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The Darkest Evening

Vera Stanhope, Book 9

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The Darkest Evening

By: Ann Cleeves
Narrated by: Janine Birkett
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About this listen

Christmas is coming – and death is at the door. DCI Vera Stanhope returns in The Darkest Evening, the ninth novel in number one Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves’s phenomenally popular crime series.

The darkest nights can hide the deadliest secrets . . .

Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope’s only thought is to get there quickly.

But with the snow driving down heavily, she becomes disorientated and loses her way, eventually stumbling on another car abandoned on the road. With the driver’s door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.

Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognizes as the house her father Hector grew up in.

Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and laughter to herald the coming Christmas. But outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead and Vera has a new case. Could she be the child’s mother and, if she is, what happened to her?

'A thoroughly engrossing thriller' – Mail on Sunday

 Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Crime Winter

Critic reviews

A thoroughly engrossing thriller
Cleeves’s Northumberland novels are strong on atmosphere, combining old-fashioned detective work with a modern take on class
Brilliantly written, with more twists and turns you can shake one of Vera’s hats at
A gripping read
Fans will enjoy matching wits with Cleeves’s eccentric sleuth right up to the dangerous surprise in her denouement
Cleeves has a fine time constructing a clockwork murder plot
Superb . . . This page-turner is must reading for fans as well as newcomers (Publishers Weekly (starred review))
This ninth instalment will keep you guessing until the end
Well-paced and plotted, with its evocative Northumberland village setting and excellent characterisation, this is a great winter read
A touch of the Agatha Christie house-party murder (Book of the Week, Country Life)
Award-winning crime author Ann Cleeves makes a welcome return with the ninth book in her popular Vera series
All stars
Most relevant
Couldnt stop listening whilst simultaneously not wanting it to end. Best Vera yet ; what a cracking story.

Brilliant!!

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brilliantly read
great story thought I had solved it but was wrong!
atmospheric gripping

highly recommended

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This book had all the ingredients for me, Snow, Christmas, Yorkshire and a mystery. Ann Cleeves takes you right into the dark and cold and Vera's troubled mind. Vera and some of her team well narrated but I was not convinced of the other characters. I felt they were stereotypes and were not real. it was hard to get past that.

The Best Vera Yet.

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Enjoyed this story and kept me guessing right up to the end. Narrator very good.

Engrossing

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In this excellent performance of Ann Cleeves latest Vera installment, we learn more about her Vera's background. Great suspense as always throughout.

Ann Cleeves Vera Series gets better and better

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