The Last Girl

Maeve Kerrigan, Book 3

By: Jane Casey

Narrated by: Sarah Coomes

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.

©2013 Jane Casey (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Maeve Kerrigan [is] a fascinating and plausible character.... What she has is persistence, integrity, and emotional intelligence, and a very deft way of insinuating herself into a reader’s affections." ( The Irish Independent)

Good, not as good as the first two

The story was reeeeeally slow to start moving. There was too much conversation in the car, driving places. It was still a great listen, and I love the series. But this wasn't as great as the first two.

I like the book, but loathe the narrator

I enjoy the Maeve Kerrigan series. Very believable characters and good story lines. But the narrator. UGH!! When she does a man's voice (one voice for all of them), she sounds like she is straining herself to the point of injury. It takes away from my enjoyment of the story, because it is SO annoying that I can't stop noticing it from start to end. But, I do keep listening to the series, so that may indicate that the books are even better than they seem to me under these circumstances.

Abysmal narrating!

I like the Maeve Kerrigan books, but the narrator really detracts from this story! The way she narrates the men is absolutely grating. I was close to returning this book several times because of the nasal, irritating, melodramatic performance, but the story itself is good.

Good story, cartoonish narration

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend the print version. It's a good story with interesting characters and an intricate plot.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Having read Jane Casey's first two books and really liked them I decided to listen to this one. The other two had a serious and slightly dark mood. The narration in this tends toward the stereotypical and lends a comical air to the book. Many of the characters' voices sound like creaky doors and are distracting and annoying. It's too bad because I'm not really enjoying the story.

Smashing pair.

Whether it’s Sarah Coomes and Jane Casey or Maeve Kerrigan and Josh Derwent. A smashing great pair. I am officially hooked on this series.

not up to par with others in series

Some others dislike the narrator. I think she is very good. I found the conversations between Kerrigan, the protagonist, and her partner too harsh. It got tiring. I've read others in this series where their relationship improves. The harsh back and forth, biting comments isn't all that unusual for police procedurals but I get tired of it. Also, the intrusive and irrelevant personal questions asked by Kerrigan's partner of suspects and witnesses were beyond the pale.

Like the book, hate the narrator's voices

Jane Casey's books are a nice read, although she does tend to over do some things - in this book it was the heat. After a while, you just want to say, Alright! We get it! It's hot!!! As far as the narrator goes, she's not bad but her voices of the characters are god-awful! I would like to listen to the books in the series, but I just can't get past those voices.....

3

This entry in the Maeve series falters. It is lengthy for no good reason, wordy, wordy, with words like Autumn leaves - an unending
dumping blowing back , forth, all
around, jeez! Get on with story
I find myself thinking, then she does and more pieces from the life of a young, female police murder invedtigator slide into.place and I'm looking for the next Jane Creasey book.

Twisted family tale

Just by chance I ordered one of Jane Casey's novels this is the 3rd..they are all so good and well written. Stories are so rich in details and she describes so well how difficult it is for a women in a male dominated profession. Love the characters and of course maeve herself. I hope she continues with this series.

worst reader ever

I was so annoyed with the reader could barely keep up with the story. Every sentence doesn't have to be laced with irony.