Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Hotbed’ by Joanna Scutts, a fascinating look at (as it is subtitled) ‘Bohemian New York and the Secret Club that Sparked Modern Feminism’.
Thanks to Random Things Tours for my place on the tour and for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review – opinions are all my own!
This book was published in hardback by Duckworth on 14th July, 2022.
This is the 9th book in the Maeve Kerrigan series and was published in April 2020.
This is the latest installment in the series featuring DS Maeve Kerrigan of the Metropolitan Police. Although the series is great, this can also be read as a standalone as a lot of the backstory is explained or not needed to follow this book.
In this novel, Maeve's team are called upon to investigate the disappearance of a young journalist, Paige Hargreaves. It seems that she was about to publish an article about the Chiron Club, a bastion of secrecy and dubious attitudes to women. As Maeve gets closer to the truth, the extent of the Club's activities are revealed and there are some who would go to extreme lengths to preserve the secrets it holds.
Having read a few of the previous books, I was glad to see DI Derwent present as the potential romantic interest; this is a book where Maeve's private life takes a starring role, something that I felt rather distracted from the story's denouement although it was an interesting plotline. This is a well- written and lively addition to the series, although not quite a 5 star read as I found the ending slight lacked something for me personally.
An enjoyable police procedural for those who are already familiar with Maeve's world, but I'd probably recommend starting earlier in the series if you haven't read any of the others.
I received a free copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Photo by Sarah Pflug from Burst
Links to purchase this title in hardback and on Kindle are below for the UK Amazon site. The Quick and the Read may earn some commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.
