world of barristers, and is completely absorbing. There are loads of surprising twists, but the path towards them is laid well enough that they don’t feel outlandish. I did wonder if the novel was leading into a sequel towards the end, with one mystery still hanging in the last few pages, but satisfyingly it all gets wrapped up neatly, if a little bit hurried.

Ingrid is a barrister in London, who's life has turned upside down after defending John Webster in a stalking case. Since he was acquitted, he has turned his attention on her, making her life hell. When her restraining order runs out, Ingrid thinks John is back, especially when a fellow barrister ends up under a lorry. Everyone thinks it was an accident but Ingrid is convinced the victim was pushed. And that she was the intended target.

This book had me gripped from the beginning! It really hooked my attention and reeled me in. The story was intriguing, finding out the backstory of Ingrid defending John Webster and the immediate aftermath of the trial. As the current storyline unwinds, the sense of fear and paranoid Ingrid feels is so palpable. You have no idea who to trust or how much is Ingrid's imagination running wild. Especially when Ingrid interacts with John Webster. There's plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested as everything ramps up. One storyline seems a bit rushed at the end, but it didn't take away from the overall storyline. Fans of Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series will enjoy this stand alone novel. It's a multilayered, well paced thriller that I read in under 24 hours as I didn't want to put it down!

Another cracking read from Ms Casey! A different style (and new protagonist) to her previous work but equally gripping and plenty of twists and turns ...

Ingrid is being stalked by an ex client - but is he really the person she should be afraid of? Any why does someone have such a massive grudge against her? Who can she truly trust?

I thought this was an original idea, exploring whether someone could be both ‘bad’ and also a potential saviour. John’s character was unusual - his motivations were largely left to the reader’s imagination without being explicitly explored by the author. It’s implied that his motives aren’t sexual, so one is left to assume that he’s simply sociopathic and/ or a little unhinged! That in itself is quite a frightening concept, the nebulous nature of John’s obsession with Ingrid and the reason he causes such carnage in people’s lives ...

It felt at times that the number of characters with an axe to grind against Ingrid- and who were willing to take extreme action to settle the score - seemed inconceivably large. That said the underlying themes (rape, harassment etc) were all things which could in theory bring out the darker side of people seeking revenge!

Overall I really enjoyed the story and Ingrid’s character worked well. I think Adam could have been developed a little more, and the police seemed resoundingly useless, but otherwise a great page-turner.

I read this nearly all in one sitting. It is the story of Ingrid, a criminal barrister, who has been the victim of intense stalking from a previous client who she defended which has massively impacted on her life. He was briefly imprisioned for fraud but she knows he is now free and her restraining order has expired. Then a colleague is killed in a traffic accident whilst carrying Ingrid’s distinctive umbrella and she begins to worry that she is being targeted again. This a tense, fast paced thriller and you are never sure who Ingrid can trust because she has lived in fear and on edge for years. The writing is impeccable and I found myself completely absorbed in Ingrid’s life. This is the perfect thriller to lose yourself in.

I enjoyed The Killing Kind; it is well written and a much classier psychological thriller than most. In general this is not a genre I’m keen on but I made an exception for Jane Casey whose other work I have liked very much, and I’m glad I did.

It’s a good, if slightly well worn set-up: Ingrid Lewis is a barrister who has been stalked by a former client, the incredibly creepy and threatening John Webster whom she helped to be acquitted of another stalking offence. After a spell in prison, Webster is out and sinister things begin happening which she is convinced are his doing, but there isn’t any evidence to allow the police to act so she has to take things into her own hands…

So far, so familiar. However, Jane Casey is a really good writer who brilliantly conveys the oppressive fear of being stalked and who structures and paces her plot extremely well. Ingrid’s work as a barrister is also excellently portrayed (although it does seem to be rather forgotten in the second half of the book). There are some surprising revelations but the are very neatly and quite plausibly done, avoiding the clumsy Incredible Twists which usually annoy me badly in books of this kind. These aspects make this several cuts above the average and I became completely hooked for a long period.

It’s not perfect; I was happy to allow some implausibilities for the sake of a good story and Casey does manage the inevitable Intelligent Person Doing Very Foolish Things aspects of the story very well, but one or two incidents and the ending did stretch credibility a little too far for me. Nonetheless, I thought this was gripping, extremely well written and very enjoyable. Recommended.

(My thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC via NetGalley.)

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. Great storyline, great characters and there was a lot of twists and turns along the way. This author is one of my favourites.

What a brilliant and expertly plotted book. At times it felt so tense I almost couldn't bear it, but of course I did and just had to find out what happened!