The Darkest Evening

This book is the ninth title in the Vera Stanhope series of books by Ann Cleeves who is also the author of the Shetland book series. The story takes place during a cold Northumberland winter, the week before Christmas with Vera Stanhope encountering freezing temperatures and deep snow drifts when driving home at the end of the day. By contrast I began reading The Darkest Evening in Melbourne a month before Christmas on a sunny day with an expected maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius. 

After taking a wrong turn Vera comes across a car with the front door open parked on the side of the road. The driver is missing but Vera discovers a toddler in the back of the car. Vera rescues the toddler and takes him to a nearby house to seek asistance. Shortly afterwards the body of a young woman is discovered in the snow outside the house.

Detective Chief Inspector Stanhope and her team encounter many challenges as they attempt to discover the murderer and why the crime was committed. It is soon obvious that obtaining the truth will not be easy as many of the local residents have secrets that they do not want revealed. Vera is also forced to review her feelings regarding estranged family members who become involved as the body was discovered in their garden.

This is the first book that I have read by Ann Cleeves and it will not be the last.