Telling Tales (Vera Stanhope, 2)

Product Information

It's a long way from Shetland - but Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez is on the spot. His ex-wife, Sarah, has asked him to look into the case. The local gossips are saying that her new husband, Tom, was having an affair with Anna. Could Tom have been involved with her death? Sarah refuses to believe it - but needs proof ... Emma's husband and brother are both harboring secrets, though Emma's brother Chris has an obsession with Abigail and can't seem to move on from her murder. Ann Cleeves and Matt Baker awarded Queen's honours". BBC News. 31 December 2021 . Retrieved 3 January 2022.

In July 2022, Cleeves was awarded an honorary D.Litt. from Newcastle University for services to reading and libraries. [11] Bibliography [ edit ] Palmer-Jones [ edit ] The setting of Elvet seems a lonely and desolate place. Emma's parent's home seems cold and empty which was a perfect metaphor for what was going on with a lot of people. The setting perfectly captures the essence of the book, a 15 year old girl murdered in a village of lies and deceit.Not too much to say about this one. It was fine. I was bored though for the first 1/3 until we get Vera interacting with characters. Any time Cleeves is away from her I found myself bored. The ending was very good though and a surprise. I liked how it was wrapped up. She lives in Whitley Bay, [1] and is widowed with two daughters. [4] Honours, awards, and media appearances [ edit ] Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite writers. I have read several of her Shetland Island series and now have started the Vera Stanhope series. I wish the Vera series was shown on the PBS in my area. She is a layered writer where as each chapter progresses, the reader know more about the characters. A young teenage girl was murdered 10 years ago and someone was imprisoned for the crime. Now it is proven that the girl who went to jail was innocent but it is too late for that girl. Vera is sent to reopen the case and solve the murder from the past.

That’s one of Ann Cleeves’ strengths. Like Christie, she sets a scene, in a small village or a large country house, and allows the characters to reveal their own secrets, the stories they tell themselves about their past and their lives. Vera listens. At times she doubts herself, but she’s finally able to see the truth, the nugget buried somewhere in all of the tales people tell. The reader might be there for all of the accounts Vera hears, but, time and again, Vera discovers a truth that the reader misses. After realizing I'd have to jump through every hoop imaginable to try and get these on audio, I decided to just watch the TV series [with the amazing Brenda Blethyn - the show is marvelous BTW]. When I finished the series, I realized that I DID want to give the books a try [I had read the first one, which is what led me to the TV show] and so I dove in. I had watched the show that is based on this book [not all the shows are based on the books] and I could not, for the life of me, remember WHO the killer was. 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. WHICH. WAS. AWESOME!! ;-) Only my second Vera Stanhope book but strong writing, humanly messy characters and a sense of place are becoming the hallmarks of this series. I’m so glad it’s a long-lived series because I look forward to being drawn in, again and again. An archipelago of more than a hundred islands, Shetland is the one of the most remote places in the United Kingdom. Its fifteen hundred miles of shore mean that wherever one stands, there is a view of the sea. It has sheltered voes and beaches and dramatically exposed cliffs, lush meadows full of wild flowers in the summer and bleak hilltops where only the hardiest of plants will grow. It is a place where traditions are valued and celebrated, but new technologies and ways of working are also embraced.

Customer reviews

This meant the huge array of supporting characters started to blend together slight and it was easy to get some of the characters muddled. Joanne Butcher (8 July 2014). "Vera writer Ann Cleeves gains honour from University of Sunderland - The Journal". journallive. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019 . Retrieved 24 May 2016. On hearing the news, Emma Bennett is haunted once more by memories of her vibrant best friend, Abigail, and by the thought that her killer is still at large.