Sat 12 Jul 2014
Reviewed by LJ Roberts: ANN CLEEVES – Silent Voices.
Posted by Steve under Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews , TV mysteries[5] Comments
Reviews by L. J. Roberts
ANN CLEEVES – Silent Voices. Thomas Dunne/Minotaur Books, hardcover, May 2013. Trade paperback, July 2014. First published in the UK, 2011. Police procedural; Det. Inspector Vera Stanhope #1 [#4 in the UK]. Dramatized for TV as an episode of Vera, UK, ITV, with Brenda Blethyn in the title role [Series 2, Episode 2.]
First Sentence: Vera swam slowly.
It’s not every day a police inspector finds a dead body sharing a sauna with her in a hotel health club, especially when that body is of a murder victim. Vera and her team work to find a killer in a village filled with people, and their secrets.
From the very first paragraph, one is caught up in the author’s voice; her dry humor and the character. By the end of the first chapter, one is also caught up in the story.
There is so much one could say about the characters, particularly Vera. How nice it is to have a female protagonist such as Vera. She’s a mature woman, overweight and unconcerned about her appearance — except, not totally unconcerned. She does care about being fair to her team, knows what motivates each of them, and is a very good leader; even though she drives them hard.
She’s respected by her colleagues, even when they frustrate her. The relationship she has with Joe, her sergeant, is an interesting one… “Sometimes Vera though he represented her feminine side. He had the empathy, she had the muscle. Well, the bulk.†Even with the suspects, she doesn’t just investigate clues, but motivations; what makes people do what they do, what drives them.
Cleeves has a very interesting style. Although the story is told in third person, when she focuses on Vera, it switches somewhat to first person as we gain insight on her life and character through an internal monologue and her observations… “These days, people expected senior female officers to walk straight out of Prime Suspect.”
There is a very strong sense of place and wonderful descriptions. Particularly appealing is the contrast between the town and the desolation of Vera’s home. It’s very much part of her character.
Although the story is character driven, it certainly doesn’t lack for plot or suspense. We’re given plenty of characters with motives, nice red herrings and plot twists. Vera is currently a television series done by British ITV, and very well done it is. The only way I knew the villain in the book was having seen the episode. Otherwise, it really wasn’t obvious.
Rating: VG Plus.
The Vera Stanhope series —
The Crow Trap (1999)
Telling Tales (2005)
Hidden Depths (2007)
Silent Voices (2011)
The Glass Room (2012)
Harbour Street (2014)
Vera [TV series] —
Series 1 Episode 1: Hidden Depths
Series 1 Episode 2: Telling Tales
Series 1 Episode 3: The Crow Trap
Series 1 Episode 4: Little Lazarus
Series 2 Episode 1: The Ghost Position
Series 2 Episode 2: Silent Voices
Series 2 Episode 3: Sandancers
Series 2 Episode 4: A Certain Samaritan
Series 3, Episode 1: Castles in the Air
Series 3, Episode 2: Poster Child
Series 3, Episode 3: Young Gods
Series 3 Episode 4: Prodigal Son
July 12th, 2014 at 8:20 pm
I’ve seen the DVD sets in the British TV section of Barnes & Noble, but they were a little pricey, so I didn’t investigate further. I had no idea the TV shows were based on a series of books. In terms of things I didn’t know about but I do now, this is a twofer for me.
July 13th, 2014 at 5:43 am
We’ve watched all of the “Vera” episodes (shown on Ch. 21 in New York). I haven’t read any of her books. I used to find her first series – birdwatchers George & Molly Palmer-Jones – in British bookstores.
July 13th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
I stopped by Barnes & Noble this afternoon, and I spotted, for the first time, three copies of the paperback there in the mystery section. I bought one of them, of course.
July 15th, 2014 at 1:26 pm
add series 4:
Episode 1: On Harbour Street
Episode 2: Protected
Episode 3: The Deer Hunters
Episode 4: Death of a Family Man
Broadcast in the UK April-May 2014, already available on DVD
series 5 already in production:
http://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/filming-commences-brenda-blethyn-returns-fifth-series-itv%E2%80%99s-popular-crime-drama-vera#.U8VyFZRdWSo
August 22nd, 2014 at 3:51 am
Like many British television programmes, the Vera murder mystery series is a breath of fresh air in the otherwise smog-bound pap on TV. Superb casting and acting combined with intelligent plot development are standard fare that one can count on from these productions.
But if you like the Vera series on TV, you will absolutely love the books by Ann Cleeves on which the series is based. I purchase mine from amazon.ca and sometimes the wait is long for delivery as many of them have to be imported from England, so I’ve reverted to purchasing their Kindle versions of her different series.
One piece of good news is that another of her book series is currently under production for ITV–viz., the Shetland series. Hopefully, PBS will purchase that series too so that we will eventually be able to view it in North America. It is set in the Shetland Islands, rather than in Northumberland, and the main character is a male DCI, but the plots and characters are just as brilliant as in her Vera series.