We start off with a young housewife, Emma Bennett who sits around having fantasies about the local potter, Dan. Given that the second murder is investigated under the authority of the the Yorkshire force and Vera has a tendency to rub people up the wrong way, DS Joe Ashworth comes in handy as a foil to extract information in their tremendous double act.

A new audio edition, read by Janine Birkett, was released on January 1st 2019, and is available as an Audible audio download or on CD (in a choice of format) from the Reading House. I found very few of the characters likeable, and even appreciated how one unreliable narrator was modeled after Emma Bovary (of Madame Bovary notoriety). They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore.A big thank-you to Ann Cleeves, Macmillan UK Audio, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review. This second book in the Vera Stanhope series was better than the first, but I think there’s still lots of room for improvement. Blessed with good looks Abigail could have any fellow she took a fancy to, including the much older ones as well.

The Humberside location is vividly brought to life, the coldness of the North Sea was felt throughout. Her husband, James, is very private, thoughtful and considerate, but why does Vera think he is hiding something.And there were elements that were different in the book than in the show [which helped with my confusion and I was totally okay with that] and when I finally *thought* I DID remember, I was close but ultimately wrong. However, ten years later and turned down for parole, Jeanie Long’s suicide prior to a new witness coming forward sees DI Vera Stanhope casting fresh eyes over an investigation that the neighbouring force of Yorkshire originally presided over. Fast paced with enough twists and turns to keep me hooked with a cast of very intriguing characters. For one young woman, Emma Bennett, the revelation brings back haunting memories of her vibrant best friend--and of that fearful winter's day when she had discovered her body lying cold in a ditch.