I haven't read many of the Vera Stanhope novels (but all of the Shetland series), but I have seen all of the television series. With the characters in my mind, this novel moves quickly. It is easy to visualize the landscape which is so much a part of Cleeves' writing. With the four families we were seeing through Vera's and Holly's eyes, it felt like watching a play with different sets, but the same conflicts among husbands and wives, parents and children. The solution to the mystery was surprising, but made sense. I will recommend the whole series to my patrons. I think it is good to start earlier on so you would know the backstory of the whole crew.

The very best of Ann Cleeves. Well-rounded characters of all ages, including babies, teens, young adults, and the not-so-young (not as common as it ought to be), and a plot that kept me guessing.

Thanks NetGalley.

I enjoyed everything about this mystery. The plot had just enough twists and turns to keep me interested throughout, but not so many surprises that things got confusing. The writing was sharp and clear, and I especially appreciated the author's subtle reminders about who characters were and the progress of the investigation. The real star of the novel was the main character, Vera. I loved how fully developed she was as well as her intelligence, her independence, and her leadership. I also appreciated that the other police officers, though they had only supporting roles, were also compelling and complex.

This was the first book of the Vera Stanhope series that I have read. On the strength of this book, I will be going back to read all the previous novels.

I am so grateful that I received an advance copy of this book. Like a lot of other people, I have watched Vera but I hadn’t read one of her books until now. (I’ve read other Ann Cleves). This is awesome. It keeps you guessing, idiosyncrasies come to the fore, Vera’s not above talking to herself. What’s not to love? Vera is driving home on a snowy night and comes across a car with the door open and a baby in the back. The woman’s identity is soon sorted but not the father of the child. Lorna has overcome anorexia, and is getting on with life. Who would kill her? Read this!

I only recently discovered Vera Stanhope on Acorn and Britbox TV and was immediately taken by this smart, no-nonsense, humane detective. I was delighted to find "The Darkest Evening" in my library and read it in two sittings. The story takes place in winter, on a dark and snowy night, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, on her way home from the office, becomes disoriented in the blinding snow and takes a wrong turn. This leads her to a car on the side of the road, door open, with a toddler inside, alone.

Calling out but finding no adult, Vera takes the child with her, leaving a note, and arrives at a nearby great house, where her late father grew up. She knocks on the door, interrupting a holiday party. When the father of two young local women who are working as servers arrives in a plow to take them home he finds a woman's body in the snow.

The blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, and the house and grounds begin to give up their secrets. Vera digs deeper into her investigation and also begins to uncover some of her family’s complicated past as she is forced to deal with and investigate the cousins who still live on the estate plus local workers who form part of the community. With many twists and turns, the mystery is eventually solved.

The book is well-written and the plot believable.

The Darkest Evening, a Vera Stanhope novel (Vera Stanhope #9) by Ann Cleeves. St. Martin's Press. Minotaur Books. Mystery & Thrillers. Publication date: 08 Sep 2020. 374 pages. ISBN: 9781250204509. Electronic ARC. 5 Stars.

This is my second Ann Cleeves read, and I think she’s fantastic. I liked this standalone even better than the last. Pitch perfect, I thoroughly enjoyed this latest book featuring Ann Cleeves’ superstar character, Vera, as well as her use of regional slang words like ‘cack-handed’ and ‘knaa’ and ‘hinny’ for honey… This mystery gets your attention and keeps it forever! Great tie-up at the end. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books for providing this ebook ARC for review.

The latest installment in the Vera series does not disappoint. The addition of a family connection (Vera's) to the who-done-it aspect of the story revealed another side of this complex personality. Set in Vera's neck of the woods just before Christmas, she starts with one body, acquires another, and to avoid spoiling the mystery, I won't describe the almost-third in the set.

Ann Cleeves' writing is always worth reading. Vera fans will not be disappointed. In addition, because I am also a fan of the TV show, the story played in my head like I was watching it.

Keep those mysteries, coming, Ann Cleeves. You've got an audience for all of your series.

Ann Cleeves is a new author to me, hence, I hadn’t read any of the previous novels in her Vera Stanhope series. Still, I dove in with eager anticipation, drawn to the intriguing premise of this retro-style murder mystery. While I enjoy a good whodunit, between the quirky characters and a disjointed storyline, I had a hard time remaining totally engaged. However, if I had read the previous books in this series, my overall take might be slightly different. Still, I found “The Darkest Evening” to be decent story, overall, and I want to express my thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the opportunity to explore a new author and series.

I read this ARC in exchange for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

I absolutely LOVE Vera both books and TV adaption so was thrilled to be able to read this
Loved it
Loved the story - the characters you will already be familiar with the characters which are well written and rounded

So loved this - can't give more than 5 stars but would it I can

Detective Vera Stanford is lost. It's a blinding snow storm and cold as hell. Somewhere she's taken a wrong turn.
As she turns a corner she notices a car that's slipped off the road. The door is standing wide open. Vera goes to investigate and she discovers a sleeping toddler boy in his car seat. She can't figure out who would leave their car in a blizzard much less a defenseless child with the door open.
Vera loads the child in her truck and leaves a note that she has the child. As she's driving she soon discovers where she's at and drives up to the familial mansion. There she is able to get warm and get the child taken care of. She gets her force looking to locate anyone walking in the snow. The owners of the house, distant relatives of Vera's are having a house party so everyone is extremely busy.
When the father arrives to pick up his girls who are working at the party, he is distraught and panicked. His headlights have picked up the frozen body of a young woman. Pandemonium arises in being able to help the young woman. She is dead, murdered.
Thus starts a case that Vera and her team will have to solve. Who and why would someone kill a young mother?
Intriguing, plenty of twists and turns.
A book about family, love, betrayal and illness.
Recommended!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read and review this book.

This is my first Vera Stanhope Novel and I really liked it. In this mystery, Vera is solving the murder of two different women that are found near her long lost family estate. She did not grow up at the estate, but she does have family connections to the house. I thought this book was very well written. There was quite a list of suspects and I did not figure out the answers until the end when the author revealed the killer. I plan to read more books by this author, and I especially want to read the other books in this series. Great mystery series! Highly recommend!

Vera Stanhope, a DI with the local Police, is driving home from work during a snowstorm when she spies a car in a ditch. When she goes to look at it, she finds an infant in the car seat, but no one else anywhere nearby. She leaves the child in the car and briefly searches for the missing adult without any luck. After returning to the car, taking the child and going to her Range Rover, she contacts her team and calls them in to help. Shortly thereafter, a local farmer on a tractor comes up to her acting extremely distraught and tells her he has just found a young woman’s body in the snow. This is the introduction to The Darkest Evening. It proceeds with the investigation and also the interactions between the various families that may or may not be part of the murder. It also takes into account that Vera is distantly related to the family from the manor and her various eccentricities and their effect on her team. It is remarkably well written and engrossing. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur for an ARC for an honest review.

The Darkest Evening is a good, old-fashioned murder mystery, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The star of the show is Vera Stanhope, a British Detective Inspector. At the start of the book, Vera is driving in an awful snowstorm when she gets off track and is stopped by an abandoned car. When she goes to investigate, she finds the driver's door open and a baby in a car seat. Having reoriented herself, Vera takes the baby and drives to the closest home, which happens to be Brockburn, an old, deteriorating manor owned by the Stanhope family. Vera's father had grown up there but was the black sheep of the family, and the Stanhope family had shunned him, as well as his child, Vera. There's a party going on at Brockburn, but Vera warms up in the kitchen while she calls her station to notify them about the abandoned car and baby. At the end of the party, a local man comes by in a tractor to pick up his two daughters who had been servers at the party. Nearing the manor, his headlights make out a body nearly buried in the snow. Thus begins the mystery of the murder of Lorna Falstone.

I have been aware of Ann Cleeves for many years, but I believe this is the first book of hers that I have read. Cleeves' character developments are so skillful that I could picture every one of the many characters in the book. This is the ninth book in the series, but it read perfectly as a stand-alone. Now that I've finished it and read other reviews that mention a British television series about Vera, I'll go back and read earlier books in the series and look for the show. Count me as a new fan of Ms. Cleeves.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. The Darkest Evening will be published on September 8, 2020, and I highly recommend picking up a copy when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC. I loved this book; I tried to read it slowly knowing it will be at least a year before there is another Vera book. I ended up reading it in a day..that's how much I enjoyed it. As always Anne Cleeves combines the best aspects of a traditional mystery with terrific dialog and a sense of weather and atmosphere. I felt this 9th Vera novel gave me insight into Vera's history and a better sense of her interpersonal relationships. I am a huge fan of Anne Cleeves and her 3 different series ((although she has recently concluded her Shetland series and has started a new series starring DI Matthew Venn). This book can be read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend you start the beginning and savor this series.

Followers of the BBCs Vera Stanhope series will be delighted with this latest addition by author Anne Cleeves, The Darkest Evening. The well-known cast of characters includes Joe, Holly, the pathologist and others. Not to be trite, but the story starts on a dark and stormy night when Vera takes a wrong turn on her way home and comes across an abandoned car with a year old baby inside. The nearest dwelling is the Stanhope ancestral home and Vera makes her way there with the baby. Plenty of suspects when the body of the child’s mother is found in front of the house buried in the snow. Speculation as to the identity of the father is rampant in the village. Soon, the body of a retired schoolteacher and friend of the dead woman is found in the woods. Engrossing describes this fascinating read. Waiting for the TV version.

Northumberland - Present Day

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope left the police station for home during the first winter snowstorm of the year. She scoffed at her team for their concern about the weather, because her trusty Land Rover would get her to her rural cottage with no issues. But the farther she traveled, the worse the storm got, and she could barely make out the road in the swirling blizzard. Taking the turn she thought would get her home, Vera suddenly came upon another vehicle that had obviously slid off the road. The driver's door was open and there was no sign of the occupant as Vera checked the area. As she headed back to her car, she heard a cry, returned to the other car and found a toddler strapped into a car seat. Obviously she couldn't leave the child behind, so Vera hauled the seat and the child into her Rover and headed to the nearest house - a house that was all too familiar.

Brockburn house belonged to the last of the Stanhope family, excluding Vera, of course. It had belonged to her cousin Crispin, her father's nephew, but since his death only his wife, daughter, and son-in-law lived there now. Hector, Vera's dad was the black sheep of the family, raising his daughter alone after his wife's death, had never fit in, and, consequently, Vera had very little to do with her family. So, turning up at the door during a blizzard with a child was going to come as a shock to the Stanhopes. To make things more complicated, they were hosting a dinner party.

Crispin's daughter, Juliet, answered the door, allowing her husband and mother to keep chatting with their guests. Her husband was planning to ask their carefully chosen guests to help fund his idea to turn Brockburn into a theater for the locals, with hopes of attracting others from the city. Juliet, a rather meek mannered woman was going along with the idea, although her mother wasn't thrilled. Now, here is her cousin Vera showing up on the doorstep with a toddler. Dorothy, a tenant on the estate, is Juliet's friend and the housekeeper/cook/organizer, takes charge. But while they are discussing the abandoned car, another tenant arrives in his tractor to pick up his daughters who had been helping out with dinner. He is obviously shaken, for he's found a dead woman nearby in the snow.

THE DARKEST EVENING begins in a blizzard, not only of snow, but a plethora of possible suspects who may have murdered young Lorna, baby Thomas' mother. Lorna's sad past, the people who knew her, and those who may or may not be Thomas' father all are subjects of Vera's investigation along with her team of Joe Ashworth, Holly, and Charlie. Being this close to her family has brought back plenty of memories for Vera, not all good ones. Could they or their guests have murdered the girl? Plus, why is Dorothy a housekeeper after giving up a high paying job in the city? And then a second woman is found dead.

The latest Vera Stanhope mystery is as riveting and satisfying as the previous books. As usual, Vera isn't concerned with being politically correct, could care less about her looks, and shows to all around her that her life revolves around her job. Still, there are a few poignant moments as Vera deals with plenty of memories of her often absent father, his many illegal habits, and that she may just have missed out on a few things in life. But first and foremost, her mind is constantly working on just who and why someone would kill two women. Her team may often resent being called at all hours of the night, but they grudgingly admire and respect Vera Stanhope.

A Perfect 10, do not miss the latest Ann Cleeves novel, THE DARKEST EVENING.

This mystery begins on a dark snowy evening, actually, it’s the first snow of the winter. Vera Stanhope is tired and anxious to get home. Driving is hampered by the thick, swirling snow and for this reason, Vera becomes disoriented and makes a wrong turn. Nevertheless she plows on, coming upon a car that appears to have skidded off the road. Curiously, the driver's door Is standing wide open. Vera assumes the driver has gone for help, but when she inspects the car, she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.
The child is freezing and Vera takes the child into her car and drives on, after leaving a note. Vera doesn’t make it home, rather she decides it best to stop at Brockburn, a run-down stately home. Brockburn is familiar to Vera as this is the house where her father Hector, grew up.

Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and loud laughter of couples celebrating the coming of Christmas. While this joviality is going on, outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead. Suddenly, Vera has a new case. Could this woman be the child's mother, and if so, what happened to her? She appears to have been attacked before dying out in the elements.

The mystery takes place in the Northumberland countryside, where the old manor of Brockburn has long held secrets. Vera, assigned to this complicated case digs deeper into the investigation and begins to uncover her own family’s complicated past

This is the ninth novel with DCI Vera Stanhope deftly on the case. I can see this another Ann Cleeves' best seller in her popular series.
You’ll find it a classic country house mystery with a contemporary twist, written in vivid language.

My only criticism of this novel is the large number of characters involved. I had a bit of trouble remembering who was who. Still a well written mystery.

The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves, published by St. Martin's Press, is book nine in her Vera Stanhope Series, but can be read as a stand-alone.
TDE is a stunning mystery, well written and beautifzully thought out and beautifully told. I was in suspense from start til the end. I read the book, cover to cover, in one sitting.
The storyline is captivating and the writing quite great, 4,5 stars.

Who doesn't love the cheeky detective inspector Vera Stanhope? Even if you aren't a fan of the BBC tv production you'll like this new novel featuring the well known curmudgeon - far fewer graphic scenes of murder in the book than on tv and more reliance on solid plotting. If you don't already know this character, think of an acerbic female Columbo with a solidly working class accent. She's very smart, suffers no fools, and is a career British policewoman. This newest book involves a baby in an abandoned car during a blizzard, tons of village gossip, haughty but nearly broke county landowner family, and a young woman who's worked hard to recover from a nasty mental crisis.

Hm, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this whodunit. Especially the ending.

Even though I gave this three stars, I can definitely praise it as a 100% whodunit. We've got our suspects, we've got our detective, we got our murder and it followed the formula from there. I was craving a murder mystery anyway so I'm glad I picked this one up even though I was hesitant because it was in a series. But, if you sound interested, you should still buy it because being ninth in the series didn't change my opinion of the book at all. You can go into this without knowing anything, unlike other series like Three Pines.

We spend most of our time in this book with Vera talking to the different suspects related to the victim, and I did find the dialogue and writing very good. But, I thought some of the suspects were lacking some serious character development to the point where I only had four of them in my mind who seemed important to the story.

Lastly, my biggest complaint is the murderer. Or, how the murder was handled. When Vera was talking to some of the less developed characters it felt more of just "let's get more information on the murder" instead of giving us a unique perspective. And when everything was revealed I was a little bit disappointed, it wasn't predictable but I didn't find the motive to be that interesting considering this is a very experienced author. And with some of the details left out in the explanation, it felt like I was putting together a puzzle and someone just took away half the pieces making the end result feeling incomplete.

This was a very OK read for me, and note to whodunits everywhere that the murderer doesn't always have to be one of the lesser developed characters.