THE BOOKS I WAITED FOR. 

They arrived within a day of each other, after 8 weeks.

THE POWER OF THE DOG

Thomas Savage

I began listening to a soft drawling voice of an American cowboy, early 1900s.  Two brothers. I had heard about the film.  Returned book.  Too much on.

THE DARKEST EVENING.  

Ann Cleeves and Vera.  Now that is a great combination.  I followed them from tv series.

A familiar character, Vera, guarantees easy listening.  The writing by Ann Cleeves guarantees an interesting puzzle to solve, albiet with the expected satisfactory resolution.  I had read the sample and thought it rare to find Vera in the first chapter lost in the snow, at night.

Vera ends up near an old familial home. A murder mystery is connected to this big house in a small village, once owned by a lecherous old relative carrying the Stanhope name.

Again she orders her trusty team out of their late night comfort zones,  to investigate.

Even if they were dog tired  she barked at them to snap to it.  

Her complacent but thoughtful female colleague Detective Holly seemed to do a lot  of the leg work, knocking on doors and quizzing locals.   I wondered if her boss an ageing detective didn’t have the energy to do all the investigations which made me think that maybe the author is considering pensioning Vera off.    There is a risk she could die on duty which would serve her right.  At her age mucking about in forests chasing after a double killer!!

Her Dad’s story was included and we got a lot of meandering memories of which filled up time.  However author Cleeves always provides an exciting  climax to her books which however familiar is always indicative of a seasoned skilled crime writer.  

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