I’m addicted to the Vera TV series starring the brilliant Brenda Blethyn, but this is the first Vera novel that I’ve read. I loved it. As the ninth and most recent book in this mystery series, “The Darkest Evening” hasn’t yet been filmed as a TV episode so I kept imagining how it would look on the screen…the moody moors of Northumberland, the grand country estate of Brockburn, and Vera, with her bag-lady clothes and her funny hat and her gruff manner that attempts to cover the kind heart underneath.

I really enjoyed this novel’s third-person narration that let me hang out inside the heads of different characters: Vera and her sidekicks, Joe and Holly, as well as Vera’s cousin’s daughter, Juliet. Wait, what? Vera has a cousin? We thought she was all alone in the world and totally happy about her disconnectedness. In the opening scene of the novel, Vera is driving home on a snowy evening and finds an abandoned car with the driver’s door wide open and an infant in the backseat. Vera takes the baby with her and tries to find the missing mum, which leads her to Brockburn, the gorgeous country house where she used to take tea on the terrace with her landed gentry kinfolk and eat thin sandwiches and meringues while accompanied by Bach. Since Vera’s father was cast out when she was still a teen, she’s never been back to Brockburn, until now. I love the extra layers of Vera’s back story here.

Recommended for readers who love clever police procedural mysteries with great character development and also for all fans of the Vera TV series.

Content: A few curse words.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance review copy. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

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.

I can add this to my favorite by Ann Cleeves book list. As you can imagine there are a lot of her books on the list. Vera is an interesting character and well depicted in the movies. So you can easily imagine her reaction to the toddler with which she has almost no experience. And from there the story unfolds as she spends much of the book trying to identify the father of the child. And I must admit, I never figured it out. I was surprised big time at the end of the book when the father was revealed.

One thing that I did find interesting was the fact that there was basically a switch of the secondary characters from the investigators. Usually it is Joe who Vera relies on mostly to help investigate the murders. But in this book it moved from Joe to Holly where she was Vera's primary helper. And it was good to see them getting along pretty well. As for the fact that Vera was basically investigating her somewhat distant family, she did get along with them better that I thought she would. But that isn't saying much.

I was glad to have another Vera book to read and I would like to that the author and publisher for the opportunity to read the book. The comments above are my own.

This was my first Vera Stanhope novel, and it was definitely a treat. Author Ann Cleeves has crafted a wonderful murder mystery, guaranteed to snare the reader right from the start.

Vera finds herself lost and turned about while in the middle of a snowstorm, ending up outside the country home of relatives. It is there she finds a car with its door open, a baby inside. The body of a woman is found in the snow not far from the car. Thus the mystery begins, and Vera has her hands full trying to untie all the relationships one might find in a smaller community.

This is a police procedural, and we either accompany Vera or one of her subordinates, Joe or Holly. Ms. Cleeves lays out all the clues, inviting us to read between the lines and put all the pieces together. Once the author explained everything at the end it made perfect sense, but I have to confess that I did not give more than a passing thought to the true murderer and I missed every path that would have led to the truth.

Although part of a series, this is a standalone tale. Newer readers like myself will probably end up looking at some of the earlier books, curious about what we might have missed. Highly recommended. Five stars.

My thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for an advance electronic copy of this book.

Ah, what more can I say about the marvelous Ann Cleeves? Her books, and the tv series' adapted from her books, have brought me endless hours of joy and entertainment. To have Vera back during these strange and stressful times was just what I needed to boost my spirits.
It's a great mystery with the great Vera Stanhope, need I say more?
Perfection!

Fantastic premise and the author made me feel like I was trudging through the cold with her. This was a first read for me. I like the fact that I was flummoxed by who the guilty party was. The tid bits that are parceled out as we learn about Vera's family history. The writing was a tad difficult for me to follow, and that's on me, not the author. I am thrilled NetGalley and Minotaur allowed me an opportunity to receive this arc and that I took a chance to try something new and enliven my field.

Book 9 of the Vera Stanhope mysteries and the first one I’ve read. Even so, I didn’t feel out of the loop nor as if a good part of the story was background catch up. In this story Vera is thinking a bit that she may be getting close to being ready to retire perhaps. But she still has the culprit figured out before anyone else and is completely wrapped up in the investigation. I think the next mystery will see her being a little less autonomous and reaching out to local people for interaction rather than being such a loner. I really enjoyed this and will look for the other 8 mysteries in the series. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for #thedarkestevening to read and review.

Good mystery - with an ending I didn't see coming! Set in northern England - describes the countryside well. Good character development. I enjoyed this quick read.

This is the first book I’ve read in the Vera Stanhope series. It certainly can be read as a standalone, though there may have been more connection to the characters by having read previous books in the series. There is a good amount of British slang used.that pulled me out of the story while I tried to figure out it’s meaning. I found the book to be a bit slow in places but it is well written and did present a good mystery.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves is the ninth installment of her Vera Stanhope series. You don't need to have read the previous books if you find yourself with this one in your hands. Set in Northumbria at Midwinter the setting is as much of the story as the mystery is. Since the publisher hasn't offered a synopsis, I won't ruin it for you in my review. I will just tell you that this is a book that found myself thinking about even when I couldn't be sitting and reading it. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to give my honest review of #TheDarkestEvening.

Ann Cleeves latest novel in her Vera Stanhope series has an eerie, gothic feel and could almost be a murder mystery from the golden age of crime fiction, featuring a murder on a bitterly cold snowy night on a country estate surrounded by dark woods, where a house party is taking place. Vera Stanhope arrives just before dinner is served, clutching an infant she found in an abandoned car on the road not far from the house. The country estate is one known to Vera, a place where her father grew up before he became the black sheep of the family, and one where his brother's wife and married daughter still live. The whereabouts of the infant's mother, Lorna Falstone, a young woman from the nearby village, is resolved when a local farmer finds her body behind the house.

The murder investigation proceeds at a good pace as Vera and her team of Joe, Holly and Charlie try to find out more about Lorna's past and her life in the village where she lived with baby Thomas. There are several suspects among the dysfunctional families on and around the estate, not least Vera's own estranged family, the Stanhopes and the farming families that lease their farms and it takes a lot of sleuthing and dead ends for Vera to find the killer.

If you enjoy watching the TV series 'Vera', it will be hard not to picture the inimitable Brenda Blethyn marching through the snow in her mac and wellies with her hat pulled down over her face, bossing everyone around in her Northumbrian accent. She is so perfect for the role of the disheveled, middle aged, irascible Vera. I do love Vera's relationship with Joe and Holly, expecting them to drop everything and jump when she says but at the same time caring deeply for them. It was also interesting to learn more of Vera's estranged family and to see Vera make some friendly connections with some of the community. A riveting and engaging thriller, albeit a very cold, wintery one, perfect for a winter fireside read.

DCI Vera Stanhope is back in action in Ann Cleves’ latest installment of the Northumberland, England police procedural series.

This murder mystery hits close to home for Vera.
“This whole case . . . was about families, about what held them together and what ripped them apart.”

At the heart of this thriller are tenant farmers and entitled gentry, with their motivations and obligations often intersecting in unpredictable ways. Ms. Cleves’ use of Robert Frost poetry is artfully woven into the plot line, creating a satisfying and cohesive framework.

Fans of “Shetland” and “Vera”, books and tv shows, will love this as much as I did!
Thank you to St. Martin's/Minataur Press, Ann Cleeves and Netgalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I just couldn't get going on this book, so I don't know if it got better the farther in you went. I reread the first few chapters because it just didn't grab me.

The author, creator of the beloved VERA series, is Mistress of the British Mystery now that Agatha is gone.

In her latest adventure, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope finds a child alone in a car, stuck in the snow in the English countryside.

She thinks the driver went for help, so takes the baby to a nearby manor where her dad grew up. Lights are ablaze with a Christmas party on, but none of the celebrants knows a woman’s body lies outside.

As the storm rages, Vera is trapped with the others, which gives her the chance to uncover the truth AND shocking secrets about her family. Cor blimey, I didn’t see that ending coming!

5 of 5 Stars

Pub Date 08 Sep 2020

Thanks to the author, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#TheDarkestEvening #NetGalley

This book will not disappoint lovers of detective mysteries. I have read 3 previous books written by Ann Cleeves, and this one was as excellent in plot, characters, mood, and style of writing.. I will continue to read Ann Cleeves books!

The meandering, old roads of rural Northumberland, in the dark of a frigid winter’s night, with the season’s first blizzard raging away, as a cantankerous older woman grips the wheel of her ancient Land Rover, determined to make it home rather than giving in and finding a room somewhere.

But, as fate would have it, she misses her turnoff in the whiteout her truck’s headlamps fail to penetrate, and ends up creeping down an unfamiliar road… nearly running into another vehicle, that has partially slid off the slippery, narrow lane. Grumbling, the woman hauls herself out of the Rover and makes her way to other car, where she finds the driver’s door wide open, but no driver in sight. One passenger, however, remains: a toddler, strapped into a baby seat, all alone in the frigid cold and dark.

As put out as she might feel, though, the woman is nonetheless a Detective Inspector, and she isn’t about to let a child freeze to death… or its missing parent go unfound.

So begins Ann Cleeves’ latest entry in the long-running Vera Stanhope series, The Darkest Evening.
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Things get a little more complicated once Vera takes the baby and drives to the nearest house… because the nearest house turns out to be a crumbling mansion that—decades ago—she knew rather well: Brockburn, the once-grand ancestral home where her father grew up, and to which he later—as the black sheep of the family—dragged his only daughter when he wanted to bum money off his elder brother. (Needless to say, there’s no love lost between the remaining Stanhopes at Brockburn—Vera’s haughty, now-widowed aunt and the put-upon daughter, Vera’s cousin—and prickly, plodding Vera, the poor relation.) With a pre-holiday fete underway, the dowdy detective and her little mystery guest are unwanted disruptions to the household, at best.

But that’s only the beginning, once the body of a young woman, brutally murdered, is discovered on the edge of Brockburn land, out in the drifting snow… putting a swift end to all festivities, and to peace in the small, nearby farming community for the foreseeable future. Because, as anyone familiar with Vera knows, once she gets her hooks into a case, she bulls her way through it until she has all of the answers she needs.
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Despite my own familiarity with Vera, from the self-titled TV show, The Darkest Evening was actually my first time encountering her in book form, and it was great fun. (So perfectly does actress Brenda Blethyn embody the character, that I heard her voice in my head every time book-Vera spoke, and pictured her squat, stocky presence tramping around in the village and the woods, throughout.)

Cleeves’ writing is clean and compelling; her descriptions colorful, her characterizations vivid, and her depiction of life in a rural area feels true. Throw in a complicated domestic situation (or three), a foreboding sense of history, and a multi-layered mystery, and you’ve got a nice little escape on your hands.

Mystery fans—and anyone who appreciates a curmudgeonly, clever female detective as a delightfully-atypical protagonist—should definitely find The Darkest Evening a worthy diversion. :)
~GlamKitty


[I received an advance copy of The Darkest Evening for review purposes; the book is set for release 8 September 2020.]

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of The Darkest Evening. The comments and review are my honest opinion.
If you are a fan of British police TV you may already be aware of Vera Stanhope an elderly, somewhat frumpy Detective Inspector. If not, then this standalone book by author Ann Cleeves is a good introduction to the series.
DI Stanhope finds an abandoned car with a small child inside during a snow storm. Certain that the driver has gone for help, Vera decides to take the child to the nearest home. What starts out as a mysterious missing person soon turns into murder.
This is a well written, descriptive book with a number of suspects and an unorthodox, brainy protagonist that won’t quit until she solves the crime and brings the killer to justice.

Ann Cleeves is one of the best mystery authors writing today.  She has three current series including the Vera Stanhope mysteries, those featuring Jimmy Perez on Shetland and last year's novel, The Long Call which featured a new protagonist.  I have read them all and recommend that mystery lovers do so as well.  Truly dedicated readers should note that Ms. Cleeves also has two earlier series of books worth searching out with one featuring birders and the other with Inspector Ramsay.


The Darkest Evening is a Vera Stanhope mystery with all of the trademarks including the irascible Vera herself, her team (especially Joe and Holly), vivid settings, well developed characters and good plotting. Readers will be swept up.


The story takes place partly at a country house that belonged to a branch of Vera's family, and its environs.  Long term readers will enjoy the glimpse of Stanhope family history while new readers will not be unduly hampered even if this is the first Vera book that they read. 


Characters include some of Vera's relatives, including her cousin,Juliet, who longs for a child and her husband Mark; who is in theater; Harriet, Juliet's mother; Dorothy who is a close friend of Juliet, and two murder victims.  There are, in addition, a number of other characters who live in the community and have relationships with the victims.  What are these connections?  Who has killed and why?  Readers will be turning the pages as they wait to see how all of the story's threads come together. I highly recommend The Darkest Evening (readers will learn the context of the title as they make their way in the novel). 

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first “Vera” book and it certainly will not be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed this mystery yarn, loved the way it was written from the perspective of Vera’s investigative team. The way the author lets us go along on all of the investigation interviews is so fun. We get to hear all that is being said, let our minds wander and try to get a clue, I sometimes thought I needed a notebook to keep notes.
The story never lags and it was one of those books I had a hard time putting down. This was so well written that it ranks right up there with the best mystery authors and stories. I highly recommend. Twists and turns galore. Well done!!!
I want to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book for my honest unbiased opinion. This is a 5-star review. Highly recommend.

I was not familiar with the Vera Stanhope detective series nor Ms. Cleeves books. I have to say after reading The Darkest Evening, I am a fan. I will look for her other books. I am not sure if it is best to read the books in order as I felt this was a good stand alone read. If there were nuances missed by not having read the other books first, it did not impact my enjoyment of the book.

What I really enjoyed with this book is that it was well thought out and methodical as I would imagine a real life detective would go about solving a murder. Were there red herrings? Sure, just like there are possible other suspects in solving a crime. I was introduced to an area of the UK I had not visited. I felt the cold both weather wise as well as with some of the characters as well as the warmth of others and importantly the gruff exterior of Detective Vera and her vulnerable interior.

I highly recommend this book for those who enjoy mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-arc copy of #TheDarkestEvening.
Another excellent addition to the Vera Stanhope series. These are great books if you haven't read them before you need to start at the beginning.