The Crow Trap

The Crow Trap is the first book in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves. When three women are employed to complete an environmental assessment of an area which may be affected if a new quarry development goes ahead, they do not expect to encounter a series of deaths.

The story is revealed in three sections - part one describes the initial experiences of Rachel, Anne and Grace as they start the project as well as revealing past events and personal experiences in their lives; part two introduces Inspector Vera Stanhope and Sergeant Joe Ashworth who arrive to investigate a murder as well as reasons for a suicide that occurred at a nearby farm, while part three  continues the story from Vera's viewpoint including establishing links between the previous two deaths and a third death. Rachel, her mother and Anne also spend time exploring leads, later passing on the information to Vera. During the investigation Vera remembers an unsolved case of the disappearance of a two year old boy in the same area many years before. This proves to be a challenging series of crimes to solve.

The television series, Vera, based on the characters and sometimes the book plots, first aired in England in 2011. The plot of The Crow Trap formed the basis for the story in episode 3 of series 1.