Description

‘Expertly plotted and mesmerising’ – Mick Herron A local myth. A deadly threat. Vera Stanhope, star of ITV’s Vera, returns for her most shocking case so far . . .
I can’t see anything. It’s as if this house is on its own in the world, as if I’m on my own in the world and nobody would care if I died . . .

When a body is found on the common outside Rosebank, an isolated care home for troubled teens, DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work, and her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility.

Then, in the isolated wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, near the Three Dark Wives standing stones which have triggered legends across the centuries, a second body is found. As folklore and fact begin to collide, Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth.

But it seems that there are dark secrets in their community – ones that may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed . . .

The Dark Wives is the next thrilling mystery in the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling series from Ann Cleeves.

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‘Like Rendell and James before her, like McDermid and Rankin today, Ann Cleeves is one of our secret chroniclers, charting – under cover of a series of expertly plotted and mesmerising crime novels – how we live now’ – Mick Herron, author of Slow Horses

‘Cleeves’s Northumberland novels are strong on atmosphere, combing old-fashioned detective work with a modern take on class’ – The Sunday Times

‘A thoroughly engrossing thriller’ – The Mail on Sunday

‘One of Britain’s best crime writers’ – Daily Express

‘A story that keeps you guessing until the end where all the clues are pulled together masterfully’ – Reader review

‘As stunning on the page as on TV’ – Reader review

‘The storyline, the characters and the atmosphere of North East England all fit together beautifully’ – Reader review

Publisher Review

Like Rendell and James before her, like McDermid and Rankin today, Ann Cleeves is one of our secret chroniclers, charting – under cover of a series of expertly plotted and mesmerising crime novels – how we live now — Mick Herron A thoroughly engrossing thriller — on The Rising Tide * The Mail on Sunday * Cleeves’s Northumberland novels are strong on atmosphere, combining old-fashioned detective work with a modern take on class * The Sunday Times * 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. Cleeves delivers some choice Vera moments in The Darkest Evening * The New York Times * In a world where celebrities debut on bestseller charts, Cleeves is an old-school crime writer in every sense, working her way up the list over years, building a readership while honing her craft — Brian McGilloway on The Rising Tide Cleeves portrays Rosebank’s kids and its staffers with compassion and respect, even as she spotlights the pitfalls of a for-profit approach to child welfare. Multiple narrators and a core cast of keenly rendered characters lend the tale dimension while furthering the series arc. Cleeves’s fans will be well satisfied * Publisher’s Weekly *