This is the second book I have read in the Vera series and I feel it works well as a stand alone. As teenagers in the 70s they bonded at a retreat called Only Connect on Holy Island. At the first reunion one of the women, Isobel, died after her car was swept off the causeway by the rising tide. Now 50 years later one of the women, Annie, finds Rick hanging from the rafters. It is believed to be a suicide but Annie doesn't believe it and neither does Vera.

I found this to be an odd group of people. Annie is a partner in a deli/bakery and she provides all the food for the weekend and cooks it all. She is divorced from Daniel who was part of the original group but only came to one retreat. Now Daniel owns a resort in the area and is not hurting for money. Louisa was Isobel's younger sister and married Ken. All we really know about Ken is he has dementia now. Phillip and Rick were close but Phillip became a minister and Rick a journalist who has been married twice and recently lost his job because their might have been an incident with a young intern.

The setting itself was intriguing. Sometimes it is an island when the tide comes in and other times you can just drive across the causeway when the tide is low. I thought Pilgrim's House where they all stayed rather dismal, cold and cheerless.

I did like the mystery. It was hard to imagine any one of these people pulling off a murder but there were subtle clues and even though it was a slow burn the story moved at a steady pace until a very satisfying end.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a digital copy.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this chilling addition to the Vera Stanhope series. I had read only four books previously by Ann Cleeves in no particular order, watched some episodes of Vera on TV, and thought the character and the stories were compelling. The Rising Tide was a dark, tragic, shocking novel about secrets, mystery and crime. I found the story slow-paced at first. Vera and her team interview people connected with a death years earlier, and the same people (and others connected to them) are questioned in the present time when a murder is committed. As they conduct interviews of suspects, searching for clues, motivations, and connections over the years, I felt tempted to keep notes to avoid confusion. I found this part tedious but necessary in order to get acquainted with its many characters.

School friends first bonded fifty years earlier at a retreat on Holy Island. They were led by a young teacher. They have had a reunion every five years since. On their first reunion, one of the participants, Isobel Hall, died when caught in the rising tide while crossing the causeway. Now, the five who have returned regularly at five-year intervals plan to spend their time with good food and drinks while they reminisce, remembering their youth and good times. The memory of Isobel's death haunts them still. It has been fifty years since they first met, but how well do they know each other? Have they been involved over the years?

Rick is a celebrity journalist recently fired after an intern complained that he sexually assaulted her. He is now enthused about a crime novel he is writing. Philip is now an Anglican vicar, thinking of retiring. Annie is part owner of a popular bakery. Ken is a retired school headmaster. He suffers from dementia and is cared for by his wife, Louise. They gather together for a hearty evening meal with plenty of alcohol and discuss memories and their present lives. In the morning, Rick is found dead.

A call goes out to DI Vera to attend to Rick's suicide. Vera hopes it turns out to be a murder as she is happiest when solving murders. The overweight, outspoken, dishevelled, poorly dressed Vera has been mentioned as resembling a bag lady and is mistaken as a cleaning lady in this story. Due to her sloppy appearance, people tend to underestimate her as a detective but come to admire her sharp intelligence and crime-solving skills.

The story takes place on Holy Island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, The rising tide covers the causeway twice a day, making it inaccessible by car when the tide is high, and isolating the site. The reader can almost feel the mist, fog, and rising tide. A vivid sense of place is established.

Vera will be conducting the investigation with her team of DI Joe Ashworth and DC Holly Clarke. They think the murder may be due to Rick's present transgressions or some rivalry among the group, but Vera is insistent that it is somehow connected to the long-ago death of Isobel. In addition to questioning the four who last saw Phil and were also witnesses to events prior to Isobel's death, other vital connections may play a role in the murder and its solution.
There is Charlotte, Rick's ex-wife and former celebrity model. She now runs a yoga studio. Judith Marshall, a 'hippy new-age' personality who led the first group in bonding activities, is now retired and heavily involved in the church. Daniel Rede is Annie's former husband, now a wealthy developer of exclusive holiday resorts on the island. He lives with his partner, police and crime commissioner (PCC) Katherine. Phil left a will that may add to further complications and motivation for his death.

It becomes apparent that many of the suspects are lying or hiding vital information. A second murder occurs, killed in the same manner as Phil. Vera's tenacity and determination to solve the two present murders and expose events 50 years earlier have led herself and her two detectives into mortal danger. Once the interviews with the suspects lessen, the story picks up briskly, with many unexpected reveals, twists and turns, and a big shock near the end. Despite many clues, I failed to identify the culprit among the possible suspects.

The Rising Tide is the tenth book in the outstanding Vera Stanhope series. It reads as a standalone, but there are parts that will be more meaningful to those who have been following the series. In this book, DI Vera Stanhope is called in to investigate a suspicious death which occured on Holy Island in Northern England. A group of old friends have been getting together here every five years for decades, but on this trip, one of them dies. It looks like a suicide, but Vera knows from the beginning that this is a murder. High tides cut the island off from the mainland twice a day, and this is key to an event that happened forty-five years ago when the friends had their first reunion. Now it's up to Vera and her team to find out if her case is related to the tragedy from years ago. It seems almost all of the characters are hiding something, so I kept changing my mind about who I thought the killer was.

This is one of my favorite series, and I highly recommend it. The characterizations are vivid and the plots are complex. In this book, it's interesting seeing how the relationships between the group of friends are still affected by incidents from the past. And of course, watching Vera in action during an investigation is always a pleasure. The island setting is unique and I was interested to read online that this is a real island whose access really is limited by the schedule of the tides.

The investigation has a lot of twists and turns as Vera and her team zero in on the killer. I was surprised when the murderer was revealed and shocked by the chilling ending. You can always count on Ann Cleeves for a well-written, engrossing story and I was engaged in this book from the very beginning.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Minotaur Books. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

With a mystery by Ann Cleeves, I am always torn between finding the answer to the mystery and savoring the story and its characters along the way. At the fiftieth anniversary reunion of the 'Only Connect' grammar school classmates, a murder occurs that might have ties to the past. I received a free copy of this ebook from the author. This is my honest and voluntarily given review. I love that the story is told from many different points of view - detectives, victims, and suspects. I also love that I didn't know for sure who the murderer was until it was revealed. This is a terrific series.

I loved it! This is my first Vera Stanhope novel, I know the character from the TV series and I am sure I will soon read the previous books.
Good plot and the location is beautiful.
I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Another Vera Stanhope winner.
Been a fan of Ann Cleeves’ “Vera Stanhope” stories I was thrilled trying to put the puzzle together. Even if did get a good chunk of it wrong. The Joe and Holly emotional feelings reminds me of sibling rivalry, and you do get a better sense of it if you read some of the previous books, but it is not necessary to have done so.
Vera’s rough exterior is really hiding a caring soul who thinks a great deal of her subordinates even if it hard to tell by the way she acts. The loss of one of them will take a great toll on her and the other teammates. As always, I’ll be looking out for the next book in this series to read.

A reunion 50 years in the making ends in murder in this latest installment in a terrific tricky series where each installment makes a fine standalone as well. Five friends- Annie, Phil, Louise, Ken, and Rick- meet every five years on Holy Island to celebrate their friendship and a school trip where they first bonded. This time, though, Rick has lost his BBC job due to harassment charges and then, Annie finds him hanging- except as DCI Vera Stanhope discovers, he was actually smothered. Is his murder connected to the death of Isobel, who drowned years earlier when her car was caught in the tidal waters that cover the causeway to the island. None of these people tell Vera the complete story of anything and she's forced to piece things together, a piecing that becomes even more complex when there's another murder and when she discovers the identity of Rick's accuser. It would spoil things to say more as this one unfolds in the classic Vera way of bit by bit. Everyone has a secret, everyone is more than what they seem. Vera is terrific, as are Joe and Holly. The atmospherics, from the island to the town, are well done. And then there's the end, which made me gasp. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Really great read.

A group of classmates meet on Holy Island every five years to commemorate their school days and the death of one of their own during their first reunion.. Tragedy strikes when successful journalist Rick Kelsall is murdered in the night. DCI Verra Stanhope and her team are called in to investigate. The case is hampered due to the island only being accessible during low tide and the group proves to be unforthcoming with information. The victim has recently been accused of sexual harrassment., but Vera suspects the motive lies in the past. Tension and old resentments are rising with the tides and when one of Vera's team is stranded on the island Vera fears the worst. Ann Cleeves is one of my go-to authors and this tenth entry is engrossing. Vera is a colorful character, untidy and overweight in shabby clothes but is a tenacious and insightful detective. Woe to those who underestimate her! The supporting cast is well drawn and likeable. Cleeves's affection for the series's' Northumberland setting is strongly defined and she develops a brooding atmosphere well.. This entry would work as a stand alone but I recommend this immersive series to anyone who enjoys British crime drama. They are compelling reads.

Vera Stanhope isn't the most glamorous of police detectives anywhere, let alone in Northumberland, England, but she's a woman after my own heart. More than a little overweight and far from a fashion icon, her investigative skills are more than sufficient to lead a competent team of detectives as she deals with the toughest of cases. For the record, this is the 10th book in the series; I've read only one other as well as a couple of other books by this prolific, and very talented, author - and as the happy recipient of a pre-release copy of this one, I was looking forward to starting it.

As well I should have been; it certainly didn't disappoint. Holy Island has been the setting for every-five-year reunions of a tightly knit group of school friends who bonded some 50 years earlier on a sort of Outward Bound experience here organized by a former teacher. They come from varied backgrounds and professions - Annie, Daniel, Lou, Ken, Rich and Philip - and a couple have been married, divorced and married to another in the original group. They commune with nature, each other and try to avoid discussing the death that happened on their very first five-year-reunion many years earlier. One member, it seems, drove off in a huff and was caught in the incoming tide that makes the causeway to the island impassible during specified times.

This year's meeting is much like all the others, with blustery Rick - who just lost his TV journalist job amid allegations of inappropriate behavior (how timely is that??) but is touting the book he plans to write. Annie's husband Ken is in the throes of dementia, and Annie - part owner of a deli on the mainland - oversees the food. All is well, in fact, until it isn't; Annie finds Rick in his room - the most pretentious and well-appointed one in the place, of course - quite dead.

Enter Vera and her team of investigators, Joe Ashworth and Holly Clarke, who conclude early on that the murderer - and yes, Rick's death was murder - most likely is a member of the reunion group. But who? And why? The rest of the book focuses on the deliciously involved backgrounds of and interactions among the characters and their significant others (both former and current). There's plenty of description of the island and its background as well, plus detailed outlines of the progress of Vera's investigation. The ending? Well, I wasn't terribly surprised at the identity of the murderer, but something else that happened blew my mind (and not in a good way).

If this is a series you're following, I think you'll like this entry; if not, it stands well on its own (but I always advise starting at the beginning if possible - these books really are worth it). As for me, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for once again allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Vera Stanhope is not to be underestimated.

People tend to all the time just by her demeanor and appearance.

Big mistake.

Vera and her team are on Holy Island investigating a suspicious death that has ties back 50 years.

Such an interesting group of friends that all seem so innocent .

The tide also plays a part as Holy Island is a causeway and the tide can come in stranding you on the island or keep you off the island.

The ending was perfect, I had suspected most everybody but I was wrong.

I am looking forward to Book 11 in the series and anything by Ann Cleeves.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for an intriguing read.

Another 5 star entry in the Vera series!
A group has a reunion of a school outing that occurred 50 years ago at Holy Island on the northern coast.. In the morning one of the attendees is found hanging in his room. At first everyone thinks suicide until Vera arrives and determines that it is suspicious and likely a murder. An autopsy confirms that it is indeed murder.
The reunion attendees are an eclectic group with many secrets. Vera, Joe, Holly and Charlie are soon on the case.
An interesting mystery with multiple suspects and an investigation that goes in many directions follows.
Vera's team has the usual petty jealousies and Vera is Vera. An interesting part of this story is the location. Holy Island is separated from the mainland by a causeway that is only available at times when the tides are out. This causes many disruptions in the investigation. Usually I have a pretty good idea of who the killer is midbook but this time the number of suspects made it difficult. Of course Vera is a much better detective than I am and solves the crime.
A thoroughly enjoyable book by an awesome writer, Ann Cleeves.

Because I have read several books and short stories by Ann Cleeves (see The Darkest Evening ) I jumped at the chance to read this one when I saw The Rising Tide on Netgalley.

I was a bit surprised when it started out slowly for several chapters. With a book by an author I did not know, I would have probably just put the book down and told Netgalley that I would not be reviewing it. But since it was Ann Cleeves I was sure she had her reasons and a great murder mystery would soon follow. I was not disappointed.



The long introduction was to introduce this small group of friends who bonded on a school retreat as sixth formers (Americans in my audience should think of college-bound high school seniors) and have been re-uniting every five years on Holy Island, the site of their bonding retreat. The story takes place at the fiftieth-year reunion and shortly afterwards.

One of the members apparently commits suicide by hanging and is discovered by one of his friends in the morning. DI Vera Stanhope is sent to the island to examine this death and confirm whether or not it is a suicide. She believes it is murder and is soon proven correct.



Because the tides separate Holy Island, from the mainland for much of each day it seems likely that someone at the reunion was the murderer. Relationships change over the years and Vera found reason to suspect many of the attendees. This makes for a great mystery with a very surprising ending.

The book is scheduled for a September 6 publication. I thank Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the chance to read it before publication.

An Excellent Story, But I Had Trouble Rating It

Phillip Robson arrives at the Pilgrim’s House on the island of Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island. The island is connected to the coast of Northumberland by a causeway that is submerged during every high tide. He and his classmates have been coming here every five years for fifty years. The first time was led by their teacher who was not much older than they were. During the first reunion, one of the participants became very upset and drove off the island. The tide had risen above the causeway, and she plunged off into the water and died. Later as the members of the current reunion feast and reminisce, Rick announces that he is going to write a novel based upon the first reunion and all of their secrets will be revealed. In the morning, Rick is found hanging from a beam, dead. Just in case it was not a suicide, Vera is called to investigate. A very engrossing and multifaceted investigation starts from here.

The is only one main storyline thread, the investigation. Since Vera believes the key to solving this murder is knowing what occurred 45 years earlier. The persons to be interviewed triples. Not only the persons on the island that night, but spouses, ex-spouses with their families, parents, siblings, and friends. The group is particularly close nit, they didn’t always tell the whole truth or add a little more so interviews with others must be compared to glean new information. There are not so much as twists and turns in the novel but more like slowly putting the pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Lastly, the investigation unexpectedly leads Vera to interview the regional police commissioner while interviewing a local developer. Politically and professionally, Vera is walking on thin ice. As Vera and her team unravels this case, my interest was kept in lock step.

The B-storyline is quite rich with Vera’s, Holly’s, and Joe’s interactions and inner thoughts. I noticed something I hadn’t noticed before. My experience is only reading the last Vera novel and two short stories, so I do not have that much history with this character. This novel has a strong undertow of anxiety between them. Holly’s thinks that Vera may be holding her behind. Vera has suspicions of Holly and Joe. This group dynamic did not enhance my reading enjoyment of this novel.

Common problems for some readers do not exist in this novel. Intimate scenes are non-existent. Use of vulgar language is very infrequent with a sprinkling of some rude words. Most of the violence is described in the less edgy after the fact, but its threat is implied that helps increase the tension and suspense at various points in the novel. Lastly, I have only read the last Vera novel, and I did not find upon reading this novel that I felt something was missing. There is a recent and very short Vera story, The Woman On The Island, that in part takes place on Holy Island but is not connected to this novel.

I liked the typical Vera main storyline that was complex, detailed, captivating and with all of the loose ends tied up at the end. Besides the disruptive B-storyline, I had another serious issue with this novel. It would be a spoiler so you will have to read the novel to learn of it. It will be obvious. Sorry. As a result, I had mixed feelings after reading this novel. I will recommend reading if you are a Vera fan but with a caveat that I found some elements that reduced my reading enjoyment. I will still keep this author in my Must-Read category. If another Vera novel is in the future, I will read it. I rate this novel with four stars.

I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island. For some, that time forged friendships that have lasted well beyond. Now they meet every five years, to celebrate their bond, and remember the friend lost to a tragic accident during their first reunion. Only five remain for their most recent gathering. Philip, Annie, Rick, Ken, and Louise reminisce and drink well into the night. Rick is surprisingly exuberant, considering that the celebrity journalist has been fired amidst allegations of sexual misconduct. Then, the next morning he is found dead. Sometime during the night he has hung himself from a rafter.

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope and her team are called to investigate, and Vera isn’t convinced it’s a true suicide. There’s no suicide note, and Rick may have lost his job, but he also informed his friends of a book deal, one that is not only well paying, but hints at secrets best kept in the past. And Vera is, as usual proved right, and uncovers a myriad of dark secrets and suspects, some surprisingly close to home.

I’ve read and enjoyed all of the Vera Stanhope series, and this is no exception. Cleeves deftly creates a plot that is clever and surprising. As with most all of Vera’s investigations, the shared past of the victim and suspects becomes extremely relevant. But this is a plot device of Cleeves’ that I never tire of. She has the ability to use it to draw characters imbued with emotional complexity, allowing the reader to engage easily. There is also a brilliant, shocking , and emotional ending that will leave the reader craving for the next book.

If I have one complaint, it is that, while you know that the series is set in the present, they have always seemed timeless. With this installment Cleeves drew a great deal of attention to specific current events (the Me Too movement, climate change, Covid). I found it rather jarring. It had the feel of a clumsy attempt to make the book (and Vera) more relevant to the times.

That being said, I wouldn’t throw this book out of bed just for that one misstep. This was a great addition to the series, and I am definitely craving for the next one.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy made available for my review.

In the tenth Vera Stanhope mystery the unconventional detective and her team are called in to investigate a death that appears to be a suicide. But, looks can be deceiving and soon they determine that they are dealing with murder. The death has occurred at a reunion of school friends who are now in their seventies and as the case unravels it appears that all of them could have a motive to commit the crime.

Vera Stanhope is one of my favorite characters. Her unconventional appearance as well as her unique way of investigating crime has endeared her to many readers. The character development is outstanding and the way the investigation evolves is very well-done. The mystery and the plot are compelling and the book is enjoyable and entertaining from beginning to end. The Rising Tide is another jewel in this series by Ann Cleeves.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

#TheRisingTide #AnnCleeves #MacmillanAudio #MinotaurBooks #NetGalley
#JanineBirkett

Every five years, for the past fifty years, a group of friends has been meeting, on Holy Island, to reconnect and reminisce about their shared past in High School, and to remember their friend Isabelle, who died after the first reunion.

When one of them is found dead, Detective Vera Stanhope is called in.

With her usual finesse or rather the charming lack of it, she starts investigating the friends, their past and their trigger points.

With the body count rising, Vera delves deeper into the tangled skein.

"Without fear or favor" and with a lavish sprinkling of her trademark term, "pet", she unravels the mystery, thread by thread.

This was an enjoyable listen. Janine Birkett does a great job narrating, doing justice to Vera's character.

This is an ALC.

Ann Cleeves is nothing if not a consistent author. I have read each of her books, some being more suspenseful, some less, yet always a good read. Her hallmark for me has all ways been the strong character who leeds, in this case Vera Stanhope. I must confess l cannot now read most novels without imagining the actors whom appear in the wonderful BBC adaptations.

"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..."

Vera Stanhope, someone my Mom and I agreed on.

Vera Stanhope is back in her tenth book! She's called in to investigate when one of a group of friends who reunite every year is found hanged. The plot is intriguing and the characters well written. Vera's unorthodox methods keep things interesting. A great addition to the lineup.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Oh Vera! I love the Vera books and this is one of the better ones. Great plot to keep the reader guessing and well developed characters.
Loved the book. Sad that she killed off one of my favorites.