Sunday 6 March 2011

Book review - Telling Tales - Ann Cleeves

I came across this author quite by accident and I'm so glad I did. 
I bought Red Bones, which is part of The Shetland Series as part of a three for two offer. It was an excellent and chilling read, and although I read it completely out of sequence it encouraged me to seek out more.

I then read Hidden Depths which is the third book in the Vera Stanhope series. This is being dramatised by ITV this summer with Brenda Blethyn as Vera and I look forward to seeing her on screen.




Telling Tales is the second book in the series yet does not suffer from being read out of sequence.  
It is ten years after Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of fifteen year old Abigail Mantel.  Residents of the East Yorkshire village of Elvet are disturbed by the new evidence which has emerged proving Jeanie's innocence. Abigail's killer is still at large.

For her friend Emma Bennett, the revelation brings back haunting memories of her vibrant best friend and the winter's day when she discovered her body lying cold in a ditch.

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope is such a well written character, and whilst she's not perfect you'd rather have her on your side than not. There's an overwhelming sense of sadness in this book, which as the story unfolds, seems to hang over every character. There's no real happy ending in this, but a great solid conclusion. 

I'm looking forward to reading more of Ann Cleeves, and hope that the ITV series serves her character well!

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a good story, if a little sad, and I'll keep an eye out for the tv series. I love Brenda Blethyn's stuff :O)

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