Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope looked up from the teenager's scrawl.
"It's got today's date. Chloe must have written it this evening."
The manager of the children's home was faded, dusty. He had grey hair tied back in a ponytail. He seemed well out of his depth."
***
The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.
DCI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death. Her only clue is the disappearance of one of the home’s residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. 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 Bell are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact.
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 possible.
***
This is book eleven in the well known Vera Stanhope series.
If you are a fan of Vera from the television series, I recommend reading the books as there is much more insight into Vera's thought processes, and how she approaches her cases and staff in her own inimitable way.
In this book Vera and her team are investigating the murder of a care worker in a children's home, as well as a missing teenager. There is also a new member on the team, Rosie who at first struggles to fit in and find her place in her new job.
The pace of the book was steady to begin with as the author spends some time setting the scene and laying out her characters. However, it quickly picks up pace and has some surprising plot twists. I was totally unaware as to who the murderer was throughout. It was suspenseful and there was much to keep me guessing.
The Northumberland setting was beautifully portrayed. There was also some local folklore woven into the story. For example, the titular Dark Wives are a set of standing stones in the local area and they had their own part to play in the story.
I found this a compelling read. I have not read any of the earlier books, although the television series is essential watching in our house. Not reading the earlier books did not hinder my enjoyment of this one and it works perfectly well as a standalone.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys police procedural, crime and suspense novels. Enjoy!
ISBN: 978 1529077742
Publisher: MacMillan
Formats: e-book, audio and hardback
No. of Pages: 384 (hardback)
About the Author:
ANN CLEEVES is the author of 37 critically acclaimed novels, an international bestseller translated into over 20 languages worldwide. In 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV's The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.
Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann also spends her time advocating for reading to improve health and wellbeing and supporting access to books. In 2021 her Reading for Wellbeing project launched with local authorities across the North East, and in 2022 she was awarded an OBE for her services to reading and libraries.
The Dark Wives, is her 11th Vera novel. She lives in Northumberland where the Vera books are set. You can find Ann on Twitter and Facebook @AnnCleeves.
(book and media courtesy of Random Things Tours)
(all opinions are my own)
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