THE KILLING STONES

4 stars out of 5

I'm a little confused about the status, if you will, of this book. Is it the first in a series? Or is it a continuation of an old series with a couple of different characters? Well, since I'm not familiar with Scotland detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves and the book works on its own, I guess it doesn't matter much. The only thing that still confuses (and annoys) me is that all the characters are referred to by their first names except Perez. Huh?

Anyway, apparently Jimmy used to live in Shetland but now lives in Orkney off Scotland's northern coast with his partner, Willow. Jimmy has a 14-year-old adopted daughter, Cassie, who lives most of the time with her biological father. Together, Jimmy and Willow have a four-year-old son, and it won't be long till she gives birth to another. Adding to all that is that Willow, too, is a police detective - in fact, she's Jimmy's boss (well, sort of). For the moment, though, she's officially on maternity leave and, for all intents and purposes, supposed to keep her nose out of police business.

That becomes a bit difficult, though, when Jimmy calls to tell Willow that his good friend and distant relative Archie Stout is dead - an apparent murder. It seems his head was bashed in by one of a pair of Westray story stones that have gone missing from the local heritage center. Archie, of course, is upset on many levels; he's lost a good friend, must now question other people close to Archie, including the wife Jimmy knows well. The investigation takes on a new dimension when Jimmy learns that Archie may have been having a tryst with a beautiful artist - a newcomer to the island. Understandably, she denies any such relationship. 

As the investigation progresses, several potential suspects are identified, but the evidence is lacking. Then, one of the suspects turns up dead as well - conked with the second of those missing stones. That, in turn, opens still more possibilities and forces Jimmy and Willow to take a different approach. Those details, of course, I can't provide without spoiling things for others, but I can say for sure that it all works out in the end. Now, I'll be eagerly awaiting their next appearance. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to "meet" Jimmy and Willow by way of a pre-release copy of this story.

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2025); 384 pp.

THE DARK WIVES

4 stars out of 5

I've followed hard-nosed detective inspector Vera Stanhope for a while now - this is the 11th installment - and she's quite an interesting, complex character. As she continues to mourn the death of colleague Holly - a death for which she feels responsible, she finds it hard to get down to business as usual (her colleague Joe Ashworth is even worried about her). But get down she must, and this time the calling is the murder of a staff member at a home for troubled teenagers. In part because she's gone missing, one of the residents, a 14-year-old girl named Chloe Spence is the primary suspect. 

But for many reasons, Vera has a hard time believing that Chloe is the killer. She gathers her team around her - including newbie Rosie Bell, for whom Vera has high hopes - to focus their efforts on finding Chloe. After learning from Chloe's mum that the girl loved Gillstead, a not-far-away hamlet near the coast, the investigation follows. Turns out it's a place familiar to a younger Vera, as well as the site of three standing stones known as the Three Dark Wives. Each year, a big witchcraft-type celebration is held to keep the folklore going, an event that's coming up soon.

The first revelation, though, is far from celebratory; rather, it's the discovery of another body - a young man who lived in the same teen haven as Chloe. Coincidence? Vera thinks not. Proving it, however, is more of a challenge. Near the end, though, Vera has a theory - one she doesn't share with her teammates nor readers. But rest assured, it all comes together, making for another well-told tale in this series (I'm already looking forward to the next). Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get reacquainted by way of a pre-release copy of this one.

The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, August 2024); 377 pp.

THE RAGING STORM

4 stars

I've read and enjoyed the first two books in this series featuring North Devon Detective Matthew Venn, who's an intriguing character beyond the mind he uses to solve crimes. Not only did he leave the cult-like religion to which his parents adhere, but he found and married the love of his life, a pleasant and capable chap named Jonathan. This time around, he's back "home" in Greystone, the land of his childhood and still home to many of the super-religious Brethren - who basically tossed him from the fold in a very public manner years ago.

So it with a bit of trepidation that Matthew leaves Jonathan and heads to Scully Cove, where the naked body of a local man Jem Roscoe, who's gained fame as a sailor is found abandoned in a dinghy. Blood found in the bathroom of the place Jem was staying offered proof that the death was no accident. From that point on, Matthew and his team battle nasty weather, but while the suspect list grows almost by the day, the investigation turns up little to no real evidence. The story actually moves rather sluggishly - mirroring, perhaps, cases that happen in the real world - until closer to the end when a second dead body turns up. This one - an individual who is at least under consideration as the culprit - may well be a suicide; but Matthew's keen instincts, and the keen investigative skills of his team including Jen Rafferty and Ross May, prove otherwise.

Meantime, Matthew is a bit concerned about his relationship with Jonathan, who's clearly got something on his mind he wants to share, but the murders don't leave much down time for heart-to-hearts. By the end, though, both the murders and Jonathan's dilemma are known to readers, with one of them providing fodder for the next book. All in all, it's another enjoyable reading experience, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing me once again with a pre-release copy for review.

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2023); 392 pp.

THE RISING TIDE

5 stars out of 5

Vera Stanhope isn't the most glamorous of police detectives anywhere, let alone in Northumberland, England, but she's a woman after my own heart. More than a little overweight and far from a fashion icon, her investigative skills are more than sufficient to lead a competent team of detectives as she deals with the toughest of cases. For the record, this is the 10th book in the series; I've read only one other as well as a couple of other books by this prolific, and very talented, author - and as the happy recipient of a pre-release copy of this one, I was looking forward to starting it.

As well I should have been; it certainly didn't disappoint. Holy Island has been the setting for every-five-year reunions of a tightly knit group of school friends who bonded some 50 years earlier on a sort of Outward Bound experience here organized by a former teacher. They come from varied backgrounds and professions - Annie, Daniel, Lou, Ken, Rich and Philip - and a couple have been married, divorced and married to another in the original group. They commune with nature, each other and try to avoid discussing the death that happened on their very first five-year-reunion many years earlier. One member, it seems, drove off in a huff and was caught in the incoming tide that makes the causeway to the island impassible during specified times. 

This year's meeting is much like all the others, with blustery Rick - who just lost his TV journalist job amid allegations of inappropriate behavior (how timely is that??) but is touting the book he plans to write. Annie's husband Ken is in the throes of dementia, and Annie - part owner of a deli on the mainland - oversees the food. All is well, in fact, until it isn't; Annie finds Rick in his room - the most pretentious and well-appointed one in the place, of course - quite dead.

Enter Vera and her team of investigators, Joe Ashworth and Holly Clarke, who conclude early on that the murderer - and yes, Rick's death was murder - most likely is a member of the reunion group. But who? And why? The rest of the book focuses on the deliciously involved backgrounds of and interactions among the characters and their significant others (both former and current). There's plenty of description of the island and its background as well, plus detailed outlines of the progress of Vera's investigation. The ending? Well, I wasn't terribly surprised at the identity of the murderer, but something else that happened blew my mind (and not in a good way).

If this is a series you're following, I think you'll like this entry; if not, it stands well on its own (but I always advise starting at the beginning if possible - these books really are worth it). As for me, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for once again allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy. 

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2022); 384 pp.

THE HERON'S CRY

4 stars out of 5

After reading the first book in this series, "The Long Call," a couple of years ago, I've been eager for more about the star of the show, North Devon Detective Matthew Venn. He has an intriguing background, leaving the cult-like religious life of his parents and getting married to the love of his life, Jonathan (no doubt distancing himself even farther from his already disapproving parents). Out on his own, he's become an exceptionally competent investigator, and he's back with a new adventure that has his entire department scratching their heads and puts his relationship with Jonathan to the test.

One of his most trusted underlings, Jenn Rafferty, gets a call from Venn way too early the morning after she drank way too much at a local party - one at which a local physician and patient advocate, Dr. Nigel Yeo, had indicated he had something to discuss with her. Apparently, he gave up trying and left; so when Venn tells her the good doctor has been murdered - by a shard of glass from one of his daughter's works of art - she's both disturbed and mortified that her inebriation got in the way. The body was found within a community of artists at which his daughter has a studio that's owned and run by a very wealthy man - and where Jonathan manages a group that caters to people with disabilities (in fact, Jonathan is a good friend of Eve, the dead man's daughter)

Needless to say, several in the artistic commune are suspects, including the rich guy - and the story weaves its way through the possible connections that hopefully will lead to identifying the killer. But then, another body turns up - a man who was murdered in a similar fashion with a similar weapon. With this one, the possible motive is even more elusive than the first. But slowly and methodically, Venn and his team unearth clues that lead in an unexpected direction - leading up to an exciting end (and a couple of causes for optimism in Venn's personal life). All told, it's another entertaining adventure, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy. Bring on the next!

The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2021); 400 pp.

THE DARKEST EVENING

 4 stars out of 5

After reading one of this prolific author's

other books - The Long Call - and giving it the highest 5-star rating, I was eager to start this one, the ninth in the Vera Stanhope series. I've not read any of the others, but that wasn't a problem at all. I think perhaps it would have been nice to know more about Vera and her teammates as I read this one, but at no time did I feel disadvantaged because of it.

I will say it had me looking up British words and phrases; I've read quite a few books set in merry old England and surrounding countries, plus our daughter-in-law is from London and still has her beautiful English accent, so I'm well acquainted with "torch," "jumper," "biscuits" and women who "fall pregnant" (that last one always makes me chuckle; I'm familiar with getting "knocked up," but down? Nuh uh). But I encountered quite a few new terms here, although that's certainly not a complaint. It just sent me to Google a few more times than usual. 

Truth be told, though, I never quite warmed up to Vera - maybe because it seemed her co-workers seemed more tolerant of her than loving. But that's okay; I didn't need to love her to thoroughly enjoy the story. It begins as Vera is driving through a hazardous snowstorm in Northumberland and spots a car that's slid off the road. One of the doors is open, so she stops to help and finds a young child in the back seat. Who, she wonders, would leave a child alone in this weather? She grabs the child, leaves a note in the car, and heads for the nearest warm place - which happens to be the estate of her mostly estranged relatives. She hasn't been here in a long time and, understandably, isn't sure who she'll find and how happy they'll be to see her. On the way in, she meets a distraught man on a tractor, who says he just found a woman's body in the snow.

Once in the house, Vera calls in her team to check out the crime scene. Inside, Vera finds the "housekeeper" - a woman who apparently left a promising career to basically clean house and cook for the husband and wife who now own the property and the wife's rather obnoxious mother, who seems to think she runs the place. The night before, they'd hosted a big bash attended by the well-heeled; the husband wants to turn part of the property into a theatre and hit them all up for seed money.

Finally, the body is identified - a troubled young woman who was the baby's mother. From that point on, the goal is to find the killer; unfortunately, there are quite a few who might fit that bill - including Vera's relatives. Then another woman is murdered, raising more questions. But the closer Vera gets to solving the murders, the greater the chance that she might become the next victim. Good book, for which I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review prior to its release.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2020); 379 pp.

THE LONG CALL

5 stars out of 5

Would you believe this is my first encounter with this prolific author? It's true - but for sure it won't be my last. In fact, this book marks the start of a new "Two Rivers" series, and already I'm taken with the main character, Detective Matthew Venn of North Devon.

As with intriguing characters in most mysteries, Matthew is flawed; in his case, he long ago left his parents' precious fold - a religious group (cult) called the Brethren. For that alone, his parents essentially disowned him; the situation took a turn for the worse (if that's possible) when he married the love of his life, Jonathan, who manages a community that caters to people with disabilities.

So it is that he stands outside the church at his estranged father's funeral - intentionally unseen and with mixed emotions. As he walks away so as not to encounter his mother, he gets a call: There's been a murder at a nearby beach. An unidentified man has been stabbed. The albatross tattoo on his neck is the only clue, and it turns out the man is Simon Walden, a rather odd duck who not long ago secretly moved into a spare room with two local women who, as it turns out, have secrets of their own.

The plot begins to thicken when Matthew gets an out-of-the-blue call from his mother, who asks for his help: It seems the daughter of her best friend, a girl with Down's syndrome, has been "lost." That draws Matthew back to a place he really doesn't want to be - dealing with Brethren folks. Perhaps worse, because the girl spent her days at Jonathan's facility, Matthew must deal with a possible conflict of interest that would leave the investigation in the hands of his team members Jen and Ross (both complex characters in their own rights, but very capable detectives).

In an effort to avoid disclosing more than I should, my analysis will stop here, except to say that the action heats up near the end to the point that I was reluctant to put the book down. Already, I'm looking forward to seeing these characters again. Meantime, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy. Well done!

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Minotaur Books, September 2019); 382 pp.