The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves Narrator: Anne Dover
Series: Vera Stanhope Mystery #1
Published by Macmillan Audio on February 21, 2017 (first published 1999)
Source: Library
Genres: Mystery
Length: 14 hrs 8 mins
Pages: 560
Format: Audiobook
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At the isolated Baikie's Cottage on the North Pennines, three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey. Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal...
For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide...
When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide - a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept.
Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture - the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives...
The Crow Trap was not what I expected. Granted, I’ve never watched the Vera Stanhope tv series, but I knew it existed, so I expected Vera to be more of a main character here. She doesn’t show up until about halfway through the book and it takes even longer for us to see anything from her point of view.
The three women at the forefront of the book are working on an environmental study of the area before a quarry is dug. Rachel is the leader, but she is preoccupied with her friend’s suicide – and that she’s working for her ex who stole credit for her work. The other two women, Anne and Grace, each has her own secrets. We get peeks into their lives and into what brought them here now. It’s not “just a job” for any of them. It’s complicated and messy and then there’s another death, bringing DI Vera Stanhope on the scene. Vera is no your typical detective – except maybe she is in a way. She’s a bit of a loner and her methods seem unorthodox. She’s unapologetic, brash, and doesn’t much care about others opinions – so maybe what makes her stand out among fictional detectives is that she’s a woman who typically wears skirts.
The mystery was put together well. It’s difficult to distinguish the clues from the red herrings. Vera does, of course, get to the conclusion in the end, but I didn’t guess the motive. At over 500 pages, it’s a little long and parts drag a bit.
About Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves OBE (born 24 October 1954) is a British mystery crime writer. She wrote the Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez, and Matthew Venn series, all three of which have been adapted into TV shows. In 2006, she won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for her novel Raven Black, the first novel in the Jimmy Perez series.
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