Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read "The Dark Wives" in exchange for my honest review.

This is book 11 in the Vera Stanhope series and the stories just keep getting more and more interesting.

We meet out narrator 14 year old Chloe Spence who has not had an easy life. Her dad ran off 2 years ago and her mam stopped eating a year ago and started talking to the television. She writes in her diary that she's crushing on someone named Josh.

Chloe lives at Rosebank Home where teenaged kids that no one seems to want live. She attends Salvation Academy where they only car about kids that can make the school look good. Chloe's greatest belief is that NOBODY LISTENS.

DI Vera Stanhope and her team are called to Rosebank when the body of Josh Woodburn is found on the common with a head wound. They also learn that Chloe is missing. Sergeant Joe Ashworth and newcomer Rosie Bell assist Vera. Rose has replaced the recently deceased Holly who is still a very large part of the team's memories.

Ann Cleeves has a wonderful descriptive writing style and you feel that you are standing there with Vera and seeing exactly what she sees. It's so easy to feel you are with the characters. This really adds to the enjoyment of this series.

There are many family secrets throughout the story. Many people are telling lies to protect someone else. People are keeping quiet about something that needs to be exposed. People are profiting out of troubled young people because it's hard to find a place for adolescents in care.

After another body is found at a bothy, the links become stronger and the team feels that while there are several lines of enquiry, they are narrowing down their suspect. Chloe's mates Esther and Alice also carry a lot of secrets with very good intentions. Everything comes together the night of the Witch Hunt.

The reader will be shocked to learn who started this crime wave. And the story will have the reader turning the pages to see if Vera and her team solve this one in time. I always look forward to the next Vera Stanhope book and this is an absolutely brilliant story to add to the series! Looking forward to many more stories from Ms. Cleeves.

I come to this book review a bit biased. Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite authors, and deserves to be yours too. She is as outstanding as she is prolific, with large bodies of work in the “Vera,” “Shetland,” and “Venn” series of books. Her characters are rich, varied, and complex, even those playing minor roles. Each one vivid, easy to mentally picture, and sympathetic. You’ll come away from her books with a deep sadness knowing, that for the moment, you are leaving these characters behind: friends, mentors, and those who, somewhere along the way in their complicated lives, went astray.

The Dark Wives is Cleeves’ eleventh in the Vera Stanhope series, scheduled for release late August. While it helps somewhat to have read previous books in this series, it is not necessary, as each can be read as a satisfying standalone. Wives is centered around the murder of Josh, a staff member at Rosebank home for troubled teens, and disappearance of fourteen-year-old Chloe, a resident at the home, who may or may not be responsible for Josh’s demise. Both of these characters have quite complicated backstories, leading the reader in circles while at the same time trying to discern just who the killer might be and what became of the missing girl. Joe Ashworth, Vera’s dutiful sergeant is convinced that Chloe is responsible for Josh’s death;. Vera just can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager could commit such a horrible crime.

New to the scene is team member Rosie Bell, an ambitious woman out to impress Vera, whom she hopes will help her in a rapid rise to the top. The title of this book refers to a trio of stones in the wilds of Northumberland. The stones, it is said, were once wives who talked too much and, as punishment, were turned to stone. There are a few Superstitious elements throughout the story that only adds to the intrigue.

When all is said and done, I found this book to be difficult to put down, eventually giving up and turning what started out to be a busy day, completely over to reading. Keep this in mind as soon as you crack the cover. Be sure to have a pot of coffee on, and sandwiches at the ready, because you will no doubt become as enrapt as I was. This book is a total winner. Highly, very highly recommended.

Gracious thanks to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Ann Cleeves for providing me with an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

A disappeared teenager is the key. to the next Vera investigation . Secrets and lies keep you guessing until the very end. A great new novel in the Vera Series. Always a great read!

Ann Cleeves is always good bet for a quality mystery. The latest Vera novel is well-written and kept my interest throughout. The Dark Wives is a bit more twisty than some of the prior mysteries. They investigate a murder of a young man that had just started working at a shelter for troubled teenagers.

There are plenty of possible motives and an overwhelming number of suspects and incidental characters. In fact, by the time I reached the reveal, I had to stop to think about the characters involved so I could remember who was who. In addition to those involved with the victim, we get a bit more insight into Vera and her team as they deal with the death of their colleague and welcome a new member to the team dynamic.

Overall, not my favorite in the series, but a solid read. I recommend!

This is my second novel with Vera Stanhope and I am really starting to love her. I love Anne Cleeves' mysteries, I love Shetland and the Two rivers series and I really enjoyed this new book, I am planning to go back and read the previous novels of this series.

I want to thank NetGalley, Minotaur Books and the Author for the ARC.

A twisted story of power and greed. The book was a roller coaster ride of lies. There’s a sense of entitlement to the storyline. I liked the new Detective. She’s caring and tenacious. Vera seemed darker in this book. It’s a very well written book that kept me engaged. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Ann Cleeves is a must-read author for me, and I especially love her Vera Stanhope novels. As always there is always a murder, this time with two missing vulnerable children to boot. A new DC is added to the team. The sad state of childcare homes and the burnout of social workers is part of the plot. And a pagan festival is also included. There are so many leads to pick through to finally solve the mystery. Keep the Vera Stanhope novels coming!

Ann Cleeves is a go-to author for me! I love the Vera Stanhope series and all of her books. This is a very good book in the series. It can be read as a stand alone, but it is worth reading the other books for the characters’ backstories. Recommended!

Having read and enjoyed each of the three novels in Ann Cleeves' Matthew Venn series, I decided to check out her earlier and much beloved Vera Stanhope books with "The Dark Wives," the 11th book in that series. When the dead body of a young staff member at a home for troubled teens is discovered on its grounds, Vera Stanhope and her team--Sergeant Joe Ashworth and newcomer Rosie Bell--are called in to investigate, and to find 14-year-old Chloe, a residents of the home who went missing on the same night. Soon another young person is found dead, and Vera and her team must race against time to find the girl before the killer does.

It would probably have been better to read the Vera books in order, as "The Dark Wives" opens shortly after the tumultuous events of "The Rising Tide" and therefore spoils the ending of that book a bit. Aside from that, however, "The Dark Wives" is perfectly readable as a stand alone, and starting here actually gave me the perspective of Detective Rosie Bell, who is discovering the personalities of her new team members as she joins their investigation. I enjoyed getting to know all of these well-developed characters, as well as their Northumberland sea and fell "patch," which was vividly presented. No matter that I didn't think the book provided all the information I needed to solve the crime or that the ending felt a wee bit rushed--I read police procedurals like these more for the characters and the setting, both of which will definitely bring me back for more from Vera and her team.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC of this title in return for my honest review. Highly enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGallery and Minotaur books for the ebook arc of this.


I thought the book was alright Definitely not a favorite I've read.

The Dark Wives are three large stones on a hillside in Northumberland where every year there is a wild witch hunt. This folktale intertwines with a missing teen who is missing. She is either a witness to a murder or a murderer and Vera is set to find out. As she digs deeper, she finds ties to drugs and care home corruption. She visits the village where the Stanhope Arms resides and has to reflect on her responsibility in the death of her sergeant, Holly, and her new sergeant, Rose, and as always back to the legacy of her father.
A deeply moving story with Vera moving through loss and acceptance all the while maintaining her bravado, intelligence and hard-headedness.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this DRC.
#TheDarkWives #NetGalley

Eleven books into DCI Vera Stanhope and one might think the stories will get old... but there is nothing old about Vera and her team! There is a murder, of course, and Vera and her team set off to find the killer. It is a bit of a race, because there is also a missing teenager who could be in danger.

The pacing is very good and I love working through the mystery with Vera's team... I did not guess who "did it" and, yes, I was surprised!

If you already love Vera, you will love book eleven in the series. If you are new to Vera and this is your introduction, you might feel lost on a few things... but that is okay, because going back to catch up will be an enjoyable journey!

I highly recommend The Dark Wives (and the entire series!)

Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the digital copy of this book! It will be published August 27, 2024.

When an author gets to a certain number of titles in a series, the stories often get stale and the character development stalls. Not so with the latest entry in Ann Cleeves’ Vera series. Here we find Vera and the team trying to recover from the horrific ending of the previous book, with vera thinking more about her future and the people in it. In past stories, Vera is often portrayed as a hard, unyielding, no-nonsense detective who can turn empathy and sympathy on and off when needed. In Dark Wives, we see a softer side of Vera as she encounters a murder outside a carehome for teens and gets an insight into that world.

As usual, the mystery is well paced and well-developed, with great characters, narrative, and dialog. Cleeves truly is one of the best writers of her generation. We see a softer, humbled Vera here who is grappling with grief she never expected, and that underlayment to the story drives everything forward to a very satisfying end.

Well done.

If you haven’t yet read Ann Cleeves’ The Rising Tide, you might want to pick it up before reading The Dark Wives. This eleventh in the series is a major spoiler for the previous one. In fact, there is a point in my review that may spoil the previous one, so don’t read the review if you want to read the Vera Stanhope books in consecutive order.

When a young man’s body is found outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope’s team is brought in. Josh Woodburn was a counselor at the home who was supposed to have worked overnight. Although it’s a murder investigation, it quickly becomes much more. Chloe Spencer, a fourteen-year-old, is missing from Rosebank. Is Chloe a killer, a runaway, or a terrified witness?

While Vera sees Chloe as a terrified witness, her team doesn’t necessarily feel the same way. Joe is inclined to see her as a killer. Rosie Bell, the newest member of the team, has wanted to work for, and learn from, Vera for quite some time. Although Vera tries to include everyone in her decisions, she still is close-mouthed, and tends to keep her own confidences.

Just before another resident of Rosebank is found dead, the investigation shifts to the wild Northumberland countryside, and the location of the legendary Three Dark Wives, standing stones that are the center of a community’s eerie post-Halloween celebration. This time, when the town’s lights go out, will the team find Chloe or her body?

Although the ending and solution seems a little abrupt, readers who are looking for Cleeves’ interesting characters will be satisfied with the latest in the series.

As always, I loved the characters and their interactions. I was pleased with the addition of Rosie as an officer; she was full of life and has a lot of potential for some dynamic story lines in the future. I did feel like there were a lot of people to keep track of, but the author helped with reminders throughout the book. The end was satisfying, but it was frustrating that, because Vera keeps so much to herself, some elements seemed to come out of the blue.

"The Dark Wives" takes place a few weeks (I think, don't want to go back and look) after the murder/death of Holly. Vera is determined to be a better boss and when she gets assigned a new woman named Rosie. Rosie is unlike Holly, but Vera and even Joe are unsure if she has enough to stick with the team. A murder takes place and a young girl flees and Vera and her team are unsure if the young girl is the killer or if she is hiding from someone else.

This was very uneven. I don't know if it was the new character of Rosie or what. But nothing really fit well as I was reading through the pages. I thought that the murder of Josh was initially okay, but then it felt like the book is floundering. And I have to say, that I was beyond annoyed that apparently Vera realizes who did it and there's zero clue to this and we just get an exposition dump in the end. I think Cleeves's wanted to say something about children's homes in England (good) but the the storytelling wasn't top notch and honestly wasn't believable. And I didn't really like Vera or Joe much in this one. And Rosie was a little too all over the place for me.

“The Dark Wives” by Ann Cleeves it's the 11th instalment in the Vera Stanhope Mystery Series. I love the Vera Mystery series and this instalment did not disappoint. The Series is character-driven and also very descriptive you feel like you are right there in Northumbria, England. In this instalment we get to catch up with Vera and her team, after the death of team member Holly. Vera is trying to communicate more with the team and new member Rosie, as Vera blames herself for Hollys death.

We had lots of suspects but I did sort of guess one of the suspects just before it was revealed.

I highly recommend this book and the Vera Stanhope Mystery series to all my British Mystery loving friends.

I requested and received an Advanced Readers Copy from the publisher and Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Ann Cleeves delivers again with a great murder mystery thriller. Great character development and
a few twists at the end!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan for this eArc!

Written by a favorite talented author, this book is a cannot put down page turner. Vera is back...Vera to the rescue...the protagonist is realistic and she, along with the other characters, keep this story moving quickly. Do not try to determine the ending too soon. It is not readily accomplished. Mystery and intrigue...family and friends...who is the good guy? The not so good? What happened and why? Spend an afternoon with the characters in this book...will make a great movie. I cannot wait to read the next book by Cleeves. Thanks Netgalley.

This was a strong concept in the Vera Stanhope series, it had everything that I wanted from this type of book. It uses the elements of the other books perfectly and enjoyed the feel of this. It was a strong eleventh book in the series and had that feel that I enjoyed from the other books. Ann Cleeves has everything that I wanted and enjoyed from the writing style.