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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Visit the locations in The Darkest Evening
Northumberland at Christmas. Vera is driving her battered Land Rover when she comes across a car that has been run off the road. A small child is still inside. Alone.
And so starts the ninth installment of the brilliant Vera series. Vera takes on the care of this child and takes her to the nearest house which is called Brockburn. Vera's relatives live here...... This case is about to get messy and a little bit personal...
It's my favourite Vera so far. I think it's because we really get an insight into Vera's life here and her relatives. The initial mystery is strong and it was great to see her in this case which is so close to home. I don't need an excuse to appreciate Vera as she drives around the beautiful Northumberland countryside as it's great spotting the places you know and then realising a fictional murder has been committed there.
This is a very strong installment to a great series and I envy those who are yet to discover the great Vera novels!
It surprised me to see that this is only the ninth Vera Stanhope mystery. The TV series has made Vera ubiquitous, and I enjoy every new series, and watch old episodes repeatedly. A friend who lives in Yorkshire told me that Brenda Blethyn's Yorkshire accent is "off". Being a New Englander, who lived in Boston for many years, I know that there are certain accents that outsiders rarely get right. WHile the TV show offers beautiful vistas of Northumberland and Newcastle, the novel provides a deep sense of place and geography. I am a reader who insists on an authentic depiction of local culture and place and Ann Cleeves accomplishes this.
This installment is set in the days running up to Christmas. A young single mother, Lorna Falstone, is found murdered outside a large country mansion. The residents are Stanhopes, estranged relatives of Vera's. Vera, as always, relentlessly pursues the truth, including uncovering secrets her Stanhope relatives are hiding. Lorna has kept the identity of her baby's father a secret. Vera believes that the murderer may be this man. She also assumes, because of the place that Lorna died, that the murderer is a local.
As always, her sergeant Joe Ashworth is essential. His skills at empathetically relating to parents, and handling babies and toddlers are central in this case. A newer character, DC Holly Jackman has a different skill set, that are indispensable. Vera is at her cantankerous best, but in this novel, we get insights into her affection for her colleagues, her care for people, and her stubborn toughness that lets her walk and run over miles of snowy Northumberland terrain, and push herself beyond what even she thinks she is capable of.
This installment is set in the days running up to Christmas. A young single mother, Lorna Falstone, is found murdered outside a large country mansion. The residents are Stanhopes, estranged relatives of Vera's. Vera, as always, relentlessly pursues the truth, including uncovering secrets her Stanhope relatives are hiding. Lorna has kept the identity of her baby's father a secret. Vera believes that the murderer may be this man. She also assumes, because of the place that Lorna died, that the murderer is a local.
As always, her sergeant Joe Ashworth is essential. His skills at empathetically relating to parents, and handling babies and toddlers are central in this case. A newer character, DC Holly Jackman has a different skill set, that are indispensable. Vera is at her cantankerous best, but in this novel, we get insights into her affection for her colleagues, her care for people, and her stubborn toughness that lets her walk and run over miles of snowy Northumberland terrain, and push herself beyond what even she thinks she is capable of.
Another cracking Vera story. This was a really interesting one with insights into Vera’s family and upbringing. The crime was woven well throughout and I really enjoyed it.
Definitely recommended.
Definitely recommended.
My Review:⭐️⭐⭐️/ 5 stars
This is book 9 of the DCI (detective) Vera Stanhope murder mystery series set in the Northumberland area in the UK. I had not read any of Ann Cleeves’ books before so I was afraid I would be completely lost. This was not the case to understand what was going on, but I mostly missed out on Vera’s full backstory and why she had such a riff with her rich family. It is a heavy snowstorm and she finds an abandoned car on the side of the road near Brockburn (the Stanhope family estate she always felt distant from). There is a baby in the vehicle with no driver and the door is open. They eventually find a body of Lorna, the young mother, in the snow who clearly had just died that evening. Her death leaves only a few suspects as who was in the vicinity that evening, who was at the Brockburn dinner party, and who had access to the grounds. In investigating the murder at her family’s estate, she finds other secrets the family is hiding. The pace was so painstakingly slow that I almost didn’t finish it. Ann Cleeves is wonderful at setting the ambient tone of this area, but other than that i felt all the characters were so boring. I didn’t find anything riveting about the case. Also what bothered me when she found the baby, why did she NOT call for the social worker/hospital right away to be checked out? Why give the baby to someone at the house when there was a possible murderer on the loose? That was just the first chapter, so I knew I was in for a rough ride with this cast of characters. If you are already a fan of this series, then I’m sure you would enjoy it. As a new reader, this was not my favorite.
Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaurbooks for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is out on Sept 8th!
This is book 9 of the DCI (detective) Vera Stanhope murder mystery series set in the Northumberland area in the UK. I had not read any of Ann Cleeves’ books before so I was afraid I would be completely lost. This was not the case to understand what was going on, but I mostly missed out on Vera’s full backstory and why she had such a riff with her rich family. It is a heavy snowstorm and she finds an abandoned car on the side of the road near Brockburn (the Stanhope family estate she always felt distant from). There is a baby in the vehicle with no driver and the door is open. They eventually find a body of Lorna, the young mother, in the snow who clearly had just died that evening. Her death leaves only a few suspects as who was in the vicinity that evening, who was at the Brockburn dinner party, and who had access to the grounds. In investigating the murder at her family’s estate, she finds other secrets the family is hiding. The pace was so painstakingly slow that I almost didn’t finish it. Ann Cleeves is wonderful at setting the ambient tone of this area, but other than that i felt all the characters were so boring. I didn’t find anything riveting about the case. Also what bothered me when she found the baby, why did she NOT call for the social worker/hospital right away to be checked out? Why give the baby to someone at the house when there was a possible murderer on the loose? That was just the first chapter, so I knew I was in for a rough ride with this cast of characters. If you are already a fan of this series, then I’m sure you would enjoy it. As a new reader, this was not my favorite.
Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaurbooks for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is out on Sept 8th!
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
A very good mystery, with less fatphobia than the earlier books in the series.
Another great outing for Vera. Have loved all of the books in this series and this one is just as good as the others.
A snowy night can make it seem like you are on another planet. The snow covers all sorts of ugliness, but it does not hide the baby that Vera Stanhope discovers as she travels near her family's ancestral home. Ann Cleeves reveals a little more about Stanhope's history as she involves her relatives in this mystery. I binge read the Stanhope books and was sad to read the most recent release. Looking forward to reading more of Cleeves's works.
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's a decent mystery and started off well but the book felt 20% too long, and many characters too alike to keep them separate in my mind. I didn't like how the resolution was dealt with, I didn't find it convincing and the whole thing fell flat for me. Several characters' behaviour leading up to and during the resolution was too ridiculous to be believable - this was likely to up the ante for the climax but it felt like a farce. I think I might stick to watching the show instead.