In the 11th Vera Stanhope mystery, “The Dark Wives,” Ann Cleeves tackles a controversy over private children’s homes that made news in Britain a while back. Underfunded and largely unregulated, the homes subjected children to neglect and even abuse.

In a story the author calls entirely fictitious, a girl in a home “for the teenage kids nobody wants” disappears after a popular staffer is murdered. Where Chloe went, and whether she killed the young staffer to whom she had become attached, is the question that brings in Vera and her team, including sidekick Joe Ashworth and new addition Rosie Bell.

Vera herself is feeling her age. She muses about people who are “desperate to retire, but who couldn’t quite make the jump. Because what would be the point of getting up in the morning if there was no work.” Vera is also brooding over, and blaming herself for, the loss of a member of her team in the previous book. Guilt “was like a weight on Vera’s shoulders,” Joe muses. “Physical. It made her seem stooped and old. Never before had he thought of Vera as old.”

The death, noted as having taken place just weeks before, is a thread throughout “The Dark Wives,” a reference to a group of standing stones that in folklore represent women who nagged their husbands too much. (Yikes.) In addition to looking for Chloe, Vera’s team has to find the real murderer.

“The Dark Wives” isn’t a “Vera” that much stands out. It’s a good read but one that doesn’t prove very memorable.

This latest Vera Stanhope mystery was a great case. It introduces Rosie Bell who replaces Holly and she’s a great character looking to get into Vera’s good graces. The mystery centers around a children’s home, a dead counselor, and a missing resident. A great addition to the canon!

The Dark Wives was such a great novel. I love how it brought the characters to life, and I was so engaged in the mystery. As always, Vera was a flawed character I was rooting for. And the story kept me guessing til the end about who the killer was. I give this book a solid 4.5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the opportunity to review The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves.

This was one of the darkest and most twisted of the Vera Stanhope installments by Ann Cleeves that I have read. There is a new addition to the team and I liked Rosie Bell. The rest of the team is intact and each plays a significant part in this story.

In dealing with a tightly crafted murder mystery, the story also focuses on certain significant social issues. Some of the peripheral characters unapologetically examine the problems with a society that leaves it most vulnerable unprotected claiming a lack of resources and staffing. An unfortunate sidebar which we have heard on many occasions. Applause for incorporating and acknowledging difficult issues. Vera’s character is multilayered and not without its flaws. Espousing a more controlled and inclusive role with her team she continues to take unnecessary risks so it should come as no surprise that she is constantly in harm’s way. I found it troubling that a character who needs to call meetings and talk things out keeps so much to herself and away from her team. So not a perfect, but a complicated yet strong team leader.

I appreciate Cleeves attention to detail and look forward to future installments in this very successful series.

Another great DI Vera Stanhope mystery from author Ann Cleeves. This book has a focus on the child welfare system when fourteen year old Chloe Spence goes missing from a care home for troubled teens. The murder of two people connected to the home make it imperative for Vera to find the girl because her life may be in danger.

Latest in the Vera Stanhope series. A teenage girl goes missing from a care home, after a body is found... is she the killer, was she also killed or was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? Vera and her team race to find out.

And yet a third book I thought I'd already reviewed... No matter. I think this is a solid Vera entry. If you haven't met Vera yet, she's...interesting. She can be tactless and seem hard-hearted but she's truly not. I think this book shows a bit of her softer side. I liked it and would definitely recommend it but I would perhaps suggest reading one or two of the earlier books first. I gave four stars but I'd up that to four and a half if I could.
Thank you to Ms. Cleeves, her publisher and Netgalley for making this book available to me.

A solid read! I enjoyed this story, the characters and the dark setting. The Dark Wives storyline was intriguing and mysterious. The care homes were also a great setting. A nice way to bring current events into a riveting suspense story.

As an American listener there were parts of the book that were a tad different than if set in the US. The inner workings of the government and the foster system is a little different in the US but still a very fun read!!

My only criticism is that the story was a tad slow moving in parts. The book read like a police procedural series and I felt that more character building would have happened in those books.

Overall I enjoyed the story of a missing girl called Chloe. The mystery unfolds in the depths of the UK child care system. The dark side of care homes is highlighted while the underlying mystery of Chloe's disappearance evolves. The mystery deepens when one of the employees of Chloe's care hoke turns up dead. Will Chloe be found in time or is already too late? Thank you @netgalley and @macmillan.audio @macmillanaudio @stmartinspress for a copy of this title! All my opinions are my own.

Vera Stanhope #11. When a young man's body is found outside a home for troubled teen by an early morning dog walker Vera and her team respond. The victim is a social worker on staff at the home and reportedly had a good relationship with the young residents. Why would he come under attack? Fourteen year old Chloe has not been seen since the previous night and the team concentrates efforts on locating this endangered teen. Vera can't believe Chloe could be the culprit but new team member Rosie is convinced. The investigation uncovers secrets in the victim's life and when another body turns up the tension mounts. Anne Cleeves has long been a go-to author for this reader even before the TV adaptations gained widespread recognition for her. Her recurring cast of characters are diverse and well drawn. Vera is a gruff, hard edged no nonsense woman of a certain age who relies on instinct and common sense. Cleeves's plots are always solid with tantalizing red herrings and unforeseen twists that snare the reader's interest. This entry weaves the rural landscape and local lore into the story as the Dark Wives, a local Druid stone monolith is featured in one of the culminating scenes. If you have not discovered this compelling series you have a treat in store. Any of the entries work as a stand alone but the best enjoyment would come with reading them in order. Vera is not always tactful and withholds information but always perseveres. An always engaging series....long may it continue.

D I Vera Stanhope has to find out who killed a helper at a boys and girls shelter and where a 14 year old Chloe, abandoned by her family to the group home has gotten to. Another body turns up. Not all is right at the shelter run by a for profit company chain. What could go wrong? Vera's team is not the most united group either. Vera has her work cut out for her. Read this tragic story and decide for yourself.

THE DARK WIVES – by Ann Cleeves

I did not realize THE DARK WIVES is part of a series, Book 11, to be precise—until there is mention of the demise of a main character—a member of DI Vera Stanhope’s team. Color me intrigued, now I am delighted to read the whole series.

This novel centers around a fourteen-year-old lass by the name of Chloe Spence who has gone missing from Rosebank—a home for troubled teens—at the same time a staff member is found dead in a nearby park.

Is Chloe the murderer or is she too a victim?

Who are The Dark Wives and what part do they play in the story??

Welp, you will have to read the book and find out. ;)

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group), for providing me with an eBook of THE DARK WIVES at the request of an honest review.

DI Vera Stanhope and her team are called to Rosebank Children's Home to investigate the murder of Josh Woodburn. Josh was a student at university and a volunteer at the home. One of the residents - 14 year old Chloe Spencer - is missing. It doesn't seem possible the two incidents aren't connected, but Vera can't imagine the young teen killing a college boy.

Another murder, this time of a boy from Rosebank, is found near three ancient standing stones known to the locals as The Three Dark Wives. Complicating the investigation for Vera and her team is an influx of tourists for the local witch festival.

Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of Vera is based the long-running television series which I've been watching on BritBox. And based on this familiarity it threw me for a bit of loop that Vera's 'second' was DS Joe Ashworth. In the series, Ashworth only lasted four seasons and it's been DS Aiden Healy for the last ten years. But it's almost like only the name has changed.

For those who aren't familiar with either the books or the series, Vera is a detective inspector with a smaller community in England. She's very good at what she does, she's no nonsense and expects her team to be as thorough and dedicated as she is. But she can also be nurturing - in a work sense. She's not at all happy with errors but she'll also tell them to move on and try not to let it happen again. She's good with all her team, but she definitely treats Joe differently. A favorite, perhaps, but she also expects more of him.

This comes into play in the book as there's a new member of the team - DC Rosie Bell - who, like many of the newcomers, is ambitious and out to prove she belongs with this squad. But when Vera shows appreciation for what Rosie does, jealousy comes over Joe. He recognizes it and tries to understand why he feels the way he does.

As you might be able to see here, the murder mystery is only part of what makes the Vera series so interesting. Solving murders is Vera's (and her team's) business, but who they are, as individuals, as a team, and how they work together is what makes it most interesting. (I think about a number of detective mysteries I like - Walt Longmire, Cork O'Connor, Rushmore McKenzie - and it's the people that make the series interesting while the mystery is only good for one book.)

The book moves along quite quickly and, like the television series, ends with Vera having figured it all out before anyone else on her team does. Usually because she puts one small, thought-to-be-innocuous clue to the killer.

I definitely want to read more of these Vera books, but I do think I need to wait until I'm done watching the series (one more season is coming out, I understand, and I'll have caught up to it be the time it arrives on U.S. television) because I did make some assumptions based on current television characters.

Looking for a good book? The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves is the eleventh book in the Vera Stanhope book series. It's a popular series (both in book form and on television) for good reason. Fans of detective procedurals and solid mysteries should be sure to read it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

A dead body and a runaway teen stump DCI Vera Stanhope in Ann Cleeves’ latest, “The Dark Wives”




In Ann Cleeves’ latest mystery, “The Dark Wives” (Minotaur), DCI Vera Stanhope is never far from her past in the North Umberland patch she serves and calls home. When the precinct notifies Vera about a dead body found outside the Rosebank care home for troubled teens, it brings back disturbing memories of her father Hector and her guilt over the recent loss of her team member, Holly. The murder victim is a young man who is a part-time staffer at the care home and a film student. And initially, there is no motive for the killing, stumping Vera and her team. Was this a random act of violence or is there a connection to Rosebank?
Even more disturbing is that the sole potential witness and suspect is a fourteen-year-old girl named Chloe Spence, a resident of Rosebank who has disappeared. Abandoned by her mentally ill mother and her irresponsible father, Chloe has no close relatives and nowhere to run. The only clue to her whereabouts is the diary found in her room. Empathizing with Chloe, Vera refuses to believe the intelligent, insightful and troubled girl committed the heinous crime.
Personal relationships between the members of Vera’s team take center stage when Cleeves introduces a new detective, Rosie Bell, into this crime drama. She joins Vera, Joe Ashworth, and the regulars as they hunt for Chloe’s whereabouts along the northern coastline. Rosie is the complete opposite of Holly—outgoing, flashy and sympathetic—and she’s eager to impress her demanding boss. Joe likes Rosie, but he’s skeptical about whether she will fit in. Yet, he’s open to giving her a shot. And plagued by guilt over Holly’s death, Vera vows to become more transparent in her dealing with her underlings. But can an old dog learn new tricks? And can Vera escape the ghosts of the pasts? Or because she relates to Chloe’s sad dilemma, has Vera lost her objectivity in the case?
When the second body of a teen from Rosebank is uncovered in an isolated shack belonging to Chloe’s family, Vera is convinced the murders are connected, and that they lead back to the care home. But how? In her diary, Chloe mentioned she observed a black car parked outside Rosebank, but it is, too, linked to the crimes? Who is committing these gruesome murders? More than ever, Vera believes Chloe is the key to solving the mystery. But where is she?
Receiving pressure from her superiors to solve this highly publicized case, Vera and her detectives must locate Chloe as soon as possible. They believe the teen is hiding in her family’s familiar farmland. They must find her before the annual Gillstead Witch Hunt, a popular hide-and-seek game that attracts thousands of visitors to the area in the dark.
Cleeves takes the reader on a picturesque journey along the rocky cliffs, the wild moors, and through the rich farmlands of North Umberland. Ironically, every beautiful detail of the untamed wilderness adds to the tense atmosphere and plotting of this fast-past mystery. But nature stands in sharp contrast to the horrors of the for-profit child home care system in the U.K. at the heart of this crime. Cleeve condemns a system that denies children the counseling support they need during times of crisis and the lack of supervision in decrepit, understaffed facilities. In this novel, she also censures the broken public school system that values the student’s compliance with its dress code more than caring about the personal problems of its charges.
Cleeves notes she was inspired to write “The Dark Wives” after watching a BBC investigative report on the private children’s home in her country. This is by far her most political novel. Cleeves challenges the reader to consider the harsh treatment of these abandoned youth and the failed social services system, which mirrors our issues here in the United States.
Once again, Cleeves provides her readers with another twisty page-turner full of interesting characters, shocking themes, and unique locations. Like myself, readers will stay up into the wee hours of the morning glued to “The Dark Wives,” the latest mystery to challenge Vera and her team.

The Dark Wives
This story takes place in rural Northumberland, England. Josh, a young counselor at a home for troubled teens was found murdered outside the facility. Then Cloe, one of the four teens living there, disappeared. DI Vera Stanhope and her team were assigned the high profile murder case. They were pressured to solve the mystery quickly.They set out to find Cloe and while doing so they discover that another resident of the home, Brad, had died of an apparent overdose.
Vera, a seasoned Detective Inspector
close to retirement, leads her team to find who killed both young men as well as locate Cloe.
This is the 11th book in the Vera Stanhope series. Vera is the subject of a popular television series in England. I had not read any books in this series before but look forward to reading others.
I received this ARC from Net Galley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve watched the television series, but this was my time reading one of the books. I started off reading, and finished with the audio. It was very well done. I found the story quite entertaining. There were several twists that kept me guessing. I thought I had figured it out, but I was wrong. If you like whodunnit books, then you should definitely give this one a try. There’s a reason the series is so popular. Vera is claiming she wants to try being more in touch with her crew. She has trouble actually making the changes. She’s a fantastic character.

I was overjoyed to jump into this latest Vera Stanhope book (#11 and I've read them all.) It seemed like it had been a while so it was like catching up with an old acquaintance I hadn't seen in forever. As usual, the mystery was intriguing and old Vera her usual self. A new person came onto the scene, Rosie, a young cop who is feeling her way among the team.

The subject matter of children's homes for wayward youth was a bit sad but I nevertheless enjoyed the story of how Vera figured it all out. I don't have free access to the series based on the Vera Stanhope books but someday I would love to see how she is portrayed. Meanwhile, she lives on in my imagination and I get a kick out of her, her history, and her one-of-a-kind personality.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author for an opportunity to read an advance copy that I thoroughly enjoyed. The book was published on August 27. 2024 and is now available everywhere.

Oh Vera, Vera, Vera! You never let me down! I love your no nonsense, crusty, intelligent way of dealing with awful cases., while also having a heart of gold! The police investigations are on point. The glimpse into the personal lives of the team is fantastic!

Once again, Ann Cleeves effortlessly weaves the setting into the story, developing that heavy foreboding that fans have come to love. The stress the team is feeling to find the missing team is felt on every page. And the unweaving of the motive, and the discovery of secrets deliver a powerful story. I really like the introduction of the character Rosie Bell, and feel that she will be pivotal in helping Vera through the grieving process. This could be read as a stand alone- but treat yourself and try the others as well, then you will really get to know the cast of characters and hopefully love them as much as I do!
This is a short review because so many others have said what I thought so well! I absolutely love her Shetland series as well. She never lets me down!! Highly, highly recommend to all!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. This is my honest, voluntary review!

Ann Cleves is the new Queen of mystery. I am obsessed with her newest Vera books, and The Dark Wives was no exception. Brilliantly written, and thoughtful character development. I cannot wait for her next one.

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Vera is investigating the death of a man found outside a home for troubled teens, also a fourteen year old child- Chloe is missing from the home. There is no way Vera can believe Chloe is responsible for his death. She loved Josh. She would never kill him. Is she running because she knows something or is she guilty,? Vera must find the answers and why two men have been murdered. If Chloe knows something she must find her before someone else does.

Vera Stanhope begins her latest case with a major staffing change. Holly is gone, replaced by Rosie Bell, who is nothing like her predecessor. Vera wrestles with remorse over Holly, while Joe Ashworth feels a tad jealous of the newcomer.

The team is dispatched to Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens where Josh, one of the workers, was found dead on the lawn and Chloe, a 14-year-old girl is missing. As the investigation proceeds, Vera learns unsettling aspects of the care homes. For-profit businesses are privatizing social services previously run by local governments putting the at-risk teens in greater jeopardy.

The Dark Wives refers to three boulders near Gillstead Village--sometimes referred to as Northumberland’s version of Stonehenge. The victims and suspects all seem to have connections to this rural town known for its annual “Witch Hunt.” Vera and her colleagues race to find Chloe before those who seek to do her harm. A satisfying addition to the series. I especially enjoyed learning more about the internal thoughts of each team member as they carried out their investigation.