From Ann Cleevesâ??New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showsâ??comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening. "Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."â??Louise Penny "As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves' latest. . . . A stunning debut for Cleeves' latest crimefighter."â??David Baldacci on The Long Call On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat. Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It's also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there's a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow. As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family's complicated past. A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Bo… (más)
Book 9 of the Vera Stanhope series. Excellent story of the death of a young mother who had suffered bullying and anorexia for much of her teenage years. Kirkus: A murder investigation hits close to home for an experienced police officer in the north of England.Taking a wrong turn in a snowstorm, Inspector Vera Stanhope finds a car with only a baby inside. With no cellphone service, she drives to the nearest house, which just happens to belong to her estranged relatives. Vera?s cousin Juliet and Juliet?s husband, Mark Bolitho, are giving a dinner party in hopes of courting prospective donors to support Mark?s plan of converting their estate into an art center, promoting Mark?s artistic interests and keeping the faltering estate alive. When a farmer tied to the estate discovers the body of a murdered woman in the snow near the main house, Vera becomes involved in a case that bring her closer to her only family. The car belongs to a retired schoolteacher who often loaned it to Lorna Falstone, the mother of a baby son. The suspects in her murder include the dinner guests along with Juliet?s snobbish mother, Harriet, and Dorothy Felling, a superior housekeeper who lives with her husband and child in a tied cottage. It seems unlikely that a madman wandered out of the storm to kill Lorna, who?s never identified the father of her child. After the baby is taken to Lorna?s parents, who own a farm nearby, a second murder spurs Vera and her team to investigate a tangled web of family connections and buried secrets.Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves? eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement.
(2020) I read the first in the Vera Stanhope series, but hadn't gotten back to it. This book came out and I thought it would be good to read and I didn't have to worry about the back story as I am such a big fan of the TV series. I was right, this was very good and I enjoyed the reader who was obviously from that part of England/Scotland. Gave it a real feel of the area. Turns out the murders were committed by the farmer, Bolitho, who was the father of the child and had a relationship with the mother Lorna Falstone. Lorna broke off the affair, but the farmer didn't take kindly to that and the murder of Lorna followed. KIRKUS:A murder investigation hits close to home for an experienced police officer in the north of England.Taking a wrong turn in a snowstorm, Inspector Vera Stanhope finds a car with only a baby inside. With no cellphone service, she drives to the nearest house, which just happens to belong to her estranged relatives. Vera's cousin Juliet and Juliet's husband, Mark Bolitho, are giving a dinner party in hopes of courting prospective donors to support Mark's plan of converting their estate into an art center, promoting Mark's artistic interests and keeping the faltering estate alive. When a farmer tied to the estate discovers the body of a murdered woman in the snow near the main house, Vera becomes involved in a case that bring her closer to her only family. The car belongs to a retired schoolteacher who often loaned it to Lorna Falstone, the mother of a baby son. The suspects in her murder include the dinner guests along with Juliet's snobbish mother, Harriet, and Dorothy Felling, a superior housekeeper who lives with her husband and child in a tied cottage. It seems unlikely that a madman wandered out of the storm to kill Lorna, who's never identified the father of her child. After the baby is taken to Lorna's parents, who own a farm nearby, a second murder spurs Vera and her team to investigate a tangled web of family connections and buried secrets.Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves' eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2020ISBN: 978-1-25-020450-9Page Count: 384Publisher: Minotaur
Detective Vera Stanhope discovers a child abandoned in a snowed in vehicle. A little later the child's mother discovered beaten to death nearby. The complication is that the mystery centers around part of Stanhope's family--the respectable branch that has rejected her alcoholic father. The surrounding families are connected by location, employment and blood and those connections lead to the solution.
This is another book that has been on my TBR list for a long time. I really like Ann Cleeves’ writing, having read her Two Rivers series. The Darkest Evening is number nine of ten in the Vera Stanhope series (there are also some short stories). Some of you may recognize the name Vera Stanhope from the very successful TV series based on these stories starring Blenda Blethlyn and available on a number of streaming platforms.
Vera is a bit overweight and unkempt, very forthright, and no fashion plate. She, however, is a stellar detective. While traveling home during a snowstorm in Northumberland, Vera comes upon a car on the side of the road. The car door is open and there is a toddler seemingly abandoned and strapped into a carseat. Taking him to the nearest residence to call for help is a bit uncomfortable for Vera as it is the residence of her snooty, upperclass relatives from whom she has been estranged. When the body of the child’s mother is discovered on the property, Vera and her team investigate, revealing much family intrigue among both her family and the families of their tenants.
This worked well as a stand alone and as my first introduction to Vera. Cleeves is an excellent writer. All of her books that I have read have been engrossing, well plotted, with good character development. Her atmospheric, descriptive, detailed language draws the reader into the scenes. I literally did not put this book down until I was finished.
Ann Cleeves is highly recommended for fans of British police procedurals and other mystery lovers. ( )
From Ann Cleevesâ??New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showsâ??comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening. "Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers."â??Louise Penny "As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves' latest. . . . A stunning debut for Cleeves' latest crimefighter."â??David Baldacci on The Long Call On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat. Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It's also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there's a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow. As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family's complicated past. A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Bo
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