The Rising Tide: A dark, atmospheric mystery from bestseller Ann Cleeves, featuring Vera Stanhope, star of ITV's Vera

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A group of local sixth formers and their trendy young teacher first visited the island 50 years ago. Every five years the group of friends who had been there gets together to remember Isobel and what they all had had. Even with DI Joe Ashworth and DC Holly Clarke interviewing suspects and chasing evidence, there is no obvious culprit. Vera knows exactly how to lead her team to get the best out of each of them, and Cleeves doesn’t do things without having a purpose.

Admittedly this was my first Vera novel but it comes across brilliantly with the storyline keeping you guessing right to the end. Es werden so viele verschiedene Möglichkeiten präsentiert, dass man sich als Leser ganz schön aufs Glatteis geschickt fühlt. I enjoy mysteries-with-more (the more being strong, well-developed characters) – and this series definitely fills that bill, although this one (until the twist at the end) really just tread familiar ground. Vera herself - a chunky woman with a hearty appetite who's totally unconcerned about fashion - is my favorite character. The Rising Tide is another triumph for Vera and for Ann Cleeves, who provides such a compelling and ever-developing series set in such a fabulous part of the country.I won't be reading anything further from this author after being bored by the story and enraged by the cruelness directed to her main character over and over again. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct 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. Fans von Krimis und spannenden Geschichten werden definitiv auf ihre Kosten kommen und dürfen sich auf ein packendes Leseerlebnis freuen. The plot thickens nicely when closer examination reveals that the apparent suicide is murder and a few more suspects on the mainland are thrown into the mix.

THE RISING TIDE is yet another example of Cleeves’ skillful writing, especially including a reference to COVID without dwelling on it. Vera Stanhope is a person who likes very few people, she can be grumpy and tetchy if things don't go her way, but is an excellent detective.

I must be getting used to Janine Birkett’s voice because it didn’t bother me as much with this book. This kind of trite contrarianism in writing about sexual harassment and assault is so tiresome and lame and sad. Rick has just stepped back from his popular show on BBC being accused of some unseemingly behavior with a female staff member. On their first reunion, one of the participants, Isobel Hall, died when caught in the rising tide while crossing the causeway. As they drink and tell stories, Rick is remarkably upbeat, he has plans in the pipeline, but by the morning he is dead, and Vera is to be proved right when his 'suicide' turns out to be a case of murder, one which attracts the attention of the media.