The Seagull

 

by Ann Cleeves (read by Janine Birkett) c. 2017

A Vera Stanhope Mystery, Book 8

Library Loan

 

 

 

Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 09-12-17

Language: English

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

ASIN: B0756NSFXS

(September 5, 2017)

Publisher's Summary

A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera  Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent  and now inmate John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and  involvement in the death of a gamekeeper - and Vera played a key part in  his downfall.

Now Brace promises Vera information about the  disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer who  disappeared in the mid-'90s, if she will look out for his daughter and  grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, and that his body is  buried close to St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search  team investigates, officers find not one skeleton but two.

This  cold case takes Vera back in time and very close to home, as Brace and  Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as the Prof, were  close friends of Hector, her father. Together they were the Gang of  Four, regulars at a glamorous nightclub called The Seagull. Hector had  been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. As the past begins to  collide dangerously with the present, Vera confronts her prejudices and  unwanted memories to dig out the truth....

Family history comes back to haunt

I saw one episode of the TV series a number of years ago only because it starred Brenda Blethvyn, an actor I admire. It wasn't much of a leap when I saw books of the series available on both Audible Plus and the library to deciding to give them a whirl. I already knew that I like the the author, now it was just a matter of meeting her take of Vera Stanhope. She is now on my reading list. I like Vera and I'm very happy to spend time with her.

I really enjoyed The Seagull. It is all about cold cases that come back to haunt not just the perpetrators but their progeny, as well, including Vera. The story is complex in a clockworks kind of way -- lots of moving parts. No one is who they seem to be -- not even the corpse. The Northumbrian setting gives it atmosphere.

Most of all, I like Vera Stanhope. She got where she was through hard work. She doesn't trade on her looks or a university degree. She doesn't pretend to be what she isn't and doesn't give a damn what people thing of her.

Four stars for the complex plot and the simple, clear prose.