Tag Archives: Ann Cleeves

The Darkest Evening (Vera Stanhope #9) by @AnnCleeves #CrimeFiction set in Northumberland #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Fiction, Police Procedural by

Author: Ann Cleeves

Published: September 2020 by Macmillan

Category: Police Procedural, Crime Fiction, Book Review

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On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Set in the beautiful and atmospheric county of Northumberland, The Darkest Evening is the ninth outing for Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope.

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#ThrowbackThursday ~ Dead Water: Shetland Book 5 by Ann Cleeves #Audiobook #CrimeFiction

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Crime, Murder, Mystery, Police Procedural, Throwback Thursday by

Throwback Thursday this week is looking back at book five in one of my favourite series.

Despite my preference for starting a series from book one, I’m beginning with this one, which is actually book five. I’ve watched and enjoyed each season of the TV series, Shetland, and so I’m very familiar with the cast of characters. There are some differences between the two, mainly in Jimmy Perez’s looks and back story. Kenny Blyth, the narrator, is excellent and has a lovely Scottish lilt, which fits in well with the story and adds authenticity. Other accents are convincing too. The narrator of the four previous books has a middle to upper class English accent which I didn’t find engaging or appropriate for the setting. 

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#GuestPost from Alys West ~ Five Books To Transport You To Scotland #LockdownReads @alyswestyork #FridayReads

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Today I’m delighted to welcome Alys West, author of Beltane (Urban Fantasy) and The Dirigible King’s Daughter (Steampunk) My reviews can be found here and here.

Alys’s latest novel, Storm Witch, is set in the beautiful islands of Orkney.  It’s contemporary fantasy with lots of magic, mystery, romance and stone circles. Storm Witch will be published on Friday 17th April and is available to purchase/pre-order on Amazon

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The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) by Ann Cleeves ~ Murder/Mystery set in Devon @anncleeves #MatthewVenn

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Murder, Mystery, Police Procedural by

Author: Ann Cleeves

Published: September 2019 by Macmillan

Category: Police Procedural, Crime, Murder, Mystery, Book Review

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Set in North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet before joining the sea, we’re introduced to Detective Inspector Matthew Venn who is on the periphery of the mourners at his father’s funeral. Matthew grew up in the area and has recently moved back to Barnstaple from Bristol, where he has been living and working.

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Top 20 Favourite #Books of 2018 #AmReading #FridayReads

Posted in Am Reading, Book Review, Favourite Books by

The end of 2018 is approaching fast and it’s ‘favourite books of the year’ time again!  I enjoy looking back at books I’ve read and audios I’ve listened to, although choosing ones for the list never gets any easier. So in no particular order, here are some of my favourites.

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Wild Fire (Shetland Book 8) by Ann Cleeves #Scottish Crime Fiction @anncleeves #JimmyPerez #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Book Review, Crime, Fiction, Police Procedural, Scotland, Suspense by

Author: Ann Cleeves

Published: September 2018 by Macmillan

Category: Scottish Crime Fiction, Murder, Suspense, Book Review

Shetland: Welcoming. Wild. Remote.

Drawn in by the reputation of the islands, a new English family move to the area, eager to give their autistic son a better life. But when a young nanny’s body is found hanging in the barn of their home, rumours of her affair with the husband begin to spread like wild fire.

Helena, a well known knitwear designer, her husband Daniel, an architect, and their children, Ellie and Christopher, are recent incomers to Shetland. They’re leaving behind a hectic existence in London and are hoping for a better quality and more tranquil way of life, but find some of the local community less than friendly.

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The Glass Room (Vera Stanhope #5) by @anncleeves #Crime in Northumberland @MacmillanAudio #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Audiobook, Book Review, Crime, Murder, Suspense, Thriller by

Author: Ann Cleeves

Narrator: Charlie Hardwick

Released: May 2018 by Macmillan Audio

Category: Crime, Thriller, Suspense, Audiobook, Review

The Glass Room is the fifth book in Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope series – which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn, VERA. DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation. But when one of them goes missing, her path leads her to more than a missing friend.

Returning home after work and looking forward to some down time, DI Vera Stanhope, not really the sociable type, is annoyed to find her neighbour, Jack, waiting for her.

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Red Bones (Shetland #3) by @anncleeves Crime/Mystery in the Shetland Isles #FridayReads

Posted in Book Review, Contemporary Fiction, Crime, Mystery, Suspense by


Author: Ann Cleeves

Published: (my edition) 2015 by Pan Books

Category: Crime, Mystery, Suspense, Book Review

When a young archaeologist studying on a site at Whalsay discovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient find – or a more contemporary mystery?

Then an elderly woman is shot in a tragic accident in the middle of the night. Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called in by her grandson – his own colleague, Sandy Wilson.

The story centres round an archaeological dig on Mima Wilson’s croft where a human skull has been found. Red Bones, book three in the Shetland series, finds Sandy Wilson, Mima’s grandson, visiting family on Whalsay, a short ferry ride from Lerwick where he lives and works as a detective constable in the Shetland police force.

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World of Books ~ Couldn’t resist adding more to my #reading pile #Books

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After seeing this post on Cleopatra Loves Books, I had to check out World of Books. They offer a huge selection of preloved books, most of which are quite cheap, in a range of categories, and after a quick trawl (I’ll be going back for more, I’m sure!) I bagged these….

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Top Reads of 2016 #Books #AmReading #TuesdayBookBlog

Posted in Books, Reading, Top Reads by

It’s that time again! This year has gone so quickly and it’s been filled with really great reads. Narrowing down favourites is a difficult task but here they are. As always, they’ll be either 4.5* or 5* and clicking on the cover will take you to Amazon UK. 

28111823Dead Is Dead ~ Thriller

Private investigator Jack Bertolino, previously an inspector with the NYPD, is employed as technical advisor, consulting on a movie being made of his last case. His job includes protection for the female star, who is being targeted by a disturbed, out of control stalker. Susan Blake is beautiful, haunted by a past that she can’t lay to rest.

During filming there’s an actual shooting several blocks away, which results in the accidental and tragic death of little Maria Sanchez and also that of known drug dealer, Tomas Vegas. Cruz Feinberg, the technical wizard in Jack’s company, knows the Sanchez family and asks Jack to make some enquiries. As Jack’s investigation progresses the Dirk brothers’ names pop up too often for Jack’s liking and his ingrained cop’s instinct is on high alert.  Continue reading →