Review: THE DARK WIVES, Ann Cleeves

• 
   this edition, paperback, published Pan Macmillan 2024
  
• ISBN 978-1-5290-7775-9
• 372 pages
• Vera Stanhope #11

Synopsis (publisher)

A body is found by an early morning dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. Her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie are soon embroiled in the case, but when a second body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, folklore and fact begin to collide.

Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, but it seems that the dark secrets in their community may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed. . .

My Take

What a sad day it will be when we have no more Vera novels to read.  This one shows Vera as determined, compassionate, a woman with a strong sense of justice, always to determined to do better, but also to do it her way.

An excellent read, at times atmospheric, and filled with interesting characters.

My rating: 4.7

I've already  read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
• OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves - Shetland 6.1 - short stories
• 5.0, THE RISING TIDE - Vera #10
• 4.5, THE MISSING AND THE DEAD
• 4.8, THE RAGING STORM - Two Rivers #3
  

Review: THE RAGING STORM, Ann Cleeves

• 
   this edition made available by my local library
  
• #3 in the Two Rivers series
• published 2023 Pan Macmillan
• ISBN 978-1-5290-7770-4
• 383 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

When Jem Rosco - sailor, adventurer and legend - blows in to the local pub, The Maiden's Prayer, in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone are delighted.

The whole place has a strange, unreal quality: the village that time forgot. Backed by a worked-out quarry, with a shingle beach and a north-facing quay, there's little to recommend it to tourists.

When Rosco disappears again, they think nothing of it; that's the sort of man he is. Until the lifeboat is launched to a hoax call-out and his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Venn. Greystone is a stronghold of the Barum Brethren and he came here as a child. Faith and superstition mix as another body is found in Scully, and Matthew finds his judgement clouded.

The wind continues to howl, and he realizes that his own life is in danger. 

My Take

The setting is a rather unlovely village in coastal Devon but one which Matthew Venn is familiar with.  The story begins with the arrival of a sailing legend and adventurer cum TV personality who momentarily put the village on the map. But the villagers have mixed feelings about him. Then he disappears and turns up dead and the detectives arrive.

The background, and why anyone would want to murder Jem Rosco takes a lot of discovering. The weather is wild and the going is slow. The village is struggling to survive, but at the same time incomers are treated with suspicion.

Part of the narrative focuses on how anxious the detectives are to please their boss Matthew Venn, and at the same time on the things that niggle them about each other.

I seem to have missed reading THE HERON'S CRY, #2 in this series.

My rating: 4.8

I've also read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
• OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves - Shetland 6.1 - short stories
• 5.0, THE RISING TIDE - Vera #10
• 4.5, THE MISSING AND THE DEAD

Review: THE SLEEPING AND THE DEAD, Ann Cleeves

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book through my local library on Libby
  
• Originally published 2003, recently republished
• 400 pages

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)
A vivid psychological suspense novel. 

A diving instructor makes a gruesome discovery in Cranwell Lake - the body of a teenager who has clearly been in the water for many years. Detective Peter Porteous is called to the scene. After trailing through the missing persons files, he deduces that the corpse is Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972. 

As the police investigation gets under way in Cranwell, on the other side of the country prison officer Hannah Morton is about to get the shock of her life. For Michael was her boyfriend, and she was with him the night he disappeared. The news report that a body has been found brings back dreaded and long buried memories from her past...

My Take

This stand-alone followed the Inspector Ramsay series, but preceded the Shetland series. 

Detective Peter Porteous and his older assistant Sergeant Eddie Stout don't seem to have made any other appearance, although they had potential as a detective duo. 

The novel is multi-stranded, complex, and well littered with red herrings. There are some interesting scenarios and some well drawn characters. It kept me guessing and I really didn't know who the murderer was, although in retrospect there was a hint.

My rating: 4.5 

I've also read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
• OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves - Shetland 6.1 - short stories
• 5.0, THE RISING TIDE - Vera #10

Review: THE RISING TIDE, Ann Cleeves

• 
  This edition provided as an e-book on Libby by my local library
  
• Publisher Pan Macmillan
  
• ISBN: 9781761261565
• Format: eBook
• Pub Date: 09/08/2022
  

Synopsis (publisher)

Vera Stanhope, star of ITV's Vera, returns in the tenth novel in number one bestseller Ann Cleeves' acclaimed series.

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island, forging a bond that has lasted a lifetime. Now, they still return every five years to celebrate their friendship, and remember the friend they lost to the rising waters of the causeway at the first reunion.

Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now . . .

But with the tide rising, secrets long-hidden are finding their way to the surface, and Vera and the team may find themselves in more danger than they could have believed possible . . .

My Take

This is an incredibly complex plot, and Ann Cleeves rises to the occasion - among her very best.

When Rick Kelsall is discovered hanged from the rafters of his small bedroom on the Holy Island, Vera is convinced that it is not suicide. And, as usual with Vera, she is convinced the clue to this murder lies in the past not necessarily in the most immediate events in everybody's lives.

As Vera and her small team peel back the layers events emerge. Some people lie about where they have been, obscuring the truth, but nothing daunts Vera.

An enthralling read.

 

My rating: 5.0

I've read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
• OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves - Shetland 6.1 - short stories

Fantastic Fiction listing

Vera Stanhope
   1. The Crow Trap (1999)
   2. Telling Tales (2005)
   3. Hidden Depths (2007)
   4. Silent Voices (2011)
   5. The Glass Room (2012)
   6. Harbour Street (2014)
   7. The Moth Catcher (2015)
   8. The Seagull (2017)
   8.5. Frozen (2020)
   9. The Darkest Evening (2020)
   9.5. The Woman on the Island (2022)
   10. The Rising Tide (2022)

 

Review: OFFSHORE, Ann Cleeves

• 
  this edition made available by my local library through Libby
  
• Also listed as Shetland Island #6.1
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Macmillan (1 April 2015). Originally published in 2014.
  
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 72 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

Offshore is a striking collection of short stories, all set on islands off the coast of the UK, and features cases for both DI Jimmy Perez on Shetland, and DI Willow Reeves on Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

In 'Stranded', set on Hilbre near Liverpool, a young man's first love vanishes. In 'Hector's Other Woman', on Holy Island, we meet a young Vera before she becomes DI Vera Stanhope, and discover how she decides to enter the police force. One of the stories, 'Postcard from Skokholm', is written by Lynne Chitty, winner of Pan Macmillan's Bello imprint's short story competition, who introduces Ann Cleeves' beloved characters George and Molly Palmer-Jones to new readers.

Ann Cleeves deftly captures the spirit of each island setting, and offers us a compelling new collection of mysteries.

The stories include

Stranded
The Pirate
    Published in the CWA Anthology, Deadly Pleasures (2014)
    Re-published in Offshore
The Spinster
    A story featuring Jimmy Perez, published in OxCrimes, (Profile Books, May 2014)
    Re-published in Offshore
Secrets of Soil
    written in collaboration with forensic soil scientist Lorna Dawson, and featuring Willow Reeves, read by Lesley Hart in front of an audience at the Bloody Scotland festival in Stirling, and broadcast on Radio 4 on Sunday 22nd September 2013.
    Published in Offshore (2014)
Hector's Other Woman
    A Vera Stanhope story published in Guilty Consciences, the CWA Anthology, edited by Martin Edwards (Severn House, 2011).
    Re-published in Offshore (2014)
The Soothmoothers
    (read by Marnie Baxter) was first broadcast on April 30th 2010 at 3.30pm, as part of Radio 4's Red Herrings series. You can now read this story (which features Jimmy Perez, of the Shetland murder mysteries) on this web site.
    Re-published in Offshore

My Take

I am a great fan of this author and have read most of the titles in each of her later series.

The stories presented here make quick reading and included a couple that I hadn't read before. I found the inclusion of the first chapter of THIN AIR ( Shetland #6) a little odd. It seems to be there as a promo for the novel which was published later in 2014.

My rating: 4.4 

I've also read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5
• 4.6, THE BABY-SNATCHER - Inspector Ramsay #6
  

review: THE BABY-SNATCHER, Ann Cleeves

• 
   this edition an e-book made available through my local library on Libby
  
• Originally published 1997
• #6 in the Inspector Ramsay series
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bello (May 9, 2013)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 635 KB
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 240 pages

Synopsis (Amazon)

When fifteen-year-old Marilyn Howe turns up alone and frightened on Inspector Ramsay's doorstep he has little choice but to invite her in. 

Marilyn and her mother, Kathleen, are a familiar sight around Heppleburn, a strangely inseparable couple. But Kathleen has unaccountably failed to return home that evening, and Marilyn is fearful for her mother's safety. Ramsay takes the young girl home, to the isolated coastal community known as the Headland. And in the Howes' dark and cluttered kitchen they find Kathleen safe and apparently well, though acting rather mysteriously. 

Six months later, Ramsay has more or less forgotten the strange incident, busy as he is on the trail of a local child abductor. Until he receives news that Mrs Howe has disappeared once more. And for the second time he is drawn into the strange relationships of the families living on the lonely Headland. Then a woman's body is washed up on the beach . 

My Take

I've rather reluctantly come to the end of this series which I thoroughly recommend. I also recommend reading them in the order of publication. They have all recently be re-published as e-books.

The final solution in this particular novel caught me by surprise, so perhaps there weren't enough clues as to the identity of the murderer. There are some fascinatingly dysfunctional characters.

I've enjoyed watching the development of the character of Stephen Ramsay and the increasingly complex plots. From here the author went on to develop the character of Vera Stanhope.

My rating: 4.6. 

I've also read

• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4
• 4.5, THE HEALERS - Inspector Ramsay #5

Review: THE HEALERS, Ann Cleeves

• 
  This edition read as an e-book through Libby, through my local library
  
• Originally published in 1995
• Inspector Ramsay #5
  

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

An Inspector Ramsay murder mystery. Farmer Ernie Bowles is found lying strangled on his kitchen floor. A second strangulation follows and then a third suspicious death which provides a link and leads Inspector Ramsay to the Alternative Therapy Clinic. Could one of the healers be a killer?

My take:

The 5th Inspector Ramsay that I have read in quick succession, in order, and it has been worth doing that for the character development of both Ramsay and his off-sider Hunter. The setting is once again a small community of fairly tightly knit people.

We start off with a bachelor farmer found dead on his kitchen floor, strangled, after a night when he went out on a blind date.

There is a range of quirky characters in this one, and a lovely lot of red herrings. I had my major suspect but I was wrong!
These are very satisfying reads. I'm just sad there is only one more in the series.

I've also read

• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3
• 4.6, KILLJOY -  Inspector Ramsay #4

 

Review: KILLJOY, Ann Cleeves

• 
  this edition on Libby through my local library
  
• first published 1993 by Macmillan
• this e-book published 2013 by Bello
• #4 in the Inspector Ramsay series
• ISBN 978-1-4472-5322-8 EPUB
• 215 pages

Synopsis (publisher)

Gus Lynch is directing the Youth Theatre through a rehearsal. The cast is in place but the female lead, Gabriella Paston, is missing. Later that evening her body is discovered in the boot of Gus's car. Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry.

Meanwhile violence is escalating on the Starling Farm Estate as police battle to contain the latest outbreak of joyriding. Is the death of Gabriella connected to the events at Starling Farm? When another death occurs, investigations suggest a possible link. Ramsay realises what could have provoked someone to kill . . . and kill again.

My Take

Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. A cleverly told story, and the identity of the murderer came as a surprise. There were plenty of red herrings and a number of plot strands that provided interest. Stephen Ramsay meets up with a former girl friend, and his relationship with his Sergeant seems to be improving... slightly. There is a nice contrast between Ramsay and Hunter.

If you haven't tackled this series before, you could read this one as a stand-alone, but hopefully will enjoy it enough to go back to the beginning  and read them all.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read

• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2 
• 4.4, A DAY IN THE DEAT OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY - Inspector Ramsay  #3

 

 

Review: A DAY IN THE DEATH OF DOROTHEA CASSIDY, Ann Cleeves

• 
   this edition published by Pan books 2018
  
• originally published 1992
• #3 in Inspector Ramsay series
• ISBN 978-1509-856244
• 193 pages

Synopsis (Fantastic Fiction)

The third title in the Inspector Ramsay crime series. Dorothea Cassidy, the Vicar's wife is found dead in the park's flower bed. The list of suspects include old Mrs Bowman, Clive Stringer, a disturbed adolescent, and Theresa Stringer, a single mother with a violent boyfriend and even members of her own family.

My Take

Dorothea Cassidy is not everybody's idea of a vicar's wife. She is much younger than her husband and an unlikely candidate for murder. Thursdays are the day when she "does her own thing" and thursday night is when she was last seen.

Stephen Ramsay is first alerted to Dorothea's disappearance by his aunt who lives in a retirement village where Dorothea was supposed to have given a talk in the evening. It is another 12 hours before her body is discovered in a local park. The circumstances are complicated by a music fair running over a number of days.

Stephen tries to put together a timeline relating to when Dorothea was last seen. She had last been involved with a child protection case being managed by a local social worker.

These are very readable, and credible stories. Recommended.

My rating: 4.4 

I've also read (from this series)

• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1
• 4.5, MURDER IN MY BACKYARD -Inspector Ramsay #2

Review: MURDER IN MY BACK YARD, Ann Cleeves

• 
  This edition made available as an e-book through Libby, through my local library
  
• #2 in the Inspector Ramsay series
• Published 1991
• Author website

Synopsis

In this second Inspector Ramsay novel, our hero faces a murder investigation on his own doorstep following his impulsive decision to buy a cottage in the quiet Northumberland village of Heppleburn.

When local uproar over a proposed housing development ends in murder, the pressure is once again on Ramsay to act from within and interrogate every possible suspect. But then tragedy strikes a second time, and Ramsay must test his true measure as a detective working against the clock.

My Take

Stephen Ramsay seems a little more relaxed in this novel than in the first in the series. He has bought and moved into a cottage in Heppleburn, the setting for the first in the series. He is also better fleshed out and we find out a bit more personal background. 

This novel has a number of themes but the main one is a proposed housing development in the village. The woman who originally sold the land to the developer claims she was misled about the nature of the development. She invites her family to stay with her as usual on St. David's Day but that night goes off to see the land developer with an offer to buy back the land. That is the last time her rather dysfunctional family sees her. The next morning she is found dead, murdered.

Ramsay is under pressure to solve the murder and it is obvious that Hunter, his #2, feels he is not taking the steps that he should. Jack Robson who appeared in the first novel makes a second appearance.

I enjoyed this novel and will certainly look for the third.

My rating: 4.5

I've also read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING - Vera #9
• 4.5, A LESSON DYING - Inspector Ramsay #1

 

Review: A LESSON IN DYING, Ann Cleeves

• 
  this edition available as an e-book through Libby
  
• originally published in 1990
• #1 in the Inspector Ramsay series

Synopsis (Amazon)

 

A Lesson in Dying is the first mystery novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.

Who hung the headmaster in the playground on the night of the school Halloween Party?

Almost everyone in Heppleburn either hated or feared the viper-tongued Harold Medburn. Inspector Ramsay is convinced it was the headmaster’s enigmatic wife but Jack Robson, school governor and caretaker, is determined to prove her innocence.

With the help of his restless daughter Patty, Jack digs into the secrets of Heppleburn, and uncovers a cesspit of lies, adultery, blackmail and madness .

 

My Take

 

You can see from the list below that I have read a lot by this author and generally really enjoyed them. I can't believe that I have never come across the Inspector Ramsay series before, but then it pre-dates both the Vera and the Shetland series.

 

Inspector Ramsay is a somewhat peculiar character, a bit reclusive and there is some mystery to his background which I haven't yet worked out. Maybe it will become clearer in the next books in the series, which I intend reading.

 

Harold Medburn, the principal of the Heppleburn school, is a nasty bit of goods, and no-one is regretful about his death. But who hated or feared him enough to kill him? It looks an open and shut case, but  when Inspector Ramsay arrests Medburn's wife, an old flame, Jack Robson, now the elderly school caretaker, begins to try to prove her innocence. 

 

It seems that everybody in this village has their secrets. When Jack Robson gets coshed during the course of his investigations, Ramsay realises that Kitty Medburn is not the murderer, but it is too late - she has already taken her own life.

 

A good read.  I will certainly read the next in the series.

My rating: 4.5

 

I've also read

• RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
• WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
• RED BONES - Shetland #3
• 5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
• 5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
• 4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
• 4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
• TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
• 4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
• 5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
• 4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
• 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
• 4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
• 4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
• 4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
• 4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1
• 4.9, THE DARKEST EVENING (Vera #9)
  

 

 

Review: THE DARKEST EVENING, Ann Cleeves

• 
  e-book from my local library on Libby
  
• Published by Macmillan September 2020
• ISBN 9781509889518
• 384 pages
  

Synopsis (publisher)

DCI Vera Stanhope returns in The Darkest Evening, the ninth novel in Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves' enduringly popular series.

Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly.

But the snow is so heavy, she becomes disoriented and loses her way. Ploughing on, she sees a car slewed off the road ahead of her. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but when she inspects the car she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.

Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognizes as the house her father Hector grew up in.

Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and laughter to herald the coming Christmas. But outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead and Vera knows immediately she has a new case. Could this woman be the child's mother, and if so, what happened to her?

A classic country house mystery with a contemporary twist, Ann Cleeves returns with a brilliant Vera novel to savour.

My take

As you will see from my list below, Ann Cleeves is one of my favourite authors, and one that I love to follow. This latest offering in the Vera series does not disappoint.

I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the connections between Vera's familial history and the stately home of Brockburn. In each novel a little more of Vera's character is tweaked out and we gain more insight into what makes her "tick".

A complex plot comes to the fore as Vera discovers what has happened to the child's mother. Several characters are explored and a number of red herrings laid across our path. There's plenty of mystery on our plate. A very good read.

For those interested, there are differences between the books and the television series, but I feel that central character of Vera is essentially the same person. There are differences in the personnel of her team, but the interplay between the main characters is similar.

My rating: 4.9

I've also read

RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)
4.7, THE SEAGULL - (Vera Stanhope #8)
4.6, THE LONG CALL - Two Rivers #1

Review: THE LONG CALL, Ann Cleeves

• this edition published by Macmillan 2019
• Print Length: 384 pages
• #1 in the Two Rivers series
• see Ann Cleeves answering questions

Synopsis (publisher)

The Long Call is the latest novel from Ann Cleeves, and the first in the new crime fiction series, Two Rivers, which has been eagerly awaited by fans of her bestselling Shetland and Vera Stanhope series. Here, Ann introduces Detective Matthew Venn and tells us about the inspiration behind Two Rivers.

Set in North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, Two Rivers is the new detective series from Ann Cleeves, the author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope series which both inspired hugely popular television adaptations. When Detective Matthew Venn turned his back on the strict religious community he grew up in, he lost his family too. Now he’s back.

The first book in the series, The Long Call, sees Matthew return to the Two Rivers region as his father’s funeral takes place, not only to mourn him from afar but to take on his first major case in the area. A man has been found stabbed to death on a beach near to Matthew’s new home, and his team’s investigation leads straight to the heart of the community he left behind, all those years ago.

The Long Call has already been optioned for TV by Silverprint Pictures, the company which produced Shetland and Vera.

My take

Set in North Devon near Barnstaple with a new detective Matthew Venn, married to Jonathon Church who has set up and manages The Woodyard, a centre offering, among other things, learning disability services.

The body found on the beach is identified as an ex-soldier who has been volunteering in the kitchen at the centre.

The novel opens with Matthew Venn watching his father's funeral from a distance, long estranged from his parents when he chose to leave the Brethren in his first year at university.

This new series has given Ann Cleeves scope to create interesting new characters and different settings.

So there is a lot of background to learn, a new police investigative team, and then some interesting plot threads.

A good read.

I have followed Ann Cleeves since first reading the first novels in the Shetland series, and then meeting Vera Stanhope. I look forward to reading the second in this new series.

My rating: 4.6

I've also read
mini-review RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope) #6
4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope #7)

Review: THE SEAGULL, Ann Cleeves

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 2306 KB
• Print Length: 307 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (August 29, 2017)
• Publication Date: August 29, 2017
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B072BMV2K9
• #8 in the Vera Stanhope series 

Synopsis (Amazon)

The Seagull is Ann Cleeves’ searing eighth novel in the bestselling Vera Stanhope series, about corruption deep in the heart of a community, and about fragile, and fracturing, family relationships.

A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a part in his downfall.

Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, his body buried close to St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.

This cold case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as ‘the Prof’, were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were ‘the Gang of Four’, and Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. Vera must confront her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth, as the past begins to collide dangerously with the present . . .

My Take

Vera's boss sends her off to the local prison to give a talk to some geriatric inmates. There she comes face to face with John Brace, a bent copper whom she helped put away. Brace says he has some information about a cold case, in return for Vera visiting his daughter. Vera finds she has a lot of sympathy for the daughter Patty who in reality is not doing all that well. There are some aspects of Patty's story that pricks Vera's curiosity, particularly about what happened to Patty's mother who was a prostitute.

Brace is true to his word and tells Vera where to find the body of a man who disappeared some years before. But there they find two bodies, not one, and then Patty's ex-husband is killed.

In this story I particularly liked the fact that Vera was prepared to go the extra mile, and that she expected her team to do so as well. When it all comes together at the end, it has been a very satisfying journey.

When you read this novel, be sure to read the author's note in the final pages about the setting.

My rating: 4.7

I've also read
mini-review RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET (Vera Stanhope) #6
 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER (Vera Stanhope #7)
4.4, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (Quick Reads)

Review: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, Ann Cleeves

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 2745 KB
• Print Length: 73 pages
• Publisher: Pan (February 4, 2017)
• Publication Date: February 4, 2017
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B074FJVL9Z

Synopsis (Amazon)

Too Good To Be True is a gripping Quick Read from Ann Cleeves, featuring Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez from the bestselling Shetland series.

When young teacher Anna Blackwell is found dead in her home, the police think her death was suicide or a tragic accident. After all, Stonebridge is a quiet country village in the Scottish Borders, where murders just don't happen.

But Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez soon arrives from far-away Shetland when his ex-wife, Sarah, asks him to look into the case. The local gossips are saying that her new husband, Tom, was having an affair with Anna. Could Tom have been involved with her death? Sarah refuses to believe it - but needs proof.

Anna had been a teacher. She must have loved kids. Would she kill herself knowing there was nobody to look after her daughter? She had seemed happier than ever before she died. And to Perez, this suggests not suicide, but murder . . .

My Take

Although it was published only recently, this short novel goes back into Jimmy Perez' past. The time frame is shortly after his fiancee Fran's death, his daughter Cassie is about 6 years old.

Jimmy has been contacted by his ex-wife Sarah about the death of a local school teacher. Jimmy soon learns that Sarah hasn't told her husband that she has contacted Jimmy, and that there is a lot she is not telling him.

A satisfying one-night read, which adds a bit to what we already know about Jimmy Perez.

My rating: 4.4

I've also read

mini-review RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope) #6
 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone
4.8, THE MOTH CATCHER, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope #7)

Review: THE MOTH CATCHER, Anne Cleeves

• format: Kindle (Amazon)
• File Size: 1419 KB
• Print Length: 400 pages
• Publisher: Macmillan (September 1, 2015)
• Publication Date: August 25, 2015
• Sold by: Macmillan
• Language: English
• ASIN: B010NCHHDM
• #7 in the Vera Stanhope series

Synopsis (Amazon)

Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet community in Northumberland. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter, a young ecologist named Patrick, to look after the place while they're away. But Patrick is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley - a beautiful, lonely place to die.

DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene, with her detectives Holly and Joe. When they look round the attic of the big house - where Patrick has a flat - she finds the body of a second man. All the two victims have in common is a fascination with moths - catching these beautiful, rare creatures.

The three couples who live in the Valley Farm development have secrets too: Annie and Sam's daughter is due to be released from prison any day; Nigel watches, silently, every day, from his window. As Vera is drawn into the claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she realizes that there may be deadly secrets trapped here ...

My Take

I wondered whether I would have "seen" this story in the Vera series on TV. I am a great fan of the series but I am glad to report that this particular story has evaded capture, so far. I hope we continue to get some book-only Vera Stanhope stories.

For me the television series has given a vision of what Vera and the various members of her team might look like, and I must admit to their faces sitting there in my mind's-eye as I read, except that the "book" Vera is larger than the actress.

But what I love about the books is their language and the author's description of the other characters in the story. The words just slip down like good wine. The story flows and Ann Cleeves gives the reader  just enough for the little grey cells to work on. There are little puzzles to solve and little bits of humor to enjoy.

I also like the way Vera manages her team, and gets them to utilize their very divergent talents, by playing them off against each other. She is very sparing with her praise which just makes them work harder.

Six retirees, three couples, who decide to get away from it all, to make the most of the time that remains to them, and then find they haven't gone far enough. Three deaths, murders connected by place, but other connections very elusive. Cleeves makes the reader work hard to the very end.

A very satisfying read.

My rating: 4.8

I've also reviewed
mini-review RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.6, THIN AIR - Shetland #6
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope) #6
 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone

Review: THIN AIR, Ann Cleeves - audio book

• source: Unabridged Audiobook from Audible.com (I bought it)
• Narrated by: Kenny Blyth
• Length: 10 hrs 
• Series: Shetland Island, Book 6
• original published 2014

 Synopsis (Audible.com)

A group of old university friends travel to Unst to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends to a Shetlander. But late on the night of the wedding party, one of them, Eleanor, disappears. The following day, Eleanor's friend Polly receives an email. It appears to be a suicide note. And then Eleanor's body is discovered, lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge. 

Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to investigate. 

Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen a ghost. Her interest in a ghost had seemed unhealthy to her friends. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor's death than they first thought. 

My take

As you'll see from the list below, I love catching up with the Shetland series. There's plenty of mystery in THIN AIR, as well as human interest as Jimmy Perez tries to re-establish his life as a detective in the islands. We learn too a little more about Jimmy's personal life.

In addition, with its island setting THIN AIR is really a variant of locked room mystery, with limited access to the island, and also a limited number of murder suspects: one of the members of the wedding party, or a local resident? And for what motive? Ann Cleeves does a good job with tantalising red herrings.

When a second person is murdered the investigators are convinced there must be a connection between the two murders but who of the incomers knew the second victim or had a reason to kill him? And why would a resident kill both? And is there a connection with "Peerie Lizzie", the little girl from the "big house" drowned decades before by the incoming tide? Jimmy Perez is coming around to the idea that that might have been a murder too, although the nanny was always blamed for neglect, and seemed to take the blame when she committed suicide.

In the long run, the final solution was something that I did not forsee at all.

Kenny Blyth does an excellent job of the narration, enhancing the setting by using a Scottish accent.

My rating: 4.6

I've also reviewed
mini-review RAVEN BLACK - Shetland #1
WHITE NIGHTS - Shetland#2
RED BONES - Shetland #3
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING - Shetland#4
5.0, DEAD WATER  - Shetland#5
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE - Palmer-Jones series #3
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope) #2
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope) #4
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope) #5
4.9, HARBOUR STREET, Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope) #6
 4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS - stand-alone

 The Shetland Series (as listed on Fantastic Fiction)
1. Raven Black (2006)
2. White Nights (2008)
3. Red Bones (2007)
4. Blue Lightning (2010)
5. Dead Water (2013)
6. Thin Air (2014)

Review: HARBOUR STREET, Ann Cleeves - audio book

• published 2014
  
• available from Audible.com
• Narrated by: Janine Birkett
• Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins 
• Format: Unabridged  

 Synopsis (Publisher)

As the snow falls thickly, Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter, Jessie, are swept along in the crowd onto the Metro. But when the train is stopped, Jessie notices that an old lady hasn’t left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed as she sat on the crowded train. 

Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the festivities. Soon Vera and Joe are on their way to the south Northumberland town of Mardle, where Margaret lived. Then a second woman is murdered.... 

My Take

Again Ann Cleeves has written a good 'un. And I love Janine Birkett's voice for Vera. There really isn't anything predictable about this plot and red herrings abound. Perfect travel listening but I'm sure reading the book would be just as good.

Just a note: I'm sure having read the earlier books in the series assists in your appreciation of Vera's  character, but if you start with this one, you will want more.


My rating: 4.9


Other books in the Vera Stanhope series (Fantastic Fiction)
1. The Crow Trap (1999)
2. Telling Tales (2005)
3. Hidden Depths (2007)
4. Silent Voices (2011)
5. The Glass Room (2012)
6. Harbour Street (2014) 

I've also reviewed

RED BONES
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope)
WHITE NIGHTS
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING
5.0, DEAD WATER 
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope)
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope)
4.5, BURIAL OF GHOSTS 

Review: BURIAL OF GHOSTS, Ann Cleeves

• first published in 2003, republished by Pan books 2013
  
• ISBN 9-781447-241300
• 343 pages
• library book

Synopsis (Author website)

For Lizzie Bartholomew, a holiday in Morocco will change life forever. But not in the way she had hoped...

Lizzie had planned her trip to Marrakech as the perfect escape from her life - and her nightmares - in Northumberland.
Abandoned as a baby, and having spent her childhood moving between foster homes, Lizzie certainly has much to escape from. And for Lizzie, Morocco is the exotic paradise that she had imagined. Especially when she finds herself on a bus sitting next to a fellow tourist, who is also travelling to fulfil his dreams.

After a brief affair, Lizzie returns to England. In the days that follow, she is distracted by thoughts of her mysterious lover, hoping against hope that Philip might come and find her. But suddenly she receives a letter from a firm of solicitors. Philip Samson has died. In his will, he has left Lizzie a gift of £15,000. But there are conditions attached to this unexpected legacy, conditions that will alter the course of Lizzie's life forever..

My Take

Ann Cleeves has drawn quite heavily on her own experience as a probation officer in this stand-alone story and that lends the tale an air of authenticity although several aspects of it do stretch the bounds of credibility.

Award winning Cleeves has become known for her Shetland novels and her Vera Stanhope series, and so it is nice to come across a non-series title occasionally. There are Gothic qualities to this novel which remind me of books I read in an earlier life. Nevertheless an enjoyable read.

My rating: 4.5

I've also reviewed
RED BONES
TELLING TALES (Vera Stanhope)
WHITE NIGHTS
5.0, BLUE LIGHTNING
4.3, MURDER IN PARADISE
4.8, SILENT VOICES, (Vera Stanhope)
5.0, THE GLASS ROOM (Vera Stanhope)
5.0, DEAD WATER