I love the Vera series on TV so was very pleased to be given this book (Vera number 7).
Flew though this book as I was hooked in from page one.
Love the characters. You can easily picture the settings and it did indeed keep you guessing right to the end.
If you love Vera then you will love this!
Pure escapism. Certainly recommended.
Well a bit of mixture this book and the first of Ann Cleeves novels that I have read. Not really sure what I made of this book. It felt like the Marmite situation, you’ll love it or hate it. I’m a bit in the middle and feel I may need to read a few more of her novels to be convinced. Sorry, to those hardened fans of the Vera Stanhope series. Which until this book I had only seen one episode on the TV.
As I read the novel it’s the voice of Vera Stanhope that follows me throughout the whole of this book. Impact it certainly has with the discovery of 2 bodies. The close knit community, all of which suspect each other! You are intrigued to discover their many displaced past lives and the unusual death of the Support worker sends your whole theory of who the murderer is into disarray. There are lots of twists and turns in this novel. Additionally, I enjoyed the perspective of Holly and Joe to which I can relate wholeheartedly. Particularly Holly’s low self esteem and questioning of her own career within the Force. Which nearly comes to a dramatic end in the scene which eventually traps the murder. This scene is shown no remorse from Vera which is her typically strait of this seemingly uncaring detective. Deep down Vera truely cares for her colleague and maybe sees a bit of herself in particular with Holly, fresh faced, new in the job and keen to impress. I felt the bones of this novel was particularly intriguing but I felt it worthy of a more dramatic ending
This was my first Anne Cleeves’ book and I rarely watch the TV so I had not heard of Vera. From the cover I imagined a dark and gruesome thriller and wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it. I was delighted to read a great murder mystery with a complex plot and a very interesting group of characters. A great read, I couldn’t put it down and it kept me guessing to the end.
This was the first book of Ann Cleeves that I had read and I loved it. I hadn’t watched the TV series so I didn’t have any previous references but I could imagine Vera and the landscapes well thanks to the author’s descriptive narrative. Now I’m keen to read the Vera books and I’d like to watch the series.
The story captivated me from the first pages and I couldn’t put the book away. It was so interesting learning about the connections between the characters and imagining the lives of the retired hedonists.
I kept wondering about the murderer until the end as it could have been anyone.
I totally recommend this book.