Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Having actually driven across the causeway and visited Holy (AKA Lindisfarne) Island, I looked forward to reading Ann Cleeves' The Rising Tide with a great deal of anticipation. Neither Ann nor Vera disappointed.
As always, the setting is perfect, and a mystery concerning a group of people who've been hiding secrets for fifty years is suitably complex and satisfying. There's a house with a view of Holy Island across the water that I would love to have for myself (as long as I could have Vera's mythical Land Rover to go with it). Still, houses and Land Rovers and old secrets aside, it is the characters in this series that always bring me back for more.
Vera herself, utterly unconcerned with her appearance and her behavior, is a bit of a hermit, but she's getting used to having a neighbor she can spend some time with. It's an added bonus for readers that the neighbor is mystery writer Joanna. Not only does Joanna get to ask Vera technical questions for her books, but now Vera is getting asked to accompany her on book-related trips.
Vera is part matriarch part guru for her team, and she thinks of second-in-command Joe Ashworth as a surrogate son and her conscience. Joe provides a lot of hard work and a steadying influence on the team while Holly is the bright, competitive one who dreams of taking Vera's place while simultaneously worrying that she could actually become Vera, appearance and all. The two women do share some similarities after all.
The Rising Tide is all about hypocrisy and the lengths some people will go to in order to hide the sins of their past. Set on an island where the tide tables are in charge of daily life, this mystery has all the twists and turns and secrets and shocks that will make readers lock their doors on all interruptions so they can spend time with one of the best detectives in crime fiction.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
As always, the setting is perfect, and a mystery concerning a group of people who've been hiding secrets for fifty years is suitably complex and satisfying. There's a house with a view of Holy Island across the water that I would love to have for myself (as long as I could have Vera's mythical Land Rover to go with it). Still, houses and Land Rovers and old secrets aside, it is the characters in this series that always bring me back for more.
Vera herself, utterly unconcerned with her appearance and her behavior, is a bit of a hermit, but she's getting used to having a neighbor she can spend some time with. It's an added bonus for readers that the neighbor is mystery writer Joanna. Not only does Joanna get to ask Vera technical questions for her books, but now Vera is getting asked to accompany her on book-related trips.
Vera is part matriarch part guru for her team, and she thinks of second-in-command Joe Ashworth as a surrogate son and her conscience. Joe provides a lot of hard work and a steadying influence on the team while Holly is the bright, competitive one who dreams of taking Vera's place while simultaneously worrying that she could actually become Vera, appearance and all. The two women do share some similarities after all.
The Rising Tide is all about hypocrisy and the lengths some people will go to in order to hide the sins of their past. Set on an island where the tide tables are in charge of daily life, this mystery has all the twists and turns and secrets and shocks that will make readers lock their doors on all interruptions so they can spend time with one of the best detectives in crime fiction.
(Review copy courtesy of the publisher and Net Galley)
Eadie B. (eadieburke) -
For fifty years a group of friends have been meeting for reunions on Holy Island, celebrating the school trip where they met, and the friend that they lost to the rising tide five years later. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct and allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now.
This is book number 10 in the Vera series. I have read all the others before so I am very familiar with the series. It is a series of characters that speak for the author and the plot is such that I have kept the pages turning until the very surprising ending. It is very hard to guess the killer as Ann Cleeves does not leave anything unturned until the very end. I look forward to the next book as I have enjoyed each one. If you love thrillers then you will love this one. I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a copy for an honest review.
This is book number 10 in the Vera series. I have read all the others before so I am very familiar with the series. It is a series of characters that speak for the author and the plot is such that I have kept the pages turning until the very surprising ending. It is very hard to guess the killer as Ann Cleeves does not leave anything unturned until the very end. I look forward to the next book as I have enjoyed each one. If you love thrillers then you will love this one. I would like to thank NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a copy for an honest review.
