as usual, I am gripped right away - in this case characters are described as a teaser, and Vera is soon there, speculating it's murder when evidence she discerns is found at the hanging of a recently disgraced television personality, meeting friends at a reunion - I have one (small) quibble - I have always really liked Joe, her second-in-command but now a new subordinate , Holly, is being introduced. who is competitive and a bit cold - I do not love her - she's a fish out of place but I see her being 'used' in new Vera stories more and more - oh well; I know female police characters are the rage in new crime novels, so I guess Cleeves has to include them alongside the wonderful Vera - but ... ah well
the story pans out well, and, as ever the final twist and discovery who done it is well done and satisfying in a morbid way! terrific, as ever

The latest fantastic addition to the Vera Stanhope series sees the team called out to Holy Island (aka Lindisfarne) to look into an apparent death by suicide of a disgraced celebrity.

Inevitably, things are more complicated than they first appear and a group of friends who have held reunions there for 50 years all come under suspicion. All too soon, events of the past seem to be repeating themselves and hitting surprisingly close to home for Vera et al.

As ever, Ann Cleeves makes the most of the setting, using the unusual topography of the landscape to powerful effect. This is such a well-drawn series and I love the fact that we have a protagonist who is constantly underestimated because of her age, weight, gender and dress-sense. Perfect.

Fifty years ago a group of sixth formers went on a bonding weekend to a retreat called Pilgrims’ House on Holy Island in Northumbria. At their first reunion five years later one of their number, Isobel, was tragically killed whilst trying to drive across the causeway as the tide came in after an argument. The remaining group members have met up there in October every five years since then. Now priest Philip, disgraced tv journalist Rick, and deli owner Annie are back again, together with school teachers Lou and Ken, a married couple learning to cope with Ken’s dementia. The weekend follows its normal course, a boozy Friday night after some time for quiet reflection in the chapel, but everything turns sour when Rick is found the following morning hanging from a beam in his room. Both Annie and DI Vera Stanhope have their doubts about suicide and the post mortem soon shows a case of murder. Ironic really for a man who was obsessed with dying all his life. This is a very strange investigation for Vera, accompanied by her team including DS Joe Ashworth and DC Holly Clarke. Is Rick’s behaviour coming back to bite him or could his planned novel be closer to the truth than someone would like, and who else might have been placed in danger? And how far is the killer prepared to go to keep hidden the sins and secrets of the past?
It's impossible to read these books without thinking of the wonderful job that the tv series has done in bringing Vera to life, portraying her just like the author does with her bulky frame, unfashionable clothes and old Land Rover. This is a cracking story from start to finish and the pages near turn themselves as a plot unfolds full of suspense and intrigue, culminating in an ending which is both dramatic and shocking. Another sure fire hit!

Fifty years ago a group of teenagers & their teacher went to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) for a retreat. This experience bonded some of them & they have been returning for a weekend every five years ever since. The group have gone on to live quite different lives but all seemed to want to return. Rick is probably the most extravert of the group always grabbing the best room, always a bit mischievous. Having been dismissed from the TV show under a bit of a cloud he seems to be his usual ebullient self When he is found hanging from the rafters, the first thought is that it is a suicide but Vera Stanhope has other ideas. At first it seems that she is just wanting to work on something more interesting but her instincts are, as usual, are correct.

I am a great fan of Anne Cleeves but have to admit to never having read any of her Vera Stanhope series (however I've seen all the TV episodes more than once) Having the mental picture of Brenda Blythin's excellent portrayal of Vera I was soon engrossed in the story & characters. This might be my first Vera book but it won't be my last! Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

The Rising Tide is the latest book in the DI Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves.

Set in my home county of Northumberland, it is autumn and Philip Robson is sitting in the chapel, waiting for the other members of his circle of friends to arrive on Holy Island. He is appreciating the sunlight and reflects on happenings from 50 years ago when the group first met on the island. He remembers the death of Isobel who drowned in her car stranded on the causeway 5 years later. The friends have met up every 5 years ever since, and one of their party, Rick Kelsall, a former media personality is found hanged and Vera is called upon to investigate along with her team.

Ann Cleeves' stirring writing is excellent, as ever and scenes are vividly described evoking a great atmosphere, with eerie fogs and tidal challenges for those involved. The tension remains steady throughout the story, with false leads and a few well-laid traps 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. Roll on number eleven!

A special thank you to Pan Macmillan, Ann Cleeves, NetGalley and Pigeonhole for the opportunity to read. This review is my unbiased opinion.

I'd never read anything by Ann Cleeves so thought I'd try it out of curiosity, but I'm afraid it's not for me. The Rising Tide is a quick read but I didn't find anything particularly exciting about it, whether it's the themes, the characters or the atmosphere. Just one of these efficient whodunits that will probably delight fans of the genre, but nothing new under the sun.

Vera’s back and she’s investigating a murder on Holy Island which may or may not be related to a death fifty years ago.
Using an island location, which is cut off from the mainland every day, serves this plot perfectly.
It was lovely to be reunited with Vera and her team as well as trying to work out who was responsible for the murder of an infamous media personality.
Ann Cleeves perfectly captures the atmosphere of Holy Island and the plot rattles along well.

I love it when you pick up a book and you know you’re in safe hands; seamless writing you cease to notice within minutes, credible characters, a beautifully bound together plot. I know it sounds strange to say so for a writer of Ann Cleeves’ experience, but not every author stays on top of their game in such an emphatic way.

This is the tenth Vera book and the first I have read. I don’t like crime books in general as I find them terribly formulaic and predictable, but, encouraged by my husband, I hoped for more. And The Rising Tide delivered in spades.

Fifty years ago a group of teenagers spent a retreat weekend on Lindisfarne and although their lives diverged, most of them return every five years, even though the first reunion was blighted by tragedy. Now they are in their late sixties and make unlikely murder suspects, but when one of their number is killed they are all in the spotlight. Their backstories make them fascinating characters with so much depth, which is one of the things I enjoyed most about this fabulous book.

#TheRisingTide #NetGalley Ann Cleeves never disappoints!! Another excellent installment in the Vera series. Full of action and twists and turns from the beginning, I couldn't put this book down and read it in one sitting!! I hope that this series continues for many more installments. A most excellent 5 stars!!

Being an avid fan of the ‘Vera’ TV series, I welcomed the chance to read one of Anne Cleeves books, to compare the two. This is book 10 in the series, although it could easily be read as a stand-alone.

I found that reading this book, although it is a police procedural involving murders, was like receiving a warm hug! Exactly as I wanted it to be, flowing easily between key scenes. The characters came to life effortlessly, as did their approach to investigating the cases they were faced with. I loved the insight into the characters thoughts, which is harder to pick up from TV, and realising how they view ‘the boss’. The book enables the reader to gain a much clearer, in-depth understanding of Vera’s background and upbringing and therefore some of her character traits.

The case itself was fascinating, involving, not only a murder on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, but a disparate group of elderly school friends at a reunion, remembering peers who had died years before. All of whom had interesting back stories, complex relationships and snippets of their earlier lives they would rather keep hidden. I was fascinated seeing the investigation jigsaw gradually piece together, with several twists and turns along the way and some investment of emotions and human fragility along the way. The pace is slick, the plot complex and well-developed.

The scenery was described effectively, giving an ethereal, stark but breathtaking backdrop to the investigation & leaving me with a desire to visit the area to see for myself. There wasn’t a single moment when I didn’t have a clear and well-formed scene unfolding in my head.

Reading this made me realise how effectively it is transferred ‘to screen’ although obviously the book allows a lot more insight and character development. A fabulous, compelling read! Anne Cleeves I will definitely be back for more!

I've read a few books in this genre recently and enjoyed them but it's only when you read this book that you realise what a really well written book offers the reader.
It is a delight from start to finish, well apart from the crimes committed!
The characters are totally believable and well drawn with Vera being her usual unique self. You don't have to have read the earlier books to enjoy this one as it works well as a standalone but you've missed out if you haven't.
Although I think this is probably one of my favourites.
The investigation draws you in, throwing suspicion here and there and the reader really has no clue who it could be.
Excellent, my kind of a book.

'Rick was hanging from a white plaited cord from the beam that crossed the vaulted ceiling. He was wearing a striped woollen dressing gown that had flapped open to reveal a body otherwise naked... She reached out and touched his wrist. It was icy, and when she felt for a pulse, there was nothing. Rick has killed himself.'

For 50 years, a group of friends have met up every five years on a remote Scottish island to celebrate their bond. As teenagers, a teacher brought them there for a kind of inspirational camp, and a few of them grew so close, their friendship was unshakeable. On the first anniversary, tragedy strikes and one of the friends leaves after having a fight with another, then gets caught in the rising tide on the causeway and drowns.

But decades later, when Rick, a famous journalist who's fallen from grace, dies on the island, detective Vera Stanhope is immediately suspicious, even though it looks like suicide. What are the chances that another friend would die on the island? And it turns out she's right – it was murder.

The friends are all suspects. But could someone else have committed the crime? As Vera digs deeper she discovers that many of them have secrets, and someone is willing to kill to make sure they don't see the light of day.

This is another very enjoyable piece of crime fiction by Ann Cleeves. Vera is such a delicious main character and the mystery is intriguing. The descriptions of the Holy Island landscape made me want to visit there. I'd definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Macmillan for my copy of #TheRisingTide by #Ann Cleeves
This is the first book I have read in the Vera Stanhope series but that didn’t matter a jot.
Vera is one of a kind, a Detective Inspector totally out of step with the police of today, a dinosaur, but she is excellent at her job
She may be a loner and do things her way but she’s excellent at what she does.
I’m now going to start the series from the beginning.

The tenth novel in this series, but my first, and I haven’t seen the TV series either, but that will soon be remedied.
Vera Stanhope is a blunt, no nonsense detective working in Northumberland. On a rare weekend off, she is called out to investigate a suspicious death on Holy Island, ( Northerners usage) , or Lindisfarne, as the Southerners term it. The death appears to be a hanging, but Vera is convinced it is murder, the victim was a celebrity television journalist, now in disgrace, and he was spending the weekend with a group of friends, who have a reunion on the island every five years. The victim had previously told the group of friends, that he had written a novel, loosely based upon themselves, relating to a previous death, and the implication was that someone in their group could be hiding a murderous secret.
Vera really gets the bit between her teeth, she is dogged in her determination to find the murderer. She is not very good at allocating tasks and letting other people do their job, delegation and Vera are not best friends. She is warm in her speech and dialect, and surprises herself sometimes by offering faint praise to her team. Vera likes to think she has them all trained to her way of working, but some do like to strike out on their own.
There are many twists and turns in this intriguing mystery, the characters are believable, and the star of this book is Lindisfarne, which is a wonderful and atmospheric location for a murder mystery. The fact that both the innocent and perhaps the guilty parties have to let Mother Nature, ie the tidal currents, help sort out this crime, only adds to the sense of drama.
I so enjoyed this read, it was creative, and gave off a good vibe of satisfaction.
My thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan the publishers, for my advance digital copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review. A five star read.

if you know "Vera" either from the books or the TV show you won't be disappointed Ann always tells a good story with this character, I look forward to seeing the TV version of the story.

The Rising Tide is a classic whodunnit and such a great read…I thoroughly enjoyed my journey with Vera, my very first journey with her I might add! It’s smart, well written with enough unexpected twists and turns to be totally satisfied! I shall be definitely looking at reading her previous cases. It’s a easy 5 stars from me.

Another fabulous read in the DI Vera Stanhope series ,she is back with her team solving a murder made to look like a suicide .Set on Holy Island the story is gripping and atmospheric full of twists and turns intrigue and tragedy .I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the next book in the series .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC

I’ve read a few of the Vera books and tend to enjoy them. I loved The Rising Tide. I cried at the end as Vera suffers a tragic loss. You need to read this fantastic book to find out what happens. Like other books in the series, the events are slow to unwind but the pace is still quite fast as Vera urges her team to find answers, complicated by the fact that her own boss is on the perimeter of the investigation so they need to tread delicately. I loved the chapters set on Holy Island, they are gripping and atmospheric. This is a terrific book.

DI Vera Stanhope is back and this case doesn’t disappoint.
Ann Cleeves’ writing is excellent and is the calibre that I have now come to expect .
Vera has a weekend off and is planning to have a few days away with her friend Joanna , that is until she receives a call about a death on Holy Island.
The death seems like suicide but is it?
Vera and her team begin an investigation, and uncover old secrets that may be a motive for a killer .
The story moves at a fair pace and there are some surprises along the way.
A great read and highly recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan.

Fifty years ago, a group of teenagers spent a weekend on Holy Island, forging a bond that has lasted a lifetime. Now, they still return every five years to celebrate their friendship, and remember the friend they lost to the rising waters of the causeway at the first reunion. Now, when one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding.
The tenth book in the series & whilst I’ve not read all of the books I’ve loved the television adaptation. I loved the down to earth Vera & her team who don’t always agree with her but she is the boss. I thoroughly enjoyed the book & loved how the group of friends were introduced & I felt I got to know them before the murder happened. There were twists & turns, as well as red herrings, which left me floundering but not Vera! A very well written page turner, which kept me guessing
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read