Hidden Depths

Another very good Vera Stanhope British mystery by Ann Cleeves, this book kept me puzzled to the very end.

We have four male friends who would do "anything" for one another!   We have two very similar murders!  Vera finds herself a bit lost when faced with the two murders.  Both victims are strangled, then placed in water and covered with flowers.   Both victims are young and beautiful, one male/one female.

While investigating the murders, Vera's team discovers some startling secrets among the four close friends, revealing human weakness and compulsions that result in tragic consequences.  

Vera can solve any crime but this one kept her on an uneasy edge. 

Well developed plot.   I'm a big Vera fan!

Seagull by Ann Cleeves

Vera Stanhope, a Detective Inspector, was asked by her boss to do a talk at a local prison about victims experience.  After the meeting with the inmates, an old man in a wheelchair insisted that he speak with her.  Vera knew who the man was right away.  Former detective superintendent, John Brace.   Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper.   Vera played her part in putting him in prison. But what would he want to speak to her about? 


This book tell of a Gang of Four all whom we know except for one, "The Prof".   We have a cold case missing person and the death of one of the Gang.  John Brace tells Vera where to find  Robbie Marshall's, bones but wait, there's another set of bones!  John, seem to have forgotten to tell that part to Vera.  Vera and her team keeps very busy and continually on the go trying to find clues and that means digging up part of Vera's childhood history along with old crimes, bringing them to life.  Hector, Vera's father and one of the Four, haunts her from his grave.  When we have another death and a break-in things start to heat up.   They all seem to be connected to The Gang of Four!


This book is very well written and kept me interested to the very last page!   I didn't want it to end.  Each character was given a strong background to work with. 

No Shred of Evidence

      Although, this is Charles Todd's 18th book in the Scotland Yard's Inspector Ian Rutledge series, it's the first one I've read. It is a true mystery.

     Inspector Rutledge is called to Padstow after four young women are accused of trying to murder a local banker's son, who remains in a coma.  Rutledge is not the first one to be called to Padstow. Corporal Hamish MacLeod was in Padstow less than 24 hours when he was found dead in his room. There were no notes to be found, so Rutledge had to start the investigation from the beginning.

     When the banker's son, Harry Saunders, dies, the charges are changed to murder. The four young women are from very well-to-do families and they are none too happy to repeat the incident and be accused of murder over and over. Which they all claim they "did not do." Rutledge comes up with many endless clues and several more dead bodies. At the very end, Rutledge comes up with the clues and the murderer.

     I love a great mystery when you can't figure out the "who did it" till you are close to the end of the book. I will be reading more of Charles Todd's Inspector Ian Rutledge series.

Fever of the bone.

This is the sixth Tony Hill mystery written by Val McDermid. Tony is a psychologist and criminal profiler who is often used by the Bradfield CID and Detective Inspector Carol Jordan and her hotshot major crimes team. The case this time concerns the murder of several young male teens by seemingly the same perp and the team cannot find the connection between them. Tony is persona non grata at the station because the new chief constable thinks he is a waste of money. So he takes a job in the neighboring community of Worcester profiling the murderer of a young teen girl who was a member of a social networking site.
McDermid is very adept at twists and turns in her mysteries and added to the mix is the deep friendship between Carol and Tony-one which has never turned romantic in spite of the chemistry. They each have their own life turmoils to deal with. Carol drinks too much and due to Tony's horrific upbringing, he is afraid that emotionally he is closer to those he profiles than to normal. Unexpectedly and with Carol's help, Tony learns some information about the father who never acknowledged him leading us all to hope that it helps Tony towards emotional healing. The next book should contain some major changes for all the characters.