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deearr 's review for:
The Darkest Evening
by Ann Cleeves
This was my first Vera Stanhope novel, and it was definitely a treat. Author Ann Cleeves has crafted a wonderful murder mystery, guaranteed to snare the reader right from the start.
Vera finds herself lost and turned about while in the middle of a snowstorm, ending up outside the country home of relatives. It is there she finds a car with its door open, a baby inside. The body of a woman is found in the snow not far from the car. Thus the mystery begins, and Vera has her hands full trying to untie all the relationships one might find in a smaller community.
This is a police procedural, and we either accompany Vera or one of her subordinates, Joe or Holly. Ms. Cleeves lays out all the clues, inviting us to read between the lines and put all the pieces together. Once the author explained everything at the end it made perfect sense, but I have to confess that I did not give more than a passing thought to the true murderer and I missed every path that would have led to the truth.
Although part of a series, this is a standalone tale. Newer readers like myself will probably end up looking at some of the earlier books, curious about what we might have missed. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an advance electronic copy of this book.
Vera finds herself lost and turned about while in the middle of a snowstorm, ending up outside the country home of relatives. It is there she finds a car with its door open, a baby inside. The body of a woman is found in the snow not far from the car. Thus the mystery begins, and Vera has her hands full trying to untie all the relationships one might find in a smaller community.
This is a police procedural, and we either accompany Vera or one of her subordinates, Joe or Holly. Ms. Cleeves lays out all the clues, inviting us to read between the lines and put all the pieces together. Once the author explained everything at the end it made perfect sense, but I have to confess that I did not give more than a passing thought to the true murderer and I missed every path that would have led to the truth.
Although part of a series, this is a standalone tale. Newer readers like myself will probably end up looking at some of the earlier books, curious about what we might have missed. Highly recommended. Five stars.
My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an advance electronic copy of this book.