This is part of the Vera series set in Northumberland
This book had a good premise and great characters. I really loved the setting too.
This book also digs deep into Vera’s past

The darkest evening is the ninth DI Vera Stanhope novel and yet another wonderful read from this great writer. One evening Vera, ever stubborn ,is driving home in a snow storm having refused to stay at the station or local in Kimmerston. However the storm increases and she realises she may be lost or have missed her turning. Just as she realises she is on the right route she sees a car on the side of the road, driver’s door open. No one is around but when Vera looks in the car she realises that there is a baby in a car seat in the back, no parent around, surely the mother wouldn’t have left the door open knowing the baby was there. Vera picks up the car seat with the baby and returns to her Land Rover, driving forward carefully still unsure of her whereabouts , when suddenly two pillars appear and she is instantly transported to her childhood as she has unwittingly stumbled on her father’s ancestral home, Brockburn, the place she visited on the occasions Hector wanted some money from his family.
As Vera sets in motion the hunt for the missing mother and owner of the car , a body is found on the grounds of Brockburn and so begins the murder investigation and Vera is once again in the midst of her estranged family, very much enjoying the change in circumstances they are living under as well as the a right to question each and every person living at Brockburn as the SIO of the team.
Ann Cleeves is a wonderful writer and Vera is a character you cannot help but love and admire, the kind heart under the gruff surface gets me every time. I love the television series and Brenda Blethyn epitomises Vera and her excentricities, but you cannot beat reading this wonderful writer. Bring on book number ten.

Who doesn't love Vera? On the telly or in the book, she's a gem and her literary persona keeps developing in depth and empathy which is beautifully showcased in this novel. Please don't stop writing Vera!

The Darkest Evening is the latest book in the DI Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves.

The authors writing style is simply unique and wonderful. The scenes are described so clearly, you can picture the setting vividly in your mind. The characters are also brought to life with their own realistic, believable personalities that add so many depths to this brilliant book.

The tension and suspense is present from the offset, but it ramps up as the story nears its conclusion, which i have to add is perfection.

Well written, perfectly paced, and a storyline that captivates you from the start. Without a doubt, this is a book I would recommend highly to everyone.

This is my first 'Vera' book and I really enjoyed it. A great plot, interesting characters and several twists along the way. I liked that it involved Vera personally as it brings up childhood memories due to the location.

The Darkest Evening is the latest book in the DI Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves.

Set in my home county of Northumberland, it is the first snowy night of winter. Vera is making her way home when she comes across a car that has skidded off the road. Going to the driver's aid she finds it empty except for a child strapped into one of the rear seats. Taking the child with her she drives to the first occupied building she sees - Brockburn House - a now rather shabby mansion owned by her estranged family. It seems that there is a party in full swing but outside, a woman lies dead in the freezing snow.

Ann Cleeves' stirring writing is excellent and scenes are vividly described evoking winter images with all of the snow, ice, sleet and frigid temperatures. The tension remains steady throughout the story, and ramps up towards the end, finishing with an excellent conclusion. If you get a buzz from well-crafted police procedural mysteries, then I highly recommend this instalment and series.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Pan Macmillan via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Another great read from Ann Cleeves. A remote location, an interesting cast of characters and a big house. In addition we learn a little bit more about Vera and her family - not too much, thankfully, she's a private person and would hate that! In short, I couldn't put this down.

I've read a few of Ann Cleeves other novels previously (I really enjoy the Shetland series!) and was really looking forward to reading her latest. It didn't disappoint, and I loved it! As soon as it starts, with the snow and the big house all lit up for a party, I knew I would enjoy it. It felt a bit like reading a classic country house mystery, and I would have really enjoyed reading this at Christmas time. All through, it kept up the tenseness and claustrophobia of the tiny village setting. Would definitely recommend.

At first appearance this seems to be a classic country house murder mystery, but as the plot twists and turns , it becomes clear there are more subtle strands to this murder than first appear. As Vera Stanhope and her established team investigate in her unique style, the reader can be reassured that all will become clear in the end with no unsatisfying loose ends left untied!

Making her way home through a blizzard, DCI Vera Stanhope comes across an abandoned car, the door open, the driver clearly gone but in the back a small boy. 

Taking the boy into her safety she then makes her way to the nearest house.

That house happens to be Brockburn, a big house, slightly worse for wear and one Vera recognises from her past. This is where her father, Hector grew up. 

Inside the house is a party and Vera is about to interrupt them. 

Outside in the snow is a dead body. 

Are all of these occurrences related?

It is all pointing to a new investigation for Vera and her team, including Joe Ashworth, Vera's closest colleague and Holly, desperately trying to impress and live up to Vera's expectations and her own.

I always enjoy a 'big house' type mystery and this one is no different, peeping behind doors we see secrets of Vera's relatives as well as the comings and goings of those that live on and near Brockburn. 

By nature of the setting, the wilds of the Northumberland setting ad the fact that it is December, Christmas is round the corner it is a dark book - the unknown is a dark place as is revisiting parts of Vera's past which have an affect on perhaps the way she deals with the investigation and all of the potential suspects. 

Nothing is quite as it seems and everyone is holding something in the dark, but through the shadows, Vera stumbles across the truth. Will it be the one her family accept?

In the main I know of Vera from the ITV series broadcast in the UK. The books are better but with that knowledge of the wonderful Brenda Blethyn's portrayal you can hear her voice and smile wryly at her put downs as she gets to the truth. If you ever want a detective's character to pop from the page then Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope is a mighty fine example. 

A must for all fans of Cleeves, Vera and good old fashioned detective stories.

This is book 9 in the Vera Stanhope series but the first 'Vera' book I have read.
I don't think that it mattered too much, coming in at book 9 – although there were a couple of references which I guessed came from previous books – nothing to spoil my enjoyment though.
I love Anne Cleeves writing. I think she writes about location so beautifully and I always feel that I want to visit the areas she writes about.
My only encounter with Vera Stanhope thus far is via Brenda Blethyn's character from the tv series based on the books. I find the TV series incredibly formulaic, but always watch them, mainly due to the location shots and Brenda Blethyn's acting.
The Darkest Evening is formulaic, to a degree, but the writing is so good that it's not eye-rollingly obvious – so I'm definitely going to go back and read the rest in the series.

In 'The Darkest Evening', Vera is re-introduced to some distant family members when a young woman is found murdered at the Stanhope family mansion and her young son is left abandoned in her car.
We find out that Vera hasn't seen these family members for years – her father Hector was the family misfit, which meant that Vera, through association was also shunned by her family at 'the big house'.
But Vera is not cowed by their money, class and standing in the small community as land owners and she manages to out plenty of their family secrets.
The characters are all based on the Stanhope estate or in the small village and we see how rural life in small communities can be as exclusive as it is inclusive. Everyone knows everybody else's business and there are an awful lot of relationship connections between the community.
It was clear that the murderer was going to be someone local, but these connections were unpicked by Vera and her team – culminating in a tense stand-off between Vera and the murderer (who I was suspicious of, but didn't exactly guess!)

* Thanks to Macmillan and Netgalley for the ARC.

Accomplished New Entry....
An accomplished new entry in the Vera Stanhope series. A body lies in the snow whilst guests party at a country house. Well written, tautly plotted mystery. Red herrings abound, characters are credible, atmosphere and setting often forebodingly bleak and storyline engaging. A very worthy addition to this long running series.

What a read!
Loved this book from start to finish.
It was my first in the series and I'm off to get the others ASAP!

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Another chapter of Vera - this one with a little more background info about Vera which I loved
A great read

The Darkest Evening is the ninth instalment in the DI Vera Stanhope series set in the wild landscape of Northumberland, my home county. On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat. Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It’s also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there’s a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow. As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family’s complicated past.

This is yet another spectacular and compulsive addition to what has become a much-loved, character-driven series with Vera and her colleagues being a fascinating cast of characters that you really become invested in. The case is a compelling one which you'll find difficult not to devour in one sitting. The plot is superbly executed with enough mystery, intrigue, twists and turns to keeping you feverishly turning the pages. It's fast paced and written in Cleeves's straightforward prose which makes it such an easy book to read and lose yourself in. Cleeves manages to keep the perpetrators identity hidden until the big reveal where the tension is ratcheted up ready to uncover the mystery behind the brutal killing. This is a crime writer who knows exactly how to pull the wool over readers' eyes time and time again and who can be trusted to have you on the edge of your seat, making guesses at those behind the crimes but each time she somehow completely fools you and those involved shock you to your core once revealed. A highly entertaining, masterful and utterly engrossing police procedural from start to finish. READ IT! Many thanks to Macmillan for an ARC.

I'm ashamed to say that this is the first book that I have read by Ann Cleeves despite being a huge fan of the TV series "Vera" and it was just as good as I was expecting or hoping! A story with a great solid plot and characters with a great leading lady.

Unfortunately it didn't download onto my e-reader properly and by the time I realised I only managed to read 80% for it before it expired on me (highly frustrating) having said that what I did read was amazing and as I was reading it I saw Vera coming to life on the screen.

Another tale of Vera and her team and as anticipated this did not disappoint.

This reveals a little more of Vera’s personal history in an enthralling story.

4.5 stars

This is one of the best police procedurals around. Book 9 in the series sees Vera investigating the death of a young mother, whose body was discovered in the grounds of a country house. Excellent writing with good character development, an intriguing plot and plenty of twists. Another 5* read from Ann Cleeves. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves, was a breath of fresh air, it was entertaining, enjoyable and a comfortable read. Tales of the Stanhope family, adultery, children, death, murder and Vera and her murder team, a wonderful combination. There is something enormously satisfying in reading a book by Ann Cleeves, especially when it involves Vera Stanhope and her murder team.
I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, the characters, the setting of the story and the murder mystery to solve.
Highly recommended

I have come very late to Ann Cleeves' novels and so I haven't actually read all of the previous books in the series featuring Vera Stanhope.  Consequently, in reading this, the latest episode concerning the Northumbrian DI, I am behaving very much out of character as I normally prefer to work my way chronologically through a sequence. However, having been given the opportunity to read The Darkest Evening for review, I couldn’t resist the temptation and in fact, reference to the aftermath of one of the cases I have yet to encounter apart, nothing substantial enough seems to have happened to the officers stationed at Kimmerston to make me feel that in doing so I am in anyway spoiling the novels between this and The Glass Room, my most recent read.

It’s the dead of winter; Christmas and the longest night are on the horizon; the snow is falling and against her team’s advice Vera Stanhope is trying to get back to her isolated cottage through the dark and the raging blizzard. Missing her turning she finds herself on a road she normally would not take and discovers an abandoned car, with door wide open and, when she investigates more closely, a toddler tucked up inside. There is no sign of any struggle, no evidence of any foul play, but why would a mother abandon her child on a night as wild as this? Freeing the child’s car seat from its restraints, Vera sets out with the baby in the direction she thinks the driver must have taken, in order to see if she is in need of any help. 

Rather than discovering the missing driver, Vera finds herself approaching a once grand but now rather crumbling country house, Brockbank, ancestral home of the Stanhopes.  As an adult, Vera’s father, Hector, a youngest son and very much the black sheep of the family, had rarely set foot in the place, and consequently, while Vera has some memories of visiting as a child, those memories are not necessarily happy ones and she approaches the encounter with her relatives with a trepidation we do not normally associate with the blunt and forthright DI. Crispin, Vera’s cousin, is dead, but his widow, Harriet, still lives in the mansion along with her daughter, Juliet, and Juliet’s thespian husband, Mark. Despite the foul weather, a house party is in full swing, as Mark attempts to interest backers in a scheme to turn Brockbank into a theatrical venue and consequently Vera’s interruption is not particularly well received. However, when one of the Stanhope’s tenants, Neil Heslop, arrives to collect his daughters, waitressing for the evening, with news that he has discovered a body, they are only too grateful that the police are already on the scene.

The body turns out to be that of Lorna Falstone, also a member of a tenant family, and it is clear from the start that she has been brutally murdered. Lorna has struggled as a teenager, suffering from anorexia, and in her tentative recovery and life as a young mother she has been supported by her former primary teacher, Constance Browne. Her relationship with her parents, Jill and Robert, has been less secure and when questioned it is clear that they know little of her current life and can offer no suggestion as to who might be her young son, Thomas’s, father. Reluctantly, Vera leaves the toddler with them, unexpectedly showing, if not exactly a maternal side, then a concern for the child that is more personal than professional.

Hampered by the weather, the Stanhopes’ less than helpful attitude and Lorna’s, if not exactly secretive then certainly very private, lifestyle, Vera, along with her usual crew, Joe, Holly and Charlie, makes little progress towards discovering the identity of the murderer, although several possible motives begin to rear their heads and then Constance Browne goes missing. Did she know more about Lorna‘s life and personal entanglements than she has let on? Has she seen something, somebody, and consequently poses a threat that must be eliminated?

However gruff Vera may appear on the outside, I think anyone who has read the earlier novels knows that there is both a softer and more vulnerable individual hidden behind the unforgiving and unprepossessing exterior. In The Darkest Evening those warmer aspects of her character begin to show more openly, especially in relation to young Thomas, who may or may not turn out to be a distant relative. Questions of fatherhood abound and it isn’t only Thomas’s paternity that is called into question as the investigation progresses. I liked this rather more vulnerable Vera and I found myself more in sympathy with Holly than has been the case in the previous books I’ve read. She and Vera seem to be coming to something of an accommodation with each other, perhaps beginning to realise that they have more in common than either might like to admit. All in all, a worthy addition to the continuing story of Vera Stanhope; now to go back and fill in the gaps.

With thanks to Macmillan and NetGalley for a review copy.