The Vera Stanhope Series Book 9-11 by Ann Cleeves 3 Books Collection Set (The Darkest Evening, The Rising Tide and The Dark Wives)

Explore three instalments from Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope series in this collection of books 9–11: The Darkest Evening, The Rising Tide and The Dark Wives. Each story follows DI Vera Stanhope as she is drawn into investigations shaped by isolated settings, long-held secrets and unsettling discoveries.

From a case linked to an isolated care home and the Northumbrian countryside, to a blizzard drive that leads to an abandoned car and a shocking find, these novels place Vera at the centre of mysteries where the first clue rarely tells the full story. The set also returns to Holy Island, where a decades-old friendship tradition is disrupted when one of the group is found dead.

Included titles

• The Dark Wives
• The Darkest Evening
• The Rising Tide

Key details

• Vera Stanhope series books 9–11
• 3-book collection set
• By Ann Cleeves
• Includes The Darkest Evening, The Rising Tide and The Dark Wives

Synopses

The Dark Wives

When a body is found on the common outside Rosebank, an isolated care home for troubled teens, DI Vera Stanhope is called to investigate. The victim is Josh, a staff member who never arrived for work, and the only immediate clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe.

As Vera weighs the possibility of a teenager’s involvement, a second body is discovered in the Northumbrian countryside near the Three Dark Wives standing stones, a place surrounded by legends.

The Darkest Evening

Driving home through a swirling blizzard, Vera becomes disorientated and loses her way. She comes across a car abandoned on the road with the driver’s door open, and assumes the driver has gone to find shelter.

Inside, she finds a young toddler strapped into the back seat.

The Rising Tide

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island and formed a bond that endured. They still return every five years to celebrate their friendship and to remember the friend they lost to the rising waters of the causeway at their first reunion.

When one of the group is found hanged, Vera is called in, and learns the dead man had recently been fired following allegations of misconduct.