Vera Stanhope, a DI with the local Police, is driving home from work during a snowstorm when she spies a car in a ditch. When she goes to look at it, she finds an infant in the car seat, but no one else anywhere nearby. She leaves the child in the car and briefly searches for the missing adult without any luck. After returning to the car, taking the child and going to her Range Rover, she contacts her team and calls them in to help. Shortly thereafter, a local farmer on a tractor comes up to her acting extremely distraught and tells her he has just found a young woman’s body in the snow. This is the introduction to The Darkest Evening. It proceeds with the investigation and also the interactions between the various families that may or may not be part of the murder. It also takes into account that Vera is distantly related to the family from the manor and her various eccentricities and their effect on her team. It is remarkably well written and engrossing. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur for an ARC for an honest review.

The Darkest Evening is a good, old-fashioned murder mystery, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The star of the show is Vera Stanhope, a British Detective Inspector. At the start of the book, Vera is driving in an awful snowstorm when she gets off track and is stopped by an abandoned car. When she goes to investigate, she finds the driver's door open and a baby in a car seat. Having reoriented herself, Vera takes the baby and drives to the closest home, which happens to be Brockburn, an old, deteriorating manor owned by the Stanhope family. Vera's father had grown up there but was the black sheep of the family, and the Stanhope family had shunned him, as well as his child, Vera. There's a party going on at Brockburn, but Vera warms up in the kitchen while she calls her station to notify them about the abandoned car and baby. At the end of the party, a local man comes by in a tractor to pick up his two daughters who had been servers at the party. Nearing the manor, his headlights make out a body nearly buried in the snow. Thus begins the mystery of the murder of Lorna Falstone.

I have been aware of Ann Cleeves for many years, but I believe this is the first book of hers that I have read. Cleeves' character developments are so skillful that I could picture every one of the many characters in the book. This is the ninth book in the series, but it read perfectly as a stand-alone. Now that I've finished it and read other reviews that mention a British television series about Vera, I'll go back and read earlier books in the series and look for the show. Count me as a new fan of Ms. Cleeves.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Darkest Evening will be published on September 8, 2020, and I highly recommend picking up a copy when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I loved this book; I tried to read it slowly knowing it will be at least a year before there is another Vera book. I ended up reading it in a day..that's how much I enjoyed it. As always Anne Cleeves combines the best aspects of a traditional mystery with terrific dialog and a sense of weather and atmosphere. I felt this 9th Vera novel gave me insight into Vera's history and a better sense of her interpersonal relationships. I am a huge fan of Anne Cleeves and her 3 different series ((although she has recently concluded her Shetland series and has started a new series starring DI Matthew Venn). This book can be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend you start the beginning and savor this series.

Followers of the BBCs Vera Stanhope series will be delighted with this latest addition by author Anne Cleeves, The Darkest Evening. The well-known cast of characters includes Joe, Holly, the pathologist and others. Not to be trite, but the story starts on a dark and stormy night when Vera takes a wrong turn on her way home and comes across an abandoned car with a year old baby inside. The nearest dwelling is the Stanhope ancestral home and Vera makes her way there with the baby. Plenty of suspects when the body of the child’s mother is found in front of the house buried in the snow. Speculation as to the identity of the father is rampant in the village. Soon, the body of a retired schoolteacher and friend of the dead woman is found in the woods. Engrossing describes this fascinating read. Waiting for the TV version.

Northumberland - Present Day

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope left the police station for home during the first winter snowstorm of the year. She scoffed at her team for their concern about the weather, because her trusty Land Rover would get her to her rural cottage with no issues. But the farther she traveled, the worse the storm got, and she could barely make out the road in the swirling blizzard. Taking the turn she thought would get her home, Vera suddenly came upon another vehicle that had obviously slid off the road. The driver's door was open and there was no sign of the occupant as Vera checked the area. As she headed back to her car, she heard a cry, returned to the other car and found a toddler strapped into a car seat. Obviously she couldn't leave the child behind, so Vera hauled the seat and the child into her Rover and headed to the nearest house - a house that was all too familiar.

Brockburn house belonged to the last of the Stanhope family, excluding Vera, of course. It had belonged to her cousin Crispin, her father's nephew, but since his death only his wife, daughter, and son-in-law lived there now. Hector, Vera's dad was the black sheep of the family, raising his daughter alone after his wife's death, had never fit in, and, consequently, Vera had very little to do with her family. So, turning up at the door during a blizzard with a child was going to come as a shock to the Stanhopes. To make things more complicated, they were hosting a dinner party.

Crispin's daughter, Juliet, answered the door, allowing her husband and mother to keep chatting with their guests. Her husband was planning to ask their carefully chosen guests to help fund his idea to turn Brockburn into a theater for the locals, with hopes of attracting others from the city. Juliet, a rather meek mannered woman was going along with the idea, although her mother wasn't thrilled. Now, here is her cousin Vera showing up on the doorstep with a toddler. Dorothy, a tenant on the estate, is Juliet's friend and the housekeeper/cook/organizer, takes charge. But while they are discussing the abandoned car, another tenant arrives in his tractor to pick up his daughters who had been helping out with dinner. He is obviously shaken, for he's found a dead woman nearby in the snow.

THE DARKEST EVENING begins in a blizzard, not only of snow, but a plethora of possible suspects who may have murdered young Lorna, baby Thomas' mother. Lorna's sad past, the people who knew her, and those who may or may not be Thomas' father all are subjects of Vera's investigation along with her team of Joe Ashworth, Holly, and Charlie. Being this close to her family has brought back plenty of memories for Vera, not all good ones. Could they or their guests have murdered the girl? Plus, why is Dorothy a housekeeper after giving up a high paying job in the city? And then a second woman is found dead.

The latest Vera Stanhope mystery is as riveting and satisfying as the previous books. As usual, Vera isn't concerned with being politically correct, could care less about her looks, and shows to all around her that her life revolves around her job. Still, there are a few poignant moments as Vera deals with plenty of memories of her often absent father, his many illegal habits, and that she may just have missed out on a few things in life. But first and foremost, her mind is constantly working on just who and why someone would kill two women. Her team may often resent being called at all hours of the night, but they grudgingly admire and respect Vera Stanhope.

A Perfect 10, do not miss the latest Ann Cleeves novel, THE DARKEST EVENING.

This mystery begins on a dark snowy evening, actually, it’s the first snow of the winter. Vera Stanhope is tired and anxious to get home. Driving is hampered by the thick, swirling snow and for this reason, Vera becomes disoriented and makes a wrong turn. Nevertheless she plows on, coming upon a car that appears to have skidded off the road. Curiously, the driver's door Is standing wide open. Vera assumes the driver has gone for help, but when she inspects the car, she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.
The child is freezing and Vera takes the child into her car and drives on, after leaving a note. Vera doesn’t make it home, rather she decides it best to stop at Brockburn, a run-down stately home. Brockburn is familiar to Vera as this is the house where her father Hector, grew up.

Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and loud laughter of couples celebrating the coming of Christmas. While this joviality is going on, outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead. Suddenly, Vera has a new case. Could this woman be the child's mother, and if so, what happened to her? She appears to have been attacked before dying out in the elements.

The mystery takes place in the Northumberland countryside, where the old manor of Brockburn has long held secrets. Vera, assigned to this complicated case digs deeper into the investigation and begins to uncover her own family’s complicated past

This is the ninth novel with DCI Vera Stanhope deftly on the case. I can see this another Ann Cleeves' best seller in her popular series.
You’ll find it a classic country house mystery with a contemporary twist, written in vivid language.

My only criticism of this novel is the large number of characters involved. I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who. Still a well written mystery.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves, published by St. Martin's Press, is book nine in her Vera Stanhope Series, but can be read as a stand-alone.
TDE is a stunning mystery, well written and beautifzully thought out and beautifully told. I was in suspense from start til the end. I read the book, cover to cover, in one sitting.
The storyline is captivating and the writing quite great, 4,5 stars.

Who doesn't love the cheeky detective inspector Vera Stanhope? Even if you aren't a fan of the BBC tv production you'll like this new novel featuring the well known curmudgeon - far fewer graphic scenes of murder in the book than on tv and more reliance on solid plotting. If you don't already know this character, think of an acerbic female Columbo with a solidly working class accent. She's very smart, suffers no fools, and is a career British policewoman. This newest book involves a baby in an abandoned car during a blizzard, tons of village gossip, haughty but nearly broke county landowner family, and a young woman who's worked hard to recover from a nasty mental crisis.

Hm, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this whodunit. Especially the ending.

Even though I gave this three stars, I can definitely praise it as a 100% whodunit. We've got our suspects, we've got our detective, we got our murder and it followed the formula from there. I was craving a murder mystery anyway so I'm glad I picked this one up even though I was hesitant because it was in a series. But, if you sound interested, you should still buy it because being ninth in the series didn't change my opinion of the book at all. You can go into this without knowing anything, unlike other series like Three Pines.

We spend most of our time in this book with Vera talking to the different suspects related to the victim, and I did find the dialogue and writing very good. But, I thought some of the suspects were lacking some serious character development to the point where I only had four of them in my mind who seemed important to the story.

Lastly, my biggest complaint is the murderer. Or, how the murder was handled. When Vera was talking to some of the less developed characters it felt more of just "let's get more information on the murder" instead of giving us a unique perspective. And when everything was revealed I was a little bit disappointed, it wasn't predictable but I didn't find the motive to be that interesting considering this is a very experienced author. And with some of the details left out in the explanation, it felt like I was putting together a puzzle and someone just took away half the pieces making the end result feeling incomplete.

This was a very OK read for me, and note to whodunits everywhere that the murderer doesn't always have to be one of the lesser developed characters.

On a cold and snowy night, DI Vera Stanhope is driving home when she comes across a car that has slid off the road. The door of the car is open, but Vera doesn’t see any occupants. Only a cry alerts her to the young child strapped into the back of the car. Taking the child with her, Vera stops at the nearest home, a once grand estate called Brockburn, now going to seed, where a party is in swing. The revelers inside appear to have no knowledge of the dead woman lying in the snow outside the house. Trapped by the blizzard, Vera, the child the party goers and the dead woman are all stranded. Reminiscent of an Agatha Christie novel where all the characters, including the killer, are in one contained space, this story has a tense and claustrophobic air

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves is the next chapter in the Vera Stanhope series. Thanks to Netgalley for the early access to such a great author. In this book we see a new side of Vera and her family. The theme of family carries throughout the book in different ways and different types of family units. The Darkest Evening draws you in - hate to set it down, but can't stop reading it. Ann Cleeves is such an amazing author.

THE DARKEST EVENING begins in a blizzard--and the reader will shiver from the opening page to the final line. Rich characterizations--Vera is wonderfully portrayed and Holly and Joe are given their moments, too--and a powerful sense of place make this one of Cleeves' best--

This is my first book by Ann Cleeves and I am not disappointed. I enjoyed her writing, and I like that the main character, Vera, is so different! Ha! She did remind me a bit of Mrs Fletcher of the long-ago detective series Murder, She Wrote. It could be because they are both older ladies who plowed on till they get the culprit.

We don't get Vera (the series) here and after reading this book, I now wish we did.

Wondering who the murderer was kept me reading. Some parts did get a little slow, but it's a good sign when I can read a murder mystery right to the end.

I was totally wrong about who the murderer was!

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. This is my honest review.

After reading The Darkest Evening, readers may feel a little full of all the coffee, tea, whiskey, and cottage food. The disheveled Vera found a toddler in a vehicle during a snow and ice storm in the countryside. The driver, presumably the mother is gone, having left the vehicle door ajar in the icy downpour. Vera Stanhope wanders into a cadre of distant relations that might as well be in a different country. The Land Rover trundles back and forth to kitchens, draughty country homes, and bleak abandoned shelters. Vera tends to prefer the small cafes that aren't as upmarket, but do have the best food and decent coffee. It's all here in its moorish glory, what with the isolated farm settings, the divisions among the landed class, working man, and youths who are dancing between the levels of English society. Ann Cleeves draws the readers in with satisfying characters who are motivated by the usual and very human needs of love, self worth, acceptance, greed, and obsession. Holly and Joe assist with the investigation and readers learn more about their aspirations and techniques for working with the irascible Vera. This book is enjoyable and a true mystery. Cleeves weaves a tale that keeps the reader guessing and curious throughout. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St.Martins Press for this compelling ARC. I had never read this series but found it worked very well as a stand-alone. I have been streaming and enjoying the TV series, Vera, and now intend to read more books by Ann Cleeves.

The Darkest Night is character-driven and also very descriptive. Set in modern times in a small, rural English village, there are throwbacks to an earlier era and way of life. Centre to the story is a family of landed gentry living in Brockburn, a grand mansion needing repairs. Living on their vast property are farm families and an educated woman who helps around the mansion in return for a cottage on their land. It reminded me of the feudal system of the past.

Vera, a dedicated police officer, is related to the Stanhopes who own Brockburn and its surrounding land. Her father grew up in the mansion but became estranged from the family. Vera is uneasy around the Stanhopes. She is a dowdy, middle-aged, overweight detective but astute and hard working. The rumpled, plain spoken Vera is aware of a condescending and disdainful attitude from the stylish, sophisticated lady of the mansion.


The story takes place in mid-winter with Christmas approaching with a chill ever-present. The homes lack central heating and even the great mansion offers little warmth. The village is a hotbed for gossip, misinformation, and rumour.

This is a well-constructed novel focusing on a police investigation by Vera and her team. She is gruff with them but keeps them well motivated and grateful for any praise. The detailed descriptions slowed down the pace and suspense for me, but the solution to the mystery was hard to predict.

Vera becomes lost while driving in heavy snow. She notices a car abandoned in the blizzard with the driver’s door wide open and discovers a baby in the backseat. It seems the mother must have started walking to find help. Vera arrives at Brockburn carrying the infant, the home of her distant, estranged relatives where a party is in progress. Her complicated perception of this family and their attitude towards her deepens the characterization. As the party winds down a woman’s body is discovered in the snow outside. and the verdict is murder. Soon another dead woman is found in the forest. Are the killings connected and what are the motives?

Vera and her team must sort through a series of secrets, illicit affairs, lies, alibis and rumours to solve this tangled and intriguing mystery.

This was my first Ann Cleeves book so I had no idea what to expect. I really liked it, when my library opens again I will read her older books. It was an engaging mystery, a couple times I thought I had it figured out and there was a twist. I also loved the setting for the book. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me have an advanced reader copy of this book.

I liked this book. I liked this book. I can’t say it enough. I enjoyed this novel. This author has a gift-her craft of writing is fantastic. The protagonist, Vera, is a quirky character that the reader enjoys traveling with...as she solves her latest mystery. The red herrings don’t take away from the main idea...but add to the intrigue. This character driven novel keeps one’s attention. I did NOT want to put this book down-in Ipad/Kindle-reading for Netgalley for review. Seldom does the reader find a “clean” good mystery without bad language...this one is a must...don’t miss it...

Another great installment from Cleeves. I loved it. It had a very traditional feel; Christmas, an old country house, a feudal setting. A hint of Agatha Christie in the atmosphere. I would absolutely recommend this book.

I imagine myself curling up on the couch, wrapping up my blanket, sipping my brandy, sitting next to fireplace, hearing the fire crackling sound as it is snowing and cold outside when I’m reading this heart throbbing, dark mystery. But instead of that I’m wearing baggy sweatpants, it’s sunny outside, birds are chirping and I’m drinking ginger-cayenne-lemon shots! Welcome to my quarantine read! But thanks to the author’s world building, I can visualize myself at somewhere else!

After being addicted to watch British crime thriller series: ”Vera’ based on the books, I was so keen to read the ninth installment, welcome Vera Stanhope with opened arms and enjoy her quirkiness, unkempt looks, sharp, harsh but smart comments and her berating/ caring kind of interesting relationship dynamics with her colleagues Joe and Holly.

This time the murder investigation dragged Vera to her own past, estranged family ties and unresolved matters. At the first snowy night of the winter, Vera acts stubborn to drive her car into expected snow storm and eventually she misses her turn and finds a car left abandoned, skidded off the narrow road, front door is open. As soon as she leaves her own car to check what’s going on, she hears a baby cry warns her something is terribly wrong.

She takes the baby who left alone at the back seat of the car, leaves her business card to inform the mother if she comes back to look for her baby. She still thinks maybe the mother left the car to find proper reception for her phone.

Her steps take her to the grandiose mansion Brockburn- the very same place where her father a.k.a. black sheep of the family, Hector grew up and estranged from the wealthy, privileged, pretentious family members.
She knocks their door to use their phone and finds out there is Christmas party/ her cousin’s husband Mark’s
fundraising party for his new art project. Her cousin Juliet reluctantly welcomes her but as Vera realizes, Juliet was more interested in the baby she is holding in her hands.

As Vera calls her team for back up and giving a call the owner of the car: Constance Browne, she finds out the car must have been borrowed by her young neighbor Lorna Falstone who has a little baby. And a few minutes later a farmer neighbor, driving a tractor to pick up her daughters from the party who were serving as waitresses appear in the kitchen where Vera resumes making her phone calls. The guy is in panic because he found a dead woman in the back yard. Unfortunately the brutally killed woman is Lorna who is also the mother of the little baby.

This investigation brings out the dirty secrets of the family and verifying the small town gossips: Lorna and Juliet might be step sisters or Lorna may have an affair with Juliet’s husband who may be also the secret father of the baby.

Vera’s intense investigation forces her to face her sad, lonely times of her childhood, ill-fated relationship with her father and condescending manners of her estranged relatives. And she finds herself to empathize more with the victim who suffered from anorexia to slowly disappear from the surface of the earth and then she finds her strength to raise her child alone but her efforts resulted with tragic end.

You want to drink cups of tea and eating biscuits throughout your read and enjoy the dark, gripping mystery with the quirky, straightforward, also entertaining tactics of Vera.

This is not one of my favorite books of the series but it was unputdownable page-turner and I highly recommend crime thriller lovers and series’ fans.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press/Minotaur Books for sharing this one of my favorite series’ ARC copy in exchange my honest review.

Ann Cleeves always gets my attention and keeps it. Her skillful plotting and her vivid depictions of Vera in action are something I look forward to.

Blizzard-like conditions contrive to make Vera Stanhope miss the right turn-off on her way home. As she drives through the snow, she spots a car off the road. When she stops to check, she finds the driver side door open and a toddler in the back seat. With no sign of the driver, Vera takes the toddler her with to the closet house, which happens to be that of estranged relatives. The wealthier and more sophisticated Stanhopes have a dinner party in progress, and despite her reluctance, Vera has no choice but to interrupt it.

Sitting in the kitchen, checking with the police, Vera is shocked when the little boy's mother is found dead by a neighboring farmer who arrived on a tractor to pick up his daughters who were acting as waitresses for the Stanhope dinner.

The Darkest Evening kept me engrossed throughout, and I sped right through it, a little annoyed with my husband's interruptions in the afternoon. :)

Two slight changes from previous books made me like it even more. Of course, Vera is a bit unkempt and she is brusque with her colleagues, but she is a sharp and observant detective. It is particularly interesting to see the way Vera sees Joe and Holly--her team, and the way they view her.

The Darkest Evening is the 9th in the series, but can function as a stand-alone. Ann Cleeves has another winner in this one. I recently saw this quote about Vera and found it apt:

"... one of the most appealing fictional detectives to emerge since Andy Dalziel got into his stride..."
Martin Edwards, Spinetingler Magazine

Read in May. Blog review scheduled for August 21, 2020.

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Police Procedural/Mystery. Sept. 8. 2020. Print length: 384 pages.