The Dark Wives - (Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves

About the Book

"As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death. The man's body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up. DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home's residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can't bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can't dismiss the possibility. Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible"--

Book Synopsis

As New York Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's beloved Vera series explodes in popularity in print and on TV, this stunning eleventh book explores the web of secrets surrounding a young man's death.

The man's body is found in the early morning light by a local dog walker in the park outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens in the coastal village of Longwater. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who was due to work the previous night but never showed up.

DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate the death, with her only clue being the disappearance of one of the home's residents, fourteen-year-old Chloe Spence. Vera can't bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can't dismiss the possibility.

Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie Bell, are soon embroiled in the case, and when a second connected body is found near the Three Dark Wives monument in the wilds of the Northumberland countryside, superstition and folklore begin to collide with fact. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, and the dark secrets in their community that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever believed possible.

Review Quotes

An Instant New York Times Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller

An Apple Books Best Book of September
One of Parade's "Best New Book Releases This Week"

"Forceful . . . 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."--Publishers Weekly

"A taut police procedural enhanced by relevant social consciousness."--Booklist

"An excellent character-driven entry that highlights major problems in Britain's child welfare system."--Kirkus Reviews

"The Dark Wives is a hell of a good story."--BookPage

"Ann Cleeves has mastered the prolonged suspenseful ending."--Shelf Awareness

"It's a good read."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"A slow burn with a smasher of an ending."--Aunt Agatha's

"The complex plot had me hooked from the start, and the settings--both seaside and rural--were so well written I can still see them in my mind days after finishing the book. Vera is not the only character who comes alive on the pages. Cleeves has a terrific skill in developing characters that seem to walk right off the page into the readers' lives. The Dark Wives has me chomping at the bit for the next book in the Vera series."--Reviewing the Evidence

"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 mesmerizing crime novels--how we live now."--Mick Herron, author of the Slough House series

About the Author

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series--Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge--all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.