Tangled Web UK Review May 2011
Silent Voices (Vera Stanhope 4) by
Anne Cleeves
hbk out February 11
Published by Macmillan
at £17.99
Whilst crafting her award-winning The Shetland Quartet, Ann Cleeves has also kept
producing an occasional novel featuring Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, and
the appearance of the fifth and latest entry in this series coincides happily
with the launch of a high-profile television series featuring the character. It
is no surprise that Vera Stanhope has attracted such interest, because she is
a truly memorable and distinctive detective. Here, she gets into the action right
away when she discovers the body of a woman in the sauna room of a gym. The victim
turns out to be a divorced and apparently likeable social worker, but it soon
turns out that a number of people might have had a reason to kill her. In particular,
one of her past cases seems to be significant, and the fact that the dead woman
was planning to write a book based on her professional experiences strikes Vera
as a potential clue to unravelling the mystery. Another death occurs, and a couple
of suspects come to the fore, but the revelation of two unexpected relationships
– one a family connection, the other a secret affair – turns the
case on its head. The plot is neatly contrived, but once again the real triumph
of the book is the portrayal of Vera Stanhope. This is a series which, like its
author, is going from strength to strength.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
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