The Dark Wives - Vera Stanhope (Hardback)

Ann Cleeves has a special place in her heart for Stanhope, and the shortcomings of the care system engage the sympathies of the author in this heart-wrenching story - The Sunday Times

Like Rendell and James before her, like McDermid and Rankin today, Ann Cleeves is one of our secret chroniclers, charting – under cover of a series of expertly plotted and mesmerising crime novels – how we live now - Mick Herron

A thoroughly engrossing thriller - The Mail on Sunday on The Rising Tide

Cleeves’s Northumberland novels are strong on atmosphere, combining old-fashioned detective work with a modern take on class - The Sunday Times

Who doesn’t love ‘large and shabby’ Vera Stanhope, the blunt detective in Ann Cleeves’s Northumberland police procedurals? She is already one of the genre immortals. Cleeves delivers some choice Vera moments in The Darkest Evening - The New York Times

In a world where celebrities debut on bestseller charts, Cleeves is an old-school crime writer in every sense, working her way up the list over years, building a readership while honing her craft - Brian McGilloway on The Rising Tide

Cleeves portrays Rosebank’s kids and its staffers with compassion and respect, even as she spotlights the pitfalls of a for-profit approach to child welfare. Multiple narrators and a core cast of keenly rendered characters lend the tale dimension while furthering the series arc. Cleeves’s fans will be well satisfied - Publisher's Weekly