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 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 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.