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Jan 16, 2017Roundcat rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is the first of the Vera Stanhope series. Vera is an older woman who manipulates her detective forces and others involved in the mystery, in much the same way as Gladys Mitchell's Mrs. Bradley. The complex story unfolds from the viewpoints of three women who are conducting an environmental survey which will determine whether an old mine will be re-opened. We see each woman's story from their own viewpoint, and this reveals each woman's opinion of the other characters, thus giving more depth to all three of the women. Rachael, the young woman in charge of the project, arrives at the cottage, where the three women will be living, to find that her friend, Bella, from the next farm, has hanged herself in the shed next to the cottage. As Rachael tries to make sense of this event, she brings in her mother, Edie, a teacher and school counselor. As they investigate, more deaths occur, which brings Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope into the picture. It takes considerable casting of nets into the sea of seemingly unconnected people and events to bring a solution and stop the killings. Cleeves is not a teller of happy stories, but her stories pull the reader in and involve them in solving the crime. I was not surprised at the identity of the murderer, but Vera had to tell us all what the motive was. I was completely surprised by it.