Hidden Depths

Returning from a night out with friends Julie Armstrong returns home to find the body of her teenage son, Luke, arranged among flowers in the bath. Later in the week the body of student teacher, Lily Marsh, is found in a pool by the lighthouse. Her body is also displayed surrounded by a variety of flowers. Vera and her team need to discover the connection between two apparently unrelated murders, except for the way the bodies are found, as well as quickly finding the killer as a another young girl has disappeared.

Long held secrets in this small community are unearthed as the investigation continues. There are many suspects, particularly among a group of men who share the hobby of bird watching and were close to the scene where the second body was discovered. 

The novel is character driven focusing on the past and present lives of the victims and their families plus the suspects. We also learn more about Vera and members of her team.

Hidden depths is the third book in the Vera Stanhope series and part of the plot formed the basis of the first episode in the first series of the Vera television series.