Book Description:
A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper â and Vera played a key part in his downfall.
Now, Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer who disappeared in the mid-nineties, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, and that his body is buried close to St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.
This cold case case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as âthe Prof', were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were the 'Gang of Four', regulars at a glamorous nightclub called The Seagull. Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. As the past begins to collide dangerously with the present, Vera confronts her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth . . .
The Seagull is a searing new novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves, about corruption deep in the heart of a community, and fragile, and fracturing, family relationships.
My Review:
This is the 8th installment of the Vera Stanhope Mystery series. I enjoyed this one as it gave us a glimpse into more background about Hector Stanhope, Vera's dad. It stirs up thoughts about Vera's unhappy childhood and how her father was always too busy with his bird hobby and didn't really have much time for her. The book gets off to a slow start but then moves towards the middle through to the ending. The characters are interesting and the plot is intricately woven. Ann Cleeves' excellent descriptive writing makes the book very atmospheric and you feel you are a part of the story. The book is full of twists and turns which kept the pages turning. I look forward to reading the next in the series and I highly recommend these books to those who love mystery thrillers. I suggest they be read in order as the stories build one upon the other.
A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper â and Vera played a key part in his downfall.
Now, Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer who disappeared in the mid-nineties, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, and that his body is buried close to St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two.
This cold case case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as âthe Prof', were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were the 'Gang of Four', regulars at a glamorous nightclub called The Seagull. Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. As the past begins to collide dangerously with the present, Vera confronts her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth . . .
The Seagull is a searing new novel by Sunday Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves, about corruption deep in the heart of a community, and fragile, and fracturing, family relationships.
My Review:
This is the 8th installment of the Vera Stanhope Mystery series. I enjoyed this one as it gave us a glimpse into more background about Hector Stanhope, Vera's dad. It stirs up thoughts about Vera's unhappy childhood and how her father was always too busy with his bird hobby and didn't really have much time for her. The book gets off to a slow start but then moves towards the middle through to the ending. The characters are interesting and the plot is intricately woven. Ann Cleeves' excellent descriptive writing makes the book very atmospheric and you feel you are a part of the story. The book is full of twists and turns which kept the pages turning. I look forward to reading the next in the series and I highly recommend these books to those who love mystery thrillers. I suggest they be read in order as the stories build one upon the other.
