DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation.

The Glass Room - Macmillan The Glass Room - Macmillan

The mounting evidence of ever more and ever worse skulduggery will pull Tempe deeper and deeper down what even she sees as a rabbit hole before she confronts a ringleader implicated in “Drugs. Cleeves crafts a subtle, complex mystery, and the curmudgeonly Vera and her distinctive view of the world make this series stand out in a crowded genre. THE GLASS ROOM is a traditional, Agatha Christie-style book, relying on gradual unearthing of untold relationships and past actions among a small group, rather than on modern technology or details of police procedure. Vera may be fat and prone to wearing shapeless cardies and ugly sandals on her man sized feet but she's an astute observer of people.Vera and her sergeant Joe Ashworth interview most of these characters, though oddly leave one out whom I thought they would have wanted to question immediately. A woman was discovered outside the glass-walled “first-floor conservatory” where he was killed with “a knife in her hand. The audiobook, read by Janine Birkett, is available as an Audible audio download or from the Reading House in a choice of audio formats (also in a Large Print edition).

The Glass Room by Ann Cleeves | Waterstones

Hearing too his wife’s voice in his head: That woman’s a ghoul – the delight she takes in other people’s misery. I've read five so far and I'm going onto number six in the series - highly recommended but start at the beginning to get the whole picture. Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope’s investigations with The Crow Trap , Telling Tales , Hidden Depths , Silent Voices , Harbour Street , The Moth Catcher , The Seagull and The Darkest Evening .

Newport, Rhode Island Murder at the Elms: A Gilded Newport Mystery Book takes place in another century, but similarities abound with life today in the United States. Those who have read the author's Shetland series will recognise some initial similarity with BLUE LIGHTNING, about a murder at a bird-watching centre, but the author treats this theme very differently in THE GLASS ROOM, which despite some tragic moments is not as dark as the earlier novel.

The Glass Room: A Vera Stanhope Mystery (Vera Stanhope, 5) The Glass Room: A Vera Stanhope Mystery (Vera Stanhope, 5)

We see some collegial conflict and build a clearer picture of their personalities and what drives them, or what challenges them.

Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope’s investigations with Harbour Street, The Moth Catcher, The Seagull and The Darkest Evening.

The Glass Room: Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope Book 5) The Glass Room: Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope Book 5)

This approach has become increasingly popular in recent years, led by characters such as Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse, Ian Rankin's DI Rebus and John Harvey's Charlie Resnick.The characterisations of Vera and Joe are becoming richer and more interesting as we get glimpses into their private lives. Where the humorous, self-deprecating, occasionally bawdy Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope goes, we will follow—and we’re not alone. DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation so she has more tolerance for them than most.