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       Copyright

      Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

      1 London Bridge Street

      London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

      Copyright © Jane Casey 2019

      Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

      Cover photographs © Stephen Mulcahey/Trevillion Images (figure), Shutterstock.com (forest and yellow tape)

      Jane Casey asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

      A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

      This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      Source ISBN: 9780008149031

      Ebook Edition © April 2019 ISBN: 9780008149055

      Version: 2019-07-15

       Praise for Cruel Acts

      ‘Cruel Acts is magnificent. I’ve loved all Jane Casey’s books but this is definitely her best one. I could not stop reading it! Utter brilliance’

      Marian Keyes

      ‘You’ll be checking the locks and looking over your shoulder after reading this one: Cruel Acts is clever, classy crime fiction with a conscience. I couldn’t put it down’

      Erin Kelly, bestselling author of He Said/She Said

      ‘Jane Casey’s brilliant storytelling pulled me straight into Maeve Kerrigan’s world, leaving me breathless and wanting more. Brava!’

      Fiona Barton, bestselling author of The Widow

      ‘Jane Casey is writing one of THE very best police series around … Terrific’

      Sarah Hilary, bestselling author of the DI Marnie Rome series

      ‘The smartest, most empathetic writer of police procedural novels today. I absolutely, whole-heartedly adored this book’

      Liz Nugent, bestselling author of Skin Deep

      ‘One of the most authentic police procedural writers around’

      Jo Spain, bestselling author of The Confession

      ‘Cruel Acts is a compulsive read. The story is captivating’

      Patricia Gibney, author of the Detective Lottie Parker series

      ‘An utterly engaging, powerful novel that had me hooked from page one’

      Helen Fields, author of Perfect Remains

      ‘Kept me turning the pages long into the night’

      Rachel Abbott, author of the Tom Douglas thriller series

      ‘Humane, emotional and deeply intelligent’

      Sinéad Crowley, author of the DS Claire Boyle series

      ‘Mesmerising’

       Sunday Times

      ‘The plot makes for a breathtaking page-turner’

       Sun

      ‘One of the most thoroughly human and convincing police officers in the fictional ranks’

       Guardian

      ‘Jane Casey is a terrific writer and her Maeve Kerrigan books are irresistible’

       Irish Times

      ‘This brutal thriller doesn’t pull its punches, and it hooks till the last gasp’

       Heat

      ‘You’ll be totally hooked’

       Woman & Home

      ‘A masterful tale of twisted psychology, trauma and betrayal’

       Woman’s Weekly

      ‘A series that’s establishing itself as one of the finest in all of crime fiction’

       Irish Independent

       Dedication

       For Sinéad and Liz, my wise women

       Epigraph

      The investigator should pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry, whether these point towards or away from the suspect.

      Code of Practice for Investigators