Customer Reviews

TELLING TALES

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First Line: Sitting at the bedroom window, Emma looks out at the night-time square.

It's been ten long years since Jeanie Long has been locked up for the murder of teenager Abigail Mantel. Ten long years, and now evidence has come forward that proves Jeanie's innocence. The villagers of Elvet on the East Yorkshire coast know this means Abigail's killer is still at large. Yorkshire police believe it best to bring in an investigative team from outside to re-open the case, and Northumbria's Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope finds herself amongst the "Yorkies" sifting through all the witnesses' stories to piece together the truth.

Stanhope finds many questions that need answers. Two of the leads on the original case left the force and are now living in the area. Both of them had seemed content with Jeanie Long's conviction. The murdered girl's father is a businessman and no better than he has to be. Even the victim's best friend seems wreathed in daydreams and unsure of what really went on ten years ago. Stanhope has her work cut out for her.

But if there's anyone with the patience to get to the bottom of this case, it's Vera Stanhope. A middle-aged, homely woman, she's used to being in the background and allowed to listen and observe. When she finds the loose thread of a clue, she worries and worries at it until it's pulled loose, and she follows wherever it leads. She is quite simply a joy to watch as the case unfolds.

Ann Cleeves is one of the most talented crime fiction writers today. Her atmospheric settings bring in the natural world and tease the imagination as her plots twist and turn-- and her characterizations are brilliant, never hitting a false note. If you've never tried a book written by Ann Cleeves, I strongly urge you to do so!

This not to be missed second book in the series. It is a wild ride with a twist that will catch you by surprise.

I'm a big fan of Ann Cleeves' mysteries. I started out with her Shetland Island series and soon became hooked with her writing style. It's clean, crisp, and descriptive. Her characters are realistically drawn and she possesses a rare psychological insight into their motivations. The reader is treated to a glimpse of the "inner life" of each of her major characters. Vera Stanhope, the detective in Telling Tales (book 2 in her Vera series), is a refreshing change from most literary detectives -- male or female. Vera is as sharp as they come; a physically and psychologically formidable woman who exudes tremendous confidence despite her rather bizarre appearance. Tormented by a severe and obvious case of eczema, she does herself no favors by seeming to cull her clothes from what Oxfam refuses to accept. She's a vision of garish color and yards of polyester -- her "uniform" is unchanging, despite the season. No one quite knows what to make of her initially. But woe to the "perp" who underestimates her. Cleeves accords Vera the respect she deserves and brings the reader along on an in-depth ride through an intricate and suspenseful plot and a wonderful array of characters. Like the Crow Trap (Vera 1), Telling Tales is organized in an interesting way. The chapters are grouped into several Parts, which present the story from very different perspectives. Though at times this organizational device seems to move the story along laterally, I find it a fascinating way of viewing the same event from different participants' points of view. Despite the resulting slowing of pace, there is action and suspense strewn throughout. The real strength of Telling Tales is in its psychological insight. It conjures up a kind of in-depth tension that more "action"-oriented works often lack. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. (It's also important to know that you don't have to have read The Crow Trap before enjoying Telling Tales -- but if you like one of them, I'm sure you'll enjoy reading the other, as well.)

"Telling Tales" is a first rate police procedural featuring the intrepid North England Police Inspector Vera Stanhope. In this story, Stanhope is assigned to open an old murder case when new evidence exonerates the young woman convicted of the crime ten years before. The exoneration comes too late for the woman who has just killed herself after being denied probation. As Inspector Stanhope begins the reinvestigation of the original crime, it's clear that many in the small town where the murder was committed have a lot of personal secrets and wounds connected to the crime.

What is especially strong about this novel is author Cleeves' ability to present in persuasive detail the perspectives of the dozen or so main characters in the story. These are all rather complex actors with a host of mixed qualities--many of them firmly founded on the seven deadly sins. The protagonist, Vera Stanhope, of course has her own hangups and issues which are flawlessly conveyed throughout the story. With her own complicated emotional life, Stanhope becomes a kind of "seer" when dealing with the suspects and persons of interest connected to the procedural. To the reader's happy frustration, as the Inspector moves closer to resolving the crime through the dogged pursuit of interviews and evidence sorting, the ultimate resolution remains deftly concealed from the reader until the last few pages of the book.

This is an exceptionally good mystery story, told with intelligence and insight into the problems of family dysfunction and small town living. Recommended.

Not the best Ann Cleeve book I've ever read, but it was good and a fast read. I recommend it.