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Monday, March 19, 2018

Harbour Street - Ann Cleeves

Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves

First Paragraph(s):

Joe pushed through the crowd.  It was just before Christmas and the Metro trains were full of shoppers clutching carrier bags stuffed with useless presents.  Babies were left to scream in expensive buggies.  People who'd been drinking early spilled out from office parties, stumbling down the escalators and onto the trains.  Youths used language Joe wouldn't want his children to hear.  Today, though, he'd had no option about using the Metro.  Sal had been adamant that she needed the car.
     It was just him and his daughter.  She was in the school choir and there'd been a performance in Newcastle Cathedral.  Carols by candlelight, because even at four o'clock it was dark in the building.  Beautiful singing that made him feel like crying.  His boss, Vera Stanhope, always said that he was a romantic fool.  The out into the rush-hour evening, and it was just starting to snow, so Jessie was excited all over again.  She was a soloist and had hit all the right notes, so the choirmaster had given her a special mention at the end.  Christmas was only ten days away, though she was too old now to believe in Santa.  But there was snow.  Tiny little flakes twisting in the gusty wind like mini-tornadoes.

My Thoughts:

Harbour Street is actually the 6th book in the Vera Stanhope series.  You may ask, what happened to #4 and #5?  Well, I did listen to the 4th book, Silent Voices, but had already talked about my experience reading it in print here .  It was narrated by Charlie Harwick and she did a good job.  Book #5, The Glass Room, is only available in print.  Since these books are pretty much complete in themselves, I skipped that one and went on to #6.  I'm trying to finish the series before the end of April when I will be attending Malice Domestic 30, a mystery conference.  Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn (who plays Vera in the TV adaptation) will both be in attendance.   

Harbour Street takes place at Christmas time.  As one might expect, Christmas and all the celebrating, not really Vera's 'cup of tea'.  She never experienced 'happy families', as she terms it.  Her father, Hector, was not a particularly nice man and he didn't seem to care that his daughter was missing out on normal life.  First thing in the book, we see Vera's colleague, Joe Ashworth, with his own daughter on a train.  Jessie, Joe's daughter, discovers an older woman who has been stabbed.  The woman lived on Harbour Street and the investigation centers on the people who reside there and the secrets they have hidden for a long time.  Solving this crime is more fun for Vera than shopping for a Secret Santa gift.  And solve it she does - in time for the holidays.  Janine Birkett narrated this one and she also did a good job.  Next on the list, The Moth Catcher.   

Blurb:

As the snow falls thickly on Newcastle, the shouts and laughter of Christmas revelers break the muffled silence. Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie are swept along in the jostling crowd onto the Metro.

But when the train is stopped due to the bad weather, and the other passengers fade into the swirling snow, Jessie notices that one lady hasn't left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed.

Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the holiday festivities. As she stands on the silent, snow-covered station platform, Vera feels a familiar buzz of anticipation, sensing that this will be a complex and unusual case.

Then, just days later, a second woman is murdered. Vera knows that to find the key to this new killing she needs to understand what had been troubling Margaret so deeply before she died - before another life is lost. She can feel in her bones that there's a link. Retracing Margaret's final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighborhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street...

Why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to speak?

22 comments:

  1. OMG, I am so jealous right now of your being able to attend a mystery conference -- and seeing Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn!!

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    1. I will admit that I'm pretty excited about it. I'll do a few posts describing it afterwards.

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  2. I've got to give this series a try.

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  3. I really liked this one...and The Moth Catcher, too! Hope you can get your copies signed!

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    1. Actually, I've loaned my copies out to my mystery group. Plus I'd have to take them all the way to Bethesda, MD. Long way from TX. LOL

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  4. Yes, there have been times when I've felt murder would be more fun than Christmas celebrations too... 😉

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    1. You and me both! I sympathized with Vera. LOL

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  5. That is so cool that you are going to get to meet both of them at Malice Domestic! I like the first paragraph you shared and you can really get the atmosphere from that!

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    1. Not sure if I'll get to meet Brenda, but I'll get to hear her visit with Ann in a special event.

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  6. You always seem to pick great sounding mysteries. Have fun at the conference.

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    1. Mysteries are my life - mostly. Thanks, Diane!

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  7. I usually am one to have to read in order, but this one sounds so good that I might ignore my rule. LOL

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    1. I'm that way too, Nise'. However, this series works pretty well as standalones - for the most part anyway.

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  8. I've not tried this author but this series sounds intriguing.

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    1. I really have thought it was a good one.

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  9. I am only at the 3rd book and planning to read that one soon. I love to read books set around Christmas at the end of the year, but I don't know if i can read that many in the series between now and then. They are sort of longish.

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    1. Yes, they are long-ish. You'll get to them all in good time.

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  10. I enjoyed your review. I've been trying out AcornTV and have gotten hooked on Vera. Brenda Blethyn is great! I've been wondering about the books, and now, I'm going to have to give them a try. So excited for you that you'll meet Ann Cleeves and Brenda Blethyn at the conference! Can't wait to hear all about it! :)

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    1. I'll give a recap of what happened. Not sure I'll get to meet everyone, but maybe I'll get a picture. LOL

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  11. I love the opening you shared. I was sad when there wasn't more. I guess that's a sign I should give this one a try. :-)

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    1. Glad you like the opening. I'm never exactly sure how much to share, but I'm liking my format for reviews. And then people can skip over stuff they don't want to read.

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!