Dead To Me: the explosive new thriller from Queen of the Underworld Jessie Keane

by Jessie Keane

THE CARTER FAMILY IS BACK...

Annie Carter is burying her sister Ruthie, from who she has long been estranged. There was bad blood between them - Annie stole away Max Carter on the night before his wedding to Ruthie and that destroyed any closeness between the sisters, which Annie now bitterly regrets. But at least she is giving Ruthie a decent send-off. Except, a mystery surrounds Ruthie's was it suicide - or murder?

Ruthie left England in the sixties, last seen boarding a train at Waterloo Station. Where was she heading? What, over the intervening years until her death, had she been doing?

Because, since the funeral, it seems that someone or something is playing tricks, trying to make Annie Carter lose her mind. Is she being haunted? Or hounded by an enemy from her past?

Readers LOVE Jessie
'Jessie Keane has taken the title of Queen of gangland crime'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Jessie's books... get better and better'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A true writer of gangland. I guarantee you will be hooked'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'One of the best gangland reads ever'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Any underworld readers will not be able to put this down'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'One of my favourite crime authors, gritty and exciting'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Jessie Keane always does it for me'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Jessie has knocked it out of the park'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I couldn't put this book down from the beginning'⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'WOW. What a page turner!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

496 pages, Paperback

Expected publication January 5, 2027

About the author

Now what about me? I’ve done a lot of writing, but way back before I even dreamed I could be a professional writer I was just the youngest in a big family. My Dad was a surveyor with an edge of brilliance. My Mum was from gipsy roots and used to drive around in a goat-cart (yes, really!) when she was little. Once we were rich (although I didn’t know it then, and it was all thanks to my Dad’s ingenuity) and then suddenly – pretty shockingly, really – we were poor (thanks to greedy people who exploited his kindness). I have to tell you, rich is better. But the great thing about life is, even painful events pass, and if you make bad choices, hopefully you learn from them.

Reviews

[Tina]

Cannot understand the 5 star reviews for what was formerly a good series

After reading every book in the Max and Annie Carter series, I have to say I was extremely disappointed with Dead to Me.

For roughly the first 60% of the book, I was thoroughly enjoying it. I actually liked seeing more of the events from Ruthie’s side, and I thought the story was building well. Unfortunately, after that point, it went rapidly downhill and, for me, became absolutely ridiculous.

If you have read the whole Carter series, you know exactly how strong both Annie and Max are as characters. That is why so much of their behaviour in Dead to Me simply did not make sense.

When Kieran Delaney accidentally shoots Annie instead of Max, Max does not retaliate immediately because he supposedly does not want to start a war. Seriously? This is Max Carter. Throughout the series, he is portrayed as a major East End gangster, someone operating at the highest level of that world. The idea that he would simply hold back after his lover, Annie Carter, had been shot because he was worried about starting a war was completely unbelievable. Even more bizarrely, he ultimately takes out most of the family anyway, so that reasoning becomes even more pointless.

Then we get to Spain. When they are pursuing Kieran, Max and Annie end up at the Delaneys’ run-down estate, a property that apparently has not been used for months. It is not somewhere the Carters would realistically choose to stay, especially given their wealth and the way they are usually portrayed. The explanation that they were using the estate as bait was just as stupid. Why would Max and Annie willingly place themselves in the Delaneys’ neglected property simply to lure Kieran there? It felt completely out of character and made no sense.

There is even a scene where Max is swimming in the pool at this neglected property. A pool that has apparently been sitting unused for months. Who is getting into that? It would likely be filthy and potentially unsafe. By this point, any sense of realism had completely disappeared.

But the ending was where the book really lost me.

Kieran was never some major gangster in the family. He was basically portrayed as a drug-addicted artist. Yet suddenly, by the end, he is apparently some sort of criminal mastermind, hiding inside the walls of the estate before appearing out of nowhere with a gun. It was just absurd.

Then his sister turns up, apparently shoots and kills him, and after everything that has happened between the Carters and the Delaneys, after all the hatred, violence and deaths, she basically tells Max and his men that she is going to “give them a pass” as long as they are out of her house by 9 a.m.

What?

These people are supposed to be mortal enemies, and suddenly everyone is behaving as though they have just had a disagreement at a dinner party.

Then, to make it even more ridiculous, the next day Kieran’s supposedly dead body has disappeared despite the fact that he had been shot. The Carters then simply drive away into the sunset and the Delaneys are effectively gone.

That is it.

After following these characters through an entire series, the ending felt incredibly rushed and almost as though the author had simply decided she had had enough and wanted to finish the book as quickly as possible.

What makes it more frustrating is that I genuinely enjoyed the majority of Dead to Me. The first half to two-thirds had me completely engaged. But the final section became so far-fetched, so inconsistent with the characters and so poorly resolved that it spoiled the entire book for me.

For such a strong series, this was an incredibly disappointing ending. The characters deserved better, and so did the readers who had followed them all the way through.

[Sue]

Another absolutely brilliant book by Jessie Keane, the Annie Carter series has always been my favourite, so to read her sister Ruthie’s story was just sooo good. If you’re a Jessie Keane or gangland crime fan and you haven’t read her latest book yet then you’re in for a treat, it’s a thick book but I flew through it in 2 days

[Lisa Thewlis]

Great read

Although I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's also confusing, when there is years in between the books. You forget about the storyline, and I'm not sure where this book fitted in. As we know that Annie married Constantine. So yeah confused reader.

[lisa kift]

great carter family book

Good read of Max Ruthie & Annie’s life that always goes above beyond in true London gangster style. Can’t wait for the next one as Jessie Keane always writes with dedication…

[Cassandra]

Well worth the wait !! Brilliant book , really enjoyed reading this .

[lynda r rhodes]

great read

I liked everything about this book. Great characters, very believable Attention holding and twisting plot. This book kept me hooked till the very end.

[Karina]

This story/concept is now milked dry, this book is really boring and adds nothing.

[Rosie Harrison]

This was not a great read, found it slow to get going. No real story that kept me interested. Only finished it as I have enjoyed previous books.

[sarah pearce]

reallu good

[tracy ryan]

Read it NOW

Brilliantly written, a real page turner, was gutted to get to the last 10% so decided not to read till tomorrow. That lasted for 10 minutes. Job done ✔

[Samantha trebble]

Brilliant

Another fantastic read by Jesse keane I love how she's written these books from all sorts of angles .I really hope there's another one in the pipeline

[Ron]

Another brilliant book

Really enjoyed this book so much so I read it in 2 days . Can't wait for the next one ♥️

[sue pensom]

Good read

Enjoyed and lots of twists and turns. Will their be a sequel? Thank you Jessie Keane for getting me through a few sleepless nights.

[Sue Barrow]

Absolutely amazing book