The Crow Trap

 

By Ann Cleeves (read by Anne Dover)

 

 

I liked it. Glad I read it.

Having read a couple of Ann Cleeves' Shetland mysteries and having seen an episode or two of the BBC DCI Vera Stanhope series (starring Brenda Blethvyn), I happily grabbed The Crow Trap out of a recent Audible sale pile -- and I am so glad I did. The idea for the story is not new; this is not the first time the conflicting interests within a community have been the basis of a good murder mystery. This is not the first time that the interests of business-owners and the environment have clashed or that the pain of familial dysfunction has wrought havoc. So many driving forces within one story and yet Cleeves weaves them together with skill,  drawing us along inexorably to the reveal. I never guessed 'who done it' -- but then again, I've never been good at these puzzles.

This is DCI Vera Stanhope's debut.  Almost half the story goes by before we even meet her. When she finally appears, readers are shocked. She is homely;  neither her demeanor nor her dress is in the least professional. She is annoying. Nonetheless, she slowly but surely unravels the knot and finds the killer.

Three and three-quarters stars for the writing and for the twists and turns.