This is a new author and series for me. Anne Cleeves writes about the adventures of her heroine, Vera Stanhope. Anne Cleeves has a talent for developing her characters. I must say, however, that the main character is not really a sympathetic one. By the time Vera captured the murderer I knew the characters in depth. They came alive on the pages of this mystery/story. There were two things that bothered me. One was the flow of the story. It seemed to jump into the middle of an action and I had no idea until several pages later what the action was about. The other thing was that there were never any clues that I was given that I may have solved the mystery myself. I had a few people in mind that could have been the murderer, but nothing definitive. As I look back I can see where several parts of the solution were scattered throughout the book, but never the one thing that could have made me so sure of the conclusion. Maybe that was the idea. Regardless, I will try the next book and see what happens with it: 'Telling Tales'.
Ron K. (WhidbeyIslander) -
Although her writing was interesting, I gave up on page 133 of 535, long before Vera arrives on the scene. It started out well, with a mysterious suicide, but the next 100 pages were all backstory of the women involved in a research project -- none of whom was terribly captivating. Will wait for another season of the series to spend time with Detective Stanhope.
I love Ann Cleeves but I had to give up on this one. I'm so disappointed. I finished the Shetland Series and was hoping to start this series. This introduction to Vera Stanhope got bogged down almost immediately. Too many characters that seemed to be under developed. The primary character wasn't brought into the story until half way through. I kept thinking with every turned page that it would come together but I finally gave up about two thirds of the way through. I never do that, it's very upsetting. I don't know if I'll pick it up again or not.
Ok Book. I thought it moved way too slow. Not my favorite.
