The Dark Wives

When Chloe Spence disappears shortly after Josh Woodburn, a staffer at the Rosebank Home, is killed, she has to be considered a suspect. Chloe is a bright 14-year-old whose father left the family and mother is in a psychiatric hospital, and after Vera reads her diary, she thinks her innocent. The system that cares for troubled children is falling apart, and the private companies that run much of it don’t much care. Vera, who’s earned a reputation for solving weird cases, feels guilty over the recent death of a member of her team, leaving her to work with the proven DS Joe Ashworth and the ambitious new DC Rosie Bell. Chloe had been attending the well-regarded Salvation Academy, but her diary makes clear that plenty of problems were show more being pasted over to maintain the school’s good name. The staff at the home say only that Chloe was a loner who had a crush on Josh, a university student from a well-heeled family who took the job to impress the girl he loved, a save-the-world type. The next to die is another resident of the home, an older boy who sells drugs. It looks like an overdose to everyone but Vera, who smells more murder. Her biggest concern is finding Chloe—who’s deeply afraid of trusting anyone—before the killer does.

An excellent character-driven entry that highlights major problems in Britain’s child welfare system. K(irkus Reviews) A good Vera novel. Worth the read. show less

DI Vera Stanhope and her team are called out to the murder of a young man in the park outside of a home for troubled teens where he had worked as a councillor. At the same time, Chloe, a 14-year-old resident of the home, has gone missing and Vera believes that she may be the perpetrator but more likely either a witness or another victim. Either way, they have to find her. When another resident of the home is found dead, their search for Chloe becomes even more imperative.

When you start an Ann Cleeves mystery, you know you’re in for one hell of a page turner and The Dark Wives is no exception. It is the eleveth in her Vera mystery series and it is well written with a tight plot and three dimensional characters who are flawed with show more interesting backstories. As always, Vera is a bit of curmudgeon but underneath, a heart of gold and new character, Rosie Bell looks to be a fine addition to the team. The story takes place in Northumberland, adding a darker layer to the tale and there's an interesting explanation of the story behind the title. There is also some social critique to the story as it examines the impact privatization has had on social programs like group homes not only to the residents but to the carers. Overall, an exceptional read that kept my interest throughout. I read the ebook while listening to the audiobook narrated by Janine Birkett who does as amazing job especially given the number of different accents.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review show less

Any time spent with Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope is well spent, and The Dark Wives is no exception. Vera and her team are still reeling from events in the previous book (The Rising Tide). Vera is very much affected, and she finds herself not only thinking of her own mortality but also trying to work on her management style.

It will come as no surprise to longtime readers of this series that the interactions between the characters are an integral part of the book. The new detective constable, Rosie Bell, is smart, ambitious, and wants to get ahead. She believes that anticipating what Vera wants will be very important to her upward rise in the police force. Vera's righthand man, Joe Ashworth, doesn't react well to Rosie's methods, so the show more two can be a bit competitive. Kath Oliver, a woman well versed in the system of care homes for troubled teenagers, is a character I wouldn't mind seeing more of-- and neither would Vera as she found Oliver to be a kindred spirit. However, for me, the strongest character outside of Vera herself is the fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence, even though her presence is only felt through the pages of a diary she left behind.

As usual, the mystery is a strong one, rooted in the Northumberland countryside and the folklore surrounding the Dark Wives (Northumberland's answer to Stonehenge). The privatization of care homes for children plays an important part that touches Vera deeply. ("It doesn't seem right to be making a profit from troubled children.")

As always, a mesmerizing blend of characters, landscape, folklore, and mystery, The Dark Wives is another compelling addition to the Vera Stanhope series.

(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley) show less

The latest in the Vera Stanhope series is a good one, involving a girl missing from a group home for troubled kids. The team is joined by a new detective, brash and eager to prove herself, a very different kind of cop than the detective whose shoes she's filling after the tragic events of the previous book in the series. Their investigation takes them to a village where an eerie tradition involves a witch chasing children among the "Dark Wives", large standing stones, but clues also lead to the private company that has taken over management of group homes, a development that Vera strongly opposes.

I did have a bit of trouble with the motivation of one of the characters but overall the plotting and pacing are excellent, along with the show more character development. An enjoyable entry in a solid series. show less

The story begins with the brutal murder of a staff member of a home for troubled teen-agers in a English coastal village. One of the inhabitants disappears and could possibly be the killer. Vera Stanhope and her team investigate and search for the missing girl, Chloe. Ann Cleeves develops the characters in this mystery very convincingly. So many possible individuals capable of murder, but what is the motive? Ann Cleeves shows a home environment that does not resemble “Ozzie and Harriet”. Where have the stable homes gone? Money seems to corrupt and dissolve relationships. A second young person dies before the police determine the motive and killer. An interesting look at teen-agers.

What a sad day it will be when we have no more Vera novels to read. This one shows Vera as determined, compassionate, a woman with a strong sense of justice, always to determined to do better, but also to do it her way.

An excellent read, at times atmospheric, and filled with interesting characters.

This is the eleventh installment in the Vera Stanhope series – another enjoyable visit with the pragmatic, no-nonsense detective.

The body of Josh Woodburn is found on the grounds of Rosebank, a private home for troubled teens where he volunteered part-time. At the same time, 14-year-old Chloe Spence, one of the home’s residents, goes missing. Is she Josh’s killer, a witness, or just a runaway? Vera and her team, Joe Ashworth and new member Rosie Bell, come to investigate the death and to find Chloe. Their search takes them to the Northumberland countryside with which Chloe was familiar only to discover a second body. Tension rises as Vera fears Chloe may be in danger.

Vera is still the same Vera we have come to know and love but show more a softer, more vulnerable side is revealed. The tragedy at the end of the previous book, The Rising Tide, has left her grieving and feeling regret. Vera knows she made mistakes and remembers “clever quips and unthinking words of criticism” and resolves to be more collaborative and more open in communicating with team members. Though she tries to watch her words and to use a more inclusive approach, in the end she reverts to old behaviour and keeps her theory from Joe and Rosie until the end.

The case has Vera revisiting the Stanhope Arms, a pub frequented by her father Hector so we see Vera confronting her past. A conversation with the local doctor causes her to reconsider her father’s legacy. I also like that Vera has an opportunity to make a new friend, one whom Joe describes as “a social services version of Vera, though definitely better dressed.”

The addition of Rosie is also a nice touch. Intelligent, energetic, and ambitious, she wants to impress Vera but she is also not afraid to question Vera’s investigative methods. Her arrival changes the team’s dynamics: Joe finds himself working with two strong women and because he feels “a competitive streak and a tinge of jealousy,” he thinks he has to prove to Vera that he is “still her right-hand officer.”

I love the title. It refers to a trio of monumental stones in the Northumberland countryside. Local legend tells the story of three wives who talked too much and so were turned to stone as a punishment. The book is even dedicated to dark wives, “uppity young women with minds of their own.” There are more than a few candidates for the position of dark wife. The three teens who place friendship and loyalty above all else certainly fit the description, but so does the demanding and impatient Vera.

The complex plot certainly had me guessing until the end. I did take issue with the information dump at the end; like Joe and Rosie, the reader is left in the dark. There are lots of red herrings but perhaps a paucity of clues pointing to the right direction. Everything makes sense, though I did find the motivation of one character to be rather weak.

Besides being an entertaining police procedural, the book makes a statement about the need to reform privately owned care homes which are more concerned with profit than the needs of those in their care. Rosebank, a rather run-down and unappealing facility, is short-staffed and under-funded so the resources needed by its residents are unavailable. The author in an opening note acknowledges being inspired “by an investigative piece about private children’s homes on BBC Radio” and has Vera arguing that “’they’re a breeding ground of crime and antisocial behaviour. If we’re putting an emphasis on prevention, I wonder if we should be making a case for bringing them back into local authority control.’”

As with all the books in the series, I recommend a reader poke his/her neb into this one.

Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) or substack (https://doreenyakabuski.substack.com/) to see over 1,100 of my book reviews. show less