In the time honored tradition of Agatha Christie, among others, Cleeves buries a number of secrets amongst the isolated group. Some are related to the death of this young woman, while others are tantalizing red herrings that do much to turn the characters into flesh-and-blood people ... Since the investigation involves those from all levels of the social hierarchy in this small village, Ann Cleeves is able to make minute but significant observations about human interaction. One of her hallmarks is that the depiction of the investigation and the logical leaps made by the authorities must feel as authentic and accurate as is humanly possible. As is her wont, all the necessary clues abound for the canniest of readers to figure out. Of course, true to form, the clues are obfuscated successfully. She is a master of misdirection albeit that she never cuts corners on her way to revealing the culprit ... To date, Ann Cleeves has written nine Vera Stanhope novels. Her gift is that she manages to make each of them feel as fresh and exciting as when readers first met Vera back in The Crow Trap. The Darkest Evening is another page-turner from one of the best in the genre.
The Darkest Evening abounds in metaphors and memories ... If you’re on team Vera Stanhope, what Ann Cleeves has for you is a complicated, absorbing mystery. An early holiday present, if you like ... we come away with a deeper understanding and respect for Vera, her failsafe methods of detection, and the choices she’s made for her life.
In Ann Cleeves's The Darkest Evening, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who polices England’s Northumberland countryside, can’t help but fear the worst when she comes upon a car abandoned in the midst of a blizzard, with a snow-suited toddler strapped in the backseat ... 'This whole case,' Vera comes to see, 'was about families, about what held them together and what ripped them apart.'
Cleeves has a fine time constructing a clockwork murder plot and using it to examine the lives in that circumscribed world ... Those not wanting to wallow in the sociological side of this mystery should focus on Vera as she follows the clues, including the baby in the abandoned car. Remember to watch out for that avocado.
A murder investigation hits close to home for an experienced police officer in the north of England. Taking a wrong turn in a snowstorm, Inspector Vera Stanhope finds a car with only a baby inside. With no cellphone service, she drives to the nearest house, which just happens to belong to her estranged relatives ... Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves’ eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement.
CWA Diamond Dagger Award winner Cleeves’s superb ninth novel featuring astute, irascible Det. Insp. Vera Stanhope (after 2017’s The Seagull) finds Vera driving home late one night through rural Northumberland in a blizzard when she comes upon a car that’s slewed off the road ... This fair-play mystery brims with fully developed suspects and motives that are hidden in plain sight. Skillful misdirection masks the killer’s identity. This page-turner is must reading for fans as well as newcomers.
