adore Vera Stanhope the TV version, I like her because she isn't a pretty, sexy, know everything female lead oh what a refreshing change! and probably I like her because Brenda Blethyn is such a superb actress, the TV scripts are good and each episode holds your attention alas, this novel doesn't I was expecting an engrossing murder mystery with Vera as the central character, but we don't meet her properly until a good way in chapterand even then she doesn't come across as a central or even very likeable character.
She comes across almost as the author's afterthought, someone for the characters to bounce their ideas off and make things official, Also, I'm afraid I didn't like the characters much either, I wanted, and was expecting, a 'murder mystery' 'who dun it' read, not a rather tedious lengthy exploration of the past lives of the characters which after several chapters I skipped through.
I'll try another one, perhaps well into the series, because I like Vera, but I hope I'm not as disappointed as I am with this one.
Hats off to the TV series for turning a rather tedious read into something engrossing and interesting, Three women are staying at Baikies Cottage to carry out an environmental impact study on land which is earmarked to be turned into a quarry.
Rachael is the leader of the team, and knows the area well her friend Bella lives on the neighbouring farm, She knows Bella loves her life in this harsh landscape so when she arrives only to find Bella dead, hanged in the barn, she finds it hard to accept the official verdict of suicide.
The other two women on the team are strangers to Rachael and to each other, Anne is an extrovert, and has had a string of affairs, most recently with the man who wants to turn the land into a quarry.
Grace is the complete opposite introverted, quiet, clearly unhappy, When a body is found on the land, it will be up to Inspector Vera Stanhope and her right hand man Joe Ashworth to work out motives and opportunity, and to connect the dots between the murder and Bellas suicideSometimes I feel like a stuck record, but at well overpages this novel is ridiculously over long repetitive and padded to the point where I several times considered abandoning it.
The underlying plot is good and Vera is an interesting, if unbelievable, character another of these detectives one feels would have been quietly shuffled to a desk job long ago since she is incapable of following rules and doesnt mind putting herself, her colleagues and even members of the public at risk in pursuit of her case.
But hey ho! Thats modern crime fiction for you, and plenty of people seem to like these damaged detectives, At least Vera is functional, The book starts off well enough, telling of Rachaels arrival at the cottage, her finding of Bella, and then of the next few days as the three women get to know each other a little.
Its already far too drawn out at this stage, but eventually the body is discovered and we can hope the police procedural element is about to begin.
Only for those hopes to be dashed! Back we go to the very beginning, this time following Anne through those same few days, learning about her life, and seeing things from her perspective.
And then youve guessed, havent you we do it all again, this time in the company of Grace, Its not that any of the three womens stories are uninteresting in their own right, but to cover the same period again and again had me feeling as if I was in Groundhog Day.
Finally, about halfway through, this introductory stage is at last over, and Vera arrives on the scene, It picks up a bit after that, although theres so much backstory about Veras life interspersed among the plot that the pace never gets out of second gear.
Veras method is to set the women up to be bait in the hope the murderer will return, while sending these civilians off to ask questions of suspects and bring her back the information.
Extremely odd method of policing, far suited to the Golden Age of the amateur detective than the modern police procedural, However, its reasonably enjoyable, and well written, Overall, I cant say this one thrilled me much a crime novel requires far plot and less repetition to hold my interest for so long.
However I see that the next book is considerably shorter though still longer than a crime novel should be so hopefully Cleeves reined in her desire to cover every detail three times.
Id consider reading of them, but I fear Cleeves, with two less than enthusiastic reviews out of three from me so far, is perhaps never going to make it onto my must read list.
Given her huge popularity, I dont expect that will bother her much! I had seen Vera on television before reading any Ann Cleeves, TV Vera has been tidied up quite a bit from the descriptions in the books no sandals and leg sores so there do seem to beof her.
Be prepared. Not Brenda B!I have read all books in the four Ann Cleeves series as well as standalone before writing this review, Some writers can produce a good story badly written, I think you can have a book with enjoyable story outdone by the actual words, I have in mind some John Irving and Harlan Coben, I enjoy Ann Cleeves for both written words and story, Vera is not a super heroine and seems at times not treated sympathetically by her author but the story is well constructed, Not sure a comparison with Jimmy Perez is appropriate but this book was a vast improvement on Stephen Ramsey and Palmer Jones series although those were than reasonable stories in themselves compared to authors churning out books several times a year.
This was an excellent start to a series that only gets better, Hat's off to the writer who saw the potential to make Vera Stanhope a national TV treasure, They must have had brilliant staying power in sticking with this lengthy book long enough to get to the half way mark when the detective made an appearance.
It begins with the background stories of three main characters interwoven with a death by suicide and expands even further to the environmental studies these three are doing.
I'm not sure the Vera we know and love would have reacted quite in the way she does in this book but there were certain elements of her character that drifted in and out of the dialogue.
Fortunately these were sufficient to whet the appetite of the writer who based the TV series on her, I think I only counted one pet in the whole book but it made me smile when I read it, As my three star rating states, this book is okay but if I hadn't been keen to see how Vera came over I may have given up.
For anyone not overly keen on Vera Stanhope then this book is a good read with an okay plot and could be of interest to anyone keen on the environment and the rugged Northumberland landscape.
Im a huge fan of the TV series Vera so really looked forward to the first book about her, especially since this was adapted for an episode of the show.
The Crow Trap was not what I expected at all, I almost gave up reading, Nothing really happens for the firstor so pages including the actual murder and Vera putting in an appearance, The first couple of hundred pages serve little purpose other than scene setting, Most of these pages could have been cut without the book losing much, This is why The Crow Trap took so long to read, Vera in the books is similar but very different from the one in the books, In this one anyway, but maybe shell become like TV Vera as the books progress, The front cover declares the book to be a psychological thriller but its not, its a slow burning police procedural, Still, when Vera takes centre stage and the book really kicks off I started to really enjoy it, Vera is a great character and I can see why the books are popular, I definitely want to read of Veras cases, From Ann Cleeves New York Times bestselling and award winning author of the Vera and Shetland series both of which are hit TV shows comes The Crow Trap the first in the Vera Stanhope series Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite
mystery writers Louise Penny Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside Three women who in some way or another know the meaning of betrayalFor team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double betrayal by her lover and boss Peter Kemp Botanist Anne Preece on the other hand sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own And then there is Grace Fulwell a strange uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide When Rachael arrives at the cottage however she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness Bella it appears has committed suicide a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives in The Crow TrapFrom Ann CleevesNew York Times bestselling and awardwinning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showscomes The Crow Trap, the first in the Vera Stanhope series.
Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own, And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide, . . When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness, Bella, it appears, has committed suicidea verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept, Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picturethe unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives in The Crow Trap.
From Ann CleevesNew York Times bestselling and awardwinning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV showscomes The Crow Trap, the first in the Vera Stanhope series.
"Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers, "Louise Penny Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside, Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal, For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a doublebetrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp.
Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own, And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide, . . When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness, Bella, it appears, has committed suicidea verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept, Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picturethe unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives in The Crow Trap.
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