Having watched the series of "Vera" many times this is the first time I've read one of the books about her. It was a very enjoyable read and I cannot wait until it comes on the TV so I can watch it even though I now know the killer.
Based in the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, a group of friends get together for a regular reunion forever when one of them is found dead DI Vera Stanhope and her team are called in. It is then found that this was not the first tragedy to befall this group.
Normally a TV serialisation veers away from the book but on reading The Rising Tide I could quite clearly visualise the character Vera acting out the part. With this series there are twists and turns and suspense right to the end. I had guessed the villain quite early on but still found myself questioning myself many times. There was still a very unexpected twist towards the end!
Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of the TV series Vera but The Rising Tide is the first book I have read. I loved everything about it. I loved the characters and their dynamics, I loved the storyline and mostly I loved the setting as Holy Island is one of my most favourite places in the world. I couldn't fault it at all, I loved every page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for my ARC.

I do love Vera - both in the books and the TV series. Each gives something different but the latter is mostly true to the former. Which is a breath of fresh air.
In this, her 10th outing - Vera is called to Holy Island. To a body found at a reunion of school friends. They all attended a teenage retreat and have returned every year since. One of the early reunions ended in tragedy but still they carried on. The body is that of disgraced "celebrity" Rick Kelsall who was found hanging, presumed suicide over his decline. Vera is determined to prove murder but should she be careful what she wishes for as the media get involved and the suspects start to clam up...
This was a cracking read - as expected - which I thoroughly enjoyed. I especially love the closeness, banter, and clashes within Vera's team of able officers. Especially the rivalry between Joe and Holly. But also how they all cut through the noise when it matters to get on with the job.
The case itself is also interesting as it mostly concerns older people. Ones that have known each other for donkey's and who inevitably have more than a smattering of secrets & lies. Throw into the mix an historic accident when one of the early reunions ends in tragedy and you got yourself one heck of a narrative.
Oh and the setting of Holy Island just adds a whole other layer into the mix. Atmospheric and with it being tidal, also adds a new challenge for our cast.
In fact, the only bad thing was reaching the end, which I loved by the way, and having to say goodbye once again to the characters I had only just reconnected with. Roll on next time...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

At this point are nay of my words gonna help you to read these books!? Come on now! If you’re not already, then what are you doing!?
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This latest addition in the Vera universe is just dripping with atmosphere and a juicy plot line that I found myself staying up late into the night to finish more and more of it! A big 5 stars from me! Highly recommend!!

This is another excellent detective thriller by Anne Cleaves featuring everyone’s favourite character, Vera Stanhope. The plot tells of a group of friends who meet up once every five years to remember old times and to mark the anniversary of their get together as young students on a field trip. The setting is Holy Island, off the North East coast of England, making the atmosphere very intense and adding to the mystery.

The storyline is strong, the characters believable and the pace is just right. I like how Vera is the linchpin of her team and she knows their strengths and also how best to use these and nurture them as individuals.

I recommend it to anyone who enjoys an accomplished detective thriller.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for an advance copy to read.

There is only one word for this book and that is BRILLIANT. Well written, great characters and well worth 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

Over the last twenty years Vera Stanhope has become the most famous female in crime fiction. The excellent novels have been complimented by Brenda Blethyn's stunning TV portrayal. Vera is instantly recognizable in print and on screen. In Northumberland she is a legend in her own lifetime.
This new novel is Ann Cleeves writing with perfection. One finds out more than ever before what makes Vera tick. Joe Ashworth, long since absent from the TV adaptations, is here as Vera's long suffering but loyal sidekick. Holy Island is an inspired choice of location and Ann Cleeves pulls out all the stops in a tense, dramatic and poignant finale.
Vera is still haunted by her dead father Hector. She is tragic, talented, stubborn, opinionated - but still utterly adorable.

A new Vera to exercise our grey matter. A man is found hung, how and why. It sets off the usual complicated investigation for Vera to unravel. Nothing earth shattering but as with all Ann Cleeves books, superbly done. Can’t wait for the TV episode.

Despite being a devotee of the Vera series on TV, this is the first book I've read. It is an atmospheric, layered story set in Northumberland and Holy Island with an enigmatic cast of characters. I like that the majority of the characters are older. Their five yearly reunions have spanned fifty years, yet it is the first one that resonates with the group of friends, the detectives and the reader.

Believably flawed characters with hidden secrets make credible suspects. Their closeness initially thwarts Vera and her detectives, but her knowledge of people and crime succeeds but not without human cost. Drama, emotion, and vibrant detectives make this an addictive and satisfying read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

In 'The Rising Tide' by Ann Cleeves, a group of friends meet together on Holy Island or Lindesfarne every five years for a reunion of a school trip held there fifty years before. Phillip has become a vicar, Ricky a notorious TV celebrity, Annie a deli owner, Louisa a headteacher who turns around failing schools, and Ken, once solid has developed dementia. Each time they meet they reminisce about their past retreat experience and the other people present including Ricky's exwife Charlotte, Annie's exhusband Daniel, their teacher Judith Marshall and Isobel Hall their friend. However, things change slightly when Ricky announces he is planning a novel based on secrets from their past.

I have not previously read any of Ann Cleeve's Vera Stanhope series but have watched the ITV adaptations. I am unsure whether it has always been the case, but the way the actress on Vera speaks, is certainly echoed in the dialogue in this novel. For me this brought the novel to life and I was thoroughly entertained by it. The story telling and plot twists are very good and although I saw some elements of the ending ahead, I was held entranced by the action and the writing. The dynamics and relationships between Vera and her protégées are elaborated on, which felt very life like and added to the success of the story. I would recommend this to others.

This is number10 in the Shetland series with Vera but it is an easy stand alone book. The description of the Lindisfarne area made it all seem so real. A mystery that looks like it cant be resolved is a speciality of Vera and due to form everything gets cleared up with the normal way that Vera attacks challenges.

Another Vera Stanhope mystery that doesn't fail to satisfy! Vera continues to work her way through the suspects and motives in this outstanding new work from Ann Cleeves. As a dedicated Vera fan, I expected to love this book and wasn't disappointed! The setting is especially interesting in this book, and almost feels like a vital character. A great read.

Another great book with DI Vera Stanhope solving the case set on Holy Island of a suspicious death that looks like suicide but Vera has other ideas.
The group of people have been meeting up every 5yrs since they came on a school trip 50yr ago.

Love Vera she`s a brilliant character seen all the TV shows and everything that Ann Cleeves has wrote, everyone just keeps you guessing till the end.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC

Ann Cleeves hits the mark straight on. You are drawn in immediately to this after the initial death . Is it suicide or is it murder. An intricate story evolves around 5 friends who have been meeting up every 5 years for the last 50 years and all set against the back drop of Holy Island . Vera maintain ins her tenacious approach to solving crimes and in a nerve wracking twist brings danger and loss near to home .

Book 10 in the Vera Stanhope series and another compelling story of intrigue and murder. Set on atmospheric Lindisfarne this is a fabulous read and you wonder how the author keeps coming up with such good storylines with all the various threads coming together so brilliantly. Vera is such a great character and as always the star of the book with her at times dour countenance and her ongoing bitterness towards her dead father she comes across as a very lonely woman.

Briefly, a group of friends meet on their 5 yearly reunion. They all grew up in the area and first went to the island on a school trip arranged by their teacher. This time marks 50 years since the first trip. The first reunion was marred with tragedy when Isobel left suddenly but became stranded in her car on the way off the island and drowned. On the first morning of the current reunion one of them is found hanging in their room and Vera and her team are called in to investigate. It soon becomes clear that murder has been committed. As Vera and her team investigate they discover long hidden secrets. Then another body is found.

The food loving detective seems to be struggling for answers but you just know she’s going to work it out in the end. Another masterpiece but how that ancient land rover keeps going is beyond me! A brilliantly written and plotted book with a shocking conclusion.

Vera and her team are called over to Holy Island where a man has been found hanging in his room at a retreat. At first glance it looks like a suicide, but Vera smells a rat and as usual she is right. The man is a TV personality who is embroiled in a scandal and is at the retreat with some old friends.
The more they investigate, the more suspects there seem to be. When a further murder takes place, it throws all previous theories out and they almost have to start again.
Vera is convinced the key to the murderer is in the past, but she's not 100% sure that she's correct. When one of her own gets her, it starts to get personal and she has to act on her suspicions putting herself at risk.
Another good story in this series.

This unputdownable novel can be read as a standalone novel . With background details that are described cleverly it is beautifully written. There is a great plot and the descriptive scenery takes you there. The characters are skilfully developed with a good mix of likeable and unlikeable personalities.

This latest book in the Vera series is another belter, absolutely brilliant and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You could read it as a standalone, but I highly recommend starting from the beginning as you learn more about the development of the characters and their backstory. Plus it's an excellent detective series and this latest just keeps on giving. The setting of Holy Island, off the Northumberland coast, is pefect for a writer who likes to play with timelines as you can only access the island at low tide. Close to the mainland, but cut off at certain times. The clues are there but the plot moves along at the perfect pace so it is all revealed at just the right time. Love all of Ann Cleeves books and this is no exception, excellent!

Once again another great read from Ann Cleeves. This can only have been helped by the success of the TV series on Vera. Fans of the books will already be ready to get this one and it will not disappoint.

I’d like to thank Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Rising Tide’, the tenth in the DI Vera Stanhope series written by Ann Cleeves, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

A group of friends gather on Holy Island for the five-year reunion of their ‘Only Connect’ gathering first held fifty years ago. During the first night at Pilgrim’s House one of the friends is found hanging from a white plaited cord. As the rising tide limits the times the island can be accessed, DI Vera Stanhope realises that the killer is one of them and she must untangle the secrets and lies they’ve kept since the first reunion to be able to identify the perpetrator

Although this is the tenth book in the series I must admit that this is the first I’ve read. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading about Vera and her capable team of DS Joe Ashworth and DC Holly Clarke as she puts to good use her knack at getting suspects to give away little clues without realising that they are. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable thriller with an involving and highly readable plot, although with a tearful ending, that’s had me enthralled from page one as Vera’s unique brain has gradually knitted together the clues. This is an excellent thriller and one I can highly recommended and I’ll now be looking for the previous nine in this enjoyable series.