The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves

As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death.

The man’s body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being 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 monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Vera Stanhope series!
For book nine, The Darkest Evening, click HERE.
For book #10, The Rising Tide, click HERE.

 

 

Book 11
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Hardcover (US)  ~  Minotaur Books (Macmillan)

Audiobook (US)
Narrated by Janine Birkett

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the eleventh book in the series, and they are always such fabulous reads! I really should have done the things I had to do today before I started reading... but no! It was a very satisfying read!

Vera is still mourning the loss of Holly (wow, I am still reeling over that event too!), and we know from her inner voice that she wants to try much harder with her new team member, Rosie. I will leave it to you to decide if she manages it, but she definitely tries!

This story was really well plotted, with some hints here and there, some misdirections, and although a wide cast of characters, they were all brought to life brilliantly. From the two lads that had a secret den, the manager of the hotel, and the two workers in the children's home, little touches just make them so real to the reader. I find that Ann Cleeves draws us in so well to the detail that makes people real. She also gives us Vera's inner voice in a way which makes it an essential part of the book – when generally I am not a fan – and knowing what Vera is thinking is often so moving, as she is not the most outwardly warm person, yet she cares to the depth of her soul. This is probably why she is such a favourite book friend of mine!

Delicious Sunday treat – thank you, Ann Cleeves, for another excellent installment.

 

 

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn—both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series launched in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.

Connect with Ann Cleeves!

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided with a free copy of The Dark Wives (Vera Stanhope #11) by Ann Cleeves to read and review.

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning tenth Vera Stanhope novel, The Rising Tide, a powerful novel about guilt, betrayal, and the longheld secrets people keep.

For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting regularly for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising causeway tide five years later. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now...

But with the tide rising, secrets long-hidden are finding their way to the surface, and Vera and the team may find themselves in more danger than they could have believed possible...

Don’t miss our reviews of other books in the Vera Stanhope series!
For book nine, The Darkest Evening, click HERE.

 

 

Book 10
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)
Minotaur Books (Macmillan)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the tenth book in the series and another great police drama with the eponymous Vera once again getting to the bottom of the mystery and solving the crime, although at great cost. The location of most of the action is so atmospheric – Holy Island, cut off from the mainland during high tide and reached only with caution much of the time.

We meet a group of retirees who are spending the weekend on Holy Island, a thing they have done every five years since they were taken on a trip there as 16- and 17-year-olds from school. The rituals and the familiarity between them are described so vividly on the page, and more and more detail is peeled back as the story unfolds. It brings out the disagreements, the sadnesses, and the importance of routine and camaraderie which binds them. This time one of them is found dead in his room.

A photo of that first trip is something which propels Vera to find out everything about the group. Enlisting her ever faithful Joe and the ever hopeful of recognition, Holly to do her bidding, she sets about proving it is a crime and who is guilty. We feel the danger creeping around the island like the sea mist, and everyone seems to have a reason... even the Police and Crime Commissioner!

I love Vera and all her imperfections – she is on fine form here. Be ready for a few twists and brace yourself for the outcome. I am already looking forward to the next installment in this engaging series.

 

 

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn—both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series launched in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.

Connect with Ann Cleeves

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Rising Tide (Vera Stanhope #10) by Ann Cleeves to read and review.

The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves

New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves returns with The Heron's Cry, the extraordinary follow-up to The Long Call, soon to be a major TV series, alongside her two hit TV shows Shetland and Vera.

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder—Dr. Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr. Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found—killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Two Rivers series!
For book one, The Long Call, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Apple Books  ~  B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  Kobo
Audiobook (US)  ~  Hardcover (US)

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the second book in this engaging series. I would recommend that you read them in order; not only are the lead characters introduced there, but also elements of the previous crime are mentioned. It is also a very good read!

Matthew, Jen, and Ross are once again racing against time, as North Devon becomes a dangerous place to live. With links to the Woodyard – a community centre run by Matthew's husband, Jonathan – there are again problems with blurring the lines between work and private life. I really like how we get snippets of all their private lives, and not only how the gravity and long hours of work impacts on their relationships. I also loved seeing that Lucy is doing well, and that the arty vibe that continues through the story.

The plot centres around an investigation about a young man who was failed by the mental health department of the local hospital. As the story unfolds, it reveals some very disturbing parts of society, and just how the mind can justify the worst of actions. Unravelling it all is perfectly complicated, and there are lots of twists and turns which throw out false leads.

Another really good story in this engaging series.

 

 

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn—both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series will launch in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.

Connect with Ann

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Heron's Cry: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel (Two Rivers #2) by Ann Cleeves to read and review.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel.

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.

Book 9
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the ninth book in the series, and unless you have failed to see an episode on TV, then I challenge you not to see the wonderful Brenda Blethyn as you enjoy this clever and unusually close to home story for Vera.

I found this book to be a very easy read, which was a good thing, as I devoured it in a day. Weirdly, it was lovely to be reading about a cold winter, on a hot day. The plot itself was clever, with plenty of possibilities and distractions, and a good mix of Vera, Holly, and Joe going about their investigations. I felt we got quite a lot of introspection from Holly as she tries to gain the respect and approval of her boss, and how she chose to consider whether her running need was anything like the victim's issues with food and control. But most of all, we got to see Vera really think about her lack of familial attachments, and when the possibility of a change in circumstances presents herself, we get some insight into her way of thinking – I thought it was utterly charming.

A very good read, I expected no less!

 

 

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn—both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series will launch in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.

Connect with Ann

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Darkest Evening (Vera Stanhope #9) by Ann Cleeves to read and review.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

From Ann Cleeves—bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes the first in a gripping new series.

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
B&N  ~  Google Play  ~  iTunes  ~  Kobo

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the first in a new series and I am really excited for what will come in the future, as the protagonists are engaging and the location is beautifully described and very atmospheric.

Matthew is an interesting lead detective, having grown up in the town that he now works in, but estranged from his family. His husband runs the local day centre for special needs adults, which also has a café and arts centre. As the story develops, we understand that the centre is significant in the plot, and that it could be unethical for Matthew to carry on, yet his boss would rather not have to take the lead himself. All these elements build together to give a clear picture of the police at the station and the dynamics. I love the scene setting, the details of the place and its people which give so much more richness to the story. As the mystery deepens, the list of suspects and the possible crimes mount up, but this team is up to the challenge.

An excellent start to a new series, and I look forward to more.

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series—the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn—both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series will launch in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.

Connect with Ann

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) by Ann Cleeves to read and review.