The Darkest Evening (Vera Stanhope)

Product Information

The Darkest Evening, with a script by Colette Kane, and starring - of course! - Brenda Blethyn as DVI Vera Stanhope, was broadcast on 19th February 2023, as the 50th episode of ITV's popular crime drama. It is available to watch again on ITVx. This was my first Vera Stanhope novel, and it was definitely a treat. Author Ann Cleeves has crafted a wonderful murder mystery, guaranteed to snare the reader right from the start. The plot in The Darkest Evening is satisfyingly complicated and I found all the characters engaging. The victim was fully realized as a character and not just a body. The locale was also interesting as was Vera's connection with the upper class people who are suspects in the murder. After being addicted to watch British crime thriller series: ”Vera’ based on the books, I was so keen to read the ninth installment, welcome Vera Stanhope with opened arms and enjoy her quirkiness, unkempt looks, sharp, harsh but smart comments and her berating/ caring kind of interesting relationship dynamics with her colleagues Joe and Holly.

There is a similar moment between Vera and Aidan in Vera season 12, but in the novel it’s far longer and Vera goes into real detail about how she realized he could’ve established a fake alibi and how Lorna had been where she was because she’d been waiting for Nial that fateful night - the shortest night of the year.

Customer reviews

I was hooked from this point on. Even though I'd never the read the other books, the investigative team comes to life, as do all the other suspects. Ironically, the victim was the most vivid character for me, but everyone has their secrets, their agendas, their longings, disappointments and passions. This is a proper procedural and it slowly but relentlessly builds the suspense. The ending isn't over-the-top and every single loose end is tied up, even one that relates to some avocados.

The Stanhope family is not sure how Vera should be treated, but as a member of the police she takes charge and soon is treating them the way she would treat most any suspects of a murder. The contrast between Vera, who has little concern for the opinions of others and Harriet, the matriarch of the Stanhope family who lives and dies by her reputation is well drawn. The various characters are all well developed and the reader has ample opportunity to deepen their knowledge of them as they move through the book. In the tradition of the Golden Age detective novel, only the people in the house could have committed the murder. One of the suspects standing before you is a killer and your task is to decide which of them stabbed the unpleasant and arrogant Harriet. If you enjoy Agatha Christie and understand classic crime fiction, you can use your little grey cells to solve the mystery. I recommend this for those who like team oriented police procedurals by the likes of Archer Mayor, Louise Penny or Joy Ellis. Several doors are opened in The Darkest Evening to launch more stories. Devoted fans will keep looking forward to them, while new fans made through this volume will join the crowd."—New York Journal of Books Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.The suspense in this complex, extremely well-written mystery is as mesmerizing as the landscape.”— Free-Lance Star I considered counting the number of cuppas, both tea and coffee, but why be so petty? It was December, they’d had blizzards in Northumbria (northern England), and it was bl**dy freezing, so Vera always welcomed a warm mug to wrap her frozen hands around. Ironically, Vera does feel nervous approaching this ‘country house’ with a strange toddler in a snowstorm. There may be a butler, who knows? But she is a relative, she has a good reason to seek help, and she’s dealt with far worse. Who doesn't love 'large and shabby' Vera Stanhope, the blunt detective in Ann Cleeves's Northumberland police procedurals? She is already one of the genre immortals." The murderer reveals his identity when he kidnaps Thomas and takes him to Jinny’s Mill. Vera knows that she will find him there and lets Joe and Holly know her whereabouts. Vera finds Thomas in Jinny’s Mill and lets the kidnapper chase her into the woods. He catches her and confesses. He is Neil Heslop and is trying to strangle Vera when Holly finds them and saves Vera’s life.