The Seagull

The Seagull finds Inspector DI Vera Stanhope headed to a local prison to give a talk to a bunch of old prisoners on the impact their crimes have on society in this eighth installment in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves. While there the former detective superintendent whom Vera helped put in prison, John Brace, asks to speak to her. Brace was a member of the “gang of four” which included Vera’s father. Brace is concerned about his daughter Patty and grandchildren, and if Vera will look in on them, he will provide Vera with information on another member of the gang of four who disappeared 20 years earlier, Robbie Marshall.

Vera does so and Brace comes through with the location of a grave site. When Vera and her team show more investigate, not only do they find Robbie Marshall, but another body as well. Now Vera must discover what happened to both Robbie as well as the body of a woman who may be Patty’s mother, Mary-Frances Escuola. The case digs up uncomfortable memories about Vera’s own father with whom she had a complicated relationship. It also involves a former ritzy nightclub called The Seagull. The investigation stirs up a lot of old sentiments and when a fresh body turns up, Vera is certain that someone wants to make sure the crime remains unsolved, even after 20 years.

This is an outstanding mystery and it’s easy to see why Vera Stanhope is in her eighth installment. Vera is a wonderful character full of quirks, intelligence, and dogged determination with an almost folksy way about her. The team she leads is made up of a nice mix of experience and youthfulness with each team member bringing a unique skill set to the investigation. Each of their individual talents plays a role in solving the case, with Vera sending them to track down various leads while she herself works on unraveling the whole thing. Vera pulls at the strings until the answers come tumbling out and she is able to wrap things up in a thrilling showdown.

Cleeves has created a clever and compelling mystery that will pique your curiosity. Even better, her characters are uniformly well-developed and entertaining. I absolutely loved spending time with Vera and her team as well as all the others encountered in the course of the investigation. Patty is a particularly good character who is portrayed sympathetically and makes you root for her.

The audiobook is narrated by Janine Birkett who does award-worthy work here. She perfectly captures the character of Vera and brings her to life. Her voice and inflection fill out the description on the page into a fully realized character. The voices of the other characters are likewise distinct and convey a sense of their own confidence or lack thereof, as well as whatever inner turmoil they are experiencing at the time. There are subtle changes that indicate how the same person interacts differently when talking to different characters. Her pacing is perfect for the story. I highly recommend this book and further recommend the audio version. Long-time fans will enjoy and new fans will be able to jump right in without having to have read the earlier books.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this audiobook from the publisher. show less

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope of the Northumbria Police is in her mid-fifties, overweight, and slovenly. On the other hand, she is a shrewd and methodical detective who presides over an efficient, hard-working, and loyal team. DS Joe Ashworth, Vera's protégé, is torn between spending time with his family and being at Vera's beck and call. DC Holly Clarke is beautiful, brainy, and has terrific computer skills, but lacks a personal touch with witnesses. When Vera's obnoxious boss sends her to Warkworth Prison to lecture the inmates, John Brace, a disgraced former police superintendent serving time for corruption, decides that Vera may be able to shorten his sentence. He tells Vera that if she agrees to lend a hand to his troubled show more daughter, he will reveal where a missing man's body can be found.

John's revelation rejuvenates Vera, who has been bored of late. She reopens the long dormant case of Robbie Marshall, who disappeared decades earlier, and is survived by his aged and doting mother. Robbie was a fixer who loved nothing more than "arranging" things for power players, but why did he suddenly vanish? Vera and her subordinates delve into a bygone era, and look into the shady activities that took place in a nightclub known as the Seagull. Among the persons of interest are Vera's late father, Hector (who trafficked illegally in rare birds' eggs), a shadowy individual nicknamed the Prof, and a beautiful woman trying to free herself from her addiction to heroin. When someone with ties to the investigation is murdered, Vera's inquiries take on added significance.

"The Seagull," by Ann Cleeves, is a leisurely paced novel in which Vera recalls the unhappy life she had with her aloof and self-centered father, who was greedy, drank too much, and had little use for his only child. Partly as a result of Hector's neglect, Vera became a loner and a workaholic. This work of fiction has two outstanding elements—its magnificent setting and excellent descriptive writing. On the other hand, the novel is too long, talky, and repetitious. Vera and company conduct endless interviews, sift through old documents and photographs, and try to figure out how all the pieces fit together. At last, they come up with the long-awaited answers that they seek.

Unfortunately, except for Vera and her colleagues, few of the characters stand out, with the exception of Patricia Keane, a depressed and overwhelmed single mom who is barely able to cope with the responsibility of raising three kids. Although Vera can be charming and insightful, too often she comes across as a cold and calculating woman who manipulates others for her own ends. "The Seagull" is an atmospheric police procedural that takes too long to reach its conclusion and offers limited rewards for those who decide to stay the course. show less

This Vera mystery features a cold case that has ties to Vera’s father, Hector. For that reason, the case really resonates: we learn a bit more about Vera’s past. I stayed up late to finish it, which is the sign of a good mystery. And I liked how the team banded together and how they played to each other’s strength. That’s one of the things I like the most about this series, actually. Looking forward to the next book!

Well of course I had to hit a blip in my series read. This was not good. It starts off really well and at the halfway point it gets slower, but still held my interest. But I think the ending and resolution was what knocked it down two stars for me. It didn't sit right with me that the guilty party(ies) in essence get away with things and that one character is just cool with the fact that her birth parties are behind the murder of her estranged husband. I maybe went is this for real a few times at the end.. Just one more book to go and I will have completed my series read.

"The Segull" follows Vera after she's forced to go and talk to inmates concerning the crimes they did and the impact on victims. One of the inmates is a former officer, show more John Brace, who knew Vera as a child. The two of them have long-standing ties since Brace was friends and ran around with Vera's deceased father Hector. The gang of four (made me think of the Christie novel) included Brace, Hector, a man named the Prof (who no one ever met/saw in real life it seems) and a 40ish year old man named Robbie Marshall. When Brace demands that Vera look in on his daughter and her children in exchange for the location of Robbie Marshall's dead body (Marshall disappeared more than 20 years earlier) she looks into the particulars of Marshall's disappearance in the 90s and the people that moved in his circle.

Vera is a bit off in this one at times. Being thrown information about Hector throws her and also worries her what her father was up to besides stealing eggs.

Joe and Holly are still front and center in this one and are tracking down leads. What I liked though is this one uses Charlie a lot more than the prior books and he shines in this one.

The cast of thousands (I am exaggerating) were not hard to keep straight. But I have to say that some of the motivations felt really off and it seemed that Cleeves had a great plot, but the resolution/execution were just half-hearted. I don't see Vera going for what ends up taking place in this one. show less

This was my introduction to Ann Cleeves and her rather different detective Vera Stanhope. A character so well described that I felt I really knew her by the end.

This book returns Vera to her childhood and old friends of her father's, a crooked lot. Nice to see her team's and her insecurities. Most of us have them, so it was nice to see characters that did as well. Helped me identify and connect to them.

The plot was a good one with enough back history to make it come alive, but not too much. Seeing Patty Keane makes Vera draw similarities between their upbringings which was nicely done. Just the right level of sentimentality, not gushy or pushy, but more subtle and realistic.

I have one word to describe Ann Cleeves' latest book, THE SEAGULL, and that is perfection.
THE SEAGULL features DCI Vera Stanhope and her intelligent team. (They really shine in this title.) The complex characters; the sense of place/location; the intelligence and personal growth of the team; the well-paced plot; the insights into Vera’s personality; and the haunting presence of Hector as if he was stalking Vera from the grave add up to a perfect mystery title. I liked the cover art, also - very striking with the seagull cutout and the lighthouse.
I didn’t want the book to end as I was savoring every word. Thank you for this wonderful addition to the ‘Vera’ series.

Love the character of Vera Stanhope as well as the supporting cast. This is especially good as her father seems somehow mixed up with everything. Excellent mystery, satisfying twists and turns. Wonderful sense of place. I'm really afraid that I'm reading these faster than Ms Cleeves can write them. Long may she live!