Apparently I'm living under a rock because I'd never read anything by Ann Cleeves and had no idea there's a TV series that features protagonist Vera Stanhope. I can't say I'm sorry though, because now I've got a new author to devour. Cleeves knows her craft and The Darkest Evening is a well done whodunit Agatha Christie style. It's beautifully written, expertly plotted and every character exerted some sort of pull on me. And have I mentioned I didn't figure out the murderer's identity until 91 percent into my Kindle read?

That's a solid five stars as far as I'm concerned.

The ninth installment in the series begins when DCI Stanhope gets lost in a Northumberland snowstorm and comes across a car that has veered off the road. The door's open and there's a baby inside, with no sign of the driver. Which is bad enough. Even worse that the closest house is a crumbling mansion that belongs to her distant relations, the branch of the clan that uses "politeness as a weapon of mass destruction.” It's nearly Christmas and there's a party in full swing. When her cousin Juliet opens the door, she initially takes the disheveled, middle-aged detective for a homeless person. When she recognizes Vera, she's faced with a dilemma. Must she invite this person in?

But Vera has her own issues. Re the Baby, which she has no idea how to handle. “Do you think I could bring it in?” she asks a little desperately.

I was hooked from this point on. Even though I'd never the read the other books, the investigative team comes to life, as do all the other suspects. Ironically, the victim was the most vivid character for me, but everyone has their secrets, their agendas, their longings, disappointments and passions. This is a proper procedural and it slowly but relentlessly builds the suspense. The ending isn't over-the-top and every single loose end is tied up, even one that relates to some avocados.

The English village setting was also lovely, not in the pretty sense of the word, but in a more evocative way. Clearly, Cleeves understands the complicated class and interpersonal dynamics of such a place but she also conveys a sense of its strange, magnetic power. Like the murdered Lorna, who painted the same forest cabin over and over, there's something about the Grimm's fairy-tale setting that doesn't want to let you go. To quote the Robert Frost poem that the title takes its name from - “the woods are lovely, dark and deep...” Cleeves seems to be saying something larger about the things that catch hold of us beyond all reason. Somefimes we can escape them. Sometimes not.

Much thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I had read the first book in this series - liked it, and planned to read more, but just didn't get to it. Then I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this one - but, it was #9. While it was probably not necessary to read 2-8, I decided to go on a Vera Stanhope binge, and read all of them - and now I've finished #9!

I was a little afraid of overdosing, but instead, each book in the series made me eager to go on to the next. While it's not really necessary to read them in order (the plots stand on their own), there is a great deal of character development, with Vera and with the other members of her team. As the books progress, each of the key characters has developed and we've gotten to know them better.

In #8, The Seagull, we started getting into Vera's past, as much of the plot involved her deceased father and his friends. In this book, much of the plot revolves around her father's relatives, with whom she has had little contact, since her father was the black sheep of the family. This adds another dimension to the plot, and especially to Vera's emotional state during the book.

As usual, she manages to put together all the information to arrive at a conclusion as to the murderer. She's a smart detective, and part of the fun is watching people underestimate her because of her appearance.

I enjoyed this very much, and hope Ms. Cleeves doesn't wait so long to write another in this series!

The Darkest Evening is the ninth installment in the bestselling Vera Stanhope series. Fans of Vera, who is a very unique protagonist, will welcome this novel, as it is not only well-written, but will keep readers on the edges of their seats. There is a major snowstorm, and Vera is driving home; she takes a wrong turn, only to discover a stalled vehicle with the door open and a baby strapped in a car seat. Vera takes the car seat with the baby and puts him in her car. As she drives along, she sees the Stanhope mansion – her father was related and disowned because he was a black sheep – and goes up the drive to call the police. Her cousin, Juliet answers the door, and while Vera is there, a neighbor discovers the body of a young woman who turns out to be the baby’s mother. Vera and her team must solve the murder, and Vera has to deal with relatives that aren’t particularly dear to her and look down on her.

For those not familiar with Vera, she is frumpy, overweight, and not beautiful like most protagonists in novels. She is, however, very clever and an excellent Detective Inspector; she leads a team that respects and likes her. Her team does an excellent job sleuthing, and they work together well.

Cleeves is an award-winning author for a reason; she can tell a story well, and keep readers interested through ups and downs. Her storytelling is done in such a way that suspense builds throughout. One of the charming things about this series is the Scottish influence – i.e., although set in England, much of the idioms are Scottish, such as calling the abandoned child a “bairn.” The setting is in a small English village, and the characters well-developed and are what one would expect.

The Darkest Evening is an excellent novel; and fans will want to read it as soon as it is released. Those who aren’t familiar with Vera can also read this novel, as things are explained well and new readers of the series will get to know Vera. It’s always nice to read something that isn’t same-old, same-old, and this series is quite unique.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

A new Vera Stanhope mystery is always a treat, and The Darkest Evening is especially intriguing because it takes us into the heart of the snooty Stanhope family that rejected Vera's father and the motherless Vera herself. After coming upon an abandoned car in a snowstorm and finding a baby boy inside, Vera cannot get a cell signal to call headquarters and goes in search of a house with a landline. She knows where she is and reluctantly seeks help at the Stanhope estate. A Christmas party is in progress, all the guests snowed in, when Vera arrives. She has no choice but to stay put until the storm eases.

The family has dwindled to Vera's aunt Harriet and her cousin Juliet, and although they still have extensive farmland and tenants, they have little money left. The mansion itself is freezing because it has no heat. Juliet's husband, a stage director and producer, has a plan to turn the estate into an arts center, and the people at the house party are all potential investors.

The party is interrupted when the mother of the abandoned baby is found dead in the snow outside the house. Vera goes into investigative mode. And among the suspects are members of her own family.

As Vera and her team learn more about the beautiful young murder victim and her sad background, they focus on finding out who the baby's father is. Men in Vera's family and men in the village had various close connections with the dead woman and could have fathered the boy. A second murder sheds little light, but Vera's insight and her team's work lead to a killer who has been in plain sight all along.

The mystery is solid, and the look inside Vera's family gives us a new understanding of the detective who has no family or close friends in her life. An excellent addition to the series.

Another exciting tale in the Vera tradition. I highly recommend. Whether it’s character development, place description, aNd a very developed plot this book is a stand out in the current mystery genre.

I very much enjoyed reading The Darkest Evening, the latest Vera mystery novel. Having seen the series I heard every word as if spoken by the actors, and it was an absorbing and smooth read, about a murder amongst the local landed gentry. Much like a vintage Agatha Christie, Cleeves had me suspecting everyone in turn, and the ending was satisfying.

This is my first exposure to both Ann Cleeves and the Vera Stanhope novels. The quality of the writing is obvious. I felt that the plot was too detailed. From the start we learn of a murder, but we are never given a fleshed out character to care about. At the half-way point I realized that I just didn't care who murdered her. Yet I continued to the finish line to see how the plot unfolds. That aspect of the novel was the focus of attention, and Ms. Cleeves did a good job with it.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Delighted to include this novel in the Fall Fiction spotlight of Zoomer magazine’s September/October print issue, as well as on new digital Books hub Club Zed.

The Darkest Evening is the 9th book in the Vera Stanhope series. Now I have not read any of these books nor seen the TV show based on them but I had no trouble understanding the characters and relationships. So often you need to have read the previous books to fully get references but not this one (however, I might go back to find out why Vera had a fire at her cottage). So don't feel like you have to go back and read them all in order to enjoy this one.

One late December Evening as Vera gets lost driving home in a snow storm she comes upon a car abandoned by the side of the road. To her surprise there is a baby inside. Vera takes the baby to the nearest house, which happens to be her ancestral home. No one knows who the baby belongs to until the body of a young woman is found in the snow right outside the house. Questions arise, why was this woman there, who is the baby's father, where was she killed. Over the next couple of days these questions get answered as well as some old village gossips gets laid to rest.

This is one of those mystery books that reads so well and quickly that I read it in two days (had to work and sleep you know). Ann Cleeves writes in such a way that while I have never been anywhere near Newcastle I got a feeling of the area, the towns, the homes, and the people. If I have time I might add the previous eight novels to me TBR list.

Ebook/Mystery: I knew when I picked this out from NetGalley that it was part of a series. The characters were already complete with lives and background, but it was not that hard to figure out some things. It did take a while for me to realize Vera is built like a battleax, but I got her no nonsense investigating style early on through the writing.

What drew me to the book was the back cover summary. A body found in snow is usually a goodie. I liked that cellphones took a backseat in the storytelling because the English countryside was remote in spots.

This book has not come out yet, so no plot spoilers: I am not as smart as Vera (or Holly) as I the had the wrong person as the murderer. As far as a book, it was okay. The sub-characters were okay. The writing has more than Holly and Vera's point of view that is done in third person. I think part of my problem is that this is my first Vera Stanhope book. I do recommend it because it is a quick read for fans of mystery.

Are happy families a myth?

Ann Cleeves latest installment in her popular “Vera” series takes place the week before Christmas. During a blizzard Vera misses a turn on her way home from work, ending up on the wrong road where she finds an abandoned vehicle. Inside, is an unattended baby. Vera takes the child to the nearest dwelling, which turns out to be a manor house in decline. The child’s mother is subsequently discovered in the snow having been murdered, and Vera’s team investigates.

Cleeves gives us her version of the “country house mystery” trope, as each guest and employee at the manor come under suspicion. And did I mention that Vera is related to the family which owns the crumbling estate. Along with the crime-solving, Vera must face some of her family’s past history. Sgt. Joe Ashworth is here, but we also see development in Holly Lawson’s character as she plays a larger role in solving the case.

Oh I do enjoy Vera stories. I can't wait to see this one turned into a season on the TV. Vera has run out into a storm and missed her turn for home. She finds an abandoned car with a child inside. That is the beginning of a mystery. We learn more about Vera's paternal extended family too. Lots of exercise as Vera walks her way through the book. A good mystery with a surprise ending. Excellent reading.

I'm somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 star on this one. It was my first outing with Ann Cleeves and I must say I was charmed! This is well into the Vera Stanhope series, but I had not read any of the previous books & I can safely say you don't need to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one. While this is not my very favorite trope (an isolated closed circle mystery), it does have a lot of elements I enjoy in a procedural whodunnit: small town/rural setting, the claustrophobia of movement being restricted by snow, a big old country house with suspicious characters, and a lovely rapport between the recurring series characters. This wasn't revolutionary, but if you are like me & like your mystery on the cozier end of the spectrum, I think this will be a delightful little whodunnit for you to enjoy

On a snowy road a car sits abandoned with a toddler strapped inside. Inspector Vera comes across the ghostly scene and then has to solve the mystery. Where's the mother? Each chapter delves more into the mother's story and her background. Many secrets are hidden in the small Northumberland community. Vets keeps questioning amd probing until the secrets are exposed but it's too late for some.

I enjoyed "The Darkest Evening" by Ann Cleeves. I have not read any of the Vera Stanhope novels before and now I will be going back and reading the others. This book is a mystery. Vera comes across a car in the snow with the door open and a baby inside and no one else around. The mother of the baby ends up being found, murdered. So now they must solve the case. The book was clever enough to keep you guessing on who the murderer was, and I did not figure it out before the mystery is solved! Which pleased me immensely!

Gentle and persistent snow turns into heavy blizzards.

That's what Inspector Vera Stanhope comes face-to-face with when leaving the police station one evening. All that swirling and blurring has played havoc on her sense of direction. A missed turn here or there in the Northumberland countryside can frost you in more ways than one.

Vera's windshield clears for a brief moment and she spots a white vehicle left to the side of the road with the door open. Vera pulls over to help. She peers inside and finds a toddler strapped in his carseat alone. With no one else in sight, Vera surmises that the adult went for help. No way was she going to leave this child abandoned in a blizzard. Carseat and child are transferred to Vera's Land Rover.

And here's where Vera will come to find that she's got more than what she bargained for. Vera pulls into the first driveway of a well-lit house. Memories hit her straight on. It's the Brockburn House. Our Vera is on the bottom rung of the well-heeled Stanhopes and this is their mansion and its surrounding acreage. She's greeted by a distant cousin who brings Vera and newly found child in. We'll get an eye full of the comings and goings here.

But before long a woman's body is found near the entrance of the Brockburn House. The identity of this woman will send Vera and her team (DC Holly Jackman and Sgt. Joe Ashworth) into a maze of detective work. And Ann Cleeves is not one to give away the store on the first outing. This one will have more likely murderers than you can swing a stick at. The lineup of guilty faces is remarkable.

The Darkest Evening can be read as a standalone. Even if this is your first go-round with Vera Stanhope, you'll be drawn in by her straightforward, no frills, arrow-sharp personality and her sleuthing skills to match. Cleeves does herself proud in this one that entertains as well as wickedly holds back that final card until the end. Fine detective work and fine writing as always in this superb series.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Minotaur Books (St. Martin's Press) and to the talented Ann Cleeves for the opportunity.

This mystery/thriller felt more like a cozy mystery to me. I haven't read any of the previous books in the Vera Stanhope series, and maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had more of her character development because I was just annoyed by her through the entire book. Vera is also disliked by her co-workers and subordinates, so maybe it's not just me (ha ha). She was described as a frumpy, out-of-shape, older woman that doesn't seem to care about anyone except herself and her career. Her constant use of the word "pet" and always going off on her own drove me crazy.

Although the mystery was good and kept me reading all the way to the end, there was a lot of British slang that had me constantly looking up the definitions for, with several of them coming back through Wikipedia (i.e. they were not in the American dictionary). Based on this book and my extreme dislike for the main character, I wouldn't be interested in reading the other books in this series.

Another great mystery from Cleeves! The setting is Northumbria, Englad and this time Vera is driving home from work on the first snowy evening of the year. She misses a turn and as she's traveling she sees a car off the side of the road. A car door is open. Vera stops and the driver is not there (Vera assumes they have gone for help), but as she turns to leave she hears a cry and finds a child in the back. Vera takes the child and proceeds along to the road to the estate of a distant relative. They are in the middle of a party inside while Vera is checking to see if they have seen the mother. As the party is ending, a neighbor comes in and has found a body outside near the house. It's pretty obvious the woman has been murdered.

Vera and her team investigte the murder and have to wade through some secrets, rumors, and lies as they try to find the truth. Kept my attention and was an enjoyable mystery.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I had never read a Vera Stanhope book before this one although I've seen them at the library and have seen the series listed on Acorn. Wow! I am impressed and will be going back to start with book #1. This book was wonderful as a standalone and I really like the character of Vera. She finds an abandoned baby in a snowstorm (along with a dead body) and that leads to an investigation with plenty of twists and turns. I love how this story incorporates Vera's family as well as the locals into the book. It gives it a real intimate feel. Highly recommend.

Another excellent Vera Stanhope mystery from author Ann Cleeves. Vera mysteries are always well written, in excellent settings and incredible detail. I read a lot of mystery and thrillers and I can never figure out the ending to Vera mysteries! Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for a free e-copy in exchange for an honest review.