Reviews

The Seagull by Ann Cleeves

Only show reviews with written explanations

byrdnash's review against another edition

4.0

When Vera is teased with the information from an incarcerated police officer about the location of a body, she's forced to examine her father Hector's seedy past. I absolutely love old crimes casting long shadows. Some of my favorite Agatha Christies are of this type (Sleeping Murder, Five Little Pigs).

Brace is one of her father's old pals, part of the "gang of four" who traded in illegal capturing of birds and collecting of bird eggs. Back in the day, Vera helped put him in the prison cell where he now sits.

This one starts out strong but begins to waver in the middle and doesn't close as strongly as I would have liked. Finding the body (very long deceased), and getting another surprise that comes with it, definitely presents us with a complicated puzzle.

First, Hector continues as a haunt that just won't let Vera go. At this point, with her age, and how long Hector has been dead, I'd like Vera to gain insight on their relationship or get new information about Hector. But Hector remains the same: a poacher who skated the law.

What keeps your attention though is the relationship Vera starts to develop with Brace's depressed daughter. These are the strongest and most interesting areas of The Seagull. It gives us a view into a softer Vera, one who can be compassionate and helpful. You can't be as nosy (nebbing) as Vera and not care - understanding people comes from empathy.

The least interesting and somewhat repetitive area of the book is the criminals who hung out at the restaurant/bar and what they were doing way back in the day. The Prof and his relationship with the other members of the Four isn't well developed mostly because he remains a ghost-figure for much of the book.

Cleeves tries to give us more background about Holly and Joe, but these two side-characters continue to remain flat to me. This might be because their POV is too repetitive: irritated with Vera, thinking about Vera's fatness, not sure why they want to be a cop, fretting about the long hours, not connecting with the victim or the people they are interviewing. To develop these characters mean change needs to happen, and from book-to-book they remain the same.

Being a crime from the past, there is little evidence to convict anyone. The drama at the end seems rushed and the resolution of the mystery is unsatisfying to me.

Worth the read for Vera fans and even at her worst, Ann Cleeves can write very well.

TW Mental illness, severe depression