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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
Making her way home through a blizzard, DCI Vera Stanhope comes across an abandoned car, the door open, the driver clearly gone but in the back a small boy.
Taking the boy into her safety she then makes her way to the nearest house.
That house happens to be Brockburn, a big house, slightly worse for wear and one Vera recognises from her past. This is where her father, Hector grew up.
Inside the house is a party and Vera is about to interrupt them.
Outside in the snow is a dead body.
Are all of these occurrences related?
It is all pointing to a new investigation for Vera and her team, including Joe Ashworth, Vera's closest colleague and Holly, desperately trying to impress and live up to Vera's expectations and her own.
I always enjoy a 'big house' type mystery and this one is no different, peeping behind doors we see secrets of Vera's relatives as well as the comings and goings of those that live on and near Brockburn.
By nature of the setting, the wilds of the Northumberland setting ad the fact that it is December, Christmas is round the corner it is a dark book - the unknown is a dark place as is revisiting parts of Vera's past which have an affect on perhaps the way she deals with the investigation and all of the potential suspects.
Nothing is quite as it seems and everyone is holding something in the dark, but through the shadows, Vera stumbles across the truth. Will it be the one her family accept?
In the main I know of Vera from the ITV series broadcast in the UK. The books are better but with that knowledge of the wonderful Brenda Blethyn's portrayal you can hear her voice and smile wryly at her put downs as she gets to the truth. If you ever want a detective's character to pop from the page then Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope is a mighty fine example.
A must for all fans of Cleeves, Vera and good old fashioned detective stories.
Taking the boy into her safety she then makes her way to the nearest house.
That house happens to be Brockburn, a big house, slightly worse for wear and one Vera recognises from her past. This is where her father, Hector grew up.
Inside the house is a party and Vera is about to interrupt them.
Outside in the snow is a dead body.
Are all of these occurrences related?
It is all pointing to a new investigation for Vera and her team, including Joe Ashworth, Vera's closest colleague and Holly, desperately trying to impress and live up to Vera's expectations and her own.
I always enjoy a 'big house' type mystery and this one is no different, peeping behind doors we see secrets of Vera's relatives as well as the comings and goings of those that live on and near Brockburn.
By nature of the setting, the wilds of the Northumberland setting ad the fact that it is December, Christmas is round the corner it is a dark book - the unknown is a dark place as is revisiting parts of Vera's past which have an affect on perhaps the way she deals with the investigation and all of the potential suspects.
Nothing is quite as it seems and everyone is holding something in the dark, but through the shadows, Vera stumbles across the truth. Will it be the one her family accept?
In the main I know of Vera from the ITV series broadcast in the UK. The books are better but with that knowledge of the wonderful Brenda Blethyn's portrayal you can hear her voice and smile wryly at her put downs as she gets to the truth. If you ever want a detective's character to pop from the page then Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope is a mighty fine example.
A must for all fans of Cleeves, Vera and good old fashioned detective stories.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love Brenda Blethyn as Vera in the British tv series. So I was curious to read/listen to one of the books the series is based on. This Vera Stanhope mystery was great fun to listen to! I wonder if it will end up televised :)
I've only read one Vera book previously, although I've seen all seasons of the TV adaptation on BritBox. Anyway, this is the 9th book in the Vera series. We learn some new things about Vera, and of course there's murder, investigation, prevarication, misdirection, and so forth. Quite a nice read.
Anyway, Vera is driving home to her isolated cottage in a bit snow storm, and misses a turn. She feels lost and disoriented, but finds a road sign that should lead her to some semblance of civilization. But wait, there's a disabled car on the side of the road with the driver-side door open. Vera investigates, but the driver is missing from the car and doesn't appear to be lying about. Perhaps the driver headed off toward the lights Vera can barely see across the field. As she turns back to her car, Vera discovers that there is a small child in the back of the car, apparently left unattended. So, Vera, never one for maternal feelings, scoops up the bairn, deposits him in her car and drives off toward the lights, for shelter and warmth.
Interestingly, Vera realizes she knows the place she's heading. It is Brockburn, the country estate of the Stanhopes. Yup, Vera's own kin. Her father apparently was the black sheep of the family and had little to do with them other than the occasional visit to beg for money. Vera had been dragged along a few times, but had had not contact with the family in years. Who knew that a dumpy middle aged cop who tended to dress like a bag lady had patrician blood running through her veins?
Well, they're having a party at the manor house, and Vera isn't exactly welcome, but because of the baby, they grudgingly give her shelter. At the end of the party, a local tenant farmer comes to pick up his daughters, who had been waiting table, and he comes across a body in the lane. A young woman, Lorna Falstone, the daughter of another set of tenant farmers, has been murdered, bludgeoned to death.
Well, I'll stop the recap, but suffice to say, the fancy set claim not to know Lorna. After it's been established that Lorna is a local, they grudgingly admit to perhaps having run across her once or twice. There's a great mystery about the father of the baby, one Thomas. Vera is pretty sure that bit of knowledge is important. Several of the fancy folk are known to be a bit on the randy side. Might Thomas' father be one of them. What else are the folks hiding, and so on.
Vera and her crew, Joe Ashworth and Holly Jackman, slog along and eventually come to a conclusion, but not before there's another murder, and a few tense moments for one or another of the investigators.
#TheDarkestEvening #NetGalley
Anyway, Vera is driving home to her isolated cottage in a bit snow storm, and misses a turn. She feels lost and disoriented, but finds a road sign that should lead her to some semblance of civilization. But wait, there's a disabled car on the side of the road with the driver-side door open. Vera investigates, but the driver is missing from the car and doesn't appear to be lying about. Perhaps the driver headed off toward the lights Vera can barely see across the field. As she turns back to her car, Vera discovers that there is a small child in the back of the car, apparently left unattended. So, Vera, never one for maternal feelings, scoops up the bairn, deposits him in her car and drives off toward the lights, for shelter and warmth.
Interestingly, Vera realizes she knows the place she's heading. It is Brockburn, the country estate of the Stanhopes. Yup, Vera's own kin. Her father apparently was the black sheep of the family and had little to do with them other than the occasional visit to beg for money. Vera had been dragged along a few times, but had had not contact with the family in years. Who knew that a dumpy middle aged cop who tended to dress like a bag lady had patrician blood running through her veins?
Well, they're having a party at the manor house, and Vera isn't exactly welcome, but because of the baby, they grudgingly give her shelter. At the end of the party, a local tenant farmer comes to pick up his daughters, who had been waiting table, and he comes across a body in the lane. A young woman, Lorna Falstone, the daughter of another set of tenant farmers, has been murdered, bludgeoned to death.
Well, I'll stop the recap, but suffice to say, the fancy set claim not to know Lorna. After it's been established that Lorna is a local, they grudgingly admit to perhaps having run across her once or twice. There's a great mystery about the father of the baby, one Thomas. Vera is pretty sure that bit of knowledge is important. Several of the fancy folk are known to be a bit on the randy side. Might Thomas' father be one of them. What else are the folks hiding, and so on.
Vera and her crew, Joe Ashworth and Holly Jackman, slog along and eventually come to a conclusion, but not before there's another murder, and a few tense moments for one or another of the investigators.
#TheDarkestEvening #NetGalley
3.5 stars rounded up. This is a police procedural set in Northumbria, England. It is book 9 in the Vera Stanhope series. I have read 2 other books by this author, 1 of them, [b:The Crow Trap|97569|The Crow Trap (Vera Stanhope, #1)|Ann Cleeves|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390709674l/97569._SY75_.jpg|94057] in the Vera Stanhope series. That book did not introduce Vera until 1/3rd of the way into the book. This book introduces Vera at the beginning. She finds an abandoned vehicle in a snowstorm. The vehicle has a baby in it. Vera goes to a nearby house, owned by distant relatives, to call in her team to start a search for the missing mother. The mother is found dead. Vera discovers that the mother, Lorna Falstone, was murdered. Vera and her team(she is a DCI-Detective Chief Inspector) , begin investigating and interviewing. There is another murder, but Vera and her team eliminate suspects. I didn't suspect the killer until it was revealed at the end.
Pros: The plot is fast paced, the characters are well written and believable, which adds up to an entertaining story.
Cons: The author has Vera, an out of shape, middle aged woman putting herself in danger by going after the killer alone. Police officers are taught to have a partner for safety reasons.
#TheDarkestEvening #NetGalley
Thank You St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sending me the eARC through NetGalley
Pros: The plot is fast paced, the characters are well written and believable, which adds up to an entertaining story.
Cons: The author has Vera, an out of shape, middle aged woman putting herself in danger by going after the killer alone. Police officers are taught to have a partner for safety reasons.
#TheDarkestEvening #NetGalley
Thank You St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sending me the eARC through NetGalley
It was okay...reminded me of an Agatha Christie tale with most of the suspects staying in a mansion and lots of suspicious characters! But I think the author got lazy - there were endless cups of coffee and tea, supporting characters that weren't all that interesting, and clues to lead the reader astray that were a little too obvious.
I like Vera and her team, and the descriptions of the snowy weather and countryside were excellent. There was one memorable event where Vera is in danger that was very effective. So although I only gave it three stars, it was...okay.
I like Vera and her team, and the descriptions of the snowy weather and countryside were excellent. There was one memorable event where Vera is in danger that was very effective. So although I only gave it three stars, it was...okay.
The Darkest Evening is the 9th book in the Vera Stanhope series. Now I have not read any of these books nor seen the TV show based on them but I had no trouble understanding the characters and relationships. So often you need to have read the previous books to fully get references but not this one (however, I might go back to find out why Vera had a fire at her cottage). So don't feel like you have to go back and read them all in order to enjoy this one.
One late December Evening as Vera gets lost driving home in a snow storm she comes upon a car abandoned by the side of the road. To her surprise there is a baby inside. Vera takes the baby to the nearest house, which happens to be her ancestral home. No one knows who the baby belongs to until the body of a young woman is found in the snow right outside the house. Questions arise, why was this woman there, who is the baby's father, where was she killed. Over the next couple of days these questions get answered as well as some old village gossips gets laid to rest.
This is one of those mystery books that reads so well and quickly that I read it in two days (had to work and sleep you know). Ann Cleeves writes in such a way that while I have never been anywhere near Newcastle I got a feeling of the area, the towns, the homes, and the people. If I have time I might add the previous eight novels to me TBR list.
One late December Evening as Vera gets lost driving home in a snow storm she comes upon a car abandoned by the side of the road. To her surprise there is a baby inside. Vera takes the baby to the nearest house, which happens to be her ancestral home. No one knows who the baby belongs to until the body of a young woman is found in the snow right outside the house. Questions arise, why was this woman there, who is the baby's father, where was she killed. Over the next couple of days these questions get answered as well as some old village gossips gets laid to rest.
This is one of those mystery books that reads so well and quickly that I read it in two days (had to work and sleep you know). Ann Cleeves writes in such a way that while I have never been anywhere near Newcastle I got a feeling of the area, the towns, the homes, and the people. If I have time I might add the previous eight novels to me TBR list.
I mean, this is the kind of book and protagonist who are right up my alley.