We’ve seen the TV version. Brenda Blethyn’s last outing as Vera was must-see viewing. Well, here is the printed word; a few differences but the essence is the same.

The gang is back: D.I. Vera Stanhope and D.S. Joe Ashworth, pathologist Doc Keating, crime scene manager Billy Cartwright, along with the financial forensic wizard Charlie. Only Holly is missing, having died a matter of weeks before this novel begins, and Vera especially is still grieving, feeling partly responsible for the death of a well-respected junior colleague. Rosie is Holly’s replacement, providing a new dynamic within the team, feeling her way and finding her feet, ambitious but, in more ways than one, a long way from her home in the city.

We’re quickly introduced to the case. A young volunteer is found dead, close to Rosebank, the care home for troubled teenagers where he worked, and one of the young people, Chloe, has gone missing. Vera and her team are once more called to action and it’s not long before another body is found; another of the teenagers who lived at Rosebank. It’s the sudden end to another sad life. Police procedure kicks in as Vera directs her team to interview all and sundry: family, friends, school teachers, neighbours, even the local doctor, and they find themselves travelling far and wide, following leads. Clues are also provided by diary entries written by Chloe and found in various locations: proof, perhaps, that she is at least still alive albeit scared and trusting no one - but is it because of what she has seen, or what she has done?

Secrets are unhealthy. A traditional village witch hunt gives a macabre and chaotic feel to the chase at one point when it seems the team will be thwarted at the final hurdle.

Vera’s tough but sympathetic approach comes to the fore in this novel. She makes a critical assessment of each of the characters she meets and the reader is privy to her thoughts as well as sharing the dialogue played out between the principal players. She cares for the youngsters who have had such a rough start in life, let down by those who should have known better and her thoughts often stray back to Hector, her own father, who was by no means perfect.

Rosebank is nothing like its name suggests; instead, it is a grim, slightly dilapidated building, on the edge of an old pit village and run by two social workers who care but have been worn down by the system which is underfunded and under-resourced - a sadly familiar story.

The investigation reveals dysfunctional families; neglect and unhappiness, lies and deceit seem to exist everywhere you turn. Secrets are unhealthy. A traditional village witch hunt gives a macabre and chaotic feel to the chase at one point when it seems the team will be thwarted at the final hurdle. The darkness provides cover for the murderer while Vera and her clan are left discomfited and unnerved.

...money is at the heart of all of this. One of the oldest of motives: greed.

Set, as are all the books in the Vera series, in the environs of the North East, the landscape stretches from the sea around Whitley Bay over to the bleak Northumbrian moors, with their dark skies glittering with stars you could never see in the city. Vera is at home in the open space of the countryside and Cleeves’ descriptions are real; the moody atmosphere is enhanced by the sense of isolation. Sometimes space provides safety, sometimes not. It seems, however, that among the homely inhabitants who all know each other and all look out for each other, darker hearts also reside, if hidden in plain sight, and their quest is for money; money is at the heart of all of this. One of the oldest of motives: greed.

We all know Ann Cleeves is a celebrated author and rightly so. She has given us Vera Stanhope, (Vera) Jimmy Perez (Shetland) and Matthew Venn (The Long Call) and this novel is just another example of her excellence. Her writing is fluid, the descriptions are vivid and the dialogue is natural. Her characters are real: flawed and believable. She keeps the focus on the victims while still weaving an intricate tale, forcing the reader along the path she chooses, twisting only at the last minute to reveal the villain of the piece while ensuring there is hope where, for a while, there seemed to be none.

The principal characters have become familiar to us through the small screen and Vera’s voice especially is maintained through her use of endearments, pet. In this novel, however, Cleeves also ensures that the often anonymous young people, stuck in a self-perpetuating wheel of misfortune, are also recognized as the human beings they are. Vera may not always be tactful but she has a surprisingly soft heart which Cleeves uses to remind us frequently that this case is centred around young people who need a guiding hand.


The Dark Wives is published by MacMillan