About
The Darkest Evening Synopsis
DCI Vera Stanhope returns in The Darkest Evening, the ninth novel in No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's phenomenally popular series.
The darkest nights can hide the deadliest secrets . . .
Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly.
But with the snow driving down heavily, she becomes disorientated and loses her way, eventually stumbling on another car abandoned on the road. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.
Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognizes as the house her father Hector grew up in.
Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and laughter to herald the coming Christmas. But outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead and Vera has a new case. Could she be the child's mother and, if she is, what happened to her?
About This Edition
Press Reviews
Ann Cleeves Press Reviews
Award-winning crime author Ann Cleeves makes a welcome return with the ninth book in her popular Vera series - Woman
A touch of the Agatha Christie house-party murder -- Book of the Week, Country Life Well-paced and plotted, with its evocative Northumberland village setting and excellent characterisation, this is a great winter read - Choice
This ninth instalment will keep you guessing until the end - My Weekly
Superb . . . This page-turner is must reading for fans as well as newcomers -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) Cleeves has a fine time constructing a clockwork murder plot - Booklist
Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves's eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement - Kirkus Reviews
A gripping read - Sun
Brilliantly written, with more twists and turns you can shake one of Vera's hats at - Heat
Cleeves's Northumberland novels are strong on atmosphere, combining old-fashioned detective work with a modern take on class - Sunday Times
A thoroughly engrossing thriller - Mail on Sunday
Author
About Ann Cleeves
A letter from Ann Cleeves to our readers.....
Dear Lovereading members,
I first came to Shetland when I was nineteen. I'd dropped out of university and was offered, quite by chance, the job of assistant cook in the bird observatory on Fair Isle, the most southerly island of the archipelago. It's thirteen hours by ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland mainland and then another three hours in a horrible little boat to Fair Isle. I thought I'd come to the end of the world. But I arrived in spring when the lowlands were covered in flowers and the seabirds were nesting on the cliffs and I fell in love with the place. I've been visiting ever since. In Shetland I learned to cook, to clip sheep and even to knit. I met my husband on Fair Isle and some of my best friends live in the islands. Shetland is bleak and bare, with a magic all of its own. I hope these books give a flavour of the place and of the preoccupations of its people. Besides telling a story that you won't want to put down...
Best wishes, Ann Cleeve
Ann Cleeves worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for Best Crime Novel for Raven Black. Her Vera Stanhope series is now a major ITV drama starring Brenda Blethyn. Ann lives in North Tyneside.
In 2017 Ann Cleeves was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger - the highest honour in British crime writing. The Dagger award recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.
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