Hidden Depths (Vera Stanhope, #3)
Ann Cleeves
A hot summer on the Northumberland coast, and Julie Armstrong arrives home from a night out to find her son murdered. Luke has been strangled, laid out in a bath of water and covered with wild flowers. This stylized murder scene has Inspector Vera Stanhope and her team intrigued. But then a second body - that of beautiful young teacher Lily Marsh - is discovered laid out in a rock pool, the water strewn with flowers. Now Vera must work quickly to find this dramatist, this killer who is making art out of death. Clues are slow to emerge from those who had known Luke and Lily, but Vera soon finds herself drawn towards the curious group of friends who discovered Lily`s body. What unites these four men and one woman? Are they really the close-knit, trustworthy unit they claim to be? As local residents are forced to share their private lives and those of their loved ones, sinister secrets are slowly unearthed. And all the while the killer remains in their midst, waiting for an opportunity to prepare another beautiful, watery grave... ‘ Hidden Depths is another classic, traditional crime novel in a contemporary setting by Ann Cleeves, winner of last year`s Duncan Lawrie Dagger... The story follows each of the main characters in turn, but it is fat, lonely Vera, awkward with her staff and unaware that they are frightened of her, who makes the biggest impression in this skilfully crafted mystery’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Ann Cleeves improves with every book. Her previous novel, Raven Black, was a deserved winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger for best crime novel of 2006... Hidden Depths is a subtle, nuanced book and Cleeves draws her characters with care and compassion. The landscape of rural Northumberland is vividly evoked and Inspector Stanhope - overweight, fallible and driven by personal demons - is a terrific central character` Tribune
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
This was actually the first Vera novel I read as an audiobook and man did I FALL IN LOVE. I already adored Anne Cleeves and her writing, and her characters of course. But man oh man they are totally different when you listen to them.
I absolutely devoured this book and I think I listened to it in a single day. The narrator for it does such good character changes and such a good Vera that I was completely immersed. The introduction to Vera and her team has already begun by this point as well and I think that’s why I was so enthralled by this novel especially.
Vera is becoming a true character, you are starting to connect to her, understand her, understand her emotions and how she interacts with her team. She is warming up to you. Because I will admit, as much as I loved her, the first couple of novels I did think that she was a bit of a grumpy cow. And while that may be true, the complexity of her reveals something that is so much more as her past and her motivations are revealed.
She really is just such a great character and perfect for a crime fiction novel. So is all her team. I loved starting to see Joe’s character develop, as well as Holly’s and her team. I feel like the books are just allowing you to step into a new team and watch them blossom as they come to know and respect each other.
Vera might not quite be there with her team yet, but they are good at their jobs. And another complex murder is solved in this case. Perhaps one of the least memorable, but still fantastic, this case is a classic Cleeves and I very much enjoyed watching the threads untangle.
I will always just say at the end of these reviews of all her novels that I couldn’t recommend Anne Cleeves enough. If you like crime fiction you have to give her a go, and I do highly recommend listening to her books. It’s just the added immersion that you need to really connect.
0