Fourteen year old Chloe is living at Rosebank Home for teenage kids without proper family. Her father has left, and her mother is hospitalized. She has made friends with a young man Josh Woodburn, who has recently begun working at Rosebank. And then, one morning she finds Josh murdered, and she disappears. Vera and her team of Joe and Rose are assigned to the case. Josh's family is well to do, and he has possibly been working to impress his girlfriend. It's unclear whether Chloe has disappeared because she is guilty of killing Josh, or whether she is afraid of the killer. When a second body is found ( a young man who had been living at Rosebank) in Gilstead up in the country,
Vera knows she must find Chloe. There is a very exciting end of the book as Gilstead holds it's annual witch hunt in the dark night, and there are crowds of poeple and Vera and her team that know that both the killer and Chloe are somewhere in the crowd.

I thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC allowing me to read the book before publication.

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope is investigating the death of a young man outside a care home for adolescents. She also has to search for a missing fourteen year old girl who may be a witness. There's a new person in investigating team named Rosie Bell who is finding her footing as a new team member. How will Vera deal with this? Can they find the missing girl too? Find out in The Dark Wives.

I want to thank Minotaur Books for this ARC via Netgalley.

Cleeves' deft talent with plot is fully on display here in Vera's latest outing. The characters were so compelling that I did wish we spent more time developing them. The mythology behind the standing stones was likewise fascinating, but only a brief portion of the novel. It's a great thing to leave your audiences wanting more.

This advanced reader's copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.

Cleeves is an excellent writer. All of her books that I have read have been engrossing, well plotted, with good character development. Her atmospheric, descriptive, detailed language draws the reader into the scenes. I did like the new addition to the team, Rosie Bell. She is also quite the character! Although the main players’ stories progress with successive books, each one can be read as a stand alone.

The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves is the 11th in the Vera Stanhope series. Each one builds on the last, but you don't need to read them in order to enjoy them. I'm so glad to have another Vera Stanhope mystery. The series with Brenda Blethyn is excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital review copy.

I always am excited when a new novel featuring Vera Stanhope is published. The Dark Wives is classic Ann Cleeves and I think that the author’s fans will be delighted with this book. Any new reader could start here but I think that they will then want to go back to read all of the other titles. (Note too that there is a TV series featuring Vera).

IMPORTANT: Anyone who did not read the last book but is a fan of the series should know that there is a spoiler about Holly. I do not give that away below .

A care home for adolescents who are unable to live elsewhere features in the story. Four young people live there in a place that is profit making. Nonetheless, there are some who seems to care about their charges. A per diem worker named Josh was seemingly well liked and yet he is murdered early in the story. At the same time, Chloe, one of the teens and someone who had a crush on Josh, has gone missing. So…the plot begins.

What led Josh to take this job? Does it tie in to his feelings for an old girlfriend? To his interest in the arts? To something else? What leads to a second murder?There is a lot for Vera and her team, including newbie Rosie, to sort through.

Just a few of the things that I liked about this book were: the settings, the number of characters and their connections, the plot and the concern of the author for young persons in need. This is an atmospheric story that kept me wanting to read more. It is easy to recommend this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

There is no finish date because I got halfway through and then skimmed the rest. Even though this is a good police procedural account, my interest started to falter. This is a popular series and the fault of my disinterest is all my own.

fourteen year-old Chloe is missing from the group home and one of the staff is found murdered . Vera and her team are under pressure to find the missing girl and the killer.. During the search another resident of the home is found dead..
Care home staff, family members and friends are questioned and links begin to emerge that ultimately lead to a nail biting conclusion on Witch's Night in a small village where the standing stones called Dark Wives loom in the dark.
Vera's softer side is on display in the eleventh title in the series. Her sympathy for children in care drives her to find Chloe, solve the murders and expose the underbelly of for profit care facilities.
A topnotch police procedural with setting that lends tension to the mystery.

Impressively, Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series continues to get better and better. Other reviews here will comment on the plot, no doubt. What touches me the most is the fact that Vera herself continues to evolve. In her earlier novels, Vera struggled with self-esteem and self-doubt. Now, in her older years, Vera has grown as a person and as a policewoman. I also appreciate the changes that Holly's death (in the previous novel) bring to the storyline.

Thanks to SMP & NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm just a sucker for a Vera book (less so for Matthew Venn; still mourning the end of the Shetland series), so I had to get stuck into this one. Another reviewer mentioned Cleeves' ability to continually crank out quality material, year after year, and I do have to agree. While this one wasn't my favorite, it is clearly well-plotted and well-written.

<spoiler>After the death of Holly in the last book (which I had conveniently forgotten, oops</spoiler> we have a new PC on the scene in the form of Rosie Bell, another young, possibly ambitious woman, but not one who has figured out her standing in the pecking order. It was interesting to see a little background on this new person; as a result we get very little BTS of Vera or Joe. But our main focus, after the murder of a young man who's been working in a home for at-risk teens & tweens, is a missing resident, a goth teenage girl who could be in serious danger. Vera & Co. go over hill and dale, giving the reader a tour of the area and what sounds like beautiful countryside. I did get to the point, where the search was SO protracted and really not so much pushing things forward, that I was a little bit bored. There are many, many characters also, and I was getting mixed up and forgetting who was who (especially when one appeared who hadn't been seen for perhaps 100 pages).

Aside from too little going on/too many characters, this is a solid story. I hope Cleeves continues this series and doesn't end up going all-in on Matthew Venn (who's fine; don't get me wrong, he's just no Vera Stanhope, eh?).

3.5 stars rounded up

Written with her customary finesse, this is an author that always proves impeccable. With this, a typically densely-plotted, engrossing mystery, and #11 in the Vera series, we are back with all our favorite characters, and a new one to size up, at the same time. As DI Vera Stanhope and her sidekick, the trusty Sergeant Joe Ashworth, battle a new and disturbing case, they must make room for a new member to the team, the gorgeous and brash DC Rosie Bell, who has come to replace the much-missed DC Holly Lawson.

Rosie’s presence, of course, represents a new opportunity for crusty, guilt-ridden Vera, - one that will have her struggle to grow into the image of a more inclusive, communicative leader, with (as the reader must surely expect) only mixed results.

Tackling some heady issues, (including the ethics and challenges of cruelly disadvantaged youth and where (and how) to house them), a death concurrent with a missing teenage girl sends our heroes down a path which is basically a frantic race against time. Can the team unravel the mystery, and find the young teen - be she suspect, victim, or witness - before the body count grows?

Atmospheric and intense, the plot, as usual, centers on the rural Northumberland windswept coast, including the hamlet of Gilstead, with its three standing stones bathed in folklore, a creepy hunt-the-witch ceremonial festival, and memories of Hector Stanhope, - birder, naturalist and father (for Vera, all of which remain drenched in unrest).

A terrific addition to a much-loved series, Vera, Joe, and now Rosie are back, and for this reader, not a moment too soon.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

Links:

When Josh, a young staff member at Rosebank, a home for troubled teens, is found dead, DI Vera Stanhope begins her investigation. At the time the death occurred, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence, one of the home’s residents, was reported missing. She had developed a friendship with the victim, and after several days of searching for her, Vera suspected that Chloe could have been involved in the murder.
Soon after Vera began her investigation with her team members Joe and Rosie Bell, a second body was found near the Three Dark Wives monument deep in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside. Dark secrets surround the entire community, and Vera fears Chloe is hiding, fearing that her life is in danger if she is found.

Another great installment from Cleeves! Vera is such a likeable character, and the settings are so good. It gave me all the autumn and gothic vibes. It’s not my favorite in the series, but fans of Cleeves will really enjoy this next journey. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

If you’ve ever watched “Vera” on Masterpiece Theater on PBS or watched it on one of the streaming services, you’ll already be familiar with this book’s main character, Vera. Yes, Anne Cleeves is Vera’s creator and this is the 11th book in this series. Whenever I read one of Cleeves’ books in this series, it is the PBS character’s voice I hear in my head, and it is Brenda Blethyn, who plays Vera on the television program, I see in my mind’s eye.

In this outing, Vera and her team are called to a home for troubled teenagers taken into care. One of the home’s staff members has been bludgeoned to death and one of the home’s teenagers, a 14-year-old girl, is missing. With zero leads and a lack of motives, Vera and her team must find the young teenager who might have been taken by the murderer.

Cleeves has carefully crafted this procedural and she takes her readers along with Vera as she sets out to solve the murder and find the missing girl - dead or alive. As Vera proceeds, she uncovers several prospective suspects, but no solid evidence to justify arresting anyone, and the girl remains missing.

Cleeves’ writing is picture perfect for the no nonsense Detective Chief Inspector. The author lets the reader know what the detective knows with the exception of the one or two ideas Vera keeps to herself despite having promised her team she’d not do that any more.

If you’re not yet a fan of Cleves, but love British police procedural, give this book a try. You need not have read any of the previous 10 books in this series to be quickly brought up to speed able to tell the characters apart in this book. The author does a credible job of introducing the ongoing key characters so her new readers will know who is who.

My thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an eARC.

I think I'll always be a fan of Ann Cleeves. I wait in anticipation for the next Vera Stanhope installment. I was disappointed about Holly's murder. With that being said Rosie will add spunk to the team. There's a murder of a guy working at the home for at risk children. He was due to report for work one evening when he was murdered. Chloe, a teen at the home, was close to the murdered guy and now she's missing. Where is Chloe? Did she murder him or was she a witness to the murder. From the first page to the last, you fall in love with the characters with every Ann Cleeves book.

WWWThank you NetGalley and Publisher for the opportunity to read "The Dark Wives" in exchange for an honest review.

As always, when a new Vera novel comes in, I have to keep myself from running and reading it immediately! But I had 10 books ahead of it, so it had to sit there in my virtual library taunting me LOL. The story starts with the proverbial British police procedural body found by a dog walker (always, right? LOL). But this time, it's a youngster-a barely older than the kids he was working with college student. His murder makes no sense, and as Vera and her team struggle to find clues, they have to open up some past secrets to find out the truth about the home, and the deceased. Along the way Rosie has to try to fit into the team, while Vera is still reeling from the events in the last book, The Rising Tide, and the death of one of her team. Rosie may not be the character one would pick to join the unit, but she quickly earns respect from Vera and Joe (grudgingly in his case), and it will be interesting to see how she fits into the team in the next book. Vera also finds someone she can talk to, and for the long time reader, this is HUGE and makes you wonder if Cleeves is leading us to Vera's retirement (nooooo!).

The Dark Wives is another ‘Vera’ book that didn’t disappoint. Vera was as feisty and compassionate as ever, and the story was as mysterious and well told as ever. I enjoyed the new detective, Rosie, who will be an interesting addition to Vera’s team. The story was brought to a close with a satisfying ending.
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Dark Wives. I enjoyed it very much.

The Dark Wives has Vera and her team investigating the death of a young man at a children's home for troubled children.

One of the teens is also missing which ups the ante as the clock ticks away.

Did she witness the crime or was she perpetrator.

We meet the new member of the team Rosie who has big shoes to fill but she is confident she can contribute and be a rising star.

Ann Cleeves always writes descriptively and the scenery and characters stand out.

Twist and turns that include witches, the statues of The Dark Wives and a cast of suspects to choose from.

The pages turn themselves as the tension mounts.

I will be first in line to see where Vera and her team get up to next.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press , Minatour Books for another page turning read by Ann Cleeves.

<i>His face was turned towards Vera, but she could see the back of his head, the large round hole in the skull where he’d been hit, the blood that clotted and matted in the pale hay-coloured hair.

Oh Chloe, Vera thought. What have you done? And where are you now? And if this wasn’t you — and really there’s nothing in your diary to suggest that it was — are you still alive?

Because Chloe Spence had disappeared.</i>

THE DARK WIVES is #11 in the Vera Stanhope series, and it is an outstanding mystery, with only one misstep—near the ending—that marred its excellence. A four-star novel, which was a strong five-star one until the 75% point.

Josh Woodburn, a volunteer worker at a private care home for troubled teenagers, is murdered, bludgeoned to death by a hammer. Chloe Spencer, a 14-year-old who lived in the house with three other “challenged” teenagers, has disappeared. Those three others have an alibi for the time of the murder, unfortunate for Vera’s investigation, because the resident most likely to have committed such a crime was 17-year-old Brad Russell, a petty drug dealer given to violent outbursts. But soon, Brad’s body is discovered in a desolate rural hideaway—one well known to Chloe; Brad is the apparent victim of yet another murder.

Vera and her team trace down clues designed to locate Chloe, who Vera is sure was a witness to the first murder and now running for her life. Vera feels that once they locate Chloe, they will be able to identify the murderer. The team consists of Joe, Charlie, and Rosie. Rosie is a new addition, a replacement for Holly who was killed at the end of book #10.

Everything moves at a quick pace, as the detectives, particularly Joe and Rosie, collect information that tells us more about Chloe and where she might be hiding. Then, around the 75% point, Vera has a hunch. Up to this stage, we, the readers have been privy to the main characters’ thoughts—sometimes following Joe’s POV, sometimes following Rosie’s POV, and sometimes following Vera’s POV. But Vera’s hunch isn’t shared with readers. So the denouement comes out of the blue. And this is the misstep that occurs near the ending. In an attempt to conceal the true murderer, the author hid important information from readers—changed the trajectory we were following—to bring the story to a quick close.

So from perfect story, to somewhat less than perfect, in order to pull off a surprise ending. Still it was a great read, a book I couldn’t put down, even though I felt a bit cheated by the sudden shift in direction near the end.

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My review for an earlier book in this series:
<a href = https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4968804915 > The Rising Tide (Vera Stanhope, #10) </a>
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“The Dark Wives” Will be released in North America on August 29, 2024.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an electronic copy of this book via NetGallry. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinions.

thanks to netgalley for providing an advanced e-reader copy in exchange for a review! this book comes out august 27th.

this is our eleventh book with Vera! in this book, there's a murder of a staff worker at a troubled teens home and a young 14yo girl missing from that home. throughout the book, Vera and crew need to solve the murder and, hopefully, find missing girl before the murder potentially finds her.

between my appreciation for Ann Cleeves' consistently solid writing and my affection for Brenda Blethlyn's depiction of Vera, i've got a lot of goodwill for any entry in the series. this series is a strong example of how the different versions can interplay in a really nice way. it's enjoyable to read a new book and imagine the television adaptation (in reverse, i do enjoy watching the show and seeing where it differs from the book).

accordingly, my first thought in reviewing The Dark Wives is considering it specifically as a Vera book and on those terms, i really recommend it to fans of the series. the book picks up recently following the death of one of Vera's team and Vera is thinking a lot about how she interacts with her team, especially the newest edition, Rosie. i liked spending time following Vera's thoughts and some of the thoughts were distinctive from earlier books but still staying true to her voice.

my second thought is considering The Dark Wives as a mystery novel and it's just okay, just fine! there's a sense of urgency pulling the narrative forward in a lovely way as Vera & crew search for the missing teenage girl. it's also a book that invites us into the thoughts and perspective of a lot of the central characters in a compelling way. we get a strong sense of the people at the center of the story and that helps encourage the reader to ponder what might have happened. however, a lot of the solving of the mystery happens off page and that's ultimately a little dissatisfying. that's really where it fell a little bit short.

in all, lovely addition to the Vera series but likely will only satisfy less critical readers who have a lot of fondness for the series.