Absolutely no spoilers here for the latest in Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series, but a clear thumbs up from me as a long time fan of the books. This is a suitably twisty take on a locked room mystery and a suitably twisty take on Maeve's own circumstances. I enjoyed this hugely.

I couldn't have been more excited for the latest Maeve Kerrigan book and was certainly not disappointed. Quite the opposite!

Like all of the previous books in the series, it draws you in immediately with a captivating case and interweaves it with what is going on in the private and job lives of Maeve and Josh. And boy is there a lot going on! It's fast paced and something happens on every page.

Expect nail biting and very late nights - I couldn't put the book down! It stays tense to the very, very end. Thoroughly enjoyed the ending and now can't wait for the next book and how the overarching story continues.

I am very thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC. My only regret is that the wait for the next installment is now even longer.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but I felt the mystery took a bit of a backseat to the personal relationships and I felt that some of the history established in earlier books seemed to be rewritten to fit this plot. The "shift in history" served the plot, but it felt like certain past events were reshaped to fit the current story.

That said, the case kept me guessing, and many of the twists genuinely surprised me. As with all Maeve books, I’ll definitely be rereading this one, though it fell a bit short of some of my expectations.

Jane does it again!! I am obsessed with Josh and Maeve so devoured this latest installment, the ending is so satisfying especially after the very long build up!! Great mystery as always and Jane is a master at romantic tension. Loved it!!

The DS Maeve Kerrigan series is one of my top favorite series of all time and I would highly recommend it but they MUST be read in order to get the full experience. Great procedurals set in the UK with interesting cases, a cast of complex supporting characters, and one of the best slow burn will-they-or-won't-they relationships since Strike and Robin (IYKYK ). So. Much. Tension. These books are ones I want to rip through quickly to find out what happens but also want to savor them as long as possible. I have been anxiously awaiting The Secret Room for over a year and once again Jane Casey put me through the wringer. Maeve is called to a luxury hotel for a woman found dead in the bathtub. The evidence points to murder but the CCTV footage and door swipe log show that the victim was alone in the locked room. All of our favorite members from Maeve's team are involved including (enigmatic, frustrating, sexy) DI Josh Derwent. As usual, nothing in Maeve's personal or professional life unfolds in a straightforward manner but that's what keeps me glued to the pages. I don't want to give away any spoilers but this book put me through ALL of the emotions and as usual has me once again dying to get my hands on the next installment. #NetGalley #TheSecretRoom

Firstly don’t read this is you are new to the series as it won’t make as much sense or leave you as emotionally drained as it would if you know the background to the relationship between Maeve and Josh. It’s the perfect follow up to Stranger In The Family and delivered a gripping storyline that pulled out all the best in these characters that I have come to know and love over the years. Brilliantly executed from start to finish-I absolutely loved it!

I couldn't believe my luck when I was approved to read an advance copy of The Secret Room by Jane Casey.

Finding this author (and this series in particular) has been one of the highlights of my year so far, providing a distraction in the grim winter months and keeping me turning the pages long after I should have gone to sleep. I can't believe I hadn't come across Jane Casey until December 2024, but a flurry of mentions by various trusted sources online meant that the call of her books quickly became impossible to ignore. I thought I might read one or two over the next year but I have actually read the entire 12-book series since the start of January (it's now 20 February!) in one great big gulp. I guess new readers could read this one as a standalone, but why on earth would you do that when such delights await?

I don't want to put any spoilers at all in my review, but suffice to say that Jane Casey knows her readers so well and has lovingly crafted a book that will give them an amazing experience, with all the heart-racing twists and nervous "will-they, won't they" butterflies we've come to expect. She also knows her characters inside out and I was particularly impressed that she created tension and conflict in unexpected places, rather than taking the "easy" option that would not have been true to them. This was the kind of novel that brought about a wistful sigh at the end, after I'd unwittingly been holding my breath for who knows how long... I even wanted to hug the book close – I may have to buy a physical copy to do just that.

Thank you, Jane Casey, for this wonderful gift! I can't wait to read what you write next.

With sincere thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free advance copy of The Secret Room in exchange for an honest review.

I am a MASSIVE fan of the Maeve Kerrigan series so was completely delighted to receive this advance review copy - and I was not disappointed!

A clever, almost Jonathan Creek style mystery to solve - and the eternal will they/won't they between Maeve and Derwent. I enjoyed this book enormously and powered through it in a night. If you're a fan of the series, then you'll love it!

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an ARC for the purpose of review.

I discovered the Maeve Kerrigan series by Jane Casey during Covid and the books are a firm favourite. Unlike other books in the series, there are two crimes/storylines running along side each other. “The Secret Room” does more of a deep dive into our favourites Maeve and Josh and the closest people to them. We learn a lot more about each of them.

“A Stranger in the Family” ended on a cliffhanger for the duo and “The Secret Room” is unputdownable, I read it in one sitting! Fans of the series are going to love the latest instalment. I can’t wait for the next one already.

Thanks to netgalley for providing this advanced copy for the purpose of review.
This is my most favourite series and following the cliffhanger in the previous book, it was highly anticipated. It didn't disappoint and everything about it was perfect. Jane Casey writes so well that all the characters feel real. The mystery was gripping as was the character development and progression. I highly recommend reading the whole series from start to finish.

When I finished Jane Casey’s previous book, A Stranger in the Family, I know I wasn’t alone in wishing the next book was ready to read immediately after the jaw-dropping epilogue she left us with. So to say I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the new book is not an exaggeration!!!

The Secret Room is the twelfth in the Maeve Kerrigan detective series, a series I first discovered in 2023. From the very first book, I was completely hooked (I read it in a day!). Jane Casey has created such a brilliant character in Maeve—a detective in a London-based murder squad.

Each book usually focuses on a particular murder case, with some really interesting side stories, usually involving Maeve’s personal life. None, however, are (for me anyway!!) as gripping as the ongoing dynamic between Maeve and Josh Derwent. Josh was introduced in book three, and I hated him at first! I actually wasn’t sure I would be able to continue the series with him in it! So the fact that I’ve done a complete 180 on him is a real testament to Jane Casey’s writing skills.

This book was definitely worth the long wait—and honestly, I think it’s the best in the series so far! It’s hard to say too much about the plot without dropping spoilers, which I definitely don’t want to do. But I’ll say this: there’s a murder for Maeve to solve involving an interior designer who checks into a hotel and is murdered in a scalding bath - with no signs of anyone else in the room with her that could have done the deed. This mystery kept me guessing right until the very end. And the storyline involving Josh had me on the edge of my seat.

If you haven’t read this series yet, you are missing out. Each book has a standalone story, but honestly if you haven’t read the full series I would recommend you start from Book 1 as will get way more from it, (especially from the Josh storyline).

Thanks so much to @netgalley and @harpercollins for an advanced copy of the book. All views are my own.

#netgalley #harpercollins #janecasey #maevekerrigan #bookstagram #irishbookstagrammer

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing an e-ARC; this review reflects my honest thoughts.

This is one of the most highly anticipated book series! I've been reading the Maeve Kerrigan series for years, and the author has an incredible talent for crafting plots filled with twists and turns. She skillfully presents a complicated story-line that reveals interesting truths about people's personalities. The last book ended on a cliffhanger, and the synopsis of this new instalment nearly made my heart stop. I really don’t want this series to end!

"The Secret Room" is another masterpiece by Jane Casey. It features a gripping double-case investigation that will keep you glued to the pages—don’t skip this one; it’s that good! It's always fascinating to uncover more truths about the main characters, truths that turn our understanding of the story upside down. It’s simply fantastic!

There is no doubt that anyone who is reading the series won't regret picking the latest one.

I love this series and was very excited to read this latest instalment. I wasn’t disappointed as it was fantastic with a couple of storylines. Maeve, her family and colleagues all seem like old friends as they are so well written. The main investigation is a type of locked room mystery and very good it is too. I’m already looking forward to the next book.

I didn’t like that a character who has already been long established in the series as a domestic violence survivor was here changed to have been lying about it all along. Having experienced DVI have had the Met police tell me I was lying for a long time, and ultimately half a court room say it too, before the man in question was eventually found guilty.

I started this series having heard some of Maeve’s fictional experience from a friend, and that through the series the portrayal of women’s experiences of DV is much more realistic and supportive than with the real Met. So I felt let down by the ret-con of Melissa’s story.

I kept reading to the end because I feel a moral obligation to provide feedback based on the whole book.

I’m not usually one to ask for trigger warnings but maybe this book needs one.

I was lucky enough to get an advance review copy of The Secret Room by Janet Casey, having just completed the series so far last week, in preparation for this book - the 12th in the Maeve Kerrigan series.

It is a rare thing for a series to reach its twelfth instalment. It must be rarer still for it to do so while still maintaining a very high level of quality and consistency. The series was recommended to me online and I started it in April 2024. I started working through the books and have picked up the pace as I went - more and more engaged by the characters and how their personalities developed as I moved through the books. I’m so pleased that I picked these up - I read a lot of mysteries and these are written to a very high standard, the mysteries are always absorbing and interesting, and the solution often isn’t obvious but the clues are there! The characters are interesting and absorbing, with many shades of grey - the vast majority of characters feel very realistic and the development over the series is great, with a number of story arcs threading through multiple books. Jane Casey is obviously a talented, skilful writer and I really enjoy her writing.

Ilaria Cavendish is the victim of The Secret Room, which kicks off in a modern version of a classic trope - the locked room murder. Found dead in a hotel room where she had a standing assignation with her lover, there is plenty of CCTV evidence to detail how she got there, but the issue is that there is no time for her to have been killed. And so the curtain lifts on another tricky puzzle for the team to solve. However, as always they have personal lives that bleed into work and distract them from the task at hand.

I was totally drawn in by this mystery - I found it really engaging and I honestly couldn’t wait to see what happened next. There were plenty of twists and turns throughout the story and it was more than enough to keep me on my toes!

I have seen a lot of discussion online about the balance in these books between work / personal lives of Maeve and Josh, but in all honesty, I think that a really good balance is struck between moving along the story in their personal lives as well as managed to progress their current case. I really enjoyed this book and couldn’t wait to get back to it to se what happened next and I already can’t wait for the next one!

If you haven’t already read this series - what a gift you have in store! Technically, each book probably could be read as a standalone, but you would really be missing out on the valuable character development and the backstory to the characters - I feel like I’ve known them from afar for years!

I really enjoyed this book, in all aspects and would heartily recommend it, but if you haven’t already, read the series - it will be worth it!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book #12 in the Maeve Kerrigan series and what a rollercoaster of emotions this was!

After the cliffhanger and epilogue in ‘A Stranger in the Family’ I honestly could not wait to get my hands on this ARC, so as soon as it landed in my TBR pile, it went straight to the top!

I absolutely adore this series and the excitement it brings with each new installment never wavers. Each new book delivers something new every time.

The build up of tension is just perfection.  This is a book that will have you ignoring the world guaranteed.

To say the plot was unique was an understatement, it not only had me fully immersed and invested but also scratching my head the whole way through. I couldn’t,  for the life of me, work out what the hell was happening.

In the newest addition to the series, Maeve and Josh are tasked with investigating the ‘impossible’ murder scenario of Ilaria Cavendish. An interior designer, married to mega rich Angus.

Found in a hotel room at The Governor hotel, in a bath full of boiling water, after reviewing CCTV footage, Maeve, Josh and the team are stumped. How did anyone get in or out of the room without being captured on any of the cameras and who would want Ilaria dead?

Whilst investigating this case, Josh is arrested for assaulting his partner. Found unresponsive and battered at the bottom of the stairs, whilst Josh is found covered in her blood, he’s adamant he didn’t harm Melissa in any way. No matter what he says, the investigators just don’t believe him. Josh tells Maeve to keep away, but Maeve doesn’t follow orders well and goes against any advise given to get Josh free.

As always the characterisation is amazingly written. Each character stands out and I loved both Maeve’s parents and Luke playing a more prominent role in this book.

The ‘will they, won’t they?’ between Josh and Maeve is still red hot but will Josh finally push her away too hard or will he take the advise from others and finally be honest with his feelings?

As requested by Jane Casey, I’m not even mentioning any details regarding the ending BUT I will say, the bigger the present,  the bigger the bow and this was wrapped up with the biggest, prettiest bow!

Massive thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

From the very first page, The Secret Room grips you in its unrelenting hold, blending suspense with intricately layered characters and a heart-pounding will they-won't they plot, which at some point in the book brought me to tears (the full significance and scope only become clear when you have read the entire series, though you can still enjoy this as a standalone). Jane Casey has once again delivered a thrilling masterpiece that will leave readers breathless and glued to the pages until the very end.
What I love most about Casey’s writing is her ability to create characters that feel so real, you can't help but invest in their fates. Maeve and Josh are drawn with such depth, making their emotions and actions truly resonate, and the psychological complexity is remarkable.
I couldn't put it down, and I’m still thinking about the final chapters days later! Jane Casey has once again proven why she is a master of the genre. If you haven’t read her work yet, now is the perfect time to dive in!

Highly recommend!

Really enjoyed this book, except I wish I had read all the previous books first. I have really missed out! It read really well as a standalone, it is well written and the characters and plot lines are well set out and exceptionally plausible. Thoroughly recommend it, but read all the others first!!

It does feel for a lot of the book as if the murder to be solved is secondary to the romance and tension between the main detective protagonist and her colleague, but long one readers of the series have been waiting for a resolution of that theme in the story arc for quite some time!

Very quick paced, lots of character development, a sturdy murder case that is investigated and a subplot that I read very easily - an enjoyable read overall.

Fans of this series are going to be absolutely delighted with this latest instalment. Maeve Kerrigan, young London-Irish DS in the Met is one of the stand-out crime fiction heroine's of the decade, and she's in full form in the Secret Room. Her slow-burn potential relationship with DI Josh Derwent is tested to the limit and perhaps beyond. And by this stage
The central locked room mystery of this book may leave sharp crime fiction fans slightly underwhelmed, as the solution is fairly obvious. The secondary mystery, relating more to Maeve's personal life, was similarly straightforward to work out. However, there is so much here of what readers have come to love from Casey that all the fans of this series will be delighted.